Study

Guide 3
DIPLOMA OF COUNSELLING

TOPIC

Support Counselling Clients in Decision-Making

Processes
CHCCSL007

Published by: Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors Pty Ltd

ACN 077 738 035

All Case Histories in this text are presented as examples only and any comparison which might
be made with persons either living or dead is purely coincidental.
Second Edition, September 2022
Copyright ownership: Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors Pty Ltd
ACN 077 738 035

This book is copyright protected under the Berne Convention.

All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.

Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors

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This book is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced or copied either in part or in whole nor used for financial gain without the express
approval in writing of the owner (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors Pty Ltd (ACN 077 738 035) of the copyright.

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Contents
Unit Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3
How to Use This Study Guide .................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Overview of Sections ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Section 1: An Introduction to Decision-Making................................................................................ 8
The Seven Step Problem-Solving Approach .......................................................................................... 11
1. Clarify and Define the Problem ................................................................................................................... 12
2. Establishing Realistic Goals .......................................................................................................................... 12
3. Generate multiple solutions ....................................................................................................................... 20
4. Evaluate and Compare Solutions ............................................................................................................. 21
5. Decide on a Feasible, Appropriate Solution..................................................................................... 26
6. Implement the Solution .................................................................................................................................. 27
7. Evaluate the Outcome ..................................................................................................................................... 27
Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models ............................................................................ 30
The Z model .................................................................................................................................................................. 31
Decisional Balance .................................................................................................................................................. 34
Four Option Model.................................................................................................................................................. 38
Section 3: Practice Considerations...................................................................................................... 41
Obstacles and Challenges................................................................................................................................. 42
Ethical Decision-Making...................................................................................................................................... 44

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 Unit Overview

Unit Overview

Unit Title
CHCCSL007 – Support counselling clients in decision-making processes

Unit Purpose
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to assist clients to clarify their
goals, explore options and develop a course of action.

Prerequisites
There are no pre-requisites for this unit.

Content
Section 1: An Introduction to Decision-Making
Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models
Section 3: Practice Considerations

Resources/Readings
Readings A – D are located in the associated Book of Readings.

Suggested Hours
Although everyone will work at their own pace, we suggest you allow approximately 80
hours to complete this unit competently, including seminars, tutorials, assignments and
practical activities.

Timeframe
The recommended time frame for this unit is 4 weeks.

Assessment
This unit will be assessed by completing the CHCCSL007 Assessment Book.

Please submit your Assessment Book via your online student portal at
[Link]

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 How to Use This Study Guide

How to Use This Study Guide

This Study Guide and associated Book of Readings contain all of the information that
you need to complete the assessment tasks associated with this unit. You must read
through all of the information provided (both the Study Guide and associated Readings)
before attempting the assessment tasks.

Throughout this Study Guide there are a few icons used to help you. These include:

The Tip Icon

This is used to indicate the presence of tips or additional instructions that may assist you
as you work through this Study Guide. They are designed to help you expand your
knowledge and skills and deepen your understanding of how concepts and practices are
applied in workplaces.

The Reading Icon

You will find these throughout the Study Guide. They indicate that a particular Reading
contains additional information on the topic that is being discussed at that point.

The Reflect Icon

This indicates a self-reflection question. You are not required to submit answers to these
questions. They are designed to get you thinking more about the topic and to consider
key points in order to aid your understanding.

Thank you for choosing to study with The Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors.
Best Wishes!

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 Unit Outcomes

Unit Outcomes
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:

Element Performance Criteria

1. Assist clients to clarify 1.1 Explain clearly to clients the policy on record-
goals and requirements keeping and confidentiality
1.2 Encourage clients to identify and explore their aims,
requirements and ideas
1.3 Assist clients to identify practical goals and
requirements for these, and discuss with clients how
goals might be modified based on client strengths
1.4 Identify situations where aims and requirements of
clients cannot be met, and make referrals to
alternative sources of guidance and support

2. Explore options with 2.1 Identify collaboratively potential courses of action

clients for meeting individual aims and requirements
2.2 Identify and explore factors which could influence
the preference for, and ability to achieve, a course
of action
2.3 Determine and explore features and likely
consequences of possible courses of action
2.4 Check client’s understanding of what is likely to be
involved in each possible course of action

3. Support client to reach 3.1 Assist clients to assess possible advantages and
decisions disadvantages of each possible course of action,
and their appropriateness for meeting client
requirements
3.2 Encourage clients to decide on a course of action
and to consider alternatives which could be used, if
necessary
3.3 Document decisions and agreed ongoing support
within organisation guidelines

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 Unit Outcomes

Knowledge Evidence
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively
do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task
and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
• Legal and ethical considerations for counselling, and how these are applied in individual
practice:
o codes of conduct/practice
o discrimination
o duty of care
o human rights
o practitioner/client boundaries
o privacy, confidentiality and disclosure
o records management
o rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients
o work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations
o work health and safety
• different agency and organisation models of counselling and intervention
• types of goals that may be set for different circumstances
• key concepts, principles and practices of 3 different decision-making models
• obstacles to decision making and planning in the counselling context
• problem solving and action planning techniques in the counselling context
• referral options.

Performance Evidence
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and
performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the
job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:
• worked collaboratively to provide decision-making and action planning support to at least 3
clients
• demonstrated skills in working with 3 different decision-making models for the following:
o identifying and exploring options
o counselling process and methods
o problem solving
o action planning
o documenting decisions

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 Introduction

Introduction
This unit will introduce you to some key models and practices of decision-making that can
be applied within the counselling process to assist clients to clarify their goals, explore
options, and develop a course of action.

Overview of Sections

Section 1: An Introduction to Decision-Making

This section of the Study Guide will provide you with an introduction to how counsellors
can facilitate client decision-making/problem solving process using a seven step model.
You will learn how counsellors can help clients to set realistic goals, explore, options and
systematically evaluate these to come to a well-informed solution/decision.

Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models

In this section of the Study Guide you will learn about alternative models of decision-
making/problem-solving that may be appropriate to use for specific client issues. Exploring
these additional models will help expand your knowledge and skills in assisting clients in
the decision-making process.

Section 3: Practice Considerations

In this section of the Study Guide you will learn about some potential obstacles and
challenges that counsellors may encounter when assisting clients in the decision-
making/problem-solving process. You will also learn more about the ethical principles
important in counselling and how these apply to decision-making.
.

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SECTION 1

An Introduction to Decision
Making

In this section you will learn to:

• Help clients identify what it is they would like to achieve from counselling (i.e.
clarifying their goals and requirements of counselling).

• Help clients identify and explore various options for achieving the outcome or
goal they have identified as most important to them.

• Support clients as they decide which option is most appropriate by examining

the advantages and disadvantages of the various identified options.

Supplementary materials relevant to this section:

• Reading A: Goal-Setting in Counselling

• Reading B: The Power of Goal-Setting

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In the last Study Guide, you were introduced to the five-stage model of counselling
interviews described by Ivey, Ivey and Zalaquett (2014). These are:
Stage 1: Initiating the session
Stage 2: Gathering data
Stage 3: Mutual goal setting
Stage 4: Working
Stage 5: Ending

In the earlier stages of the counselling process (the ‘Initiating the session’ and ‘Gathering
data’ stages) the counselling tasks centre on building client-counsellor rapport and
identifying client concerns and needs. Occasionally, client problems will resolve by talking
about them and helping clients develop insight or self-awareness. More often, however,
client problems are a result of certain patterns of thinking, behaving, or managing emotions
which need to change. Counselling needs to incorporate a process that facilitates change
– helping clients review possibilities for a more positive future, set goals, determine how to
achieve those goals, and actually implement them. This process takes place during the
middle stages of the counselling process – the ‘Mutual goal setting’ and ‘Working’ stages.
In this Study Guide, you will learn about the process of decision-making in more detail.

Introduction to Decision Making/Problem Solving

The terms decision-making and problem-solving are often used interchangeably in the
counselling literature. This is because they are essentially the same process. In order to
make a decision or solve a problem, a client must attempt to identify, explore, or develop
an appropriate course of action/solution to the problem that they have encountered (Nezu,
Nezu & D’Zurilla, 2013). This may involve:
Changing the nature of a situation so that it no longer represents a problem.
Changing reactions to problems (e.g., reducing emotional reactions and coping
ability)
Changing both the situation and developing more adaptive emotional responses to
the problem.

Problem-solving and decision-making can be facilitated in a number of ways. It can

sometimes be facilitated through a process of ‘just talking’ with a counsellor who can help
clients look at choices from all angles, and explore with them in an open and non-
judgemental way the implications and consequences of various options and how they feel
about these. More often, however, clients may require specific help with this process
because the decision-making process they are currently using has not been effective.

An important set of counselling tasks centres on the process of making choices. There are
many situations in which people seek help, and want to talk things through with someone
who is independent of their immediate situation, because they cannot decide what to do.
Depending on the circumstances, clients may view this kind of task in a variety of different
terms: choosing, solving a problem, reviewing options, devising a plan, or making a decision.
Each of these tasks involves a process of collecting, appraising, organising and analysing

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

information, leading to a conclusion to which the person makes an emotional and

behavioural commitment.
(McLeod & McLeod, 2011, p. 222)
Facilitating client decision-making and problem-solving is a key counselling process and
usually forms the basis for helping clients to make the necessary changes to improve their
situation.

A Note on Styles of Decision-Making

In some cases, the difficulties that clients have in making decisions and solving problems
may be linked to a lack of flexibility and over-reliance on one style of decision-making in
situations where other styles would be more appropriate. Scott and Bruce (1995, cited in
McLeod & McLeod, 2011) have identified five key decision-making styles:
Rational: Logical and systematic appraisal of all relevant information.
Intuitive: guided by what ‘feels right’
Dependent: consults other people and follows their advice
Avoidant: leaves things to the last minute
Spontaneous: makes decisions on the spur of the moment.

