Counseling

● A relationship between the counselor and client that is safe, confidential, trusting,
empathic, honest, genuine, accepting, etc.
● Where the client explores the situation for him or herself, understands the situation for
him or herself, decides for him or herself, and acts for him or herself.
○ builds relationship and trust with the client before counseling
○ Listening and asking the right questions to the client to help them analyze
themselves and their situations
● A process with a beginning and targeted end. in psychology, in gathering data, applying
techniques in a one-one interview, and assessing interests and abilities.
● This occurs when the counselee/client and counselor agreed to find solutions to
difficulties that deal with the stressful or emotional feelings of the counselee or client.
○ make an agreement and sign a contract for confidentiality
○ kapag sinabi sa parent:
■ will break the rule of confidentiality
■ parents might withdraw the client from undergoing sessions
● It involves providing client enlightenment, to be able to perceive things from a clearer
and better point of view. It is giving the client an opportunity to deal with his emotions,
experiences, or behavior, aimed at expediting positive change.
○ clients are hopeless
○ enlighten them so they can understand themselves and their situation and boost
their self-worth

Counseling is not…
Prescriptive
- "Go And Tell Your Mother What Really Happened."
- It is a process
Sympathizing
- "Yes, It's Hard. I Had That Experience. I Know Exactly What You Are Feeling. I Feel
Sorry For You”
- It is emphatizing
Practical Help
 - "You Go To Bed And I'll Look After Him For You."
- Mental, emotional, and behavioral help
Teaching
- "Life Is Like This...."
Preaching
- "You Should Not Have Done That."
Advice Giving
- "If I Were You I Would ....”
An Academic Indulgence
- for the counselor.
➢ From time to time any of the above may be required in a given situation, especially if the
context is not a formal counseling session, but in that instance, it is NOT counseling.

5 Major Goals Of Counseling

1. To assist the client toward behavioral change
2. To cultivate the client’s capacity to develop and sustain relationships
3. To enhance the client’s effective coping ability
4. To promote the client’s decision-making skill
5. To facilitate the client’s potential and personality development
➢ Take note that these goals are not exclusive since there are other goals that other
practitioners may emphasize or focus on.

Scope Of Counseling
1. Teenagers suffering from identity crises, conflict with parents, and peer pressures
2. People with anxiety or fear problems
3. People who have anger management difficulty
4. Children who have family problems, i. e., sibling rivalries, etc.
5. People with depression
6. Persons with concerns on the family of origin dynamics and akin issues
7. Persons with gender identity, sexuality, or homosexuality crises
8. People suffering from grief and bereavement
9. Persons with personal and interpersonal problems
10. Individuals who are undergoing recovery from sexual abuse
 11. Senior citizens trying to cope with challenges, limitations, and transitions
12. Persons who choose or are forced to be single: single, separated, divorced, or widowed
13. Persons with problems with spirituality or spiritual matters
14. Persons who need guidance on stress management
15. Persons with workplace stress and relationships problems
16. Confused young adult re: identity, relationships, vocation

Core Values Of Counseling

1. We value the potential of every human being to change and to continue learning
throughout the lifespan, in formal and informal settings, and especially in the
environment of counseling and psychological services.
2. We value strong relationships as the primary vehicle for helping others to learn new
ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, including collaboration within the university
community and partnering with other offices to provide comprehensive mental health
services to student
3. We value an emphasis on the prevention of mental health problems via
education, intervention, and outreach into the community
4. We value training new professionals and support for ongoing training of staff
5. We value respect for the diversity of individuals, their cultures, languages,
lifestyles, identities, ideologies, intellectual capacities, personalities, and capabilities to
expand our learning opportunities and understanding of global connections

Principles Of Counseling

1. Listening skills:
○ Listen attentively to the client in an attempt to understand the content of his
problem. Listen and try to understand the concerns being presented. Most
people want and need to be heard and understood, not advised.
2. Resistance:
○ When people resist certain changes that they hope will occur in therapy it is
important that the therapist not take this personally and recognize the stressful
nature of the process for the client. Some resistance to therapeutic change is
quite natural.
 3. Respect:
○ No matter how peculiar, strange, disturbed, weird, or utterly different from you the
client is, he must be treated with respect. You do not have to like the client, his
values, or his behavior, but you must put your personal feelings aside and treat
him with respect.
4. Empathy and Positive Regard:
○ Empathy requires you to listen and understand the feelings and perspectives
of the other person, and positive regard is an aspect of respect.
5. Clarification, confrontation, and interpretation:
○ Clarification is an attempt by the therapist to restate what the client is either
saying or feeling, so the client may learn something or understand the issue
better.
○ Confrontation and interpretation
○ are more advanced principles and we won't go into them except to mention their
existence.
6. Transference and Countertransference:
○ Transference is a process wherein the client feels things and has perceptions of
the therapist that rightly belong to other people in the client's life, either past or
present. It is a process somewhat related to projection. Understanding
transference reactions can help the client gain understanding of important
aspects of his emotional life.
○ Countertransference
○ refers to the emotional and perceptional reactions the therapist has towards the
client that rightly belong to other significant people in the therapist’s life.

Professionals & Practitioners In Counseling

Roles And Functions Of Counselors

1. Work with individuals, groups, and communities to improve mental health
2. Encourage clients to discuss emotions and experiences
3. Examine issues including substance abuse, aging, bullying, anger management,
careers, depression, relationships, LGBT issues, self-image, stress, and suicide
4. Work with families
 5. Help clients define goals, plan action, and gain insight
6. Develop therapeutic processes
7. Refer clients to psychologists and other services
8. Take a holistic (mind and body) approach to mental health

Competencies Of Counselors

1. Integrity
● Honesty, personal responsibility, and adherence to professional values
○ Demonstrates honesty, even in difficult situations
○ Takes responsibility for own actions
○ Demonstrates ethical behavior and basic knowledge relevant
professional ethical principles and codes of conduct

2. Deportment
● Understands how to conduct oneself in a professional manner
○ Demonstrates appropriate personal hygiene and attire
○ Distinguishes between appropriate and inappropriate language and
demeanor in professional contexts

3. Accountability
● Accountable and reliable
○ Turns in assignments in accordance with established deadlines
○ Demonstrates personal organization skills
○ Plans and organizes own workload
○ Follows policies and procedures of the institution
○ Follows through on commitments

