COMPANIONSHIPY THERAPY MODEL IN MENTAL HEALTH

There is no unique  “Companionship Therapy.” It  is  not a therapeutic orientation in the sense of  being  a set of techniques;  rather the term   denotesthat  process resulting from a specific combination of interpersonal ingredients. The recipe can be stated roughly as: take      a nonprofessional or paraprofessional counsellor chosen for his  interpersonal competence, orient him toward not giving advice, pair him with a client, structure frequent contact into  the relationship that evolves, and have a professional oversee itsprogress.

The companionship model combines elements of  friendship withelements of therapy. Its theoretical basis stresses the value of empathic, nonjudgmental, playful contact for the resolution of  emotional  difficulties. Therapy is removed from the therapist’s office  to  the  client’s  natural surroundings: his home or  place of recreation.  Client-counsellor contact maycover the  full gamut of activities that come under the rubric  ofcompanionship, as well  as  those  more  traditionally associated with therapy.Thus…