Confessions
of a Counselor
What
the Resiliency Literature Has Shown Me
by Craig Noonan, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
As the newest editor at Resiliency In Action, my
goal is to expand the focus of RIA into the realm
of counseling and therapy. This is consistent with
my life's work as a counselor and therapist in a
variety of settings: I have worked with adolescents,
adults, and families experiencing a variety of problems,
including alcohol and other drug use, mental health
issues, relationship problems, being HIV positive,
and problems connected to behavioral medicine, in
schools, community agencies, medical clinics, and
hospitals.
The
resiliency literature offers an alternative and
more positive paradigm for viewing and working with
clients than I have observed in much of my practice.
Unfortunately, most counselors and therapists are
trained and taught to view clients primarily from
a pathological or deficit perspective, focusing
on assessment of problems. Rarely are counselors
taught how to identify, appreciate, and utilize
client strengths. As a result, all too often I have
observed that counselors (including myself, at times)
provide ineffective and even counterproductive services
because of agendas, roles, and systems that restrain
their humanity, are not research-based, and do not
meet the needs of their clients.
I
have seen clients blamed and labeled for their counselors'
failures to provide effective counseling or to even
establish a positive relationship. I have had clients
tell me about being burdened and limited by counselors'
low expectations regarding their ability to overcome
the adversity in their lives or to succeed in specific
activities. The really sad part of this situation
is that most of these counselors are well-intentioned
and only wish the best for their clients. I know
that I have always been similarly well- intentioned
and yet I, too, have fallen victim to some of the
above practices at times.
The
resiliency literature provides counselors with a
more effective and personally satisfying way to
work with and relate to their clients. I am specifically
concerned with incorporating the six protective
conditions associated with resiliency (caring and
support, high expectations, meaningful opportunities
for involvement, pro-social bonding, clear and consistent
boundaries, and "life skills") into counseling
relationships so as to encourage the growth of resiliency
in clients (see The Resiliency Quiz for more information
on these six conditions). There is a robust body
of research literature in the counseling and therapy
fields supporting the importance of "therapist
factors" (level of empathy, view of client,
etc.) and the therapeutic relationship in promoting
positive change. Although this literature does not
often use the word "resiliency," the power
of the protective conditions mentioned above is
at its heart.
I
am also committed to helping counselors view client
problems as just that--a presently occurring scenario
upon the landscape of an entire human being, not
the sum total of who the person is or can be. I
have learned my most important lessons about the
power of protective conditions and the limitations
of diagnostic labels from my clients.
I
remember a client in one group that I ran who had
a history of torturing and killing small animals
as a child, was very guarded and suspicious in all
of his relationships, and displayed no empathy for
other group members. Shortly after becoming a group
member, his behavior terrified the other members
of the group so much that he had to be removed for
a short period of individual counseling and stabilization.
When he returned to the group he remained largely
uninvolved and withdrawn until he began doing volunteer
work for the Red Cross assisting people who were
experiencing catastrophes to access services. Within
a month or two of beginning this work, he became
an empathic and involved group member--often providing
positive and empathic feedback to other group members.
Other members of the group were astounded at the
changes in him and became more hopeful regarding
their own growth.
Sadly,
when he lost his Red Cross position I saw him return
to his former withdrawn and nonempathic behavior,
though he did not again become threatening to the
group. When I left the group, he and the new group
leader were working hard at trying to reinvolve
him in some new service-oriented volunteer work.
My client had recognized its value himself and was
seeking a new position.
Counselors
need to know about protective factors, and the power
of a diagnostic approach that focuses on a more
complete picture of the people they counsel. With
this knowledge, they can look for individual strengths
and environmental protective conditions, nurture
them, and try to facilitate their growth in the
lives of their clients. This will no doubt result
in changes in how we do our work, and how we view
the people who come to us. I agree with the wisdom
of Dennis Salleebey, D.S.W., who writes in The Strengths
Perspective in Social Work Practice (Longman, 1997):
To
really practice from a strengths perspective
demands a different
way of seeing clients, their environments, and
their current situation.
Rather than focusing on problems, your eye turns
toward possibility.
In the thicket of trauma, pain, and trouble
you can see blooms of
hope and transformation....Clients come into
view when you assume
that they know something, have learned lessons
from experience,
have hopes, have interests, and can do some
things masterfully. These
may be obscured by the stresses of the moment,
submerged under the
weight of crisis, oppression, or illness, but,
nonetheless, they abide (p.3 & p.12) |
Craig
Noonan, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., is a counselor, substance
abuse treatment program supervisor, addictions researcher,
and trainer. He can be reached at cnoonan@resiliency.com.