4. Concern For The Welfare Of Others:

● Demonstrates awareness of the need to uphold and protect the welfare of others
○ Displays initiative to help others
○ Articulates the importance of concepts of confidentiality, privacy, and
informed consent
○ Demonstrates compassion (awareness of suffering and the wish to
relieve it) for others
 5. Professional Identity:
● Demonstrates understanding of self as professional; “thinking like a
professional counselor”
○ Demonstrates knowledge of the program and profession (training model,
core competencies)
○ Demonstrates knowledge about practicing within one’s competence

Areas Of Specialization Where Counselors Work

(Profession And Job Responsibilities)

Career Counselors:
● Help prepare their clients for the start, change, or advancement of their careers.
● Provide consulting, coaching, and counseling so that clients can explore their interests
and options more in-depth.
● Take things like personality, aptitude, interests, personality, and behavior into
consideration as they help guide clients towards careers that will make them happy.

Child Abuse Counselors:

● Helping victims of serious child abuse try to rebuild their psyche, trust, and happiness.
● Use their training to identify, analyze, and treat specific symptoms of child abuse and
they provide crucial therapy to help the child overcome their awful ordeal.
● Can involve playing, encouraging children to speak their minds, or even working with the
family to ensure the child is provided a safe and comfortable environment to continue
their development.

Community Mental Health Counselors:

● Provide therapy, consulting, and coaching to people who are having issues in a
community setting.
● Help clients understand their relationship to that community and help identify and treat
issues and problems that arise out of the community setting.
● Help people adjust to and understand their community better to minimize issues and
promote mental health for everyone.
Conflict Resolution Counselors:
● Conflict resolution is the art and science of resolving disputes in healthy and mutually
agreed-upon ways.
● Handled correctly: conflict can actually be a good thing that leads to teamwork and
better communication.
● Handled incorrectly: conflict can permanently damage relationships, slow progress, and
create even larger issues.

Depression Counselors:
● Trained to deal with the mental, emotional, and physical issues that can arise from
depression.
● Don’t just prescribe medication, they try to drill down to the root cause of the
depression
● Help clients identify steps they can take to overcome depression.
● Help clients understand why they are depressed and help them through the steps to
recovery.

Domestic Violence Counselors:

● Domestic violence is one of the more prevalent issues that take place in the home
setting and domestic violence counselors are the ones who help victims of domestic
abuse deal with and overcome their traumatic experiences.
● Identify certain adverse effects of domestic violence
● Help the patient slowly work to treat and combat those effects.
● Provide an important therapy for clients in need of understanding of their trauma and
someone to listen to their issues.

Geriatric Counselors
● Provide treatment, analysis, and counseling services to seniors and their families.
● Considered experts and have specialized training and knowledge of common mental
health issues that are known to affect seniors in particular.
● Assess, identify and treat problems so that seniors can understand the issues
they face and work to overcome them, and live comfortably
Grief Counselors:
● Help people cope with the grief and sense of loss that usually follows the death
of a loved one, a particularly emotional divorce, or another tragic life experience
● Adept at identifying what method of counseling or treatment works with each individual.
● Help clients not only deal with that grief but also help those clients deal with the grief
while they continue to be productive members of society.

Rehabilitation Counselors:
● Responsible for treating patients with physical, mental, or emotional issues so that they
can live as independently as possible.
● Deal with psychological and physical issues that affect patients including post-traumatic
stress disorders and severe brain injuries.
● Combine the knowledge to help patients understand and overcome their disability

Spiritual Counselors:
● .Deal with patients who have suffered spiritual trauma or dissatisfaction and they help
these patients get in touch with their spirituality, understand what is afflicting them, and
overcome or deal with that issue.
● Combine their spiritual or religious knowledge with an in-depth understanding of the
psychology behind the issues so that their patients can live happy and fulfilling lives.

Substance Abuse Counselors:

● Substance abuse is an unfortunate issue for thousands of people across the country.
● Trained to help people understand the motivation behind their substance abuse issues,
and then help people overcome and defeat those issues.
● Have psychological and physiological training that helps them understand emotional
and mental issues of substance abuse as well as the physical ones

Suicide Intervention Counselors:

● Have some of the most stressful and rewarding jobs as they are specifically training
in the psychology behind suicidal feelings and depression
 ● Job is to help patients with suicidal thoughts think more positively and continue to live a
fulfilling and rewarding life.
● Trained to identify motivations behind suicidal thoughts and help the patients deal
with those motivations so they can gain more self-confidence and self-worth

Transformational Counselors:
● Have some of the most stressful and rewarding jobs as they are specifically training
in the psychology behind suicidal feelings and depression
● Job is to help patients with suicidal thoughts think more positively and continue to live a
fulfilling and rewarding life.
● Trained to identify motivations behind suicidal thoughts and help the patients deal
with those motivations so they can gain more self-confidence and self-worth

General Principles Of Psychologist-Counselors

Principle 1: Beneficence And Non-Maleficence

● Psychologist-counselors strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care to do
no harm. In their professional actions, psychologist-counselors seek to safeguard the
welfare and rights of those with whom they interact professionally and other affected
persons.
● Beneficence is an action done for the benefit of others.
● Maleficence, on the other hand, is the act of committing harm or evil against another
person.

Principle 2: Fidelity And Responsibility

● Psychologist-counselors establish relationships of trust with those with whom they work.
● They uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and
obligations, accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior and seek to manage
conflicts of interest that could lead to exploitation or harm.

Principle 3: Integrity

● Psychologist-counselors seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the

science, teaching, and practice of psychology.
 ● In these activities psychologist-counselors do not steal, cheat or engage in fraud,
subterfuge, or intentional misrepresentation of fact.

Principle 4: Justice

● Psychologist-counselors recognize that fairness and justice entitle all persons to access
and benefit from the contributions of psychology and to equal quality in the processes,
procedures, and services being conducted by psychologists.

Principle 5: Respect For People's Rights And Dignity

● Psychologist-counselors respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of
individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination.
● They are aware of and respect cultural, individual, and role differences, including those
based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin,
religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status, and
consider these factors when working with members of such groups.

