Counselor Actions to Facilitate Client Change During Life-Design Counseling

The authors examined whether and how counselor interventions foster client change during life-design counseling (Savickas, 2015). Two counseling sessions were conducted. Interviews with the 2 clients and the counselor after each counseling session were done in accordance with interpersonal process recall (Larsen, Flesaker, & Stege, 2008). The results indicated a scheme of counselor interventions that corresponded to client change. Specifically, the counselor fostered client reflection and reflexivity by (a) exploring original constructions, (b) identifying problematic themes in the constructions, (c) interpreting those themes, (d) identifying and recording client change and reflection, (e) connecting the themes to current issues, (f) facilitating a process of critical review, and (g) facilitating the reconstruction process. The results add a counselor's perspective to the research on client change and suggest a study of cases facilitated by counselors with diverse styles and skills that could further identify links between client change and counselor intervention.