Clients may come to counselling when their usual style of decision-making is no longer
effective. For example, a rational decision-making style may be effective when making a
major financial decision, but not much help when a client is faced with interpersonal
difficulties (McLeod & McLeod, 2011).

Having an awareness of a client’s decision making style can help facilitate the counselling
process. Additionally, having this understanding can help prevent issues. For example,
problems may also arise when clients who predominantly utilise a dependent style of
decision-making expect a counsellor to advise and make decisions for them. Counsellors
who unwittingly collude with clients in this way deny their clients the opportunity to learn
how to make decisions for themselves. It is therefore important to be able to teach clients
a structured, flexible problem-solving/decision-making process which utilises both rational
and intuitive dimensions, thereby enabling clients to make effective, well-thought out
decisions independently in the future.

Self-Reflection
What decision-making style do you tend to use? Try to think of a decision that you have
made in the past that utilised a specific style of decision-making. Thinking about it now,
was it the most effective style to use?

Decisions are not made in a vacuum. There will be many factors that need to be considered
in order to make a well-informed decision. Effective decision-making/problem-solving
matches the demands of a particular problem with an appropriate response taking into
account various external factors (i.e., environment, support, cultural context) and internal

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factors (i.e., client motivation, resources, skills) present at the time. Therefore, what works
for one client may not work for another due to differing external and internal factors – even
though they may present with similar issues. Similarly, a client who has used an effective
decision-making process in the past may find it is no longer appropriate at a later date due
to changes in either internal or external factors. As such, it is important for clients to go
through a structured decision-making process that takes into account individual
circumstances rather than assuming a solution that worked for one client with a similar
issue will work for all clients. It is the counsellor’s role to facilitate this process rather than
telling the client what to do.

The three main counsellor tasks involved in helping a client through a structured problem-
solving/decision-making process are:
Helping clients to identify what it is they would like to achieve from counselling (i.e.,
clarifying their goals and requirements of counselling).
Helping clients to explore various options for achieving the outcome or goal they
have identified as most important to them.
Supporting clients as they decide which option is most appropriate by examining
the advantages and disadvantages of the various identified options.

If a counsellor does not have a framework from which to work, it can be easy to get lost
while attempting to guide the client through this process. This section of the Study Guide
will explore a specific problem solving/decision making model that is commonly used by
counsellors to guide clients through a structured decision-making process.

The Seven Step Problem-Solving Approach

One commonly used decision-making/problem solving model is the seven step problem-
solving approach. The seven steps are:
Clarify and define the problem
Establishing realistic goals
Generate multiple solutions
Evaluate and compare solutions
Decide on a feasible, appropriate solution (and alternatives)
Implement the solution
Evaluate the outcome

The remainder of this section of the Study Guide will explore these steps in detail. While
you are reading about this model, keep in mind that the communication skills and strategies
you learned about in the previous Study Guides are used throughout these steps in order
to facilitate the problem-solving process. For example, you might use questioning
techniques to help clients explore their aims and requirements or summarising and
checking-in techniques to ensure you and client are working towards the same goals.

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Self-Reflection
As you read through the remainder of this section of the Study Guide, reflect upon which
counselling communication skills you think would be most important at each stage of the
problem-solving process.

1. Clarify and Define the Problem

The counsellor’s task in this first step is to facilitate a process of clarification and definition
of the client’s problem area. This forms the ‘Initiating the session’ and ‘Gathering data’
stages of the counselling process where the counselling tasks centre around building
client-counsellor rapport and identifying client concerns and needs. You have learned
about these stages in previous Study Guides so we will not be discussing this first step in
detail here. Essentially, this step involves working with the client to determine what
assistance they require/why they have come to counselling (e.g., what their issue or
problem is).

2. Establishing Realistic Goals

Goals provide direction to the counselling process. Think about the counselling process as
a road. If a client embarks on this road without a specific destination or route in mind, he
or she is likely to end up wandering aimlessly. Counselling is then ineffective and unhelpful
for the client. Setting goals helps both the counsellor and client to move in a focused
direction according to a specific route. In this way, goal setting increases the continuity of
sessions, gives some structure to the counselling process, and enables the client and
counsellor to assess progress. Often goal setting will be the first time that a client begins
to take specific action to overcome a problem or issue and taking action alone may help
them feel a sense of accomplishment (Hackney & Cormier, 2013). It is important that the
goal setting process is facilitated and not directed by the counsellor and that any goals
that emerge from the goal setting process are owned by the client.

Clients tend to progress more rapidly when they have been involved in the goal-setting
process and have a clear understanding of how achievement of those goals would help
them with the issue they have identified as problematic. When clients understand and
commit to outcomes in counselling, they become co-participants in that process of growth
and change.
(Hackney & Cormier, 2013, p. 102)

Reading A: Goal-Setting in Counselling

Reading A explores the goal-setting processes in counselling. You will read about the
functions and parameters of counselling goals, as well as a range of counsellor skills that
are often used to assist goal-setting in clients.

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Hackney and Cormier (2013) describe the following further benefits of setting goals in
counselling:
Encourages clients to assume responsibility and ownership over the counselling
process.
Clarification – stating goals helps clients focus on what they consider the most
important issue and make decisions and choices that represent their most
significant values and priorities.
Motivational effect – having working goals can support and sustain client motivation
and persistence as they offer a tangible objectives that are attainable.
Monitoring progress – both clients and counsellors are able to evaluate whether the
counselling process has been successful as there is an agreed outcome or end
point.
Client goals help the counsellor select appropriate strategies or interventions that
may help the client achieve specific goals or desired outcomes.
Educational function – clients learn how to structure their lives and also learn that
changes in behaviour and thinking may help them achieve their aims.

The goal setting process begins with the counsellor helping the client to translate non-
specific, vague concerns into specific concerns and then further into specific goal
statements as depicted below:

The first step is to encourage clients to identify aims, requirements, and ideas for the
counselling process (i.e., what it is that they want to achieve). This involves encouraging the
client to come to an understanding of their current situation, but to also consider how
exactly they would like things to be instead. The counsellor may ask questions such as ‘what
do you want or need?’, ‘how can your life be better?’ and ‘what do you want to happen?’
The counsellor and client can then work together to translate this preferred picture into
practical and realistic goals which fit the client’s current circumstances.

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There are various counsellor responses and techniques that can be used to encourage
clients to identify and explore aims, requirements, and ideas. We will discuss a few of these
now.

Visualisation encourages the client to imagine a future beyond his or her current problem
and opens up the possibility for change. Counsellors will often draw on visualisation when
asking clients particular questions that focuses on outcomes – helping the client see what
things might look like after changes have taken place. For example:

• What would this problem situation look like if you were managing it?
• What changes in your present lifestyle would make sense?
• What would you be doing differently with the people in your life?
• What patterns of behaviour would be in place that are not currently in place?
• What current patterns of behaviour would be eliminated?
• What would you have that you don’t have now?
(Adapted from Egan, 2014, pp. 297-298)

Visualisation can be used with almost any topic and often yields hopes and dreams that
the client may be shy about stating at first. It may also help clients prioritise the changes
they would like to make first (Hackney & Cormier, 2013).

Supportive challenging may be used to gently point out possible inconsistencies and
contradictions in what the person has said and invites clients to face issues they may not
recognise or may be avoiding. Challenging may help clients identify aims or needs that may
previously not have been recognised (Hackney & Cormier, 2013). For example:

“You say school isn’t very satisfying, but your grades are excellent.” (discrepancy between
stated conditions and behaviour)
“You indicated that you have resolved that conflict, but are you aware of the emotion in
your voice when you talk about it?” (discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal
messages).
(Hackney & Cormier, 2013, pp. 97-98)

Encouraging responses communicate the counsellor’s confidence in a client’s potential

for accomplishing objectives and may help the client identify alternatives that may be
available. For example:

Client: “I can’t imagine how I could ever feel positive about myself.”
Counsellor: “I think if you had a plan or structure for facing this problem, you could make
some real headway toward liking yourself.”
(From Hackney & Cormier, 2013, pp. 97-98)

Encouraging responses should be used with caution as, if they are misused, they may result

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in direct advice giving or negate the client’s concerns.

One effective way of helping clients to identify desired outcomes is to ask if there are any
individuals who they see as embodying the changes they are looking to make (i.e., ‘who
would you like to be like’). Using models in this way can help clients identify what outcome
they are looking for in a more specific, focused way (Egan, 2014). For example, a couple
may describe another couple who they feel have an ‘ideal’ relationship. The counsellor and
client then identify those qualities which they might like to introduce into their own
relationship.

Example
Anna: Mike and Carol never seem to argue about money.
Arnold: That’s true since you mention it – they seem to be on the same page when it
comes to finances.
Counsellor: So that seems to be something that you both think is important in a
relationship – agreeing about finances?
Anna and Arnold nod.
Anna: Well actually Carol told me once that they sit down once a month and go
through the bills together and make financial decisions then. Maybe we could try that
too?
Example (Cont’d)
Counsellor: What are Mike and Carol doing do you think that helps them ‘be on the same
page’?
Anna: Well actually Carol told me once that they sit down once a month and go through
the bills together and make financial decisions then. Maybe we could try that too?

Another technique for identifying desirable outcomes is to encourage clients to think about
times in their life when they may have exhibited the thoughts, emotions, or behaviour they
are aspiring towards (McLeod & McLeod, 2011). For example, a client who is unhappy and
struggling in his job may remember a time in the past when he was enjoying his job. The
counsellor and client can then work together to identify what was happening or was
different then and work towards recreating or emulating those qualities in order to improve
things.

