Int JAdv Couns 5 265-272 (1982) 0165-0653/82/0054-0265 $01 20 ©1982 Martmus Ntlhoff Pubhshers, The Hague Prmted m the Netherlands

COUNSELLING DISADVANTAGED CLIENTS A STATUS DYNAMICS ORIENTATION*

R VANCE PEAVY Umverstty of Victoria

Abstract

Counselhng is usually conceptuahzed as a psychological actsvlty closely resembhng psychotherapy This paper presents an alternate orientation, showing how counsel- hng can be viewed as a social practice organized around the socml concept o f status Thirteen counselling pohcles are described

Introduction

Counselling is explained from numerous perspectives It may be grounded in a theory as m 'behavloural' or 'gestalt' counselling The setting in which counselhng occurs is often used to explain what It is, for example, as in 'rehabthtatlon' or 'school' counseling The attributed function of counsellors often strongly lmphes what counselling is Think, for instance, o f the terms 'change agent', or ' therapist ' For the practical counsellor, each explanation may provide somethtng of use Yet the Impression often persists that these various explanations of counselling are not quite on the right track Often they are not closely connected to life events as those events are experienced by clients Further, most counselling approaches are psychological and are imitative of some form of psychotherapy Unfortunately, counselling seems often to concentrate on cunng and correcting rather than learning and solving (Peavy, 1981)

The purpose of this paper is to briefly describe a counselling orientation which departs radically from psychotherapy and from what might best be termed 'psychologized' forms of counselling Instead of concentrating on psychological principles or personahty constructs the status-dynamics counselhng orlentanon outlmed in the following paragraphs is organized around the sociological concept of status

* Paper presented at the IRTAC International Consultation on Counselling for the Integration of the Handicapped m So clety, Florence, Montecatml-Terme, Italy, April 1981

266

The basic assumption Negotiated social order

The fundamental assumption underlying a status-dynamics orientation 1s that social order is negotiated order (Strauss, 1978) This view of social order is non-deter- ministic, and it is not strongly influenced by biological considerations Further, it tends to avoid the Utopian overtones which plague those counselling orientations which are based on the self-actualization hypothesis The negotiation assumption means 'that both social order and individuals arise in and through a process of on- going negotiation about who shall be whom and what older shall pertain' (Gerson, 1976 276)

Social order includes not only organizations and Institutions but also smaller units such as the family, collectives, gangs and two-person groups such as co- workers, couples, teacher-pupil and client-counsellor Human history is a record of how humanity has changed through centulies of negotiation All the ways which people live are ways which people have devised and negotiated with others

A corollary of the negotiation assumption IS a behef In the primacy of 'persons acting' Social order does not 'just happen', it is the result of persons and groups acting - that is, negotiating with each other on the interpersonal level It is through acting (negotiating) with others that one determines who one is and shall be (MacMurray, 1961) Negotiation is the process which determines which specific person-actions are called for and who is responsible for those actions as well Counselling itself is one such negotiation process

The significance of status

Many of a person's actions in interpersonal contexts consist of making claims to statuses (Ossorio, 1978) For example, when an individual says 'I am a father', he is assigning himself the status of 'father', not to be mistaken for 'mother ' , 'brother' , 'uncle' and so on Of course, much status-work consists o f others' assigning statuses to one 'You are so smart', or 'dumb' , or 'English', or what have you Whether self-assigned, or assigned by others, statuses are Incredibly important in all aspects of life

What are some of the more important unphcatlons which derive from status assignments* Consider

1 ] to know a person's status means to know how to treat that person 2] a person's status indicates what that person is ehglble to do 3] logically, a person's status determines that person's behavloral optzons 4] status is sublect to change downward through processes of degradation, upward

through accreditation 5] status assignment is a primary form of negotiation 6] a person's status indicates ellglblhty to parnczpate in group and community

practices

267

7] status determines whether or not what one does wtllcount An individual may be talented and very able, yet if he or she does not have the necessary status, then participation in many practices remains denied regardless of skill This is most clearly exemplified in 'certification'

8] status reveals a person's place In the real woHd

From the point of view taken an this paper many counsellor actions taken within counselling are status-conferring That is, they either degrade or accredit the client The counsellor is in the position of status-assigner par excellence The very fact that a counsellor begins contact with a 'non-directive' directive, 1 e , 'Take a seat, please' indicates that status is being conferred 'I am the counsellor whose eligibility includes directing you to sit down and you are the client whose status includes that you do what I suggest'

Status-dynamics counselling

Disregarding the usual definitions, the following definition of counselling seems appropriate counseUlnglsanegotiatlonpractlceinwhlchcounsellors use educational methods to assist chents in

1 ] developing a clear understanding of self and circumstance, 2] making a critical evaluation of self and circumstance, and 3] identifying and achieving desirable status changes

The concept of status requires that one consider both the person and the context It as asoctal concept and appropnately iecognxzes the social nature o f human exist- ence 'Dynamics' refers to the changing quahty of statuses due to learning and power re-arrangements characteristic of modern social life

