Counseling Procedures/Skills-II. Action strategies-Role playing, Behavioural techniques, Decision-making Methodologies and problem-solving strategies.

1. ACTION STRATEGIES-ROLE PLAYING,
BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES, DECISION-
MAKING METHODOLOGIES AND
PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES.
Sreelakshmi.C.R
St. Mary’s College, Thrissur

2. ACTION STRATEGIES
◦Since the purpose of all counseling is to facilitate client
change, counselors must facilitate the behavior change
process by implementing specific action strategies or
programs.
◦The timing for implementation of these programs will
depend on the theoretical orientation of the counselor
and on the nature of the client’s concern.

3. ROLE PLAYING
◦ Useful in solving interpersonal relationship difficulties
and has its application both in stage two and stage
three of counseling.
◦The Principle value of role playing is that it can bring
into the present actual events that have happened in the
past or even in the future the client thinks might
happen or would like to see happen.

4. ◦Tasks of counselor during role playing: to play his or
her role accurately, to play close attention to the client’s
energy patterns and to play close attention to his or her
own inner experiencing.
◦When role playing is completed, the client and
counselor discuss what has happened.
◦The counselor has a rich supply of information from the
experience to offer as feedback to the client.

5. ◦Such feedback can help the client clarify emotions, wants
energy patterns, and beliefs that are happening between
self and the other person involved. These awareness can
lead to change and growth.
Setting up role playing
◦Client plays the role of drama director- he or she decides
who plays which role, instructs the counselor how to play
the role assigned, and decides how to play his or her own
role.
◦Details about the setting should be clarified (by the
director) to achieve as much authenticity as possible.

6. ◦It may be useful to have several “rehearsals” so the client
can help the counselor understand the personality of the
individual he or she is playing. This also deepens the
client’s understanding.
◦Deliberate actions such as breaking eye contact, turning
away, leaning forward, making the face look hurt, crossing
the arms over the chest, or getting out of the hair and
hiding under the desk can be made occasionally by the
counselor.

7. BEHAVIORAL TECHNIQUES
◦Based on the principles of learning theory, behavioral
techniques are designed to alter maladaptive behaviors and
to strengthen desirable ones.
◦These techniques are the basis of behavior therapy.
1. Systematic Desensitization
◦ Appropriate when client has high level of anxiety
associated with a problem behavior.

8. ◦Counterconditioning coupled with muscle relaxation
procedures are used to desensitize the client to anxiety-
producing situations.
2. Behavior Contracts
◦An agreement between two parties aimed at changing the
behavior of one of the persons involved.
◦The agreement specifies the reinforcement contingent on
reaching the goal.

9. ◦It facilitates client action and has been used with
behaviors ranging from smoking and weight reduction
to disruptive behavior and speech problems.
3. Social Modeling
◦The counselor is given instructions regarding how to act
in a problematic situation so that the situation will
resemble real life, and then the client and counselor act

10. out the situation.
◦Gives the client the opportunity to get feedback from
the counselor regarding the effectiveness of the client’s
behavior.
◦Similar to the “empty chair” technique from the Gestalt
approach.
4. Assertion Training
◦Used in conjunction with a therapeutic relationship.

11. ◦Supplement client growth and change when clients
have difficulty saying no or expressing both their
positive and negative feelings.
5. Token Economy
◦One of the most recent and promising applications
of operant conditioning approach.
◦Used to modify the behavior of institutionalized
psychotic patients.

12. ◦Emphasis is on reducing the probability of the patient’s
disturbed behaviors and increasing the frequency of desired
ones.
◦When the patient acts in desired ways, he receives the
proper number of tokens which he can save or spend as
wishes on a greater or lesser reward.
6.Aversive Conditioning
◦If a response is followed by pain or punishment it’s strength
should be weakened.

13. ◦Behavior change can be achieved by conditioning an
aversive response to an undesirable behavior.
◦Aversive techniques have been applied mainly in the
effort eliminate addictions and destructive or deviant
behaviors.
DECISION MAKING METHODOLOGIES
◦Aim: to give clients the skills to solve their own
problems.
◦Facilitates client independence.

14. Stewart, Winborn, Johnson, Burks, and Engelkes (1978)
list the following steps in their decision making model:
1. Identify the problem
2. Identification of values and goals
3. Identify alternatives
4. Examine alternatives Make a tentative decision
5. Take action on the decision
6. Evaluate outcomes

15. Krumboltz’s (1966) model of decision making includes
the following steps:
1. Generating a list of all possible courses of action.
2. Gathering relevant information about each feasible
alternative course of action.
3. Estimating the probability of success in each
alternative on the basis of the experience of others
and projections of current trends.

16. 4. Considering the personal values which may be
enhanced or diminished under each course of action.
5. Deliberating and weighing the facts, probable
outcomes and values of each alternative.
6. Eliminating from consideration the least favorable
courses of action.
7. Formulating a tentative plan of action subject to new
developments and opportunities.

17. 8. Generalizing the decision making process to future
problems.
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
Egan (1975) proposes a systematic problem solving
methodology that includes his approach to the decision
making process and incorporates four-field analysis. The
steps of the model are:

18. 1. Identify and clarify problem.
2. Establish priorities in choosing problems for
attention.
3. Establish workable goals.
4. Take a census of available means for reaching the
goal.
5. Choose the means that will most effectively achieve
established goals.
6. Establish criteria for the effectiveness of action
programs.