The anticipated result of engaging clients in this type of counselling conversation is that
they will be able to identify different ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving that might help
to change their current problematic situation or to learn how to live more effectively with
situations that cannot be changed (e.g., chronic illness) (Ivey, Ivey & Zalaquett, 2014).

Ivey, Ivey and Zalaquett (2014) emphasise the importance of the process of identifying
aims and requirements being ‘mutual’ (i.e., that both counsellor and client are working
towards the same outcome). If the outcome is not clarified and agreed, the client and
counsellor may have different ideas about what is to be achieved. For example, a client may
just want to talk through options for a new job. If this is not explicitly stated or clarified, the

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counsellor may attempt to embark on extensive vocational testing and suggest a new
career.

Goal Setting
Once the client and counsellor have a clear idea of what the outcome the client is seeking
to achieve, the next step is to identify a number of practical goals or actions that will help
the client achieve this outcome. A goal is something the client will work to accomplish. It
can be described as a proposed achievement or accomplishment towards which efforts
are directed. Long term goals are designed to be accomplished over a long period of time
(i.e., 6 months, over year, or over a lifetime) while short term goals are designed to be
accomplished over a short period of time (e.g., a week, two weeks, or a month or two).

Reading B - The Power of Goal Setting

It is important to help clients set goals that are effective and relevant. Reading B explores
a range of practical considerations and skills relating to helping clients to set goals that
are realistic, prudent, sustainable, flexible and likely to make a difference.

Initially, goals developed tend to be quite broad – often involving important areas of
functioning (e.g., family, work, social relationships, financial concerns, health, etc.). Broad
goals are derived from the client’s presenting problem. For example, if a client presents
with difficulties related to weight management, his or her broad goals may involve changes
to eating and exercise behaviours. The client and counsellor can then work together to
develop more specific goals.

Goals will vary according to the client’s issues, circumstances, and preferences. For
example, a client who is struggling with work-related stress may set goals related to
reducing their levels of stress by implementing lifestyle changes. Counsellors should
encourage clients to identify a number of outcome goals before discussing what would be
required to achieve them and how this might fit in with a client’s current circumstances.

Setting Realistic Goals

Helping clients set realistic goals is one of the most important counsellor tasks of the
helping process. A goal is realistic if the client has either existing resources, or the potential
to develop the resources needed, to accomplish it.

Nothing breeds success like success. Conversely, nothing causes feelings of despair like
perpetual failure. A primary purpose of goal setting is to increase the motivation level of
the individual. But goal setting can have precisely the opposite effect if it produces a
yardstick that constantly makes the individual feel inadequate.
(Locke and Latham, 1984, p. 39, as cited in Egan, 2014, p. 314)

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Case Study
Lisa’s company is restructuring and there are plans to downsize her department. She
thinks her only option is to leave and become a consultant. When the counsellor and
Lisa discuss what would be involved in setting herself up as a consultant, it becomes
clear that this goal is unrealistic. Lisa does not have the industry experience, network
connections, or financial resources to become a consultant at this stage. She does,
however, have a background in graphic design which she has not been able to utilise
effectively in her current position. She also knows that the design department of her
company is growing and positions have been advertised internally. Lisa decides to apply
for a supervisor position on the graphic design team instead of leaving.

In this example, the counsellor worked with the client to modify goals based on both client
resources/strengths and external circumstances to maximise the client’s chance of
success. You can often identify client strengths and resources in the ‘Gathering data’ stage
of the counselling interview or they may become evident as you begin to identify broad
goals.

Clients may also present in counselling with ideal goals that are not in their control and
require other people to change the way they act. For example, parents wanting the
counsellor to ‘fix’ their children or clients wanting the counsellor’s help change their
partners’ behaviour. If clients’ goals relate to others instead of themselves, the counsellor
may need to help modify a goal so that it can be achieved by client action rather than be
dependent upon the actions of others.

It is important that the counsellor supports the client in identifying goals that match a
client’s resources and which are in the client’s control. In addition to this, as Egan (2014)
proposes, goal setting is more likely to be helpful and effective if goals have the following
characteristics:
Stated as outcomes rather than activities
Specific enough to be verifiable and to drive action
Substantive and challenging
Both venturesome and prudent
Realistic in regard to resources needed to accomplish them
Flexible
Congruent with the client’s values
Set for a reasonable time frame

Many counsellors use the ‘SMART’ model of goal setting to help ensure that the client sets
helpful goals. According to the SMART model, goals should be:

S = Specific. Outcome goals stated explicitly and precisely mean that both you and
your client have a good, mutual understanding of what is to be accomplished. For

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example, a goal to ‘develop more self-esteem’ is too vague and needs to be stated
more specifically (e.g., ‘Engage in activities that promote self-confidence’ or ‘learn
to communicate more assertively’).
M = Measurable. Outcome goals that are visible or observable are more useful
because it is easier to determine when they have been achieved. For example,
reducing the frequency of critical remarks made to a partner.
A = Achievable. It is important that both client and counsellor feel that the stated
goals are possible to accomplish. You should avoid setting the client up to fail by
identifying situations to attempt a new behaviour that offer a realistic chance of
success. For example, expecting a client who is suffering from social anxiety to give
a presentation as an initial goal is unrealistic. A more realistic goal may be to invite
a friend for coffee.
R = Relevant. Goals should be directly related to what the client wants to achieve.
For example, setting a goal addressing weight issues for a client who has sought out
counselling to help resolve interpersonal conflict with her husband is unlikely to be
successful.
T = Timed. You should state a timeframe within which the goal is expected to be
achieved.

Poorly constructed SMART goals

goals

Reduce anxiety Manage stressful work situations by implementing

assertive communication techniques with manager next
week.

Increase social Visit or telephone a friend at least once next week.

interaction

Get a job Update CV and submit applications for at least two jobs
in the next two weeks.

Self-Reflection
What about goals that are not behaviours? Think about how you would work with a client
whose goals were existential or spiritual (e.g., a need to experience life more fully and
meaningfully).

To help you better understand this process, let’s take a look at a case study in which a
counsellor works with a client to establish a SMART goal.

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Case Study - Allan

Allan is 68 years old. His wife died five years ago and although he has come to
terms with her death, he feels very lonely as his wife had organised all their social
activities. Things have got progressively worse since Allan retired from his job as
an electrician two years ago, to the point where he now rarely leaves the house
except to visit his daughter once a week for a family meal and help out occasionally
with babysitting. His daughter is becoming increasingly concerned about him as
he appears to quite lonely and isolated and has urged him to seek counselling.
A transcript of a section of Allan’s counselling session is included below.
Counsellor: So things began to get difficult when June died Summarising
although you were still meeting up with your mates client
from work most evenings which was enough. Since concerns
you retired though you’ve been finding it really
quite lonely and you’re not quite sure how to go
about changing things. Have I got it right?
Allan: Yes that pretty much sums it up. I’ve never been Broad goal
much one for chit chat but the days seem pretty identified
long at the moment. It would be nice to be getting
out a bit more.
Allan has identified a broad outcome aim of ‘getting out more.’
Counsellor: So when you say you’d like to get out a bit more, Clarifying
do you mean by yourself or with other people.
Allan: Well I’m alone quite a lot at home so I guess other
people really.
The counsellor has noticed that Allan tends to speak in abstract,
general terms. He thinks it might be helpful to use models to
encourage Allan to start thinking about how he would like things
to be different in a more specific, focused way.
Counsellor: You mentioned earlier that you are not alone in this Models
situation – that you know other men who have lost
their wives, who are divorced or retired. Who can
you think of that seems to be handling this type of
adjustment pretty well?

Alan: Hmm that’s a tricky one. Let me think for a bit.

Actually, Bob across the road seems to be in and
out a fair bit.
Counsellor: So Bob gets out a fair bit. Any ideas of what he
does with his time?
Allan: Not sure really but he does seem to have a lot of
mates – coming round to watch the footie and all.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Case Study - Allan (Cont’d)

Counsellor: So if we wanted to come up with some sort of goal Identify

for you, so you could do things more like Bob, what broad goal
would it be?

Allan: I don’t know maybe get out a bit more...meet up

with a couple of blokes.

Counsellor: So perhaps a goal we could work towards might be SMART goal

to meet up with other blokes say once or twice a
week?

Allan: Yeah actually… that would be good.

A Note on Referral
If, during this process, the counsellor identifies requirements or needs that cannot be met
within the constraints of their counselling organisation, they will need to follow the referral
process set out by the organisation. For example, a client with substance abuse issues may
verbalise a goal of ‘giving up drinking’ but may require medical detoxification before they
can address addiction issues. In this case, the counsellor would refer the client to an
appropriate facility. Similarly, if a client’s goal requires the significant input of another party
or is contingent on another party changing what they do, other forms of counselling may
be more appropriate, (e.g., marriage or couples counselling). Alternatively, if a client’s goal
is pain management, they may require referral to a specialised pain management service.
The same goes for client’s who present with mental health issues that require specialised
psychological or psychiatric input. For example, a client who has experienced severe
trauma and has what you suspect may be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) should
be referred to an experienced trauma specialist or psychologist.

Always remember, if a client expresses aims or requirements that are unlikely to be met in
a counselling context, you should follow the referral procedures set out by your
organisation. Alternative services that you may need to refer clients to include, but are not
limited to, drug and alcohol services, specialists in other compulsive behaviours (e.g.,
gambling, eating disorders or sex addiction), psychologists, psychiatrists, medical
specialists, financial counsellors, and domestic violence services.

