Unit 1 Guidance & Counselling
Lesson No : 03 Counselling
Objectives:
Dear students, afer reading this lesson, you should be able to:
Explain the meaning of counselling;
Understand the purpose of counselling;
List the basic Steps of Counselling;
State the principles of Counselling;
Acquaint yourself with the theories of Counselling.
Counselling
Counselling is the most important part of the Guidance Programme. It is rather the heart, essence or core of all guidance process. The success or failure of the guidance Programme is determined by
counselling service. Counselling is a process in which the pupil is approached on an individual level. He is helped in educatonal, vocatonal or psychological feld only at problem points. It is a sort of specialised service which makes effective use of informaton gathered about any individual. This informaton leads to self analysis and self directon. This self directon helps the individual in making maximum educatonal, vocatonal and psychological adjustment.
Meaning of Counselling
Counselling is a process which involves a relatonship between a professionally trained, competent counsellor and an individual seeking help. This relatonship is not casual, mater of fact or business like. It is characterized by warmth, understanding, acceptance and trust.
Definitions of Counselling
Blackham (1977) suggests that “counselling is a unique helping relatonship in which the client is provided the opportunity to learn, feel, think, experience, and change in ways that he or she thinks is desirable.”
Shertzer and Stone (1974) define counselling as “an interacton process which facilitates meaningful understanding of self and environment and results in the establishment and/or clarifcaton of goals and values for future behaviour.”
Cotle and Downie (1970) defne counselling as “the process by which a counsellor assists a client to face, understand, and accept informaton about himself and his interacton with others, so that he can make efectve decisions about various life choices.
Characteristics of Counselling
If we analyse the above defnitons, we can find out the following major characteristcs of counselling.
1. Counselling is a person to person relatonship.
2. It involves two individuals – one seeking help and the other ,a professionally trained person who can
help the frst.
3.The objectve is to help the counsellor to discover and solve his personal problems independently.
4. Counselling is democratc.
5. Counselling is a professional service.
6. Counselling is problem oriented.
7.Counselling is a learning oriented process.
Counselling and Related Fields
For beter understanding of counselling, it is necessary to study its relatonship with some other felds.
Counselling and Psychotherapy
Counselling refers to short-term mental health treatment while psychotherapy involves long-term
Aconsultaton and treatment.
Counselling deals with emotonal distress arising from the here and now situaton. Psychotherapy is useful when a person experiences emotonal disturbance, distress persistently for a long period and
paterns start emerging in the behaviour.
In short, psychotherapy helps the client in understanding the self and unravelling the root causes of the manifested problems and thereby developing a new perspectve about one’s life experiences.
Guidance and Counselling
Guidance and counselling terms have been in use interchangeably. Laymen and sometmes even
counsellors use these terms as if they are synonymous. Both counselling and guidance are mutually
related processes but not the same. Guidance is a more comprehensive process which includes
counselling. Guidance services include many other services apart from counselling. We may say that counselling is the most specialized and most important service in the whole guidance programme.
Advice and Counselling
Advice is sought with the convicton of being told what to do and advice is given with the expectaton
that what is told will be done. The person seeking advice is not really responsible for the course of acton and the consequence there of. It is not always necessary for the individual to understand all factors related to his/her acton. In counselling on the other hand,the very understanding of all related factors
is the crucial mater. Moreover, in advice giving the advisor is making decisions for the individual where
as in counselling, decision making is wholly the responsibility of the counselee. Therefore, the counsellor is fully responsible for his/her actons too.
Advice giving may be an incident and will be over in a brief meetng. But counselling is a process.
PRINCIPLES OF COUNSELLING
Counselling is based on a number of principles. These principles are:
1) Counselling is a process. It is necessary for the counsellor to understand that counselling is a process
and a slow process. Failure to understand this will result in annoyance and disappointment.
2) Counselling is for all. Especially in the school situaton counselling is meant for all the students and
not only for those who are facing problems or other exceptonal students. Counselling is more developmental and preventve than remedial in nature.
3) Counselling is based on certain fundamental assumptions.
a) every individual in this world is capable of taking responsibilites for him/herself.
b) every individual has a right to choose his/her own path, based on the principles of democracy.
4) Counsellor does not deprive the right of self-choice but simply facilitates choice. The counsellor
should give due respect to the individual and accept him/her as he/she is.
