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Essay on An Analysis of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Group Counseling
The concept of group counseling is essentially liberal in that the assumptions underlying its theory and practice are, first, that each individual has the right to shape his own destiny and second, that the relatively mature and experienced members of the community are responsible for ensuring that each person's choice shall serve both his own interests and those of the society to which he belongs. Anybody can give advice to anyone who needs it. Thus, counseling can take place almost anywhere and at anytime.
The counselor does not attempt, however, to solve the person's problems for him. Adjustment is an individual matter that each person must discover for himself, and the counselor mainly tries to clarify the person's own thinking so that he can be guaranteed the fulfillment of his personal needs and aspirations. Mental health professionals agree that the effectiveness of therapy depends to a large extent on the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist. In general, the better the rapport is between therapist and client, the better the outcome of therapy. If a person does not trust a therapist enough to describe deeply personal problems, the therapist will have trouble helping the person change and improve. For clients, trusting that the therapist can provide help for their problems is essential for making progress.
The founder of person-centered therapy, Carl Rogers, believed that the most important qualities in a therapist are being genuine, accepting, and empathic. Almost all therapists today would agree that these qualities are important. Being genuine means that therapists care for the client and behave toward the client as they really feel. Being accepting means that therapists should appreciate clients for who they are, despite the things that they may have done (Corey, Corey, 2002).Many times people only think about individual counseling to help them with their challenging personal issues.....