As a social practice, counselling includes both external actions undertaken to achieve goals and mternal acts of cognition, affect, and imagination Counselling must attend to both external and internal factors in order to achieve an lntelhglblhty o f the chent in his hfe-sltuation As a social practice, counselling is a reciprocal, cooperative process with counsellor influencing client and chent influencing counsellor (Peavy, 1979) A principle outcome of counselhng is that the client learns how to do what really counts in the social contexts of which he Ol she is, or wishes to become, a member That counselling practice is effective which is able to endow chents with status (ehglbthty to engage) in the real worlds of work and human relations

Counselhng pohcles

Hawng defined counselling as a negotiation practice, organized around the concept of status, a logical subsequent step is to develop pohcles for guiding counsellors in their practice

268

A specific 'counselling pohcy' is designed to apply across all cases unless specific circumstances supply better reasons for doing otherwise. Ordinarily no further rationale is needed to 'modify ' the pohcy to make it fit the specific case

The adoption of counselling policies, if they are reasonable and adequate, and providing that no contravening reasons prevail, gives the counsellor a good chance of success with a wide range of counselling interventions undertaken to help chents achieve more favourable statuses

The remainder of this paper is orgamzed in the following way Thirteen policy statements are presented as maxmas followed by a brief explanation of the policy The policy statements are modified from DriscoU's (1981) work on pragmatic psychotherapy

1 Be on the chent's sMe t

Counselling whereto the aim as decision-making or problem-solving (and what counselling doesn't have this focusg) is a cooperative activity requiring that both counsellor and chent join hands and attempt to decide, act, and finally, to remove the need for counselling At its best, the counselhng-chent relationship is existential, a vtvum vadmm (L = a living pledge) The counsellor has the full responsibility for guMmg the process of counselling in such a fashion that the client is the main beneficiary Counselling is done for the benefit of the chent, not for the counsellor, society, the institution, etc

2 Be the cltent's aIlyt

It is essential to refrain from taking an adversary posmon against the client The counsellor must learn to maintain status through non-competmve ways of being This means avoiding status contests [I am the strong one, you the weak] and refusing to use one-up-manshlp ploys Aetzve involvement with clients on a co- operative concerned basis as needed Neutrahty, indifference or passivity are in- appropriate stances for the counsellor who wishes to bring about a positive significant result for clients.

3 Af f t rm the chent's strengthsl

Clients often underestimate oa devalue their own positive strengths In every way possible, the counsellor should attempt to treat a client as someone who has strengths and abflmes and as a person of good character A sincere appreciation of these strengths gives the client status as an authentic person

4 Legttzmtze the ehentt

It IS imperative that the counsellor point out to the client the sense that he or she does make An action which has not been successful or appropnate and was based on misunderstanding makes sense in the light of the misunderstandings, circum- stances may account for otherwise confusing intentions and actions To show the

269

chent, that given factors operating at a given time, what he or she did made sense is to legiUmlze Legltlmizlng contrasts with making excuses, giving causal explana- tions, glibly telhng the chent that he makes sense, or devalulng the chent's actmns

5 Challenge the vwttm Meologyt Treat the chent as a person/

The counsellor should use person-in-charge interpretations This means seeing the chent as someone already in control of significant parts of his life, as one who is successful in Important ways A chent may present htmself as a victim in order to avoid ~esponslbflity, gain sympathy or in some other way manipulate the counsellor or the sltuatmn Do not fall into this trap by unwattlngly agreeing with the chent's definition of htmself as victim of forces over which he has no control Instead, deal with the specific reasons for the chent's present dilemma or behavaour Above all, treat the chent as a person Use person concepts familiar in ordinary language such as intentions, reasons, wants, needs, understanding, know-how, barriers, satisfaction and so on

6 Assess what matters/

In all stages of counselhng, focus on what may be put to practacal use This may include personal strengths and hrmtatlons, concepts and mformat~on, relationship factors which are facilitative in personal or work situatmns as well as those factors which are troublesome, and locate needs and opportunities for learning Don't subJect clients to lengthy diagnostic and assessment procedures

7 Begm (and, when posszble, end) wtth stmple concepts and mterpretatzons/

In talking things over with a client, begin with simple interpretations Move from the simple to the more complex but not so quickly as to engender confusion When there are choices between simple and complicated explanaUons, choose the simple Simple interpretations should not be confused with simplistic interpret- atlons Simplistic interpretations are those which are based on the solver's pet opinion and on the details of the problem only m a very hmlted degree or not at all E = mc 2 is an example of a simple [at least m expression] solution, it certainly is not slmphstm It expresses m elegant, smaple form the key insight into an incredibly complex domain of physical factors

8 Don't make thmgs up/

In grasping the chent's situation, try to stick with what is actually happemng, what is actually the case As much as possible, try to assess the particulars of thzs chent Refrain as much as possible from speculations, statistical 'fitting', stereo- typing, and comparison wath other persons or groups Don' t insert your own proJections into the chent's situation

