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Counselling Tutor

190 – Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development

Counselling Tutor

Ken Kelly and Rory Lees-Oakes

Education, Courses

4.6636 Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2021

⏱️ 61 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Establishing the Identity of the Client during Online Counselling - Counselling in the USA In Episode 190 of the Counselling Tutor Podcast, Rory Lees-Oakes and Ken Kelly talk about Erik Erikson's eight stages of development in 'Student Check-In'. 'Digital Counselling Revolution' then looks at the issue of establishing the identity of the client when working online. Finally, in 'Practice Matters', Rory talks to Meer Elkin about counselling in the USA. Erik Erikson's Eight Stages of Development (starts at 1.50 mins) It was psychologist and psychoanalyst Erik Erikson who coined the term 'identity crisis'. Erikson's work links with that of Sigmund Freud but focuses more on psychosocial rather than psychosexual development. Erikson had a particular interest in psychosocial development - that is, where people find themselves in the arc of their lives, from birth to death. Erikson's work is not widely taught in counselling and other training in the UK, but Ken - who grew up in South Africa - explains its prevalence there. He talks through in detail Erikson's eight stages of development: Stage 1 (birth to 18 months): trust versus mistrust Stage 2 (18 months to three years): autonomy versus shame and doubt Stage 3 (three to five years): initiative versus guilt Stage 4 (five to 13 years): industry versus inferiority Stage 5 (13 to 21 years): ego identity versus role confusion Stage 6 (21 to 39 years): intimacy versus isolation Stage 7 (40 to 65 years): generativity versus stagnation Stage 8 (65+ years): ego integrity versus despair For each of these stages, Ken and Rory have detailed discussion, drawing on examples to illustrate them, including from their own life experiences. Erikson's eight stages of development build on each other, and how the earlier stages go for an individual can have a major effect on how the later ones turn out. It can be really helpful for therapists to understand the stages and to bear these in mind when working with clients. Where are you in the eight stages of development, and do the themes given by Erikson for that stage fit with your own experience? You can download a handout on Erikson's eight stages of development model in the blue box above. Establishing the Identity of the Client during Online Counselling (starts at 33.05 mins) The BACP's Telephone and E-Counselling Training Curriculum includes a section as follows (2016, p. 7): Knowledge that absence of visual contact presents problems in verifying the identity of the client, and within this develop an ability to identify signs that a client may be older or younger than they purport to be by noting age congruence of language used and contextual information offered by the client. Be aware of legal and ethical differences when working with children rather than adults and be able to take reasonable steps to verify age the client's age accordingly. Develop an ability to elicit and triangulate lines of information about a client to substantiate their background and identity. Ken and Rory explain how much more possible it is for people to pretend to be someone they are not when not working face-to-face. Telephone counselling - and, even more so, email and text counselling - present opportunities for this. They discuss the potential dangers (e.g. when working with clients who are subject to domestic abuse), and warning signs to watch out for (such as the use of language that does not fit the stated age etc. of the client). Establishing the identity of clients is covered in more depth in our Online and Telephone Counselling Certificate course. Counselling in the USA (starts at 45.55 mins) How to practise as a counsellor in the USA is a question that is frequently raised in the Counselling Tutor Facebook group. If you aren't already a member, do come along and join over 37,000 students, qualified practitioners, tutors and supervisors interested in the world ...

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to the Counseling Tutor podcast, the must listen to podcast for students of counseling and psychotherapy.

0:10.6

Here are your hosts, Rory Lee's Oaks and Ken Kelly.

0:15.8

Hi, I'm Rory in with me as always is Ken.

0:18.6

How are you today, Ken?

0:19.5

Exceptionally well, I'm so glad to be here. We are at episode 190. Oh, there's so many episodes,

0:27.1

190. I can't believe we've been doing this so long, Rory. Of the counselling tutor podcast,

0:31.1

we are so glad that you have joined us here today. We have got three super duper topics that we

0:36.4

hope that you're going to get some value off, starting off with our student check-in where we kind of try and relate something that a student

0:43.1

may come across on their student journey. But today's topic, one of great interest to me,

0:47.4

and I think will be a great interest to students and qualified practitioners as well.

0:52.9

And that is Eric Erickson's human developmental stages.

0:57.1

We're going to dig into that, and I've got a little bit of a story to tell you relating to that as well.

1:02.3

Then we go into our digital counselling revolution where we recognize technology forms part of

1:07.4

how therapy is consumed and delivered by us as therapist, and we're going to be speaking about establishing identity of the client.

1:14.8

This has been a recent debate. It's a good topic. It's a great interest. You're going to love this one.

1:19.7

And then we end with practice matters. And in practice matters, we're going to be taking a peek into practice.

1:25.9

This is where we take a practitioner, have a look at

1:28.5

what they do in their practice. They share that with us. And Rory is going to be speaking to

1:33.0

Mia Elkin, who's going to be speaking about the differences between practice as a counselor

1:39.3

or psychotherapists in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. So that's our episode 190 for you, starting off with that student check-in.

1:49.4

Eric Erickson, human developmental stages, Rory.

1:53.9

Yes. I think Eric Erickson is a not very well-known theorist in the world of counseling and psychotherapy. I don't often hear

...

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