Existential Therapy - Adapting Your Therapeutic Model

In Episode 230 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your hosts Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly take us through this week's three topics:

First, in 'Counselling Foundations', we look at existential therapy.

Then in 'Focus on Self', Rory and Ken discuss adapting your therapeutic model.

And lastly in 'Practice Matters', Rory speaks with Dr Pia Callesen about metacognitive therapy.

Existential Therapy [starts at 01:45 mins]

In this section on existential therapy, Rory and Ken briefly discuss the philosophy behind existential thoughts and some things you can give clients to think about in order to help them deal with these thoughts:

Struggling to find meaning between life and death.

A fear of existence.

Help the client to identify the meaning of their lives through things such as goals.

Having an end point gives everything that happens before it meaning.

Nothing is fixed - the only thing constant is change.

Therapists set the ground for asking questions like 'why not?' - just giving things a go.

Adapting Your Therapeutic Model [starts at 16:33 mins]

Once you're a qualified counsellor, there may be times when a client needs something outside of your usual modality. Rory and Ken discuss some of the things to think about when adapting your therapeutic model:

It's important to meet the client where they are and adapting your practice to it.

However, it's important to not work outside of your competence.

CPD - you can integrate elements from your CPD into your practice.

Is person-centred therapy a model, or simply a way of approach?

Speak to your supervision if there's anything you're unsure about.

Metacognitive Therapy [starts at 30:49 mins]

In the final section of this week's episode, Rory speaks with Dr Pia Callesen on metacognitive therapy.

The main points of this discussion include:

When looking at the main causes of psychological illnesses, Prof. Adrian Wells found that the time spent on your thoughts was an incredibly influential factor, and thus created the metacognitive theory.

Metacognitive theory is all about the self-regulation of your thoughts.

Don't ruminate on your thoughts - this doesn't mean having an empty head, it just means leaving your thoughts alone.

Restoring clients' metacognitive belief - they do have the control to leave their thoughts alone.

Changing the belief that worrying and ruminating over thoughts for a long period of time will help to solve the problem.

Metacognitive therapy happens over 5-12 sessions - a short term, research-based treatment.

The client is still having thoughts and emotions, they're simply not engaging with them.

Links and Resources

Counselling Skills Academy

Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision

Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide

Counsellor CPD

Counselling Study Resource

Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide

Counselling Tutor Shop

Facebook group

Website

Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner's Guide

Online and Telephone Counselling Course

Metacognitive Therapy Institute

Cektos Center for Metacognitive Therapy