3. Generate Multiple Solutions

Once the client has decided upon realistic goals, it is important to help them to identify
how each of these goals might be achieved. One commonly used technique at this stage
is to brainstorm. Brainstorming involves encouraging the client to generate a range of
potential solutions related to the outcome goal that has been identified in the previous
step. Sometimes the client will be unsure of how to go about achieving outcome goals so
the counsellor may suggest strategies and potential courses or action; however, it is

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

important that counsellor suggestions be treated only as suggestions and not imposed
upon the client. It may be helpful to write down all of the ideas the clients comes up with
on a whiteboard or at least make a note of them on paper.

Egan (2014) describes certain rules that can help make the brainstorming technique more
effective. These include:
Delay evaluation. Suspend your own judgement and help the client to suspend
theirs. It is important to remain neutral throughout the brainstorming process.
Premature evaluation and criticism of ideas reduces creativity and may result in
clients sticking to conservative ideas. Agree with your client to write down every
idea that he or she might come up with regardless of feasibility and evaluate them
at the end of the brainstorming process.
Encourage multiple options. Produce as many ideas as possible. The availability of
a number of potential solutions will increase the chances of eventually identifying a
particularly effective one and the first idea that comes to mind many not always be
the best one. Help your client to keep coming up with ideas especially if they end
the process prematurely as the client appears to do in the example below.

Client: “Maybe that’s enough. We can start putting it all together.”

Counsellor: “It doesn’t sound like you were running out of ideas.”
Client: “I’m not. It’s actually fun. It’s almost liberating.”
Counsellor: “Well let’s keep on having fun for a while.”
(From Egan, 2014, p. 295)

Open questions like “what else can you think of?” are more effective than closed
questions such as ‘can you think of anything else?’ as this may result in the client
saying no and ending the brainstorming process prematurely.
Encourage creativity. Get rid of normal constraints to thinking. It is generally easier
to cut down on suggested options rather than expand them. Give clients
‘permission’ to really explore all ideas by encouraging them to let themselves go and
explore ‘wild’ possibilities. You might say to your client things like “try and think
freely” or “throw caution to the wind.” If the client is having difficulty with the
brainstorming process, Nezu, Nezu and D’Zurilla (2013) suggest encouraging them
to think about how other people might respond to the problem or deliberately
inventing a solution that is ridiculous to free up their thinking.

4. Evaluate and Compare Solutions

Once you and your client have identified a number of potential courses of action that may
help achieve the goal or client need, the next step is to explore factors that might influence
the client’s preference for and ability to achieve the various options. Basically, this means
asking clients to start evaluating their options by thinking about their strengths (i.e., those
factors which will work in their favour when working towards achieving a certain goal) and
those factors which might make things more challenging. These may be external or internal
and should be considered before making a choice or decision on a specific course of

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

action. Factors which might influence the likelihood that the client will be able to implement
the solution include:
Social support. Family and social support may help a client reach his or her goal.
For example, clients who enlist the support of friends in making lifestyle changes
such as losing weight are often more successful (Egan, 2014).
Skills, knowledge, and client strengths. Certain courses of actions may require
significant acquisition in skills or resources. This should not necessarily deter a
client from choosing a specific course of action but should be factored into the
decision along with current client weaknesses and strengths.
Cultural context. It is important to have an understanding of a client’s worldview
and cultural context as these may impact on their ability or preference for courses
of action.
Self-efficacy. A client’s belief in his or her ability to succeed in specific situations
or accomplish a task can play a major role in how they approach goals, tasks, and
challenges. This belief in ability to success is referred to as self-efficacy. Clients are
more likely to carry out actions and make changes when they believe they can (i.e.,
that they have the necessary resources available such as the ability, knowledge, and
skills). Self-efficacy can be strengthened by making sure clients have the necessary
skills and strengths to carry out the identified solutions or including steps to
develop these into the proposed action plan.
Values. Decisions are guided by client values. Counsellors may challenge clients to
re-examine values that may not be helpful however they should not encourage
clients to set goals or solutions that may conflict with fundamental values or sense
of self (Egan, 2014).
Individual differences. Certain options may be more appealing to clients depending
on individual circumstances and personality factors. For example, a busy mother of
three who is considering re-entering the workforce may not be able to commit to
full time study even though this is one of the options that emerged during
brainstorming. Similarly, an elderly woman who dislikes sports is unlikely to choose
engaging in bowls as a viable option to increase social interaction.

When helping a client to evaluate and compare solutions you might ask questions such as
the following:
“What are your strengths? In what ways do you think your strengths tie in with each
option?”
“Do you think you can you carry it out?”
“Does this option fit in with your values?”
“You’re saying you generally like to be independent in your work. How does option
B fit in with that preference? How about option C?”

As well as considering client strengths and preferences, it is important to ensure that clients
have a clear understanding of what each option might involve in order to make an informed
choice and commit to making the necessary changes. For this reason, you should discuss
and clarify the implications of all the options that you and the client have brainstormed.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Clients should be encouraged to look beyond the immediate consequences of a decision

and consider the long term consequences as well. You should encourage clients to explore
the following areas when considering the implications and consequences of various
courses of action/options:
Personal consequences Social consequences

• Effects on emotional well-being • Effects on the personal and/or

social well-being of significant
• Time and effort expended
others
• Effects on physical well-being
• Effects on the rights of others
• Effects on psychological well-
• Effects on significant interpersonal
being
relationships
• Effects on economic well-being
• Effects on personal and/or social
• Self-enhancement performance evaluations (e.g.
(achievements; knowledge) reputation, status, prestige)
• Effects on other personal goals,
values and commitments

(Adapted from Mynors-Wallis,

2005)

You can facilitate this process with clients by using the visualisation techniques discussed
earlier. For example, “Imagine you have chosen option A. What changes would you have to
make? How are those changes impacting on your day to day life? Can you see those
changes being maintained over a longer period?” By doing this, you can check and explore
the client’s understanding of what is likely to be involved in each possible course of action.

Some additional examples of questions that you might ask include:

“What do you think would happen if you choose this one?”
“What outcomes would be likely if you decided to do this?”
“How would you feel if you decided to go with option A?”
“How would choosing Option B impact on your family?” Your finances?”
“What are the time and effort implications of choosing Option C?”

Evaluating Options
There will always be positive and negative consequences (i.e., costs or benefits) for each
option. When the costs outweigh the benefits, the client is unlikely to be motivated
sufficiently to change or follow through on a decision. Egan (2014) points out that client
success is more likely if you help clients set up goals that are worth more than they cost.
Some goals that could be accomplished carry too high a cost in relation to the payoff.
Solutions should be ‘cost-effective’ in the sense that they are worth the work, time, and
emotional energy invested in them. Effective solutions are those that not only solve the
problems but also minimise the negative outcomes for the client and others in their life.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Your job as a counsellor is to ensure that the actions that clients eventually decide on are
the worth the potential costs to them by exploring these in a structured way. Examples of
questions you may ask to facilitate this process include:
“What would be the benefits if you accomplished this action?”
“What might be some of the costs to you?”
You should use open questions such as “what are the advantages and
disadvantages of…?” which implies that there are always pro’s and con’s.

It is often helpful to write these up on a whiteboard or at least on a piece of paper so that

the client can clearly visualise the costs versus benefits and be able to weigh these up
effectively.

Note: Throughout the problem-solving process it is important that the client is directing
and evaluating the potential solutions. However, as Nezu, Nezu and D’Zurilla (2013) point
out, the counsellor can give information or feedback when the client is overlooking a
serious potential negative consequence, either for themselves or others.

Self-Reflection
People often make up a list of pros and cons when deciding between options. Go back to
when you were deciding whether or not to do this Diploma of Counselling. Did you weigh
up the pros and cons in this way? What type of benefits or costs were most significant for
this particular decision?

To help you better understand this process we will return to the Case Study of Allan from
earlier in this section of the Study Guide to see how the counsellor works with Allan to
brainstorm options and evaluate solutions.

Case Study - Allan (Cont’d)

Allan: Problem is though I don’t reckon I have much to Potential

say for myself at the moment. barrier

Counsellor: You say you don’t have much to say for yourself, Encouragers
but you have a whole lifetime of experience as a
sparkie. I’m wondering if we would figure out a way Identify client
of using that? strengths

Allan: That sounds better. I’m not good at all that chit Client
chat stuff… It would have to flexible though. I help preference
out with Katrina sometimes when she needs a
Potential
hand.
barrier

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Case Study - Allan (Cont’d)

Counsellor: Well why don’t we come up with a list of possible Brainstorming

things that you can do to get out a bit more. Don’t potential
try to think it through for now, just list ideas as solutions
they come to you – things that you think you
might enjoy.
Allan and the counsellor brainstorm possible courses of action Summarising
that would allow Allan to achieve his outcome of an improved
social life. The counsellor summarises these on a whiteboard.
Now that Allan has identified a few options and explored how Explore
each might support his goal of improving his social life, he and preferences
the counsellor go through them and evaluate each one – and ability to
exploring preferences, achievability, pros and cons. achieve

Pros Cons

a) Contact old work Familiar. Will be talking Probably involve lots of

mates and meet up about something I know drinking. Might feel left
in pub about. out.
b) Volunteering Could do something Would feel bad letting
useful and have a chat at them down if it wasn’t
the same time. for me.

c) Join local men’s Meet up with blokes and Nearest one is quite far
shed* build stuff away and would require
quite a lot of travelling.

d) Get a part-time job Would be good to feel

Extra income might
useful again and use my
affect my pension.
brain
Might mean I can’t help
Katrina as often. Too
tiring?

e) Move to a Lots of opportunities for Expensive to move.

retirement village. casual socialising without Likes own space.
too much effort.