270

9 Don't expect the chent to be somebody elset

Realize that the restrictions on the chent from outside sources and the client's own resistances to you may be very stubborn and intractable and may outlast your initial or most obvious recommendations for change or solution. Realize that failure may be your best (only) means to further understand the problem Be prepared to alter or outright abandon counselling strategies and conceptual- lzatlon as necessary Strive to avoid degraded and demoralized feelings o f frustration and inadequacy as a counsellor

10 Provide t

The counsellor actively shares responsibility with the client for progress The counsellor has a responsibility to provtde the client with certain things which are beyond chents' capacity to acquire unassisted This includes providing help (learning opportunities) for the client to overcome inabilities to act, aiding clients to overcome knowledge deficits as well as deficits in skills and values In prowding for the client, the counsellor can be guided thusly

a Convey reformation Point out and emphasize usage of practical know- ledge such as actual and potential abilities, circumstances, values, and ways of being Use various modes for learning, e g , visual, auditory, kinesthetic, as appropriate and different learning activities, e g , discussion, role-playing, coaching, simulation, real practice, book-study, writing and drawing

b Clarify concepts It is important that a chent get has or her own, real understanding of a concept, procedure, performance or issue rather than merely taking yours or others' word for it Introduce and use distinctions and practices which the client can 'see' and which are personally useful for this client Use simple, common language, illustrate, demonstrate, model, role-play, refer to the familiar, show how some insight-gained, some concept introduced, some action practiced, can be put to use out of the counselhng situation Clarify and legitimize misperceptions and mistakes in thinking or errors of action based on lack of information, inadequate concepts, unworkable values Only by having mistakes legitamlzed can corrections be made and clients can see (and admit) where they are going wrong

c Use what ts impo~tant to the chent Try to understand and assess the chent's main wants, motivations, values and then present what he or she needs to see or do in older to take Into account (rather than contradict or devalue) what counts to the client Values and motxvatat~ns are slow to change In most instances - if indeed they change at all Motivational change is much more likely to be brought about by appealing to what already matters to them rather than coming about as a result of significant changes in values or motivation

271

11 Deal with the leahty basts o) emotton

It is of paramount importance that the counsellor be able to recognize the emotional feehngs wluch a client is experiencing That is why a great deal of emphasis is placed on the practice of empathy in training programs However, it is essential that the counsellor try to assist the client to deal with the reality basis of emotions Fear and anxiety, for example, are always fear of something and anxiety about something They arise only when in relation to perceived real-world threat or danger Slmllally, anger arises In relation to provocation and guilt to wrong-doing The crucial role for the counsellor then (assuming that empathy exists) is to assist the client to deal constructively with the ctrcumstances genemtmg the emotzon

12 Avoid coetczon

The process of counselhng should be clearly distinguished from the process of controlling Every form of coercion stimulates resistance A resistant chent perceives the counsellor as controlling and coercive Client resistance (and counsellor coercion) undermines client-counsellor cooperation and nearly always interferes with ordinary means of making progress When a chent exhibits resistance, review what you are doing or saying which could be perceived as coercive Negotiate differences of opinion, taking care not to use your high status position as a counsellor as an 'unfair' lever Identify contradictory intentions (between counsellor and client) and then negottate

13 l f tt works, don 't f ix it~

Finally, it is m~portant to note that it is usually a mistake to stir up (invent problems) an areas of a client's life which are presently appropriate and functional I can take the words of the mechanic at the garage where I have my car serviced as the final maxim I f it works, don ?f ix it1

Concluding comment

The discerning reader will certainly have noticed that the pohcles hsted above overlap However, taken as a general set of counselhng guidelines they suggest a way o f bemg wtth clients The policies converge to cover (1) affnmlng clients as the persons they are, (2) assessing problems in a pragmatic fashion, and (3) de- liberately acting as a counsellor to increase clients' abilities to understand and to act

Finally, the policies suggest ways m which the counsellor can convey high lather thin1 lower, status on a chent This enables clients to take actions which count in the real world of human relations and work

272

REFERENCES

Davis, K (1981) Advances tn deserlpttve psychology, Vol 1 Greenwich, Conn JAI Press Inc

Drascoll, R (1981) Pohcles for pragmatic psychotherapy In K E Davis (Ed), Advances tn descrtpttve psychology, Vol 1 Greenwich, Conn JAI Press Inc, 1981 273-277

Gergen, K J (1978) Toward generative theory Journal o f Personahty and Social Psychology 36 1344-1360

Gerson, E (1976) On the quahty of hfe Amerwan Soctologlcal Review 4 266-279 MacMurray, J (1961) Persons m relatton London Farber and Farber, Ltd Ossorlo, P (1978) What actually happens Columbia, S C University of Southern Carohna

Press Peavy, R V (1979) Mutual aid counselhng The helper principle at work IntetnattonalJournal

for the Advancement o f Counsehng 2(2) 97-108 Peavy, R V (1981) Research and practtce mdectston counselhng A new start Paper presented

at the Eighth National Consultation on Research m Vocational Guidance and Counselhng, Ottawa, Canada, December

Strauss, A (1978) Negottattons Vartettes, contexts, processes tn soctal order San Francisco Jo ssey Bass Pubhshers