Mediation, Counselling and Advocacy: a Case Study

This essay will review the case study of Leo and distinguish between the support services Mediation, Counselling and Advocacy. An appropriate intervention will be selected for Leo and determine how it can meet his development needs.

Mediation is an intervention used to resolve a dispute. It involves more than one party and focuses on reaching an agreement/settlement. Counselling is a therapeutic talking therapy which allows a person to express and explore their feelings in a confidential environment. Counselling can help clients to overcome personal or psychological problems by finding ways to deal with their emotional issues. Advocacy is about representation, ensuring the clients’ voice is heard. An advocate may speak on the client's behalf, defending and safeguarding their client's rights. All three services aim to help and support clients, listen and improve communication, deal in confidence and clients can withdraw at any point. Both Advocacy and Counselling help one side of conflict whilst Mediation is an impartial service.

Several issues surround Leo at present, the break-up of his parents indicate stability and emotional issues, Leo’s social development needs addressing, by not identifying with his peers and withdrawing from his social circle he may be isolating himself. Lack of education, signs indicate self-harming, homelessness, neglect and domestic abuse. The case study does not indicate any form of decision-making processes being made for Leo that may require representation, neither is Leo in dispute with another party therefore, advocacy and mediation are both unsuitable. Leo’s plea for help indicates his immediate emotional state needs addressing and therefore, Counselling is the most appropriate intervention at this stage.

According to Vitelli (2013), Hall (1904) suggests that storm and stress is inevitable during adolescent development, referring to decreased self-control. Evident in Leo’s conflict with parents, mood disruptions and risky behaviour. However, Bandura (1964) disagreed, blaming the mass media for creating such a view, he suggested that the storm some young people go through may arise from issues in early childhood experience. He concluded that expecting adolescence to be stormy often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

When working with children and young people it is important that counsellors recognise the development stages of the individual. Children and young people are more likely to be at different emotional and cognitive levels as their adult counterparts. Geldard and Geldard and Yin-Foo (2016) identified five adolescent development challenges; biological, cognitive, psychological, social, moral/spiritual.

Biological processes drive many aspects of growth and development, these changes result in profound psychological, sexual and emotional changes, especially during the transitional period between childhood and adulthood called puberty. According to Morin (2019) Most boys hit puberty by the age of 14. Teenagers are likely to experience growth spurt, voice breaking, body hair growth and changes to sexual organs. The counsellor needs to be aware of the rise in Leo’s sexual hormones may influence his emotional state, consequently there may be issues of feeling embarrassed, self-conscious, anxious, mood changes and fluctuations in self-esteem. The social challenges experienced by Leo include parental, family and social expectations. Missing school can hinder Leo’s cognitive development, the counsellor should encourage independent, critical and creative thinking.

Geldard, Geldard and Yin Foo (2016) developed the proactive approach which identifies three primary functions; relationship building, assessing and addressing the problem. They propose that to communicate effectively with children and young people counsellors require a range of skills including active listening, believing their story, identifying themes, joining with the individual, developing a trusting relationship, building rapport, empathizing with the child’s viewpoint and understanding non-verbal communication.

Geldard and Geldard and Yin-Foo (2010) believed that young people are egocentric, young people often believe that other people are incapable of understanding them and their feelings. This has important implications for counsellors. The authors suggest that children and adolescents may need help in presenting the issue, consequential awareness, addressing their development needs. Teenagers develop mature social relationships based on reciprocity and trust, strive to achieve emotional independence and develop their own guiding system of values and ethics which require acknowledgment. Teenagers are likely to experience heightened intensity of emotions and reactions but may be reluctant to share thoughts and feelings. The counsellor may need to explore different methods of communication, work collaboratively, flexibly and in an engaging way, significantly allowing autonomy and control to young people as much as possible to enable the child to grow, promoting change and develop a good client-counsellor relationship. The counsellor may need to device creative ways to help, support and encourage Leo to express and process his feelings.

Geldard, Geldard and Yin Foo (2016) suggest creative strategies such as art, journals, drama are appealing to children and young people as they are interesting and dynamic. When selecting creative strategies, the counsellor needs to be sensitive of the individual's personal preference.

Artwork can be used to help Leo understand his current issues, explore his feelings and make sense of them. Drawings and painting may permit Leo to reflect upon his current emotional state, identify ideas and make statements which may seem acceptable or unacceptable. The authors suggest Leo should interpret his own work to prevent misinterpretation and contamination of counsellor’s own ideas, beliefs and feelings. Leo may prefer to engage in a dynamic way through drama and role-play, exploring feelings, relationships, identity, making choices and experiment with new behaviours. Imagination can enable Leo change self-perceptions, reconstruct negative memories, get in touch with troubled experiences and move towards a comfortable space. Daily logs and dream logs can help identify repetitive behaviours.

“By nature of the profession, counsellors are to act in the best interest of their client, promoting client goals, protecting client rights, maximising good and minimizing harm.” (Stein, 1990)

In counselling ethical dilemmas are inevitable, The British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapy (BACP) sets out the expected ethical principles, values and good practice standards to guide counsellors in resolving ethical challenges. The counsellor needs to be mindful of the core principles; to honour the clients trust, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and self-respect. Geldard, Geldard and Yin Foo (2016) inform that confidentiality is deeply embedded in the BACP’s Ethical Framework. Counsellors need to be clear on the levels of confidentiality that can be provided. Depending on the nature of disclosure, the counsellor the may have an ethical or legal responsibility to disclose information for example when concerns are raised over safeguarding. The counsellor has an ethical duty to explain the limits of confidentiality to Leo at the earliest and ensure he understands them.

Mediation, counselling and advocacy are completely different services, but many similarities can be identified. The counsellor will need to tailor intervention to Leo’s needs and adhere to the code of ethics which governs the counsellor and client’s relationship, essential to good practice.