* Men’s sheds are local associations that offer opportunities for men to meet up for a chat
and provides tools for men to work on their own or community projects. See
[Link] for more information.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

5. Decide on a Feasible, Appropriate Solution

Once the pros and cons have been considered and the limitations or potential barriers
explored, the client needs to select a preferred solution or solutions. Encouraging the client
to rank each potential course of action will help them decide on the most appropriate one.
At the end of the process it is important that the client makes a firm decision on a particular
course of action.

Once this is done the counsellor should confirm that the client understands exactly how
they will go about implementing this course of action as well as help the client develop
contingency plans for each step (i.e., develop alternatives that could be used if necessary).
Contingency plans are important as the future is uncertain and changes that are outside
of a client’s control may occur. Contingency plans answer the question “What will I do if the
plan of action I choose is not working”. The counsellor might ask “If that doesn’t work, then
what will you do?’’

The final step is to document the client’s decision. As you may remember, client goals and
agreed actions should be documented in the counselling plan. In some cases the selected
course of action may involve the counsellor or organisation providing additional services
or referring the client for additional support. In these cases counsellors must also ensure
that they complete case planning and referral documentation in line with their
organisational requirements.

To help you better understand this process let’s return to the case study of Allan.

Case Study - Allan (Cont’d)

The counsellor encourages Allan to rate his preferences based Rate options
on the appropriateness of each option and the possible
advantages and disadvantages of each. Allan rates his options
as:
1. Joining the local men’s shed
2. Volunteering
3. Part time work

Allan didn’t previously know about Men’s sheds and although Explore
his nearest one is quite far away; he likes the idea of getting preferences
stuck into a project and being able to have a cup of tea if and and ability to
when he feels like it. achieve

As he is also interested in volunteering, Allan decides he will Consider

explore that as an alternative option if, for some reason, the alternatives
Men’s shed doesn’t work out.

Allan and the counsellor then work out a plan. Allan decides
he will phone his local Men’s shed in the next week and get
some more details with the aim of trying out a session the
following week.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Case Study - Allan (Cont’d)

The counsellor documents Allan’s decision in his case notes and they
agree a follow up session to see how things are going.

6. Implement the Solution

Generally, the counsellor will offer on-going support as the client implements the solution
that has been identified. You will learn more about this stage of counselling as you progress
through your Diploma. At this stage, it is enough to understand that you will be supporting
your client as they work to enact the changes stated in the agreed counselling goals.

7. Evaluate the Outcome

Evaluating the effectiveness of counselling is an integral part of the counselling process.
Again, you will learn more about this as you progress through your Diploma. For now, it is
simply important for you to understand that the final step of the problem-solving process
is to assess whether the proposed solution has been effective.

Self-Reflection
Consider the last significant decision you had to make. Can you remember the process
that you went through to make that decision? Do you recall going through any (or all) of
the aforementioned steps? Are there any other steps that you took that you think would
be useful when working through decision-making with clients?

Now that you have learned about the seven steps of the problem-solving model, let’s have
a look at another worked example.

Annie is a 45-year-old nurse. She finds her work difficult and sometimes emotional and is
on sick leave because she can’t cope. She is afraid to make mistakes and she can’t talk
to her superior about this. She also hates all the paperwork that comes with her job of
coordinating a group of nurses.

Annie’s goals were:

1. Identify ways of reducing stress at work
2. Find a way to increase confidence in work
3. Sort out way of making paperwork less of a burden
Annie gave Goal 1 (reducing stress) priority and did not follow through with Goal 2
(increasing confidence) and Goal 3 (sorting out paperwork) because she did not feel they
were as relevant at this stage.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Brainstorming solutions for Goal 1 – identify ways of reducing stress at work.

Pros Cons

a) Find out if there are I might even enjoy a Lack of time; difficult to find.
courses which might help course
increase skills

b) Discuss alternative ways Might come up with I only have one colleague
of doing work with a new ideas. and her work is quite
colleague. different.

c) Talk with job supervisor She might have a good Difficult – I have difficulty
about stress. suggestion. communicating with her; she
might make a fool out of me.

d) Start looking for another Saves a lot of time if I Might be difficult finding it;
job. can find it. feels like giving in too quickly.

Annie’s choice of solution was a combination of c) and d).

Plan
Make an appointment with job supervisor tomorrow for some time this or next week. If she
is not available tomorrow, find out when she will be and make sure to make the
appointment this week.
Start looking on the internet and in newspaper today for some ideas about what I might
like to do. Call job centre tomorrow. Make a list of available jobs.

Outcome
Annie arranged a meeting with the job supervisor and discussed the problem. This went
better than expected. Together they made a plan to look at the availability of other jobs in
the hospital for which she was qualified. It turns there were a few options. She applied for
them and after three months started in another job (where she still enjoys working a year
later).

(Adapted from Mynors-Wallis, 2005, pp. 181-182)

Summary
This section of the Study Guide introduced you to a structured decision-making / problem-
solving model that you can use with clients to help them identify broad outcomes for
counselling and then translate these into realistic, achievable goals. In the next section of
this Study Guide you will learn about alternative models that may be used to support client
decision-making.

References
Egan, G. (2014). The skilled helper. A problem-management and opportunity-development
approach to helping. (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.

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 Section 1: Key Considerations in Establishing Respectful Relationships

Hackney, H. L. & Cormier, S. (2013). The Professional Counselor: A process guide to

helping. (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Ivey, A.E., Ivey, M.B., & Zalaquett, C.P. (2014) Intentional interviewing and counseling:
facilitating client development in a multicultural society. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Nezu, A. M, Nezu, M., & D’Zurilla, T. (2013). Problem-Solving Therapy: A Treatment Manual.
New York, NY: Spring Publishing Company.

McLeod, J. & McLeod, J. (2011). Counselling skills: A practical guide for counsellors and
helping professionals. (2nd ed.). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.

Mynors-Wallis, L. (2005). Problem-solving treatment for anxiety and depression: A

practical guide. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

29
SECTION 2

Additional Decision-Making
Models

In this section you will learn to:

• Use alternative models of decision making including the Z model, the
decisional balance tool and the four option approach.

Supplementary materials relevant to this section:

• Reading C: Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills and Strategies

30
 Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models

The previous section of this Study Guide outlined the seven step problem solving model
that counsellors often use to help clients engage in a structured decision-making process.
While this is an excellent model (and one that is applicable to almost any decision or
problem) there are a variety of decision-making/problem-solving models available and
alternative models may be more useful depending on client preference, style of decision-
making, and the client’s issue.

In this section of the Study Guide you will learn about three alternative models that may be
used to support client decision-making – the Z model, the decisional balance tool, and the
four option model.

The Z model
This model is based on the idea that there are a number of different ways to process
information and make decisions in different ways. It is based on the personality styles
determined from a particular personality inventory – the Myers Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI). The MBTI offers insights into how people perceive the world and make decisions,
and defines four principle psychological functions: sensing (S), intuition (N), thinking (T)
and feeling (F).

Although most people have a preferred mode of psychological functioning (for example,
using a thinking (T) (i.e., rational) model of decision-making), considering all four
dimensions should result in a more holistic, well-informed decision. This model of decision-
making may be useful to use with clients who tend to over-use or under-use a particular
mode of psychological functioning and therefore fail to consider fully all dimensions of a
problem and solution.

The Z model

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 Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models

The Z decision-making model connects sensing(S) to intuition (N), and then thinking (T) to
feeling (F), in four steps:
You begin by encouraging the client to investigate and gather information (S).
You then move to intuition, where you brainstorm ideas together based on these
facts (N).
Once you have a number of options, you facilitate decision-making, using the
thinking function. This allows your client to examine the alternatives in an objective
way, to determine which might be the best choice (T).
Before the final decision is made, you help your client to tap into the feeling function,
and consider whether the decision fits in with the client’s values and the impact of
each of the possible options (F).

The following questions show how the Z model may be applied to a career decision-making
process.

1. Gathering Information (Sensing):

• What are the basic functions of this career path?
• Do you possess the necessary skills?
• What are common work environments associated with the position?
• Are there other resources needed to gather additional information?
2. Consider possibilities (Intuition):
• What are potential promotional opportunities?
• Will you have the freedom to implement some of your own ideas?
• Will you be able to tailor the work within this field to align with your interests?
• Is the future of the career path adaptable to accommodate changes over time?
• What is your gut feeling or hunch about this possibility?
3. Use analytical reasoning to weigh your options (Thinking):
• What are the advantages of this option?
• What are the disadvantages of this option?
• Is this a realistic direction for you financially, socially, and geographically?
4. Reflect based on your values (Feeling):
• How does this decision impact others?
• Does this decision disrupt harmony in your relationship network?
• How does this choice align with your values?
• How do you feel about this choice?
(Adapted from Career Services, Seattle University, 2012)

Let’s have a look at how this might work in practice.

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 Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models

Case Study
Alice works as a student counsellor in a university counselling centre. Rhian comes
in, confused and overwhelmed, for help related to her university course. She is
currently studying Literature as this is ‘what her gut told her to do’ and was the first
thing that came to mind as she had done well in English at school. However she
hates her course and is considering changing her major. She is hoping Alice will
be able to help her decide what to do. Alice guides Rhian through the following
steps based on the Z model of decision-making.
Step 1: Sensing (S). This involves gathering information based on facts. Consider
the details and facts associated with each major choice so that you have all the
information you need.
Alice, as a student counsellor, has easy access to information such as
prerequisites, required courses and talks through what Rhian would need to do if
she wanted to switch majors and the options that might be available to her.
Step 2: Intuition (N). Consider the possibilities and potential outcomes.
Now that Rhian knows what would be involved in switching majors, Alice and Rhian
explore various major options and career possibilities. They identify three options
that appeal to Rhian.
1. Psychology major.
2. Economics major.
3. Journalism major.
Step 3: Thinking (T). Use analytical reasoning to critically evaluate the options
including the costs and benefits of choosing various options.
Alice and Rhian work through all of the options in turn, weighing up the benefits
and costs (pros and cons) of each. This is the process that Rhian did not carry out
when choosing her major, having purely utilised the feeling (F) dimension of
psychological functioning.

