Challenging in Counselling

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MTL: The Professional Development Programme
Challenging in Counselling
CHALLENGING IN
COUNSELLING
Getting to the heart of the problem

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Attribution: All images are from sources where a Creative Commons license exists for commercial use. All icons are on subscription
from thenounproject. All clipart is from free sources. The MTL Professional Development Programme is copyright of Manage Train
Learn.
Challenging in
Counselling
Introduction: Counselling solutions exist on three levels. At one level, the outcome
is the resolution of a troublesome problem (to the organisation, if not necessarily to
the employee). At another level, the outcome re-affirms the ability of people to
cope. And, at another level, it is a reminder that, no matter what life throws at us,
we are always able to accept it, integrate it, and move on.

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https://pixabay.com/en/unique-stand-out-different-2032274/
Challenging is pointing out something that needs fixed
1. REASONS
FOR
CHALLENGING
There are seven reasons for challenging someone
in a counselling situation:
1. to point something vital out that the employee
cannot see
2. to highlight blocks and blind spots
3. to re-dress an employee's one-sided or
blinkered view of things
4. to suggest how you see the situation
5. to boil issues down to their basics
6. to indicate possible outcomes
7. to encourage people to move on.

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2. THE TIMING
OF
CHALLENGES
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Choose the right moment to challenge your client
Some counsellors try to reach the challenging
phase as quickly as possible especially if they
already have an idea where a problem lies. This
can be dangerous if a client is not ready for it. On
the other hand, some clients like to stay in the
relative comfort of the exploration phase in order
to avoid facing up to things. In this case it is
important to stop discussion of the past and face
up to the needs of the present.

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https://pixabay.com/en/soup-pot-mika-so-soup-soup-1090137/
A challenge is like a “spit in the soup”
3. BRING
THINGS OUT
IN THE OPEN
Sometimes the only way to make people aware of
the nature of the problem is to spell it out, along
with the implications of doing nothing. For
example, "You realise that if you don't sort out
this personality clash between you, one of you
will eventually have to decide whether you are to
stay in the team or not". Psycho-analyst Alfred
Adler called this "spits in the soup" because
spelling things out disturbs the employee's
unawareness and, like spits in the soup, no longer
makes it taste so nice.

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4. POINT OUT
THE
DISCREPANCIES
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Challenge people where things don’t fit
We cannot be whole and healthy in ourselves and
our obligations towards others if things do not fit.
High absenteeism doesn't sit with a need to work
to contract. Good teamwork won't happen where
there are unsatisfactory relationships between
team members. Your role as counsellor is to point
out these discrepancies and help those
concerned take responsibility for getting things to
fit again.

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https://pixabay.com/en/silhouettes-against-nonconformist-616913/
Show them where they’re out of step
5. LINK THE
CONTRADICTIONS
One other way of looking at people problems is to
identify the contradictions that cause the
problem. "You say you want to work here and
make a valuable contribution. But you've already
had 9 days off this year." Or, "You know that the
organisation needs this team to work
harmoniously together. But you two aren't
talking...". Putting the contradictions side by side
is a powerful way of challenging because it
presents the problem in stark detail.

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6. CHALLENGE
FAULTY
THINKING
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The red-hot questions: Why? Or why not?
One of the reasons people don't reach the same
conclusions as you about their problems is
because they may be stuck in faulty thinking.
They make assumptions that seem like absolute
truths to them, even if they're not. Challenge
their faulty thinking to make them think again.
"Why exactly does your mother's health mean
you can't leave home?" "Are you really sure he'll
react in the way you think?" "Why must you work
every day for 10 hours?"

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Gentle suggestions are easier for people to think about
7. GENTLE
SUGGESTION
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If your employee doesn't respond to your
challenging, you can combine your challenge with
a solution. This works where people don't know
what to do next. By making non-forceful
suggestions, they may come to realise that things
aren't as difficult as they thought. "You know, you
could always give things a try for a week or two
and see how it works out." "Have you thought of
speaking to Ron? He had the same problem and
now he's fine."

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This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn
AFinal
Word
In any kind of people problem, you have to get past the stage of Challenging if you and your
employee are to move on. Sometimes, you will have to be brutal and throw cold water on people.
At other times, you may only need to state the problem for a solution to be found. But deal with it
you must.

Challenging in Counselling

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