Understanding Counseling: Scope and Perspectives

Misconceptions about Counseling

• Counseling is not exclusively for the mentally ill
• Individuals don't always possess the ability to solve problems independently
• Problem resolution may require more than a single session
• Counselors do not provide definitive solutions for others' problems
• Counselors do not have ready-made solutions for all human problems

Perspective of Counseling

• Individualized and personalized assistance addresses pertinent personal, educational, and vocational issues
• Facts are studied, analyzed, and solutions are sought with the assistance of specialists, school and community resources
• Personal interviews are conducted to teach the counselee to make their own decisions as described by Good in 1945
• Counseling is a process between a counselor and client in a private setting to help the client change behavior for satisfactory need resolution as stated by Pepinsky and Pepinsky in 1954
• Counseling provides advice/guidance in emotionally significant situations as per Burks and Steffire in 1979
  • Clients understand and clarify views to reach self-determined goals with well-informed choices
  • Resolution of emotional or interpersonal problems are key

Key aspects of counseling

• Engages individuals and relationships for developmental, crisis support, psychotherapeutic, guiding, or problem-solving support (BAC, 1984)
• Provides chances to explore, discover, and clarify satisfying and resourceful solutions (BAC, 1984)
• Aims at helping people make choices and act on them
• Is a learning process that enables personality development
• Aims to enhance the psychological well-being of the client to help achieve potential

Definition of Counseling

• A professional relationship between a trained counselor and client, usually person-to-person
• Designed to aid clients in understanding self-determined goals through resolving emotional or interpersonal problems.
• Characterized by applying psychological theories and communication skills, modified by experience and intuition as defined by Feltham and Dryden in 1993

Characteristics of Counseling

• Process-oriented
• Typically for normal individuals facing challenges
• A dynamic interaction between client and counselor
• Requires client's honesty and forthrightness
• Requires counselor's confidentiality
• Requires counselor's warmth, sympathy, non-judgmental, and non-critical attitude
• Fosters a genuine relationship between client and counselor
• Operates at the level of rapport, not transference
• Explores client's conscious motives

Guidance vs. Counseling

• Guidance and Counseling are related but not synonymous terms
• Counseling is part of guidance
• Guidance means to indicate, point out, show the way, lead out, and direct
• Counseling is a specialized service of guidance that helps individuals understand themselves to give back to society

Definition of Guidance

• Hamrin & Erikson described guidance as assistance from a competent counselor to help individuals direct their lives and make their own decisions
• Ruth Strang defined guidance as a process that helps each individual discover and develop their potential for personal happiness and social usefulness.

Definition of Counseling

• Glenn F. Smith defined counseling as a process where a counselor assists the counselee in interpreting facts for a needed choice, plan, or adjustment
• Carl Rogers defined it as direct contacts to assist in changing attitude and behaviors.

Difference between Guidance and Counseling

• Guidance is broader and comprehensive, while counseling narrow and in-depth
• Guidance is more external, helping to understand alternative solutions and choose the right one, while counseling helps people understand themselves through inward analysis and propose alternative solutions
• Guidance is mainly preventive and developmental, while counseling is remedial, preventive, and developmental
• Intellectual attitudes are raw guidance material, whereas emotional attitudes are raw counseling material
• Decision making is operable at an intellectual level for guidance, whereas counseling operates at an emotional level.
• Guidance is generally for education and career matters, while counseling is for personal and social issues

Purposes of Guidance and Counselling

• Providing information and assistance
• Helping individuals make wise choices
• Improving self-understanding
• Facilitating adjustment
• Helping adapt to changes or new environments
• Making individuals self-sufficient and independent
• Promoting efficient use of capabilities and talent
• Promoting optimal personal and professional development
• Balancing physical, psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual growth
• Helping overall development and productivity

Further Functions of Guidance and Counselling

• Provide optimum development and well-being for the individual
• Help individuals adjust to themselves and society
• Help people understand themselves in relation to the world
• Aid individuals in efficient decision making
• Help individuals plan for a productive life in their social context
• Bring about changes in attitude and behavior