Options Pros Cons

Psychology major Wide range of career Statistics course.

opportunities. Will have to complete
Interesting. an extensive unpaid
internship.
Economics Major Well paid jobs. Not really interested in
Job security. business.

Journalism Be able to use writing Not many jobs available.

skills. Not very well paid.
Very competitive

Step 4: Feeling (F). Reflecting on a decision. After collecting information and

logically weighing up implications and consequences, the last step is considering
personal feelings and those of others in the potential decision, as well as which
decision aligns best with values and circumstances.
Rhian decides that money and financial security are not her main motivation at this
stage. She decides that Journalism would be a good option for her as she is
interested in current affairs and could utilise her well-developed writing skills. She
does however decide to take an accounting minor so that she has something to
fall back on.
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 Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models

Decisional Balance
The decisional balance tool was developed to help individuals to better understand their
motivation behind continuing or discontinuing a particular behaviour. It is based on
Motivational Interviewing, a client-centred counselling approach designed to elicit and
build on the client’s own motivations for change. Motivational Interviewing is used
extensively in the field of addiction, helping individuals make decision regarding behaviour
change, as well as in the field of health (where lifestyle changes are recommended).

Reading C – Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills and Strategies

Reading C further elaborates skills and strategies to facilitate decision-making in clients.
You will also see an example of motivational interviewing in action.

According to McLeod and McLeod (2011), Motivational Interviewing relies on four basic
principles:
Empathy. The counsellor seeks to view the issue from the frame of reference (or
point of view) of the client.
Developing discrepancy. The counsellor helps clients to explore the gap between
how they would like their life to be (the ideal) and their current behaviour (the
actual).
Acceptance or ‘rolling with resistance’. The counsellor does not try to pressure
the client to make a decision, but instead accepts that a reluctance to change is
natural, and invites exploration of the resistance.
Client autonomy. The counsellor respects the client as someone who has the
capacity to arrive at the right decision for him or her in the present circumstances.

It is important for counsellors not to manipulate or lead clients down what they consider to
be the ‘right’ decisional path. Like all client-centred counselling approaches, Motivational
Interviewing is grounded in facilitation rather than persuasion. The aim is for the client to
decide whatever is appropriate for him or her at that moment in time but for that choice to
be informed by an in-depth analysis of the costs and benefits of the decision to change or
not.

The aim of the decisional balance tool is to help clients explicitly see that:
They get some benefits from their risky behaviour/problem
There will be some costs if they decide to change their behaviour.

The counsellor can do a decisional balance exercise with clients by simply asking them
open questions related to costs and benefits of their risky/problem behaviour and what it
would take to change their behaviour. For example, asking “What are some of the good
things about smoking?” followed by, “Okay on the on the flipside, what are some of the
things you don’t like about smoking.” After the client discusses the benefits and costs
related to their behaviour, the counsellor can use a reflective, summary statement with the

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 Section 2: Additional Decision-Making Models

intent of having the client address their ambivalence about changing. For example:

“So on one hand, you enjoy the increased alertness you experience when smoking and
the social aspect of it. But you are also saying it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find
somewhere to smoke when you’re at work; also that it’s become very expensive. It seems
there are pros and cons to whatever you choose and that makes it tricky to decide
doesn’t it?”

This method aims to help clients articulate for themselves the reasons for concern and the
arguments for change. Talking with clients about the ‘good’ and ‘less good’ things they have
identified and noting these down visually can help them understand and acknowledge that
change has benefits and costs and may help them make a more informed, considered
decision.

To help you better understand this model, let’s look at an example.

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Case Study
Sally is a 40 year old mother of three whose medical tests indicate that she is at a
high risk of developing Type II diabetes in the next few years if she does not
change her diet. Both her doctor and husband are placing increasing pressure on
her to make some lifestyle changes and she is feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
As such, Sally has come to counselling.
Below is the worksheet that Sally and her counsellor develop together to evaluate
the costs and benefits of making a lifestyle change.

It is important to realise that although decision-making is generally considered a rational

process, considering emotional implications (which are often the most influential factor) is
critical in order to form a balanced decision. In the above example, Sally’s pros and cons
list includes both practical (‘will require extra time and effort to prepare meals’) and
emotional elements (‘will feel annoyed and cross with constant nagging’; ‘won’t risk failing’).
If a client has only identified practical, rational benefits and costs, you should encourage
them to consider emotional consequences as well as these may actually be the most
powerful facilitators or barriers to change. For example, inviting a client who is abusing
alcohol to “Imagine not drinking – how would you feel about yourself? How would your
family feel?” may introduce other costs and benefits otherwise overlooked (Ivey, Ivey &
Zalaquett, 2014).
Although the decisional balance tool is used extensively is substance abuse and health
contexts, the technique can be employed in any situation in which a client is struggling to

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make a decision. For example, the following extract is a transcript of a counselling session
focused on a mother who is struggling to decide whether to put her son in nursery.

Eleanor is a young woman who is a single parent with a two-year old son. She has had involvement
with social workers for many years around a range of issues. Her current dilemma is whether to
place her son (Stephen) in a nursery so she can restart her own career. Her mother strongly
believes that Eleanor should make use of the nursery place that is on offer, and will not listen to
any other point of view. On the other hand, Eleanor’s neighbour strongly believes that children can
be emotionally damaged by nursery education. As part of the process of making a decision on this
issue, Eleanor decides to speak to her social worker, Pete.

Eleanor: “I’m really desperate. I need to decide by next week

whether or not to take the place at the nursery, and I don’t
know what to do.

Pete: “It’s such a big decision for you to make. I get the sense Empathetic response that
that you’re feeling under a lot of pressure and that this stress reflects an understanding of the
isn’t helping you to get to the point that you are comfortable client’s situation, and is not trying
about what is best.” to persuade her what to do.

Eleanor: “Absolutely – I feel completely at the end of my rope.”

Pete: “From what you have said to me before about this, my Acknowledging discrepancy
understanding is that ideally you think that it would be good
for Stephen to mix more with other children, and good for you
to meet people in a job situation and have more money, but
that you are not sure whether he is ready for nursery yet.
Acknowledging client as ‘expert’
Is that the way it seems to you, or are there other aspects of
Reinforcing client autonomy
the situation that are important too?”

Eleanor: “Yes, that’s the main things.”

Pete: “That suggests that there are other aspects of it too…?” Affirming client autonomy

Eleanor: “Yes, maybe. I just don’t know if I could cope with him
being upset. You know, like leaving him there if he was crying
or having a tantrum.”

Pete: “Because that would upset you… and maybe also make
you worried that was being traumatised?

Eleanor: “Exactly.”

Pete: “Can I say how it seems to me? I’m wondering whether

there are two parts to this. At one level you know that nursery
is the right thing for you and for Stephen. But at another level
it’s scary to think about what will be involved at a practical
levels around things like ‘can I cope with him being upset’?

Eleanor: “You’re right: deep down I do know what I want.” Example of commitment talk

(Adapted from McLeod and McLeod, 2011, p. 227)

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In this example, Pete presents the pros – Eleanor will be able to engage in employment if
Stephen attends nursery which will mean being able to meet other adults and have more
money. However, he encourages Eleanor to identify issues that are making the decision
difficult – she is worried about Stephen being upset and not being able to cope with that.
By explicitly stating the benefits and costs in this way, Eleanor will be able to make a more
conscious decision about what is best for her and her son. The difference between this
decision-making process and those Eleanor has engaged in with her mother and neighbour
is that, in the counselling process, Eleanor has the space and freedom to identify costs and
benefits for herself. The social worker has not attempted to influence or one way or another.

Four Option Model

Another approach to decision-making comes from a counselling approach called
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which you will be learning more about later
your Diploma. One of the key principles of ACT is that people should act on values
important to them, be engaged fully in the moment (i.e., aware, attentive, open to, and
engaged in their experience) and practise acceptance of things that they cannot change.
The four option model uses these principles to offer choices in challenging situations and
is particularly useful when clients are stuck in a “Should I stay or should I go” type of
dilemma – often regarding a partner or job.

The four options of the model are:

Option One Leave the situation

Option Two Stay, and change what can be changed

Option Three Stay, and accept what cant' be changed

Stay, and rely on (unhelpful) emotional control

Option Four strategies

Option One: Leave the situation. It is not always possible to leave a problematic situation
however if there is a choice, you could ask clients to consider whether they think their
quality of life would be better if they left or if they stayed – invite them to imagine what their
life might be like in 10 years if they stayed and what it could look like if they left.

Option Two: Stay, and change what can be changed. If your client decides to stay in a
difficult situation, you should help them to explore solutions and ideas that may improve
things. These should be actions or solutions that the client has control over rather than

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those dependent on others changing. For example, a client may decide to stay in a difficult
work situation but work on assertiveness or communication skills to help him manage
conflict with his manager.

Option Three: stay, and accept what can’t be changed. If your client has chosen to stay,
and taken every action possible to improve the situation but it is still difficult, you should
encourage clients to try to remain fully engaged in the moment (and not rely on unhelpful
emotional control strategies), despite uncomfortable feelings. It is also important to
encourage clients to focus on living by the values they have identified as important. People
may be willing to put up with a lot if this means that they can still fulfil the overarching goals
that are important to them – the bigger picture.