Clientele and Audiences in Counseling

Characteristics And Needs Of The Various Types Of Clientele And Audiences

Individuals
1. Child coming from a broken family
2. Child having sibling conflict
3. Drug abuse
4. Employee with work-related concerns
5. Person suffering from depression
6. Person with sexual disorientation
7. Person having difficulty in managing grief and bereavement
8. Person who is into a rocky relationship
9. Person who was a victim of sexual abuse
10. Person experiencing spiritual dilemma
11. Person suffering from stress and distress
12. Teenager having identity crisis
 13. Person suffering from extreme anxiety or fear

Groups and Organzations

1. Senior citizens/PWDs
2. Singles
3. Teenage Parents
4. Victims of Rape
5. Family who lost a loved one
6. Battered Wives/Husbands
7. LGBT Groups
8. Labor Unions
9. Student Organizations
10. OFWs
11. Victims of Human Rights Abuse
12. Out of School Youths
13. Street Children

Specific Work Areas Where Counselors Work

Where Can You Work with A Degree in Counseling?

Hospitals
● From assuming the role of a family grief counselor to providing mental health evaluations,
counseling professionals with a bachelor's or master's degree often find employment at
a hospital.
● Some counselors are hired to assist patients overcome various psychological and
behavioral issues, while others may specifically focus on the rehabilitation of a hospital
patient.
● With a Ph.D., Counselors can assume the position of clinical supervisor at a hospital, as
well as qualify for many other jobs in administration.

Inpatient Or Outpatient Detoxification Centers

● There are only a handful of residential (inpatient) drug addiction rehab centers in the
Philippines that provide affordable but world-class accommodations and evidence-based
 treatment programs. KAYA rehab is privileged to be in Baguio City, the Philippines's
summer capital. Baguio’s natural charm is irresistible with a nice cool climate, lush
greens, pine trees, and friendly people.
● KAYA offers personalized addiction treatment programs utilizing our Unified Treatment
Program, which is effective and evidence-based use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT), Facilitation of Twelve Steps, and Schema Therapy. KAYA caters to different
types of addiction like substance abuse (drug rehab), alcoholism (alcohol rehab),
problem gambling (gambling addiction rehab), food, Internet and sex.
● Counselors are hired to work in:
○ Inpatient facilities hire counselors to assist with 24-hour care of high-risk
patients battling substance abuse.
○ Outpatient facilities hire counselors to provide treatment during the day, while
patients are allowed to return to their homes at night.
○ Substance abuse or addiction counselors may also serve as detox specialists
or crisis workers within a detoxification center.

Mental Health Facilities & Agencies

● Providing one-on-one treatment or holding group therapy sessions, professionals
with a graduate degree in counseling are often employed at a mental health facility –
oftentimes according to their specialty.
○ For example, community counselors are hired at localized mental health
agencies to assist a local population, interact with community leaders, and bridge
the gap between support services found in surrounding areas.
● A master's degree in counseling can lead to employment as a social worker, mental
health counselor, or case manager at a mental health agency or facility.
● A doctorate in counseling qualifies a professional to take a position as a coordinator or
director of a mental health agency.

Residential Care Facilities

● A residential care facility provides counseling services to people living in a temporary
environment that requires continuous supervision. This may include facilities that house
troubled or at-risk youths, autistic children, or people with mental or physical disabilities.
 ● An associate's degree in counseling prepares graduates to work at a residential care
facility as a substance abuse or addictions counselor, where they may hold one-on-one
counseling sessions or lead group discussions with people suffering from a chemical
dependency.

Halfway Houses
● Halfway houses, also known as transitional housing facilities and recovery houses,
hire rehabilitation and substance abuse counselors to guide patients or residents in need
of help transitioning back to a societal environment, their family, their community, and/or
entering the workforce.
● Counselors may work in:
○ Voluntary substance abuse halfway houses, which allow recovering addicts to
transition from inpatient therapy to re-entering society by living in a structured
environment during outpatient therapy.
○ Court-mandated halfway houses, which provide structure and support under
strict supervision to formerly incarcerated juveniles and adults re-entering society.
○ Mental health-related halfway houses, where individuals receive mental health
counseling in a residential setting, such as patients that require medical
supervision or victims of domestic violence.
○ Detoxification center

Geriatric-Related Facilities
● Counselors, especially geriatric counselors, are often employed by facilities, agencies
and organizations that serve the elderly population, such as hospitals, assisted living
communities, senior community centers, retirement homes, independent living
communities, as well as long- and short-term care facilities.

Medical Hospitals And Outpatient Clinics For Veterans

● According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), there are more than 1,200 VA
community-based outpatient clinics, VA hospitals, and VA vet centers in the United
States.
 ● Counselors are hired to work with veterans, their spouses, and family to address issues,
such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and anger management. Usually, a
master's degree is required for the majority of VA counseling positions.

Correctional Facilities And/Or Prisons

● From mental health counseling to substance abuse counseling, the prison system
employs counselors to provide individual and group therapy for individuals who are jailed,
or living in a correctional facility.
● Correctional counselors also help develop a plan of action to assist inmates achieve
rehabilitation goals, and prepare them for transitioning back into society after being
released from prison.

Retail Businesses
● Assuming positions in the human resources or public relations departments of large
retail organizations, counselors with as little as a bachelor's degree are hired in the retail
sector.
● Job duties typically include improving company-customer relationships, as well as
designing and conducting training programs.

The Educational System

● Primarily helping students to better navigate the stresses of growing up and successfully
completing their studies, counselors play an important role at all levels of the school
system, such as providing crisis intervention following traumatic or violent occurrences –
like the death of a teacher, a gun violence incident, or peer suicide. Although a master's
degree is often preferred, some counselors with a bachelor's degree are able to
assume positions at a school.
● Additional work opportunities for counselors with an interest in higher education include:
○ Developing curricula for various certificate and degree programs
○ Evaluating counseling programs
○ Mentoring aspiring counselors
○ Writing textbooks
○ Pursuing original research
Career Centers
● The majority of graduates with a vocational or career counseling degree work in career
centers associated with high schools, colleges, as well as state government agencies. A
bachelor's degree in vocational counseling is acceptable for some places of
employment, but a master's degree is typically preferred, especially for counselors
applying for a position at a college and university career center.
● Outside of a career center, some counselors work as consultants that match candidates
to corresponding employment opportunities.

