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Insurance Plans Accepted:
Aetna, EAP, Magellan, AmeriHealth, Highmark, QualCare and others
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The Stages of Counseling
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The stages of counseling include: evaluation, working through issues and termination.
The first stage of counseling is evaluation where the counselor and client get acquainted with each other and discuss the problems presented by the client. This session also consists of a mutual evaluation of one another, and answers are sought to questions, such as:
- "Do the counselor and client feel comfortable enough with each other to be able to work together?"
- "What are the presenting and possible underlying problems and symptoms?"
- "Is counseling warranted for the problems presented?"
- "Does counseling have something to offer the client to help remedy his or her problems?"
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"The client releases pent-up emotions such as anxiety, develops insight and gains self-understanding..."
Learn More:
What is Counseling?
Is Counseling for Me?
Is Counseling Helpful?
The Stages of Counseling
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If the answers to these questions are "Yes" then a mutual decision is made to continue counseling.
The second stage and longest stage is the is one of working through issues. Working through is done in individual, couple, family and/or group counseling. The client releases pent-up emotions such as anxiety, develops insight and gains self-understanding, which lead to change.
Other common therapies that utilize a working through stage include:
- behavioral therapy (primarily treating physiological or psychological symptoms, e.g., anger)
- cognitive therapy (primarily remedying faulty beliefs)
- systems (primarily changing the social system in which the client is experiencing difficulty)
The final stage of counseling is termination. Once the client has accomplished the goals mutually set by himself or herself and the counselor during evaluation, he or she is ready to end counseling. However, termination is a process. It will often take at least a couple of sessions. Most clients have established a bond of trust and safety with his or her counselor. Ending that relationship most often includes a letting go process and some grief.
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