Work Within a Structured Counselling Framework

Effective counselling and therapy often relies on stages of development, accordingly developmental theories are used as tools to identify a crisis and assist counsellors to provide an appropriate counselling framework that presents the best interventions and resources to ensure the client’s well-being.  
Erik Erickson’s psychosocial stages of development extend from birth to death addressing various conflicts at each developmental stage of life to indicate either favourable or unfavourable outcomes. Erikson placed emphasis on the external world as the influence of culture on behaviour is determined by the interaction of genetic biological programming, psychological development and ethos (Arlene F. Harder, 2009).
Trajectory of life span development varies from individual to individual according to cultural experiences and ethnic identifications. In this sense the use of Erickson’s psychosocial stages of development become useful in identifying conflicts within an individual for assessment, therapy and counsel (Erickson, 1993).
The selected case study outlines a migrant family who are in the process of acculturation which may become stressful and disrupt an individual’s socioeconomic status, familial and social networks, cultural behaviour, expectations, and values (Snowman & Biehler, 2003). The counsellor involved must identify which psychosocial stage of development is best suited to each individual in order to provide effective counselling service.
 

The psychosocial stage of development for Abdi, a ten year old male, may be Industry versus Inferiority which usually affects those aged between six and eleven, categorised within the education system as Elementary to Middle School (Erickson, 1993). Abdi attends the local school and has been streamlined into normal classes despite his mild intellectual disability. This illuminates the crisis of Industry versus Inferiority, as Industry refers to purposeful or meaningful activity in the development of competency...