In episode 28 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly discuss online counselling. ‘Theory with Rory’ focuses on cognitive dissonance, and the presenters end by discussing onward referrals in counselling.
This is a growth area in counselling, with continual technological developments. For example, some counsellors work by email, video or chatroom, or even have Second Life identities.
Online counselling is different from face-to-face work in various important ways, for example:
These issues make it vital to think carefully about and to train properly in online counselling before offering it.
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Rory shares the story of Leon Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory. Born in 1919, Festinger studied social psychology under Kurt Lewin at the University of Iowa in the USA. Lewin believed that human behaviour is a product of the individual and their environment.
‘Cognitive dissonance’ describes when a person has conflicting beliefs or values. Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory suggests that this makes the person feel uncomfortable, and so leads them to adjust one of the beliefs or values, harmonising these in order to reduce the discomfort we feel.
In one of the most bizarre pieces of social research ever carried out, Festinger and two colleagues infiltrated a doomsday cult. They described their experiences in a book, When Prophecy Fails.
In Illinois, Dorothy Martin (given the alias in the book of Marian Keech, to protect her identity) claimed to receive messages from beings on a planet she called ‘Clarion’. A cult developed and – based on Martin’s messages – believed that the world would end on 21 December 1954, but that a spacecraft from Clarion would come at midnight on 20 December to rescue members. They gave up jobs, relationships and belongings to prepare for departure.
Assembling on the night of 20 December, the group awaited the spacecraft, but it never came. As the time ticked by, they found explanation after explanation for why this might be, all to avoid having to accept that they had been mistaken in their initial belief. Finally, Martin claimed to receive another message from Clarion, explaining that the cataclysm had been averted by the group spreading light in its faithful vigil.
So how does cognitive dissonance theory apply to counselling? One area that it relates to is clients in abusive relationships. Because people have often invested heavily in such relationships (for example, financially, or in terms of children), they may tend to remain in them and to find ways to justify to themselves that the abusive behaviour is somehow acceptable.
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As therapists, we need to realise that abusive relationships are complex, and to understand the investments that clients may have made in those relationships and so that may blind them to the truth. Gentle challenge from the counsellor – through offering the core conditions – can allow clients to re-examine their reality to reinvest in a better life.
Cognitive Dissonance Overview
As a counsellor, it is important to be open to the idea of making referrals when this is in the client’s best interests.
When student counsellors are on placement, the clients they see have usually been screened by a more senior therapist in the agency. However, it is still possible for more complex difficulties (e.g. psychosis) to become evident once counselling starts.
Ken and Rory discuss some key considerations in referring clients:
Rory sums up his recommended approach as follows: ‘We hope for the best and plan for the worst.’