Rehabilitation Centers & Agencies

● Graduates with a bachelor's or master's degree in counseling may assume a position
with a rehabilitation agency on the state, private, and non-profit level. A professional with
a doctorate in counseling qualifies to become a director of a rehab facility.
● Counselors also find work in other job settings that involve rehabilitation, such as
colleges, elementary and secondary schools, prisons, and independent-living facilities.

Non-Profit Or Social Service Agencies

● Providing an array of counseling services centered on mental health, rehabilitation,
substance abuse, and other areas of social work, counselors with undergraduate and
graduate degrees find work at non-profit or social service agencies.
● Job candidates with a Ph.D. are qualified to oversee family counseling services for such
agencies, including the governmental division of Child and Family Services.

Religious Institutions
● Counselors who specialize in combining traditional mental health counseling with the
Christian faith often work in private practice and/or religious work environments, such as
a church. Professionals must obtain a certificate in Christian counseling before they
are able to use the Bible and religious teachings to treat clients.
● This type of professional is also not limited to strictly working in a religious setting, and
may assist anyone in need of counseling.
Public or Private Practice
● Those with a Ph.D. in counseling can become a licensed professional counselor that
works in a public or private practice. Most often, this type of counselor concentrates on a
particular area of specialization, such as mental health counseling, family and marriage
counseling, or substance abuse counseling.
● A bachelor's degree in counseling allows a graduate to assume the position of an
administrative assistant or researcher that works under the direct supervision of a
certified psychologist with his or her own practice or business.

Settings, Processes, Methods, and Tools In Counseling

Settings in Counseling

Government
- Since all counselors help patients or clients cope with the problems in their lives,
including mental or emotional disorders and stressful life changes, you might think their
employment options are limited. However, counseling is a diverse field, encompassing
several specialties. The workplaces where counselors find jobs are equally wide-ranging.
- Depending on your level of education, relevant work experience, and specialty, you may
work in hospitals, government agencies, private practices, or any number of healthcare
or other professional environments.

Private Sector
- Many private individuals and groups provide a rich source of counseling opportunities.
- The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector,
which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit,
and is not controlled by the government, as compared to the areas of the economy
controlled by the government being referred to as the public sector.

Civil Society
- Groups that represent several specific masses.
- The private sector somehow since they’re not funded by the government
 - Like the private sector, civil society serves as a vast workplace for professional
counselors. Civil society is the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and
institutions that manifest the interests and will of citizens. Civil society includes the family
and the private sphere, referred to as the "third sector" of society, distinct from
government and business.
- By other authors, "civil society" is used in the sense of
1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that manifest
the interests and will of citizens or
2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the
government.

Schools
- The Philippines mandates school counseling in middle and high school. The Congress of
the Philippines passed the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004, with a specific
focus on Professional Practice, Ethics, National Certification, and the creation of a
Regulatory Body, and specialists in school counseling are subject to this law.
- This law is created because legislators believe that schools need counselors as co-
partners of educators in the delivery of quality and value-oriented education. The
significant role of school counselors cannot be over-emphasized.
- Can teach in schools or be correctional counselors.

Community
- Much like its inherent multiculturalism, counseling in the Philippines has evolved from
multiple influences.
- Counseling encompasses a broad spectrum of disciplines (e.g., guidance and
counseling, counseling/clinical psychology) and an acknowledgment of the societal
context in which it occurs (e.g., poverty, physical disasters, overseas working, graft and
corruption, and economic and political instability).
- Counselors must navigate societal stigmas regarding the need for mental health
assistance and widespread ignorance of the field;
- they also advocate for mental health and resilience in difficult life circumstances.
- Practitioners can be involved.
Processes of Counseling
(Stages in counseling)

Stage 1: Exploring
- This is getting the client to start to talk. It may involve many false starts but the client
begins to explore the presenting problem.
- The presenting problem might not be the underlying problem, but this first stage is
essential.

Stage 2: Understanding
- The revelation to the client that the clients are responsible for the client’s life can be
traumatic.
- As the counseling series proceeds it should become clearer that there are themes that
run throughout the life of the client, e.g. inability to make decisions, inability to sustain
relationships, inability to accept responsibility for their own actions, a desire to blame
external events or people, etc.
- Acceptance of these themes by the client is largely dependent upon their willingness to
engage in the process and the skill of the counsellor in presenting challenges with the
right level of support.
- The pace of understanding needs to be set by the client so the client feels in control.
- Although many challenges are set by the counselor, the counselor needs to be
extremely aware of the ability of the client to accept them, consolidate the incremental
progress, and integrate the whole in the unfolding revelation.

Stage 3: Deciding and Planning

- Many counselors never get to this stage.
- They leave it to the client to decide and act in their own way and time.
- Ineffective counselors.
- Counselors let the clients act on their own or give up on them.
- Indeed, in an ideal case, once the client understands the need for action, he or she goes
out and acts on their own initiative.
- In most cases the client and counselor need to collaborate, both forming the ideal
solution to the present problem.
 - Conversely, some counselors try to start with this stage and wonder why their clients are
not cooperative!
- Failures are then blamed on the client!

Stage 4: Acting
- This is the stage that might never end! The relationship often needs to be gently
loosened, but ultimately there is no substitute for action – even if that is to accept the
situation with no apparent change!
- Remember that life is usually not so clear cut as these notes suggest, so part of the third
and fourth stages for some issues might overlap with the second stage of an ongoing or
greater issue.

Methods/Techniques in Counseling

Spheres of Influence
- This assessment tool will get the individual to look at areas of their life and see which
areas may be impacting and influencing them.
- The person’s job is to figure out which systems in their life give them strength, and which
ones give them stress.
- Some spheres of influence to consider are: themselves, immediate family,
friends, husband or wife, extended family, job or school, community,
culture or religion, and any external influences.

Clarification
- Counselors should often ask their clients to clarify what they are telling them to make
sure they understand the situation correctly.
- This will help the counselors avoid any misconceptions or avoid them having to make
any assumptions that could hinder their feedback.

Client Expectation
- When persons enter therapy, they should voice their opinions about counseling and their
beliefs about treatment.
 - In the beginning, they should be able to communicate with their counselor as to what
they expect to get out of counseling.
- This can help the counselor guide and direct his counseling accordingly.