Characteristics of Guidance

• It is a process
• Guidance is a continuous process
• Choice and problem points are the focus
• Assistance is given to the individual in the process of development rather than a direction of that development
• A service meant for all and is both generalized and specialized
• Helps students make decisions and find direction for education or career
• Helps the counselee acquire independence and responsibility
• More than advice giving
• Offers something more than finding a solution to immediate problems

Elements of Counselling

• Counselling is democratic
• Concerns itself with attitudes and actions of students
• Centered around students’ needs and aspirations

Scope of Guidance and Counselling

• Addressing personal and educational needs/problems
• Addressing physical, emotional, social, moral and marital problems
• Addressing vocational, occupational and professional needs
• Addressing career advancement and holistic development
• Addressing situational problems

Needs for Guidance and Counselling

• Personal and Social Domain:
  • Personal and social development of the individual
  • Adapting to different stages of development
  • Promoting art of better living
  • Facilitating proper use of leisure time
  • Encouraging holistic personality development
  • Optimizing available opportunities
  • Motivating for effective self-utilization and development
• Educational/Professional Domain:
  • Aids in academic growth and development
  • Aids in vocational and professional maturity
  • Facilitates correct education and profession choice
  • Assists in handling educational and professional situations
  • Helps with proper utilization of human resources
  • Helps to adapt to changing education concepts
  • Prepares to adapt in change and emerging challenges
  • Helps in making proper career choices
  • Minimizes indiscipline

Principles of Guidance, According to Crow and Crow

• Focuses on all-round development
• Recognizes individual differences
• Relates to every aspect of life
• Promotes cooperation
• Continuous and lifelong
• Focuses on elaboration
• Responsibility of teachers and parents
• Requires flexibility
• Uses principles of evaluation
• Provided by a trained person

Principles of Guidance, According to Hollies and Hollies

• Emphasizes the dignity of the individual
• Recognizes that each individual is unique
• Focuses on the individual within their social setting
• Considers individual attitudes and perceptions as the basis for action
• Aims to enhance the individual's perceived self
• Assumes the individual has the innate ability to learn
• Requires continuous guidance from childhood to adulthood
• Requires information and personalized assistance from competent personnel

Types/Areas of Guidance Services

• Personal, social, avocational, health, educational, and vocational guidance

Organization of Counselling Services in Educational Institutions

• Centralization: Guidance and counseling responsibilities vested in trained personnel from the guidance and counseling department
• Decentralization: Responsibilities vested in teachers
• Combination: Guidance and counseling services provided by teachers and experts collectively

Purposes of Organization Counselling Services

• Help individuals with normal development problems
• Help individuals through temporary crises
• Identify disturbed behavior early
• Refer critical cases to specialists
• Facilitate communication in institutions and homes
• Support tutors/nursing faculty and those who want guidance and reassurance

Ingredients of Guidance and Counselling Services

• Admission Service: Admit right candidates to the right course
• Orientation Service: Welcome freshers
• Student Information Service: help students obtain a realistic picture of self
• Information Service: provide information related to education, occupation, and personal-social matters
• Counseling Service: the understanding of what he can do and what he should do, handle his difficulties in a rational way, make his own decision, etc.
• Placement Service: help students to be in proper scholastic track
• Remedial service: help students with improve their study habits
• Follow-up Service: reviews educational programme and satisfies the needs of students
• Research Service: discover, their strong & weak points and ultimately strengthen the whole programme

Organizational Set-up

• At universities, Deans are assisted by heads of departments of psychology and education, guidance committees, and counseling officers
• For constituent colleges, a counseling officer is assisted by the guidance committee and academic advisor
• For affiliated colleges, a counseling officer is assisted by the guidance committee and a vocational guidance officer, dependent on student numbers

Counselling Center

• Universities and large colleges are to have a counseling center headed by a trained counseling officer with a PhD or master's
• Performs selection, registration and orientation of students
• Provides educational, vocational, and personal adjustment counseling
• Provides physical and psychological services, remedial services, residence & food, and activities programs

Counselling Committee

• Serves to establish and maintain policies and articulate programs
• Acts in a planning capacity and clarifies roles, offering support, generating ideas, and making recommendations