Experience-focused counselling

Experience Focussed Counselling (Experience-Focused Counselling) (EFC) is a normalising, non-pathologizing approach to counselling or psychosocial support/accompaniment aimed particularly, but not exclusively, at persons who may be distressed by experiences such as hearing voices aka auditory hallucinations, visions or other phenomena which are commonly associated with diagnoses such as schizophrenia and other mental disorders.[1](Schnackenberg & Burr, 2017)

History

The term "Experience Focussed Counselling" is another term used for the "Making Sense of Voices" approach,[2][3] which is associated with the Hearing Voices Movement.[4][5]

Providers

Depending on their level of training and experience various professional groups (such as counsellors, therapists, social workers, pedagogues, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, nurses, occupational therapists) and peer workers (both formally and informally) can and have been using different levels of Experience Focussed Counselling (EFC) depending on the training they have received and their scope of practice (Schnackenberg & Burr, 2017). EFC may be used in addition to traditional talk therapies or instead of it.

In addition to individual practitioners, many agencies and nonprofits have also began to provide peer supportive services, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI),[6] the National Peer support Network,[7] the National Peer Helpers Association,[8] SAMHSA,[9] National Peer Review Committee,[10] and numerous independent service providers and community mental healthcare providers. Now, each state in the U.S. has incorporated this type of experience-focused counseling into their mental healthcare practices.

Method

Depending on the symptoms, histories and traumas of the individual receiving treatment, the methods of treatment may vary, as the experience-focused counseling and peer support movement[8] focuses on the worldview of the individuals. Typically, experience-focused counseling is performed by discussing the symptoms of the individual and their emotional and physical responses to trauma and/or mental illness by examining the individuals' current and past experiences to locate the cause(s) of their symptoms.

By focusing on the experience of the individual rather than the illness, the provider can begin to assist their client in finding the root cause of the trauma and onset of the symptoms causing the distress.

Various therapeutic techniques are used, with the aim of assisting the client in gaining insight and working through symptoms and emotional responses to their individual experiences. These may include:

See also

References
  1. Corstens, D.; Longden, E.; Mc-Carthy-Jones, S.; Waddingham, R.; Thomas, N. (2014). "Emerging perspectives from the Hearing Voices Movement: implications for research and practice". Schizophrenia Bulletin. 40 (Suppl 4): S285-94. doi:10.1093/schbul/sbu007. PMC 4141309. PMID 24936088.
  2. Romme, M.; Escher, S. (2000). Making Sense of Voices. A guide for mental health professionals working with voice hearers. London: Mind publications.
  3. Steel, C.; Schnackenberg, J.; Perry, H.; Longden, E.; Greenfield, E.; Corstens, D. (17 Jan 2019). "Making Sense of Voices: a case series" (PDF). Psychosis. 11 (1): 3–15. doi:10.1080/17522439.2018.1559874. S2CID 149766003.
  4. en:Hearing_Voices_Movement, oldid 1003960866
  5. Schnackenberg, J.; Burr, C. (2017). Stimmenhören und Recovery. Erfahrungsfokussierte Beratung in der Praxis. Cologne: Psychiatrieverlag.
  6. "NAMI".
  7. "National Peer Support Network | Peers For Progress". peersforprogress.org. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  8. "National Peer Helpers Associat... - Organizations - TakingITGlobal". orgs.tigweb.org. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  9. "SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration". www.samhsa.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  10. "National Peer Review Committee (NPRC)". AICPA. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  11. "NIMH » Psychotherapies". www.nimh.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  12. "EMDR Therapy - EMDR International Association". emdria.site-ym.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  13. "Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD - PTSD: National Center for PTSD". www.ptsd.va.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  14. "American Art Therapy Association". American Art Therapy Association. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  15. "Nature Therapy". Nature Therapy. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  16. "American Music Therapy Association | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA)". www.musictherapy.org. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
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