Confrontation
- We do not mean the client confronting the therapist or vice versa.
- The confrontation that should happen here is within the client. The client should be able
to self-examine themselves during counseling.
- However, the speed at which they do this should be discussed between the counselor
and the client.

Congruence
- This has to do with the counselors being genuine with their feedback and beliefs about
their client’s situation and progress.
- The more authentic and true they are with their counseling, the more that their client and
work to grow and benefit from their help.

Core Conditions
- This technique in counseling goes over some essential traits that the counselor needs to
integrate for effective counseling, which are: positive regard, empathy, congruence or
genuineness, and warmth.

Encouraging
- Being an encouraging counselor for your client is an essential technique that will help
facilitate confidence and respect between both parties.
- This technique asks that the counselors focus on the client’s strengths and assets to
help them see themselves in a positive light. This will help with the client’s progression.

Engagement
- As a therapist, having a good, yet professional relationship with your client is essential.
- However, there are bound to be difficult moments in counseling sessions, which will
require influential engagement on the counselor’s behalf.
Focusing
- This technique involves the counselor demonstrating that he understands what his client
is experiencing by using non-judgmental attention without any words.
- Focusing can help the counselor determine what the client needs to obtain next from
their services.

Immediacy
- This is a technique of the counselor by speaking openly about something that is
occurring in the present moment.
- This helps the client learn from his real-life experiences and apply this to his reactions to
other past situations.

Listening Skills
- With any relationship, listening skills are needed to show that the counselor understands
and interprets the information that his client gives him correctly.
- The counselor should do this by showing attentiveness in non-verbal ways, such as:
summarizing, capping, or matching the body language of his clients.

Open-Ended Questions
- Open ended questions encourage people in a counseling session to give more details
on their discussion.
- Therefore, these types of questions are used as a technique by counselors to help their
clients answer how, why, and what.

Paraphrasing
- This technique will show clients that the counselor is listening to their information and
processing what they have been telling them.
- Paraphrasing is also good to reiterate or clarify any misinformation that might have
occurred.
Positive Asset Search
- A positive technique used by counselors helps clients think up their positive strengths
and attributes to get them into a strong mindset about themselves.

Reflection of Feeling
- Counselors use this technique to show their clients that they are fully aware of the
feelings that their client is experiencing.
- They can do this by using exact words and phrases that their client is expressing to them.

Miracle Question
- The technique of asking a question of this sort will help the client see the world in a
different way or perspective.
- A miracle question could be something along the lines of: “What would your world look
like if a miracle occurred? What would that miracle be and how would it change things?”

Stages of Change
- By assessing clients’ needs, counselors can determine the changes that need to occur
for their clients, and when they should take place.
- This can be determined by what they believe to be most important.

Trustworthiness
- The counselor must create an environment for his client such that his client feels that he
has the capacity to trust his counselor.
- A therapist must be: congruent, warm, empathetic, and speak with positive regard to his
client.

Capping
- A lot of counselors use the technique of capping during their sessions.
- Capping involves changing a conversation’s direction from emotional to cognitive if the
counselor feels the client’s emotions need to be calmed or regulated.
Working Alliance
- Creating a working alliance between a counselor and his client is essential for a
successful counseling environment that will work to achieve the client’s needs.
- This technique involves the client and therapist being active collaborators during
counseling and agreeing upon goals of treatment that are necessary, as well as how to
achieve those goals.

Proxemics
- This technique has the counselor study the spatial movements and conditions of
communication that his client exhibits.
- By studying his client’s body orientation, the counselor can determine mood, feelings,
and reactions.

Self-Disclosure
- The counselor will make notes when personal information is disclosed at certain points
of therapy.
- This technique will help the counselor learn more about the client and use this
information only to benefit him/her.

Structuring
- When the individual enters counseling, the counselor should discuss the agenda for the
day with his client, the activities, and the processes that he will go through.
- This technique in counseling will help the client understand his counselor’s train of
thought in determining how this routine will work for him.
- Soon enough, the client will get used to the routine, and this establishes comfort and
trust in counseling.

Hierarchy of Needs
- This technique involves the counselor assessing his client’s level of needs as based on
the progress that he is making.
 - The needs that he will factor in are physiological needs, safety needs, love and
belongingness needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. All these will
determine if the change needs to take place in counseling.

Tools Used by Counselors

THE EMPTY CHAIR

- used in psychodrama –spontaneous reaction to fictional confrontation –subsequently

often thought of as an example of Gestalt.

THE LETTER

- thought out consideration of what to say to the recipient without necessarily sending it.
Gives time to examine the response.

IDENTIFICATION WITH CHARACTERS FROM LITERATURE

- examines the qualities of fictional characters to evaluate desired qualities in clients.

FANTASY

- extrapolation of the previous technique.

PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY

- thought out consideration and description of the client by the client in the third person.
More objective by slight distancing from self and immediate emotional content.

SCULPTING

- describing relationships using cards, stones, people, etc. in a tableau or diagram. It can
be examined by altering the arrangement or participants’ viewpoints.

GILMORE’S SQUARE

- thought out consideration using a spreadsheet of Gilmore’s three areas of concern –

activity, relationship, and aloneness in the advancing approach of ‘I ought..’ ‘I want...’ ‘I
can...’ ‘I will...’.

VISUAL METAPHORS SUCH AS “THE SHIELD

- spontaneous symbols of important aspects of the client.

VISUALIZATIONS OR GUIDED IMAGERY

- detailed symbolism that can be used in a diagnostic and therapeutic capacity. Needs
specialist knowledge.

Counseling Services, Processes, And Methods

● Counseling is the service offered to the individual who is undergoing a problem and
needs professional help to overcome it. The problem keeps him disturbed high strung
and under tension and unless solved his development is hampered or stunted.
○ Mental health problem
● Counseling therefore is a more specialized service requiring training in personality
development and handling exceptional groups of individuals
● According to Willey and Andrew, counseling involves two individuals,
○ one seeking help and
○ a professionally trained person helping solve problems to orient and direct him to
words and goals. Which needs his maximum development and growth.

