266 – Anti-Oppressive Practice in Counselling

Moving to the Next Level in Your Counselling Journey – Can You Be Too Congruent?

In Episode 266 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, your hosts Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly are back with this week’s three topics:

• Up first in ‘Theory in Practice’, we look at moving to the next level in your counselling journey.
• Then in ‘Practice Today’, Rory and Ken have an interesting discussion about whether you can be too congruent
• And lastly in ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Mamood Ahmad about anti-oppressive practice in counselling.

Moving to the Next Level in Your Counselling Journey [starts at 02:25 mins]

Taking the next step in your counselling journey can be a scary thing, but in this section Rory and Ken break down some of the realities of this journey, and offer things for you to think about:

• As you move up in your training, the difficulty will increase.
• Think about what started you on this journey, did you want to make a difference?
• If the why is strong, the how becomes easier.
• When you feel yourself getting stressed or panicked – go back to your why.
• Training will take up a lot of your time.
• Your personal development might impact on your personal relationships.
• There will be the academic side and the practice side – there will be a lot going on.
• It can be done – many have done it before you.
• Hold on to your why – it needs to be strong enough to not need feedback and thanks.
• What is the route you want to take?
• The skills you learn are transferable – you can put them to good use in other occupations and just life in general.

Can You Be Too Congruent? [starts at 18:57 mins]

In this section, Rory and Ken discuss the difficulty of knowing how far you can go with your congruence.

The main points include:

• There is a fine line between congruence and being rude.
• Everything you do should always be in service of the client.
• What ‘volume’ is your congruence at – it’s about knowing when you can turn it up.
• It’s about timing and knowing your client.
• Being congruent in an empathic way – intertwining it with the core conditions.
• Ask yourself who is this client? What is your relationship with them and where is the boundary of that relationship?

Anti-Oppressive Practice in Counselling [starts at 31:55 mins]

In this week’s ‘Practice Matters’, Rory speaks with Mamood Ahmad on introducing difference, diversity, and inclusion using anti-oppressive practice foundations.

The key points of this discussion on anti-oppressive practice in counselling include:

• Thinking about the wider social context of your client and how this affects them.
• Allowing, and providing a safe space for people to talk about social problems and what they feel about that.
• Part of working towards an anti-oppressive practice in counselling is being conscious of the power dynamic in your relationship with the client.
• Can you talk about these things comfortably? Do you experience any anxiety or discomfort?
• Thinking about and being aware of lived experience.
• Realising that your world view isn’t the only one.
• Being open, willing to fix things, willing to learn.
• Have heart and humility.
• Consider internalised oppression/discrimination – feelings of inferiority.
• Systemic thinking – being aware of bias and where it comes from.

Links and Resources

Counselling Skills Academy

Advanced Certificate in Counselling Supervision

Basic Counselling Skills: A Student Guide

Counsellor CPD

Counselling Study Resource

Counselling Theory in Practice: A Student Guide

Counselling Tutor Shop

Facebook group

Website

Online and Telephone Counselling: A Practitioner’s Guide

Online and Telephone Counselling Course