Option Four: Stay, and rely on (unhelpful) coping strategies. All too often, people stay in
a problematic situation, but they don’t do everything possible to improve it, and nor do they
practice acceptance. This may lead to feelings such as anxiety, depression, frustration and
anger leading, in turn, to unhelpful coping strategies such as drugs, alcohol, food, self-harm
and suicidality. Invariably, these strategies create even more suffering in the long term,
however it is important to recognise that choosing this way of coping with a problematic
situation is a choice.

Let’s look at an example of this model in practice:

Case Study
Maria, a 44 year old mother of three, has been married to her husband, Rudi for 24
years. They have had their ups and downs as a married couple, however in the last
few years, Maria has been feeling increasingly lonely and unhappy in her marriage.
Rudi has a demanding job as a national sales manager and travels frequently, as well
as putting in long hours at the office when he is at home. Maria feels things have
deteriorated to the point where she and Rudi are ‘just room mates.’ She has tried to
address the issue with Rudi but he says he is happy with the way things are and
refuses to talk about it. Maria does not want to remain in a loveless marriage however
she is worried about the implications of divorce for both for her and her children.
Maria’s counsellor helps her explore her options using the four option model of
decision-making.
Option One: Leave the situation. Maria considers whether her overall quality of life
would be better if she left her marriage. She knows that she would struggle financially
and it would be difficult to re-enter the workforce after years of being at home. She
also considers the impact a divorce may have on the children.
Option Two: Stay, and change what can be changed. Although Maria has tried to
talking to Rudi, she and the counsellor discuss other options that might improve
Maria’s situation if she decided to stay in the marriage. These include developing
interests and friendships outside of the marriage which might decrease her feelings
of loneliness and unhappiness.

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Case Study (Cont’d)

Option Three: Stay and accept what can’t be changed. Maria might decide to stay in her
marriage as it is important to her that her children grow up with two parents. She might
decide to accept that this is how things are for now and to let go of the anger and
frustration she feels about Rudi’s behaviour, focusing on her long term goal of keeping
her family together.
Option Four: Stay and rely on (unhelpful) coping strategies. Of course, Maria could stay
and do what she has been doing up until now which involves feeling angry, depressed
and drinking a lot in the evening on her own.

The alternative models we have discussed in this section may be used for a range of
decision-making situations – it is up to you as the counsellor to decide which model might
be more appropriate for each client.

Summary
In this section of the Study Guide you learned about three alternative models that
counsellors may use to facilitate the decision-making/problem-solving process with
clients. In the next section of the Study Guide you will learn more about the obstacles and
challenges that you might encounter in the decision-making process and learn how to
ensure the decision-making process you in engage in with clients is ethical.

References
Career Services, Seattle University (2012). Decision-making and goal setting. Retrieved
from [Link]
services/files/services/advising/Decision-Making-and-Goal-Setting-Hand-out--
final-draft_10-[Link]

Ivey, A.E., Ivey, M.B., & Zalaquett, C.P. (2014) Intentional interviewing and counseling:
facilitating client development in a multicultural society. Belmont, CA:
Brooks/Cole.

McLeod, J. & McLeod, J. (2011). Counselling skills: A practical guide for counsellors and
helping professionals. (2nd ed.). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.

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SECTION 3

Practice Considerations

In this section you will learn to:

• Consider various obstacles and challenges that may arise in the decision-
making process with your clients

• Consider the legal and ethical requirements when working with clients during
the decision-making process

Supplementary materials relevant to this section:

• Reading D: Crises and Goal-Setting

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 Section 3: Practice Considerations

In the previous section of the Study Guide you learned about alternative models that may
be used to support client decision-making – models that particularly lend themselves to
certain client situations or issues. In this section, you will learn about potential obstacles
and challenges that may arise throughout the decision-making process. You will also learn
to apply the ethical principles to the decision making process.

Obstacles and Challenges

Engaging in a decision-making/problem-solving process requires clients to move from the
relatively ‘safe’ area of exploring problem situations to identifying ways of addressing the
problem situation and actioning these. This process generally involves significant
uncertainty and change and may be uncomfortable for both client and counsellor (Egan,
2014). The problem-solving /decision-making process therefore throws up many
challenges and obstacles for both client and counsellor. These include:
The myth of the ‘right’ choice. Clients often become stuck as they buy into the
unrealistic idea that there is a ‘right decision’. This may result in backtracking or
‘decision paralysis.’ In reality, “the only right decision is the one that fits for the
client.” (Geldard & Geldard, 2012, p. 218). You can help clients move from decision
paralysis by encouraging them to think in terms of costs and benefits rather than
right and wrong.
Perfectionism (the need to do things ‘perfectly’) can also be crippling in the
process of making a clear decision. Individuals who have perfectionist tendencies
may find it hard to be satisfied with anything that is not an ‘ideal’ solution (McLeod
& McLeod, 2011).
Unhelpful or unrealistic beliefs. Clients may often frame option decisions as ‘I
should do this’ or ‘I must do that’ which generally indicates they are being driven by
self-destructive beliefs often formed in childhood. For example, clients driven by
beliefs such as “I must never make mistakes” or “I should always put other people
before myself” may set unrealistic goals for themselves that are likely to fail or make
decisions that they end up resenting. As the counsellor, you should gently challenge
any goals or decisions based on unhelpful or unrealistic beliefs.
Client ambivalence is something you will almost always encounter in the decision-
making/problem-solving process. On the one hand, clients want to be free of a
problem, yet they may resist fully accepting responsibility for change. Change may
mean giving up the pay-offs of previous behaviour (for example, being the victim
and being able to blame someone else for the problem or substance abuse).
Ambivalence may become apparent through observing client body language. For
example, a client may verbally commit and agree to stated goals, however his or her
body language may tell a different story. You can help clients manage ambivalence
by acknowledging costs as well as benefits and helping them be prepared for
difficulties and setbacks along the way.
Client resistance may occur if the client feels that the counsellor is either overtly
or covertly attempting to push them in a certain direction. Unless clients determine
personal goals for counselling, the probability of change is minimal. You can avoid
activating client resistance in the goal setting process by actively involving clients

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in setting goals and being aware of your own values and agenda throughout the
process.
Setting goals that require actions which are in conflict with a client’s core sense of
self or values are highly unlikely to succeed. Arriving at a decision is not merely a
matter of logically working through the practical implications of what is the best
thing to do right now – decisions or solution options should align with client beliefs
and values. Read the following extract to see why this is important.

An example of problem-solving gone wrong

“Steve is a community housing support worker who has spent a lot of time working
with Gareth, a retired single man who persistently reports trouble with neighbours
who are noisy and inconsiderate. Typically, Gareth tries to ignore the insensitive
behaviour of his neighbours, or at best writes them a polite note (which they
ignore). In their conversations, Steve encouraged Gareth to express his anger and
annoyance at his neighbours as a means of letting them know how he really felt.
Gareth could see that this strategy made sense, and agreed with Steve that he
would try it, but never carried it through. When asked why, he replied that, “I know
what letting myself get angry with them would be a much better way to get the
message across. Every time I talk to Steve, I know that I end up deciding to do this.
But I just can’t do it. I was always taught that emotions are a waste of time, or even
destructive’. What happened with Gareth could be understood in terms of a long-
term tension within his sense of who he is; between a current intention to feel and
express emotion, and an injunction to be ‘good’ and not cause trouble. The reason
why the problem with his neighbours is so hard for Gareth is that their actions had
created a situation in which he was led to make a choice to act in a way that
challenged his core sense of self. This example acts as a reminder that arriving at
a decision is not merely a matter of logically working through the practical
implications of what is the best thing to do right now – sometimes making a
decision can require revisiting one’s position on core life issues. In a relationship
where counselling sits alongside other professional tasks and roles, there may not
be enough time and space to work on these deeper issues. Steve and Gareth came
to an understanding that directly expressing his frustration to his neighbours was
not a realistic option for Gareth, so the moved on to consider other potential
solutions.”
(Adapted from McLeod & McLeod, 2011, p. 229)

Clients may be too upset or distressed during the first session to focus on goals.
In this situation, the counsellor should attend to the process goals of establishing
that the client is safe and that the client has been connected to appropriate formal
and informal support/resources. The counsellor can come back to this issue of goal
setting in the next session.
Counsellors may not be skilful or committed enough to set goals with the client.
One of the main reasons that counsellors do not help clients develop realistic life-
enhancing goals is that they are not trained to do so (Egan, 2014).

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Reading D – Crises and Goal Setting

Reading D explores some important considerations in supporting clients in goal-setting,
including crises, multi-cultural issues, and resistance.

Counsellors should not continue to work with a client without a clear idea as to where they
are going and what they are to achieve. Clients need to have a clear idea of what it is they
are aiming to achieve in counselling and should be guided by appropriate goals, even if it
means starting with achieving a small change. If the client refuses to agree with goal-
setting, the counsellor should consult a supervisor and follow organisational guidelines.

Now that you have an idea of some of the obstacles that you and your client may encounter,
let’s explore ethical considerations.

Ethical Decision-Making
The task of helping a client navigate the decision-making process is a particularly risky
process in regard to ethical practice. When a client is struggling with a decision, it is very
tempting to step in and offer solutions and advice. Similarly, it is difficult to avoid
persuading or directing a client when they are engaging in harmful or risky behaviour or
making what you perceive as poor decisions. However, being too directive or telling the
client what to do is not ethically appropriate for a counsellor.

You have learned about the importance of ethical practice in previous Study Guides of
your Diploma. As a reminder, the table below reviews some the key terms related to ethical
practice and how they apply when working with clients during the decision-
making/problem solving process.

Codes of These are guidelines which define ethical practice. These will vary
conduct/practice slightly according to different counselling bodies or organisations but
support the core features of ethical counselling practice. An example
is the Code of Ethics and Practice set out by the Australian
Counselling Association.
These codes typically highlight the importance of client autonomy
and non-directive practice. Counsellors need to keep these
principles in mind when working with clients during the decision-
making/problem solving process.