Counseling Services
● Counseling services are therefore required for individuals having developmental
problems because of the handicap they suffer in any area of emotional development
either because of hereditary factors or environment conditions.
○ Anger management problem

Most Common Counseling Services

Marriage and Family Counseling

● Trained therapists specialize in helping couples and families with issues like increasing
conflict, poor communication, defiant children, affairs, depression, anxiety and many
others.
 ● Marriage and Family Counseling Service promotes, strengthens, and empowers
relationships and reduces abuse within families, and educates professionals to assist
families.
● No marriage or family is perfect. In fact, many people may even admit that their families
are downright dysfunctional. Traditional families are not the only types of families that
seem to have problems, however.
● Because marriages and families today come in all shapes and sizes, marital and family
problems can affect all sorts of non-traditional families as well, including blended families,
extended families, single parent families, and families with same-sex parents.
● All different types of families might be affected by all different types of problems. There
are, however, a few very common arguments that arise in many families, causing undue
stress and problems. Some common arguments may be about infidelity, jealousy,
financial disagreements, child rearing, household responsibilities, substance abuse,
mental illness, teenage rebellion, various career paths, and more.
● These marital and family problems, thus, necessitate the services of professional
counselors.

Guidance and Career Counseling

● Your career development is a lifelong process that, whether you know it or not, actually
started when you were born! There are a number of factors that influence your career
development, including your interests, abilities, values, personality, background, and
circumstances.
● Career Counseling is a process that will help you to know and understand yourself and
the world of work in order to make career, educational, and life decisions.
● Career development is more than just deciding on a major and what job you want to get
when you graduate. It really is a lifelong process, meaning that throughout your life you
will change, situations will change, and you will continually have to make career and life
decisions.
● The goal of Career Counseling is to not only help you make the decisions you need to
make now, but to give you the knowledge and skills you need to make future career and
life decisions.
● Careers advice and guidance acts as a stepping stone for success. In order to let your
profession move in the right direction, you must know the path you need to follow. Being
ready and having everything pre-planned will make your life simpler.
 ● A lot of students in our country still lack awareness about career guidance. Going to a
counselor seems like a waste of time and money. However, for success, it is vital that
you get the right advice from the right person.

Rehabilitation Counseling
● Rehabilitation counseling is focused on helping people who have disabilities achieve
their personal, career, and independent living goals through a counseling process.
● Rehabilitation Counselors can be found in private practice, in rehabilitation facilities,
hospitals, universities, schools, government agencies, insurance companies and other
organizations where people are being treated for congenital or acquired disabilities.
● Over time, with the changes in social work being more psychotherapy-oriented,
rehabilitation counselors take on more and more community engagement work,
especially as it relates to special populations.
● Some rehabilitation counselors focus solely on community engagement through
vocational services, others in various states qualify as both a certified rehabilitation
counselor (CRC) and a licensed professional counselor (LPC), enabling them to focus
on psychotherapy.
● Community service to a culturally and ethnically diverse population, professional
functions, critical thinking, advocacy, applied research activities, and ethical standards
are integrated throughout rehabilitation counselor preparation and development.
● Though rehabilitation counselors are adept at understanding medical issues surrounding
the disability, they are trained in the social model of disability, which identifies systemic
barriers, negative attitudes and exclusion by society that mean society is the main
contributory factor in disabling people.
● Rehabilitation Counselors are often advocates in the community for people with
disabilities outside of the workplace, with most doing some form of community
engagement. As a good portion of counselors have disabilities themselves, the
counseling process often emphasizes self-advocacy skills.
● Rehabilitation counselors can be found in the leadership of many prominent
organizations that support human rights and civil rights for people with disabilities.
Mental Health Counseling
● Mental health counseling is what people typically think of when they hear the word
counseling, but counselors’ actual job duties may go well beyond what people imagine.
● Clinical counselors do indeed talk people through problems. In many cases, though, they
diagnose as well as treat mental illness.
● Some mental health counselors help people who have normal cognitive processes cope
with difficult life events, for example, physical illness, death of loved ones, and
relationship problems or divorce. Others help people manage serious mental illnesses
like bipolar disorder.
● Counselors need to know when to refer clients or patients for additional resources and
how to identify when abuse may be happening or when there is a risk of suicide or other
violence.
● Cognitive therapy is among the most common techniques, but some employ other
therapies. Some clinical counselors specialize and work with a particular population, for
example, the elderly.
● Mental health counselors may work for a variety of agencies: individual and family
services, hospitals, and inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities. Some are in
private practice.
● Clinical counselors often work as part of a healthcare team; the team could include
doctors, nurse specialists, psychologists, and even social workers.

Substance Abuse Counseling

● Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors advise people who suffer from
alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, or other behavioral problems. They provide
treatment and support to help the client recover from addiction or modify problem
behaviors.
● Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors work in a wide variety of settings,
such as mental health centers, community health centers, prisons, and private practice.
Most work full time.
● Substance abuse counselors diagnose and assess addiction problems, and treat clients
in a variety of ways. Because every patient is an individual and is struggling with
addiction in different ways, substance abuse counselors customize treatment plans for
 each client. They may meet regularly with clients as they recover, or work intensely with
individuals in crisis.

Educational Counseling
● School counselors design and deliver comprehensive school counseling programs that
promote student achievement. These programs are comprehensive in scope, preventive
in design and developmental in nature.
● A comprehensive school counseling program is standards-based and data driven, and
an integral component of the school’s academic mission. It focuses on academic, career,
and social/emotional curriculum that is delivered through classroom lessons, small group,
and individual consultation.
● Educational counselors help students recognize, accept and develop their potential,
adjust to the school, and develop the skills needed to cope with the problems they meet;
help young people come to know and accept themselves, their aptitudes and interests.
● Educational counselors teach pupils/students learn to use their interests and capabilities
and teach pupils/students develop their skills to cope with the problems they meet both
inside and outside the school.

Counseling Process
● The counseling process is a planned, structured dialogue between a counselor and a
client. It is a cooperative process in which a trained professional helps a person called
the client to identify sources of difficulties or concerns that he or she is experiencing.
● Together they develop ways to deal with and overcome these problems so that person
has new skills and increased understanding of themselves and others.