5) Counselling is not advice giving.
6) Counselling is not thinking for the client, but thinking with the client.
Counselling is for enabling the client to do judicious thinking.
7) Counselling is not problem solving. The counsellor simply assist the person to find soluton on his/her
own.
8) Counselling is not interviewing but conversing with the client in order to help him/her develop self-
understanding.
9) The counsellor should determine m individual diferences and provide for them.
10) The counsellor has to prepare the client to open to critcism including self critcism.
11) The counsellor acts as a facilitator or catalyst only. He/she creates an atmosphere which is
permissive and non-threatening, through his/her warm and acceptng relatonship with the client which helps the client to explore himself/herself and understand himself/herself better.
Check Your Progress 1
Put (√) mark on the following statements that are true.
I)The counsellor should endeavour to establish his/her own value system on the client.
ii) In the school, counselling is meant for only students having some problems.
iii) In counselling situatons the counsellor functons as a catalyst.
iv) Counselling is thinking for the client and making decisions for him.
PURPOSE OF COUNSELLING
Some of the major purposes of counselling are given below:
1) Achievement of positive mental health
An individual is said to have positve mental health when he/she is able to relate meaningfully with others and lead a fulflling life. He/she is able to love and be loved. One purpose of counselling is to help the individual to atain this state.
2) Problem resolution
Another purpose of counselling is to help the individual to come out of a difcult situaton or problem. It must be remembered that the individual is only assisted and fnds his/her own soluton for the problems.
3) Counselling for decision-making
Ability to make right and tmely decisions is crucial for success in life. One major goal of counselling is to make the individual capable of making independent decisions. Counsellor may assist the individual by providing necessary informaton or clarifying the counselee’s goals, etc. but the decision should be taken by the counselee himself/herself.
4) Improving personal efectiveness
An efectve person is one who is able to control impulses, think in creatve ways and has the competence to recognize, defne and solve problems. It can be seen that these diferent goals are not exclusive. These are all interdependent and overlapping.
5) Helping to change
For development, change is always necessary. Counselling helps individuals to make changes in their attitudes, perceptons or personality.
6) Behaviour modification
Another aim of counselling is to help in modifying the behaviour. Removal of undesirable behaviour or self-defeating behaviour and learning desirable behaviour is considered necessary for ataining effectiveness and good.
Basic Steps in Counselling
1.Purpose of Counselling. The purpose of counselling is to assist the individual to enable him to understand himself, his problem and situaton in a meaningful and realistc way.
2. Tools of counselling: It includes both the testng and non testng techniques i.e. Interviews, questonnaires, check list, rating scales, group discussion, and psychological tests.
3. Rendering of relevant informaton: Various types of Educatonal, vocatonal and personal informaton,
in order to widen their horizon and insight.
4. Encouragement: Report should be established with the counselees so that they are encouraged to
express freely their ideas, views and feelings. They should open their heart without any fear and inhibiton and do heart to heart discussion.
5. Planning: The counsellor is to help the counselee to choose the courses of studies or vocatons or
work out the solutons of his problem in systematc and a planned way.
6. Involvement of the client: As the ultmate decisions is to be taken by the individual so It is essental
that the client should be actvely involved in the discussion without any hesitaton and fear.
7. Analysing: Self analysis is the best method to understand oneself. It is for the counsellor to make him
to read his limitaton as well as assets.
8. Interpretng: The counsellor should assist the client to interpret himself the data obtained through
diferent techniques.
9. Clarifying: Clarifcaton of the self concept is the main functon of counselling. He should do it with
directive or nondirective or electve technique as it best suited to the situaton.
10. Approving: The counselee is not to make it a prestge point that what ever the client has decided
first, he must proceed on it. In case he wants to change his path and there is genuine reason to do so
and the alternatve is the second best in the existng circumstances, he must be allowed.
MAJOR THEORIES OF COUNSELLING
There are three major theories of counselling.
Directive
Non-directive
Eclectic
Directive Counselling
Directve Counseling is also known as counsellor centered or prescriptve counselling.
E. G. Williamson is
said to be the chief exponent of directve centered counselling.