Human rights and Every individual has basic human rights that must be respected. In the
counselling context, counsellors should respect a client’s human
Discrimination
rights such as the right to individuality, their own values and beliefs,
and freedom of choice. Discrimination occurs when an individual is
treated differently, in a way that is not helpful, based on a
characteristic about them (e.g., gender, disability, race, age or sexual
preferences).
When working with clients during the decision-making/problem

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solving process, the counsellor must respect each client’s diversity

and their right to make their own decisions. In many cases the client
may make decisions that the counsellor may not personally agree
with, however, counsellors must respect the client’s right to make their
own decisions.

Duty of care This is a term used to refer to a counsellor’s responsibility to protect

the well-being of both clients and others who may be impacted
severely by a client’s actions.
While, as a general rule, counsellors should respect the client’s
decision and work with them to achieve it, if the client’s decision would
cause harm to the client or another person (e.g., suicidal intention or
intention to seriously harm another person) then the counsellor has a
duty of care to intervene.

Practitioner / client Counsellors have a responsibility to maintain appropriate boundaries

boundaries with a client (i.e., limiting the client-counsellor relationship to a
professional contract/agreement only).
Counsellors need to maintain boundaries and not become
inappropriately involved in the client’s life. For example, the counsellor
cannot ‘step in’ and do things for the client or control the client’s
decision-making process.

Privacy, Clients have a right to privacy. Counsellors should take appropriate

confidentiality, actions to protect client privacy (e.g., ensuring sessions are not
disclosure, and overheard, recorded or observed without the consent of the client
records and protecting the client’s personal information and session notes).
management Counsellors also need to keep what a client tells them during sessions
secret and private (except in cases where duty of care and other
limitations apply). Counsellors should not disclose client information
to any other parties except in these specific situations.
When working with clients in the decision-making process
counsellors will be keeping records and documentation. They must
ensure that they follow their organisation’s policies and procedures
at all times, that they ensure clients are aware of the limits of
confidentiality and how records will be stored, and that they
appropriately protect the privacy / confidentiality of the client.

Rights and Clients and employers have their own responsibilities and rights. As a
responsibilities of counsellor you need to be aware of the organisational responsibilities
workers, employers that may apply in your workplace.
and clients
When working with clients during the decision-making / problem
solving process, the counsellor must engage in appropriate
contracting and ensure that clients are aware of their rights and
responsibilities. Counsellors must also comply with their own
responsibilities by following all organisational policies/procedures
and legal and ethical requirements.

Work role The counsellor’s role has specific boundaries. Counsellors cannot be
‘everything to everyone’. Counsellors should acknowledge the

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boundaries limitations of the counsellor role and not act outside their role
boundaries (this includes making appropriate referrals to a more
specialised service if appropriate).
When working with clients during the decision-making / problem
solving process, the counsellor must not exceed their boundaries and
should make appropriate referrals when relevant.

Work Health and Counsellors have a responsibility to ensure that the work environment
Safety (WHS) is safe for themselves, other workers, and clients.
This may include ensuring that the counselling environment is safe
and that there are no hazards that have a high likelihood of causing
harm (e.g., faulty chairs, cords that can be tripped over, poor
lighting/ventilation, etc.).

In addition to the above considerations, when facilitating the decision-making process,

counsellors should be guided by the core ethical principles of counselling. These include:
Respect for the client’s individuality, values and beliefs. As a counsellor, it is
important for you to always be aware that you are viewing your client’s issue through
the filter of your own experience, values, and worldview. Even if you have had a
similar experience, you will still not have as much information about the problem as
the client does. This is why it is important not to offer your client advice or make
decisions for them – any solution that you might advise will be grounded in what is
best for you, not necessarily the client. Remember, clients are the experts on their
own lives.

Case Study
Allan’s client is considering divorcing her husband as he has been engaging in an
extramarital affair. Allan has strong beliefs about fidelity in marriage and he divorced his
wife two years ago when he found she was cheating on him. Allan finds himself advising
his client to leave her husband.
This is an example of inappropriate counsellor behaviour.

Culture plays an important role in goal setting. As Wosket (2006, as cited in Egan,
2014) points out, goal setting has cultural implications that counsellors may
overlook. For example, while Western culture focuses on the importance of
individual goals, in other cultures collective or communal considerations may be
paramount and should be considered as central in any decision-making / problem-
solving process.
Objections are sometimes legitimately raised about the endorsement of the
pursuit of individual over collective goals that is explicit or implicit in more
Eurocentric or westernised approaches to counselling. So here the counsellor
has to be careful not to contaminate the client’s process with his own conscious
or unconscious bias toward reinforcement of predominant cultural norms
attached to goal setting. The process of goal setting can still be usefully applied
to communal or collective contexts, for instance where the client’s allegiance to

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family or cultural expectations prevails over individual preferences or objectives.

Committing to a course of action that honours a sense of duty is a legitimate
goal. For instance, the goal of keeping the family together may be a high priority
for an Irish Catholic woman and one that, if accomplished, might give her more
of a sense of achievement and fulfilment than pursuing the individual goal of
leaving an unsatisfying relationship.”
(Adapted from Egan, 2014, pp. 340-341)

You should therefore be aware of the cultural contexts of your clients and take this
into account as you support them through the decision-making process. Client
goals need to fit in with a client’s cultural values. It is important however to recognise
that cultural background is only one aspect of your client. Making global
assumptions about a client based on their ethnicity or cultural background (i.e.,
stereotyping) means that you are not respecting your client’s individuality. Treating
a client differently (in an unhelpful way) based on a characteristic such as age,
gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity constitutes discrimination.
Respect for the client’s autonomy and freedom of choice. Remaining neutral and
non-judgemental is particularly difficult when you see a client making what is
potentially a poor decision. However, it is explicitly stated in the Code of Ethics and
Practice that “counsellors do not normally give advice.” (ACA, p. 5). If you don’t help
clients develop the skills to solve their own issues, then you are fostering
dependency. Remember that choosing a particular course of action is always up to
the client, however, you can ensure they are considering all aspects and potential
implications of a decision by facilitating the cost/benefit process discussed in the
previous section of this Study Guide. You should take care to maintain appropriate
client/counsellor boundaries (i.e., limiting the client-counsellor relationship to a
professional contract/agreement only) throughout the decision-making process.
Counsellors should not be generally be speaking for /or advocating for clients in
contexts outside of the counselling relationship.
It is crucial that the decision-making process is facilitated and not directed by the
counsellor in order to respect the client’s rights. However, as always, remember that
if there is a risk or harm to a client or someone else, you may need to be more
directive and consider duty of care requirements.
Safeguarding your client’s well-being (within the boundaries of the counselling
relationship). Although you should respect your client’s autonomy and free choice
when it comes to choosing particular courses of action, you are still bound by your
duty of care to protect clients and others when necessary. This means that when
clients make decision or propose solutions that will result in either harm to
themselves or to others, you may need to engage in your own decision-making
process in regard to the appropriate action to take.
You should explain the organisation’s policy of confidentiality and disclosure as well
as record-keeping to clients before commencing with the counselling process. An
example of what you might say to clients is included below:

“Everything you share with me in the course of our work together will be treated
as highly confidential. However, there are a few circumstances in which I may be

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required to break confidentiality. These include:

• If I consider you to be at risk of seriously harming yourself or someone else
• If your counselling records have been requested by a court of law
• If another party or agency has requested your information, and you have
agreed and provided your written consent to this.
I will take notes during or after each session to help me keep track of our progress
together. These notes will be stored in a private and secure location and may be
viewed by you if you so wish. Your counselling records will be kept by the service
for a period of seven years from the date of your last contact with the service.”

Ensuring that you are a competent counsellor by a continual process of self-

reflection and self-development. You can monitor your effectiveness as a counsellor
throughout the decision-making process via a process of self-reflection and
supervision. Areas of focus should include ensuring that you are providing a non-
judgemental, non-directive service and that your values are not impacting on your
client’s own decision-making process.
Acknowledging the limits of your competency and referring your client to
someone more suitable in these situations. Once clients have identified their aims
and goals for counselling, you need to make your own decision as to whether you
and the organisation you are working for are able to help them achieve these.
Different organisations offer different models of counselling and intervention and
may be more appropriate in helping clients achieve certain goals. If client needs and
requirements cannot be met, you should make referrals to alternative sources of
guidance and support according to organisation guidelines.

Case Study
Rafiel’s client books an initial counselling session as she is finally ready to address her
dependence on prescription drugs. Rafiel has little experience in the field of addiction
and she is aware that withdrawal from prescription drugs may require medical support.
She decides to refer the client to an addictions counsellor for assessment.

Being guided by the core ethical principles described above should help to ensure that
you are not inadvertently influencing or advising your client as you support them through
the decision-making/problem-solving process.

Summary
In this section of the Study Guide you learned about some of the obstacles and challenges
that may occur when working with clients during the decision-making/problem solving
process. You also learned how following critical legal and ethical requirements can help
ensure effective practice. It is important to keep these considerations in mind throughout
all of your counselling interactions.

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 Section 3: Practice Considerations

References
Australian Counselling Association (2013). Code of ethics and practice of the association
for counsellors of Australia. Retrieved from:
[Link]
0Practice%20Ver%[Link]

Egan, G. (2014). The skilled helper. A problem-management and opportunity-

development approach to helping. (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage
Learning.

Geldard, K. and Geldard, D. (2012). Personal counseling skills: An integrative approach.

(1st ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.

McLeod, J. & McLeod, J. (2011). Counselling skills: A practical guide for counsellors and
helping professionals. (2nd ed.). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.

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