Step 1: Relationship Building

● The first step involves building a relationship and focuses on engaging clients to explore
issues that directly affect them.
● The first interview is important because the client is reading the verbal and nonverbal
messages and makes inferences about the counselor and the counseling situation. Is
the counselor able to empathize with the client? Does the client view the counselor as
genuine?
Some steps for relationship building for the counselor:

1. Introduce yourself
2. Invite client to sit down
3. Ensure client is comfortable
4. Address the client by name
5. Invite social conversation to reduce anxiety
6. Watch for nonverbal behavior as signs of client’s emotional state
7. Invite client to describe his or her reason for coming to talk
8. Allow client time to respond
9. Indicate that you are interested in the person

Step 2: Problem Assessment

● While the counselor and the client are in the process of establishing a relationship, a
second process is taking place, i.e. problem assessment.
● This step involves the collection and classification of information about the client’s life
situation and reasons for seeking counseling.

Step 3: Goal Setting

● Like any other activity, counseling must have a focus. Goals are the results or outcomes
that client wants to achieve at the end of counseling.
● Sometimes, you hear both counselor and client complain that the counseling session is
going nowhere. This is where goals play an important role in giving direction.

Guidelines for setting goal:

● Goals should relate to the desired end or ends sought by the student.
● Goals should be defined in explicit and measurable terms.
● Goals should be feasible.
● Goals should be within the range of the counselor’s knowledge and skills.
● Goals should be stated in positive terms that emphasize growth.
● Goals should be consistent with the school’s mission and school health policy.

Step 4: Intervention
● There are different points of view concerning what a good counselor should do with
clients depending on the theoretical positions that the counselor subscribes to. For
 example, the person-centered approach suggests that the counselor gets involved rather
than intervenes by placing emphasis on the relationship. The behavioral approach
attempts to initiate change or modifications or interventions. Like any other activity,
counseling must have a focus. Goals are the results or outcomes that client wants to
achieve at the end of counseling.
● Sometimes, you hear both counselor and client complain that the counseling session is
going nowhere. This is where goals play an important role in giving direction.

Step 5: Evaluation, Follow-Up, Termination, or Referral

● For the beginning counselor, it is difficult to think of terminating the counseling process,
as they are more concerned with beginning the counseling process. However, all
counseling should have successful termination.
● Counseling aims towards resolution of conflicts or problems. Terminating the counseling
process will have to be conducted with sensitivity with the client knowing that it will have
to end.
● Counselors are always mindful of avoiding fostering dependency and are aware of their
own needs. Preparation for termination begins long before the counseling becomes
tedious to both parties. Termination is considered not just at the end of a successful
relationship, but also is considered when it seems counseling is not being helpful
anymore. Think of this as a means of empowering clients. Counselors has a role to
review progress, create closure in the client-counselor relationship.

Methods in Counseling
Five Counseling Theories And Approaches
● Psychotherapy theories provide a framework for therapists and counselors to interpret
a client’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings and help them navigate a client’s journey from
diagnosis to post-treatment.
● Theoretical approaches are an understandably integral part of the therapeutic process.
But with so many different methods out there, how do you know which counseling
approach works best for you?
○ Whether you’re a student learning about counseling theories or a client looking
for the right therapist, the following detailed descriptions will give you a deeper
understanding of each counseling method.
Five Counseling Theories And Approaches

Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic Theory
● Psychoanalysis or psychodynamic theory, also known as the “historical perspective,”
has its roots with Sigmund Freud, who believed there were unconscious forces that
drive behavior.
● These techniques he developed are still used by psychoanalysts today.
● free association
○ freely talking to the therapist about whatever comes up without censoring
● dream analysis
○ examining dreams for important information about the unconscious
● transference
○ redirecting feelings about certain people in one’s life onto the therapist
● In general, psychotherapists and counselors who use this approach direct much of their
focus and energy on analyzing past relationships and, in particular, traumatic childhood
experiences in relation to an individual’s current life. The belief is that by revealing and
bringing these issues to the surface, treatment and healing can occur.
● This theory is highly researched, and as the field of neuroscience advances, counselors
are finding how psychodynamic theory can actually positively affect a client’s brain.
Psychodynamic theory can be more time intensive in comparison to some short-term
theories because it involves changing deeply ingrained behaviors and requires
significant work on understanding one’s self.

Behavioral Therapy
● Behavioral theory is based on the belief that behavior is learned. Classic conditioning is
one type of behavioral therapy that stems from early theorist Ivan Pavlov’s research.
● Pavlov executed a famous study using dogs, which focused on the effects of a learned
response (e.g., a dog salivating when hearing a bell) through a stimulus (e.g., pairing the
sound of a bell with food).
● C. F. Skinner developed another behavioral therapy approach, called operant
conditioning. He believed in the power of rewards to increase the likelihood of a behavior
and punishments to decrease the occurrence of a behavior. Behavioral therapists work
on changing unwanted and destructive behaviors through behavior modification
techniques such as positive or negative reinforcement.
Cognitive Theory
● In the 1960s, psychotherapist Aaron Beck developed cognitive theory.
● This counseling theory focuses on how people’s thinking can change feelings and
behaviors.
● Unlike psychodynamic theory, therapy based on cognitive theory is brief in nature and
oriented toward problem solving.
● Cognitive therapists focus more on their client’s present situation and distorted thinking
than on their past.
● Cognitive and behavioral therapy are often combined as one form of theory practiced by
counselors and therapists.
● Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has been found in research to help with a number
of mental illnesses including anxiety, personality, eating, and substance abuse disorders.

Humanistic Approach
● Humanistic therapists care most about the present and helping their clients achieve their
highest potential. Instead of energy spent on the past or on negative behaviors,
humanists believe in the goodness of all people and emphasize a person’s self-growth
and self-actualization.
● Humanistic theories include client-centered, gestalt, and existential therapies.
● Carl Rogers developed client-centered therapy, which focuses on the belief that clients
control their own destinies. He believed that all therapists need to do is show their
genuine care and interest.
● Gestalt therapists’ work focuses more on what’s going on in the moment versus what is
being said in therapy.
● Existential therapists help clients find meaning in their lives by focusing on free will, self-
determination, and responsibility.