Characteristics of Directive Counselling
1. Counsellor plays an important role in the whole process.
2. The counsellor is very actve.
3. Counsellor leads the interview process.
4. The client is always sub-ordinate to the counsellor.
5. The point of focus is the problem and not the individual.
6. This type of counselling stresses more on the person’s intellectual aspect than the emotional aspects.
7. The counsellor owns entre responsibility of solving the problems of his or her client.
Procedure/Steps involved in Directive Counseling
1. Analysis—Collecton of the data
2. Synthesis—summarizing and organizing the data.
3. Diagnosis—Interpretaton of the data.
4. Prognosis—Predicton about future process.
5. Counseling—Treatment given by the Counsellor.
6. Follow up—Evaluaton of the efectveness of the counselling.
Advantages:
1. This method is very economical and accumulates less time.
2. Counsellor perceives the client more objectvely than the client him or herself.
3. Emphasis is always on the problem and not on the individual.
4. Intellectual aspects are on priority than the emotonal aspects.
Disadvantages:
1. Here the client is more dependent and is not able to solve his own problems.
2. It fails in saving the client to commit the mistakes in future, as the counselee remains ever— dependent.
3. It kills the initatve of the client.
4. Scarcity of informaton regarding the client can create the possibility of wrong counselling.
Non-Directive Counseling:
Non-Directve Counseling is also known as Client centered or permissive counselling. Its chief exponent
was Carl Rogers (1961). According to this theory, people are what they choose to become. The theory holds the view that people are always fghtng the forbidding environment to express their good bye perpetually striving towards self- actualizaton. Using this theory, the role of the counsellor is to provide a warm atmosphere characterized by empathic understanding, concern and friendship as well as the development of a trustworthy relatonship that provides the unconditonal positve regard that catalysis the client to strive towards self-actualizaton.
Rogers has used this method of counselling in solving educatonal, vocatonal and many other problems.
Characteristics of Non-directive counselling
1. The client is the epicentre of this type of counselling.
2. The conversaton is led by the client himself or herself
.
3. The role of the counsellor is very passive.
4. Open-ended questons are asked.
5. No use of diagnostc instruments.
6. Clients can act with his intellect
7. The entre responsibility is of the client
.
Procedure/Steps involved in Non-Directive Counseling
1. Defining the problematc situaton
2. Free expression of feelings
3. Classification of positive and negative feelings
4. Development of insight
5. Terminaton of counselling situaton
Advantages:
1. Development of the problem solving ability
2. Unwanted testes can be avoided
3. Removes the emotonal blokes, help individual to bring out repressed
thoughts and reduces tension
4. Leaves its impression for a longer time.
Limitations:
1. Slow and time consuming process
2. If Client is immature it is not suitable
3. All the problems cannot be solved orally
4. Sometmes due to the counsellors passiveness, the client hesitate in expressing
his feelings
5. Not successful.
Eclectic Theory of Counselling
Eclectc Counselling is the synthesis of directve and non directve counselling. It represents a middle
position between the extremes as represented by the directive technique on the one hand and non-directve technique on the other. In this type of counselling, the Counsellor is neither too active as in
directve counselling nor too passive as in non-directive counselling. He just follows the middle path.
F.C.Thorne is the leading exponent of eclectic counselling. He used the word ‘Integrated psychology’ to
express his eclectc view. Its theoretcal foundatons are based on the following postulates:
1. All psychological conditons are examples of disorders of integratons and the goal of psychological
counselling is to strengthen this integratve process, thus fostering high levels of self-actualizaton. The focus is therefore, the person in the present situaton.
2. The therapist has to assess whether the client has the necessary resources to take on the
responsibilites of life.
3. If the therapist is satisfied, he gives the client the responsibility of taking on some routine tasks to start
with.
4. Therapy involves the training and reducton of the client in acquiring the controls necessary for self-
regulaton. Thorne uses the term psychological case handling instead of psychotherapy.
Steps involved in psychological case handling are:
a) Systematc diagnosis to obtain a complete picture of the clients problem.
b) Understanding the various counselling methods in terms of their strengths and limitatons.
c) Concentratng on the underlying causes rather than symptoms.
d) Choosing a specifc method suited to the needs of the client.
e) Evaluatng the method on the basis of the results obtained.
f) Scientfcally analysing the data and evaluatng the result.
Check your progress 2
1. Diference between directive and non-directive counselling.
2. List the steps involved in directive counselling.
3. Describe eclectic theory of Counselling.
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