Definition: Relationship Advice

Relationship counseling is the process of counseling the parties of a relationship in an effort to recognize and to better manage or reconcile troublesome differences and repeating patterns of distress. The relationship involved may be between members of a family or a couple (see also family therapy), employees or employers in a workplace, or between a professional and a client.

Before the relationships between the individuals can begin to be understood, it is important for all to recognize and acknowledge that everyone involved has a unique personality and background. Sometimes the individuals in the relationship adhere to different value systems. Institutional and societal variables (like the social, religious, group and other collective factors) which shape a person's nature, and behavior must be recognized. A tenet of relationship counseling is that it is intrinsically beneficial for all the participants to interact with each other and with society at large with the least conflict possible.

Occasionally relationships get strained, meaning that they are not functioning optimally and maladaptive patterns have emerged. There are many possible reasons for this, including ego, arrogance, jealousy, anger, greed, poor communication/understanding, etc. Often it is an interaction between two or more factors, and frequently it is not just one of the people who are involved that exhibit such traits.

A viable solution to the problem of setting these relationships back on track may be to reorient the individuals' perceptions - how one looks at or responds to situations. This implies that they make some fundamental changes in their attitudes. The next step is to adopt conscious structural changes to their inter-personal relationships.

After evaluating the story as it is narrated, a realistic, practical solution can be developed; individually at first if this is beneficial, and then jointly to encourage the participants to give their best efforts at reorienting their relationship with each other. It has to be remembered that the change in situations like financial state, physical health, and the influence of other family members can have a profound influence on the conduct, responses and actions of the individuals.

The duty and function of a relationship counselor is to listen, understand and facilitate a better understanding between those involved. The basic principles involved are:

* Non-judgment on any of the issues or incidents narrated to them as counselor.
* Confidentiality of the persons being given the counseling.

A successful counselor is someone who has a mature and balanced state of mind and disposition, who can place themselves in the shoes of those they are counseling, and the ability to respect their opinions, thoughts, feelings and (more importantly) emotions.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia Contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.