Counseling is a process that brings together a counselor and client and is intended to help the

client overcome stressful or emotional feelings that are instigated by various external and
internal forces. The main objective of any counseling process is to help the client see things
more objectively and clearly. Apart from investigating the client variables, counseling offers an
opportunity to explore the counselor's variables and what is happening between the counselor
and the client (Sackett et al., 2012). Since the objective of counseling is to help the client see
things objectively and make rational decisions, any effective counseling process should be
client-based and client-driven. I believe that since every client has got his or her unique
perspective on counseling variables or processes, there should be no straightforward approach
to counseling. Instead of having one objective reality, we rather have multiple dimensions
based on multiple realities and dimensions. Counselors should be able to explore and
determine these multiple realities with the client before settling on any meaningful counseling
relationship.

Integration of Theories

Several counseling theories have been put forth to explain the counseling process. Cognitive
behavior theory (CBT) is another major counseling theory that has been in practice for long.
This model looks at counseling process based on the inherent relationship among one's
emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It based on the argument that our thoughts have a huge
impact on our feelings and actions. Similarly, our feelings affect our thoughts and actions.
Therefore, people act based on their thoughts and feelings. In CBT counseling, the focus by the
counselors should be on what the client believes in and thinks and not necessarily what he or
she thinks. This theory involves challenging the client's beliefs and, as such, a strong therapeutic
alliance and the client taking a more significant role in changing thoughts and beliefs (Biesecker
et al., 2017). Getting to know the thoughts and believes of the client is not an easy task, and
counselors should be careful in getting this information right as it influences the kind of
intervention preferred.

The psychoanalysis or the psychodynamic theory is premised on the assumption that there are
unconscious forces that dictates human behavior. The strength of this theory is based on the
fact that confessing about past events like the traumatic childhood experience will facilitate
treatment and healing (Northwestern, University, 2020). This theory has a lot of relevance to
my philosophy of counselling as it gives the client enough time to reflect on his or her past and
probably review how the past has affected the present. In my theory of counseling,
psychoanalysis should form the foundation of yet another important stage where the client is
given an opportunity to reflect on the possible course of action going forward. The Adlerian
theory approaches counselling in individualistic manner and acknowledges the human ability to
find focus and direction in life (Aslinia et al., 2011). Consistent with my philosophy, the theory
expects the counselors to help clients make independent decisions and solutions to their
problems.

The above theories have a direct implication on my own counselling theory. I believe that for
any counselling to be effective, a cordial relationship between the client and the counselor
should be harnessed. In most cases, the lack of trust in the counselor and the process
undermines the counselling process. The only way to build trust is by the counselor building a
personal relationship with the client and giving him or her enough space, without judgment and
prejudice, to ventilate on issues around the past and the present (Georgiadou, 2016). I propose
alternative therapies like art therapy, sand therapy, adventure therapy, and dance therapy as
the best way to communicate with the client (Bastemur et al., 2016). The client should be given
ample time to express his or her thoughts and feelings in an environment that is productive and
constructive. Having the client choose the kind of environment will help a lot.

In most cases, the client may not be free to express himself or herself, mainly because of power
differences or cultural differences with the counselor. This challenge brings the need to use
cyber-counseling as opposed to a face-to-face approach (Zainudin & Yusop, 2018). The virtual
environment provides an ample opportunity for the clients and the counselor to build their
relationship without unnecessary coercion and duress. Once the intervention plan has been
drawn, the counselor will evaluate with the client each intervention. After the evaluation, the
client should be given time like a day or so to reflect on the intervention before coming for the
next session where decisions and compromises are made.

Nature of People

My view on the nature of people largely explains my philosophy and theory of counselling. I
view people as being characteristically positive in nature. They always look forward to positive
things like success, love, happiness, contentment, and satisfaction. People are also constructive,
realistic, and can be trusted. They are aware of what they want to achieve without having to be
told by anybody else. They are inner directed and always move forward to self-actualization.
Consistent with the person-centered theories, every person has the ability to find purpose and
meaning in life. Individuals have the ability to figure out and bring a positive change in their
lives without external influence (Aslinia et al., 2011). I also believe that problems do exist to
interfere with the normal course of finding a meaning and purpose in life. Problems exist in
terms of events and mental states that hamper and negatively affect their pursuit for
positivism. At this point, the client seeks help from professionals in their struggle to return to
their original state of positivism. Even with these problems, people do not lose their nature,
and any help accorded should only be limited to finding a solution to the problem and not
dealing with their inherent nature.

