COUNSELLING TRAINING FOR COPING WITH STRESS IN COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIP

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the study

People all over the world experience one form of stress or the other irrespective of their race, color and ethnicity, professional or academic background. Maxwell (2018) shared the view that stress came in several forms and affected people of all ages and walks of life.One’s knowledge and experiences of stress should also expose one to the causes of stress, such as time constraints, workload, health-related problems and financial difficulties which may exert more pressure on the individual than he/she can really cope with. It is in this light that Abu Yazid (2016) agreed with Deepthi et al, (2019) that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceived that demands exceeded the personal and social resources that the individual was able to mobilize. To them, people feel little stress when they have the time, experience and resources to manage a situation. On the other hand, job demands or workload at workplace may sometimes exert too much pressure than one can bear, leading to physical fatigue and breakdown thus it is necessary for one to understand this and carve out a coping strategy for managing stress which is otherwise known as stress management technique .

        Stress management refers to a broad range of approaches and psychotherapies aimed at reducing a person's level of stress, particularly chronic stress, with the goal of enhancing daily functioning. According to Deepthi  Vinay  & Gowramma ( 2019), Stress management was established and is based on the theory that stress is not a direct reaction to a stressor, but rather that one's resources and capacity to deal regulate the stress response and are changeable, enabling stress to be regulated and maintaining a good work-life balance.

Conversely, Counselor education programs strive to teach the skills and knowledge necessary to develop competent and effective counselors, which includes fostering the personal development of counseling students. The deeply held belief that who a counselor is as a person is an important factor in the counseling process is embedded in the code of ethics and standards for counselor education programs. The American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics (2005) states that counselor trainees “refrain from offering or providing counseling services when their physical, mental, or emotional problems are likely to harm a client or others” (Section F.8.b. Impairment). While the profession is guided by the ACA Code of Ethics, counselor educators are similarly guided to focus on personal factors of counseling trainees. The Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors (1995) cited in (Deepthi et al, 2019) states that counselor educators have a responsibility to “be aware of any personal or professional limitations of supervisees which are likely to impede future professional performance” (Section 2.12). obviously,counselling encompass  a special kind of relationship that involves an interaction between the client and the counsellor. Therefore it is expected of every counsellors to use their professional training, skills, expertise and experience to help their client to overcome any area of conflict or stress which hitherto has hindered their inter and intra-personal relationships growth and development (Bardhoshi et al, 2014) however no study has considered the burn out the counsellor faces in their professional life.

1.2      Statement of the problem

Personal development is a part of counselor training and this becomes especially salient during the practicum and internship experiences. During these experiences, counselor trainees establish relationships with their clients and their supervisors which will have a direct impact on their mental and personal development. Some day, due to the technical and different issues that comes to them, they are either stressed or fatigued after the days job. This clearly shows that the task of a  counselling  is not easy as they need to deal with the various challenges of these diverse client.Therefore, it is important to consider what factors influence counselor trainee’s relationships with their clients. According to Skovholt, Grier, & Hanson, (2001) cited in (Rahul, 2015), in order for counselors to continually be successful, it is necessary to continually maintain professional vitality and self-care. Finding balance between self-care and othercare is a constant struggle that helping professionals experience, e. This phenomenon affects an individual‟s life in a broad, allencompassing fashion. It can have a devastating impact not only on work performance, but in one‟s social and love relationships as well (Forney, Wallace-Schutzman, & Wiggers, 1982) cited in (Inman, 2006).

Despite this, there is limited literature that has directly considered the impact of stress and coping on the working alliance and supervisory working alliance. The purpose of this article is to explore counselling training for coping with stress in counselling relationship.

1.3      Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is to examine  counselling training for coping with stress in counselling relationship.Specifically, the study seek to:

1.  Identify causes of stress among trainee counselor.

2. Investigate whether stress can impede counselling relationship between counsellor and client

3.  Establish what kind of counselling services are used by trainee counsellor to manage stress.

1.4      Research Hypothesis

HO1: Stress does not impede counselling relationship between counsellor and client.

HO2: Counsellor knowledge on stress management does not improve counselling relationship?

1.5      Significance of the study

The study will be significant to counselors in training, to professional counsellor and contribute to the body of existing literature.  It will enlighten those in counselling profession on the need to personal development especially in the area of stress management technique in other to help them improve their relationship with client especially while practicing. this study will contribute to existing literature, serving as a reference material to both students and academia in related studies and creating opportunity for further studies in related field.

1.6      Scope of the study

The scope of this study is to examine  counselling training for coping with stress in counselling relationship. The study identified causes of stress among trainee counselor. It investigated whether stress can impede counselling relationship between counsellor and client and  established what kind of counselling services are used by trainee counsellor to manage stress.The study is however delimited to Ogun State.

1.7   Limitation of the study

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

 Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8   Definition of terms

Stress: Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous.

Stress management: Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning.

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