TPC-Journal-V5-Issue1

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 1 121 Basically, counselors forget to take their clients with them through the therapeutic process and must return to the beginning of the first line of the equation (C + F = M). As counselors work here, they must learn to trust the therapeutic process enough to allow clients to do their work on the second line (A promotes I, which facilitates Chg). Through clients’ responses and explorations, their awareness is raised, they gain insight and they are then empowered to make choices related to their personal change comfort level. Two skills not included as part of the formula are confrontation and immediacy, because these advanced skills come later in the training process. Beginning counselors must first develop mastery of initial skills before they are ready to tackle confrontation and immediacy. While confrontation and immediacy may be powerful methods of intensifying emotions, they also may result in significant disengagement of the client if misused or if the timing is inappropriate (Cormier & Hackney, 2012; Evans et al., 2011; Smaby & Maddux, 2011). Implications for Future Research This counseling formula study supports the conclusion that a complex learning strategy, such as cognitive mapping, can be effective for counseling students of varied learning styles and cultures. In addition, evidence suggests that forcing students to use strategies that challenge their learning style preferences can be a beneficial attempt to increase their problem-solving skills (Kostovich et al., 2007). Further investigation of the influence of the counseling formula with beginning counseling students could provide counselor educators insight as to how their students are learning the counseling process using cognitive mapping. It is an organized method of teaching basic skills so that students do not find themselves overwhelmed with too much new learning to master at one time. Future research would be helpful to validate the general application of this formula and the umbrella concept when introducing beginning students to the basic tools of their future profession. Conclusion The simple images of a counseling formula and a symbolic umbrella help beginning counselors initially understand the interconnectedness of the different counseling skills of their new profession. However, this article is not suggesting that counseling is simplistic or that it does not utilize higher order skills and concepts. Counselor educators can use these symbolic representations as cognitive schemas to build upon students’ knowledge as they integrate practical application into their counseling sessions. Cognitive maps provide a way for counselor educators to see where students get stuck in the beginning counselor process, and provide a tool that allows a way of learning that is visual and communicative. This visual representation outlines and crosslinks the critical roles of the therapy process by connecting the communication and experiences of the student counselor to those of the client. The student counselor stays at the top of the equation, while the client remains at the bottom. As student counselors become more seasoned, they also begin to experience personal and professional growth that results in their own awareness, insight and change; therefore, they experience crosslinking at the bottom of the equation that is similar to how clients begin to change. As clinicians gain experience, they move to a deeper understanding of how to use basic skills with theory, incorporated with existing intentional therapeutic interventions and techniques, in order to facilitate change for their clients. Through this process, clinicians come to fully appreciate both the therapeutic relationship and the counseling process. Initial learning experiences in kindergarten are designed to help beginning students master simple, repetitive writing tasks. This initial learning experience can be compared to beginning experiences for master’s-level counselors through the effective utilization of initial basic skills linked in the counseling session. The formula and umbrella graphics can provide valuable visual tools to lay a solid foundation for the beginning counselor.