In episode 161 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Ken Kelly and Rory Lees-Oakes provide tips on how to manage the anxiety that you may naturally be feeling at the prospect of starting the new academic year. ‘The Digital Counselling Revolution’ then looks at synchronous and asynchronous communication in counselling – what these are and the various pros and cons of each.
Last, in ‘Practice Matters’, the presenters discuss counselling assessment, with reference to a lecture in Counsellor CPD.
Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication
Ken recalls his feelings of anxiety when beginning his counselling studies, even in more ‘normal’ times.
Indeed, many students of counselling and psychotherapy may be returning to study after a gap in education; in this situation, it is very natural to feel self-doubt and a lack of confidence.
With all the changes to counselling training that have come about as a result of the COVID-19 situation (see podcasts 159 and 160), it’s no wonder that anxiety levels may be even higher. This is evident in recent posts in the Counselling Tutor Facebook group.
Don’t forget that it is not selfish to self-care – if we look after ourselves, we become better able to help others.
You might also like to consider joining our Counselling Study Resource (CSR), with a wide range of lectures and resources to support you in your counselling studies.
On-demand access to a rich lecture library covering theory, skills, and professional development for counselling students—Mapped to the UK awarding body criteria
“The Student Library has been BRILLIANT, I can’t recommend it enough!
It has been a lifeline in helping me prepare for practice and my first clients. If you’re considering it, go-for-it, it’s absolutely worth it!”
Kelly – Graduated and now in practice.
The digital revolution in the world of counselling and psychotherapy offers a range of ways of communicating with clients. These can be divided into synchronous and asynchronous methods.
In brief, synchronous communication is real-time communication, while asynchronous communication is delayed-time communication.
So when Ken and Rory are speaking with each other on the podcast, they are in synchronous communication. Asynchronous communication would take the form of, for example, emailing or text messaging.
Rory describes the history of asynchronous communication and how it has always been more complex to handle, even leading to a breakdown in the relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung, whose letters to each other became increasingly bitter over the period of their correspondence (1906-1913). This perhaps reflects the disinhibition effect too.
In asynchronous communication, the emotion behind the writing of the other party is harder to pick up, and it is easier to reply in a way that is inadvertently ambiguous.
Reading back over our reply before sending it is always a good idea – and in some ways gives us more chance than in synchronous communication to phrase our response just right.
Whether or not asynchronous counselling would be helpful for you depends at least partly on your own ease with the written word. For example, it may not be a good choice for someone with dyslexia.
If counselling asynchronously, it can also be a good idea to prepare for this by discussing with the client the possibility of misunderstandings, and to make it clear that you are open to receiving feedback.
Real Sessions – Real Presentations – Real Skills
Gain the competence and confidence to use counselling techniques effectively!
In this part of the Counselling Tutor Podcast – aimed at supporting qualified practitioners to sharpen their competence – Rory and Ken talk about the importance of assessment.
For counsellors who are newly qualified or entering private practice, it can be sensible to seek specific training on assessment. The first stage of all in this process is to examine your own relationship with the process of assessment.
Rory looks at the history of assessment, including Carl Rogers’ focus on this.
You are also signposted to a specialist lecture by psychologist John Mellor-Clark, who is the Managing Director of CORE Information Management Systems (CORE IMS), and also serves as Visiting Professor at the Centre for Community Mental Health, Birmingham City University.
In this, John explores the use of outcome questionnaires in therapy using the CORE Outcome Measure as an example.
You can catch John’s lecture in Counsellor CPD, an online library of on-demand lectures for qualified practitioners of counselling and psychotherapy.
Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication in Counselling
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