Holistic/integrative Therapy
● Holistic and integrative therapy involves integrating various elements of different theories
to the practice. In addition to traditional talk therapy, holistic therapy may include non-
traditional therapies such as hypnotherapy or guided imagery. The key is to use the
techniques and psychotherapy tools best suited for a particular client and problem.
The Discipline Of Social Work

SOCIAL WORK
● It is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that seeks to facilitate the
welfare of communities, individuals, families, and groups, promotes social change and
development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people.
● It is reinforced by theories of social sciences and guided by principles of social justice,
human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversities.
● It engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance well-being.
● A Social Worker is a practicing professional with a degree in social work.

The Fields Where A Social Worker May Be Employed In:

Goals And Scope Of Social Work

1. Enhancing the people’s capacities to resolve problems, cope, and function effectively
2. Linking clients with needed resources
3. Improve the social service delivery network
4. Promoting social justice through the development of social policy
Principles Of Social Work

 Various authors may provide several principles of social work but agree on the fact that
central to social work are the principles of social justice, human rights, collective
responsibility and respect for diversities.

The Five Major Principles Of Social Work

1. Principle of Acceptance
2. Principle of Individualization
3. Principle of Self-Determination
4. Principle of Non-judgmental Attitude
5. Principle of Confidentiality

Principle of Acceptance

 Acceptance is a fundamental social work principle that implies a sincere understanding of

clients.
 This principle holds that the professional social worker accepts the client as it is. Social
workers who accept clients treat them humanely and considerately and afford them dignity
and worth.
 Social Workers convey acceptance by taking genuine concern, listening receptively,
acknowledging others’ points of view, and creating a climate of mutual respect.
 Acceptance implies that social workers understand clients’ perspectives and welcome their
views.
 In social work situation, a client invites a worker into his life, into his problem, into his
emotional stressful state, and into his personal affairs.
 The principle of acceptance says that the worker shows his/her acceptance by taking
genuine concern, listening receptively, etc.
Principle Of Individualization

 The client of a social agency is like all the other persons we have ever known, but he is
different too. In broad ways, he is like all other human beings; in a somewhat more limited
way, he is like all other human beings of his age or time or culture.
 But, as we move from understanding him simply as a human being to understanding him as
this particular human being, we find that, with all his general likeness to others, he is as
unique as his thumbprint.
 The client of a social agency is like all the other persons we have ever known, but he is
different too. In broad ways, he is like all other human beings; in a somewhat more limited
way, he is like all other human beings of his age or time or culture.
 But, as we move from understanding him simply as a human being to understanding him as
this particular human being, we find that, with all his general likeness to others, he is as
unique as his thumbprint.

Principle Of Self-determination

 Determination is a noun derived from the word “determine.” “To determine” mean “to decide
something.”
 Dictionary meaning of determination is “the process of deciding on or establishing a course
of action.”
 From these we can infer that self-determination refer to the process of deciding on or
establishing a course of action by a person, or a group, or a state by itself, without any kind
of foreign compulsion or coercion etc.
 Simply, the decisions which come from one self, which are the results of one’s own wishes
and desires.
 In social work literature, Self-determination is defined as “a condition in which a person’s
behavior (i.e. his actions and thoughts) comes from his or her own wishes, desires and
decisions.”
 The principle of self-determination is based on the recognition of the “right and need of
clients to freedom in making their own choices and decisions.” Social workers have a
responsibility to create a working relationship in which choice can be exercised.

Principle Of Non-Judgmental Attitude

 All human beings have dignity and worth. It is intrinsic. It is by nature. The principle of non-
judgmental attitude means that Social workers do not judge others as good or bad, worthy
or unworthy, dignified or undignified, etc.
 However, it does not imply that social workers do not make decisions; rather it implies a
non-blaming attitude and behavior.

Principle Of Confidentiality

 Confidentiality, or the right to privacy, social worker must not disclose the clients information,
such as their identity, their discussion with professionals, professional opinions about clients,
or records.
 Since clients often share sensitive, personal material with social workers, preserving
confidentiality or privacy is essential for developing trust, a key ingredient of any effective
working relationship.

Core Values Of Social Work

1. Service: to provide help, resources, and benefits to help people achieve maximum
potential
2. Social Justice: to uphold equal rights, protection, opportunity, social benefits to
everyone
3. Dignity and worth: every person is unique and worthwhile
4. Importance of human relationships: to value the exchange between social worker and
client
5. Integrity: maintain trustworthiness
6. Competence: practice within the scope of known skills and abilities
SERVICE TO HUMANITY

 Service to others is one of the main values in social work, from which all of the other values
stem. Social workers acknowledge that serving others is more important than self-interest
and put the needs of their clients ahead of their own. This can be difficult at times, and you'll
be expected to seek the advice of your supervisor or even participate in your own
psychotherapy to help you deal with any personal issues that may arise.
 Additionally, the value of service means that you'll be encouraged to volunteer some portion
of your time - or working on a pro bono basis, according to the Code of Ethics of the
National Association of Social Workers.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

 Social justice is another key value of social work. Many social workers decide to enter the
profession becausetheyrecognize the need to help underprivileged, vulnerable populations,
such as the homeless, those struggling with substanceabuse issues or victims of domestic
violence.
 As a social worker, you have an inherent desire to improve the lives of people who are less
fortunate or unabletoadvocate for themselves.
 According to the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers, social
change efforts in social work are primarily focused on unemployment, poverty,
discrimination and other forms of social injustices.

HUMAN DIGNITY AND WORTH

 As a social worker, you understand the inherent value of every human life, regardless of
background or beliefs. Yourespect the differences between your personal beliefs and those
 of your clients, taking into account ethnic andcultural diversity. There may be times that you
have to deal with your own biases against a particular population.
 It can be a struggle, but you have to put aside your feelings for the sake of helping your
clients. You acknowledgethat your clients have the right to self-determination -- even if you
think you know what's best in a given situation.

INTEGRITY

 Integrity means acting honestly, responsibly and ethically at all times. You are trustworthy
and you don't betray client confidentiality, unless you're required to do so in certain
circumstances by law, such as in cases of suicidality.
 Not only do you act with integrity, but you also promote integrity in your colleagues and
other professionals. For example, you don't ignore a colleague who gossips about a client --
you confront this colleague directly or bring your concerns to the attention of your
supervisor.

COMPETENCE

 The value of competence means that you practice in your area of expertise -- and you don't
misrepresent your skills or experience to get ahead.
 Competence also means that you're continually striving to improve your knowledge and to
make meaningful contributions to the profession.