Conduct and record a therapeutic role-play for 20 minutes

Process Report:

The process report (3000 words): Conduct and record a therapeutic role-play for 20 minutes. Select a 10-minute section to then analyse the process using the person-centred/experiential approach.

The content of your analysis should include the following:

1. a) A critical review of the overall process of the session with particular reference to its overall features and circumstances;

1. b) A critical overview of the session with reference to the opportunities and challenges experienced by the practitioner in maintaining a person-centred approach, including reference to the six ‘necessary and sufficient conditions’ (Rogers, 1957) integral to the person-centred/experiential approach;

1. c) A critical summary of the learning achieved in this session, and a review of its implications for future psychotherapeutic practice using a person-centred/experiential approach.

How to write a process report Christine Parrott As a trainee counsellor, psychologist or psychotherapist, you will be well aware that therapy requires much more than theoretical knowledge. The real skill of a therapist is measured not in the amount of theory he/she can recite, but in the actual application of that theoretical knowledge to practice. It is not just the words that are spoken in a session that are important but how those words are said, what is not said, and why something is said. These are crucial elements in any therapeutic encounter as these processes will shape and determine the quality of that encounter. It is these elements which are the focus of a process report. WHAT IS A PROCESS REPORT? WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE? A process report is a written description of the therapist’s method, techniques and metacommunication which occurred in a therapeutic encounter. It describes the execution of theoretical material and the therapist’s view about the resulting impact upon the client, counsellor, and the therapeutic relationship. It is based upon a recorded segment of an actual therapy session that is then transcribed so that the therapeutic process can be examined and discussed, line by line. The length of the actual report will depend upon the requirements of the particular training programme that you are undertaking, but you may expect this to be in the region of between 2,000 and 3,000 words. The purpose is to demonstrate your ability to put theory into practice and to reflect critically upon your work as a therapist. It is also a training exercise to make the therapist aware of his or her ability to effect the therapeutic process. This awareness will help you to become a reflective and proactive practitioner. How to write a process report 111 The emphasis of a process report is, as the name implies, on the processes of the session. Content should be discussed only when it helps to illuminate the process taking place. For example, if you are working from a cognitive-behavioural framework with a client suffering from panic attacks, you may at some point discuss a cognitive-behavioural model of therapy. The description of the model would illustrate the content of the session but why you chose to discuss this material, how you approached the discussion, the client’s reaction to it, your feelings about how it was received, and your decision to continue (or not) to work within that model would be illustrative of some of the processes taking place in the session. (For further examples of process reports, see Papadopoulos, Cross and Bor, 2003.)

EXAMPLE