Process of Change

The process of change is critical to any counselling theory. At the end of the counselling session,
it is expected that the client will begin to walk the journey of change. The counselor should
walk with the client throughout the journey to avoid relapse. However, it is important to
appreciate that the psyche of change will only be achieved by the client's own doing (Aslinia et
al., 2011). The change process will happen in about six stages. The first stage entails
contemplation where the client has arrived at a decision but is not yet sure if he or she can
proceed with the change. At this point, the counselor plays the role of clarifying and
encouraging the client. The second stage involves preparation for change and include the
identification of obstacles and testing the environment. At this point, the client also begins to
build and develop a support network.

The most critical is the action stage, where the client finally proceeds with the implementation
of change actions and decisions. Together with the support network, the counselor can help the
client to become effective and decisive at this stage. The final stages are that of maintenance
and relapse. It is upon the client to maintain the change to avoid relapse. Even though the
counselor may have taken a back seat here, the client is encouraged to keep in touch to avoid
the possibility of relapse.

Counselor's Role

The work is cut out for the counselor in my theory. The role of the counselor is to help the
client make the best decisions in life and return to the original state of positivism. The client
initiates contact by making contact with counselor. The counselor then makes an appointment
where they meet and discuss the possible ways of proceeding with the session. During the first
meeting, the role of the counselor is passive as he or she only exposes the client to a productive
and constructive therapy session. He or she will only come to play an active role in evaluation
the possible interventions enumerated by the client before helping him or her settle on the best
intervention (Sackett et al., 2012). The counselor will continue to play a role after the client has
settled on the best intervention approach. It will be the responsibility of the counselor to make
sure that the client has followed through the implementation phase in accordance with the
agreement.

Techniques

The Adlerian theory provides valuable techniques, strategies, and evaluation tools that will be
useful in the process of change. According to Alder's, the counselor should understand that
even though the client may be coming from a collectivist culture, he or she is an individual
person who has a better understanding of his or her desires and is capable of pursuing a unique
and independent change journey (Aslinia et al., 2011). During the change process, the
counselor should approach the client as someone who has a better understanding of his or her
world as someone who can drive the change process without any undue influence from a third
party. At every stage of the change process, Alders posits that the client should be in a better
position to know whether he or she is making progress or stagnating. As contemplated by the
CBT, much of the change process involves changing the status quo or changing beliefs and
thoughts (Biesecker et al., 2017). As such, it will not be an easy task. One of the strategies for
overcoming the resisting forces is giving the client the steering wheel and reducing the role of
the counselor to one of cheering up and encouraging the client.

Multicultural Application

My theory can be applied to various multicultural settings. Since it is client-centered, it is

possible to apply in counselling people from the minority communities like women, people with
disabilities, the LGBT community, people of different ages, and various racial and ethnic divides.
At the initial stages, the counselor takes a minimal role, and the client is given an ample
opportunity to drive the process. During this stage, the counselor begins to build a productive
and constructive relationship with the client based on the emerging client variables. This theory
gives the counselors an opportunity to improve their cultural understanding and be in a better
position to handle clients from diverse backgrounds.

Strengths and Limitations

My theory has notable strengths that make it the best approach to counselling. The theory is
client-centered since the clients plays an active role throughout the better part of the theory. It
gives the client enough time to reflect, review, and make better counselling decisions. This
theory recognizes the unique and individual attributes of the client to make the best decisions
in life geared towards positivism. The theory also incorporates the ideas from other reviewed
theories and improves on their strengths. However, one of the weaknesses of this theory is the
lack of clear strategy on therapeutic interventions, especially those concerned with diagnosis
and treatment, as the clients take charge of almost the entire process.

Conclusion

The objective of any counselling session is to help clients regain their stable state of mind. It is
intended to help them overcome the challenge of mental instability. Several counselling
theories have been formulated to help counsellors deal with their clients. However, based on
my own view and counselling philosophy, most of these theories have failed to yield the desired
counselling goals. My theory of counselling gives the client a primary role in the counselling and
the change process and can be used effectively to help clients from different cultural
backgrounds.