DISCIPILINE AND IDEAS IN

APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

Chapter 2: Understanding Counselling
Have you gone through counselling? How did you find the experience? Did you feel any change in your
behavior after the counselling? This chapter tackles counselling—its nature, goals, the counselling
process, the people involved in the process, and the values promoted by counselling.
At the end of the chapter, the students will be able to:
1. Define counselling and discuss its various aspects;

2. Identify and discuss the goals and scope of counselling;

3. Demonstrate comprehension of counselling principles;

4. Discuss the stages of the counseling process; and

5. Discuss the core values and ethical dimensions of counseling.

The term counselling connotes many different activities. The term has been applied to the activities of
school guidance counsellors, lawyers, insurance advisers, human resource specialists, and even doctors,
among others. Implicit in each of these uses is a definition of counselling as advice-giving and involving
an expert who tells others what they ought to be doing. In reality, counselling is more than advice giving.
Its emergence as a profession is rooted in the pioneering publication of Carl Rogers, Counselling and
Psychotherapy (1942). Rogers pointed out that the solutions to any individual’s problems lie largely within
that person. Attempts by others to impose solutions will likely fail because they do not acknowledge the
uniqueness of the individual or the person’s power to change. Rogers characterized counselling as a
partnership in which counsellors help clients better understand themselves, their problems, and their
personal resources for change.

Counselling is closely related to psychotherapy. While the latter focuses on the treatment of mental illness,
counselling addresses a much wider range of concerns apart from treating the mentally ill. Counselling
includes activities that address the well-being of the individual not only in the medical or clinical setting,
but also in other settings such as education, business, community, and family. Thus, a person who undergoes
counselling should not be thought of as being mentally ill. In fact, counselling is a normal and necessary
activity which ensures the well-being of the individual.
WHAT IS COUNSELLING?
Counselling is an interactive process characterized by a unique relationship between the
counsellor and client, which leads to the client experiencing changes in one or more of the
following areas:

1. Behavior — This refers to overt changes in the client's actions, as well as their coping skills,
decision-making skills, and interaction skills.

2.Beliefs — These refer to ways of thinking about oneself, others, and the world, or emotional
concerns relating to these perceptions.

3. Level of emotional distress — This relates to uncomfortable feelings or reactions to

environmental stress (Patterson and Welfel, 2000).

Counselling is also known as a helping profession. It seeks to improve the client's mental health
and well-being. Good mental health means that people feel comfortable about themselves. This
means they are not easily overwhelmed by their own emotions—by their fears, anger, love,
jealousy, guilt, or worries. This also means they can take life's disappointments in stride and accept
their own shortcomings. Mentally healthy people also feel right about other people—they have
satisfying and lasting personal relationships, are able to give love and consider the interests of
others, and respect their differences with other people. Finally, good mental health means that
people are able to meet the demands of life. They are able to act on problems as they arise, accept
their responsibilities, and welcome new experiences and ideas (Newstrom, 2007).

The objective of counselling is achieved through one or more of the following counselling
functions:
1. Advice. This pertains to telling a client what should be done. However, counselling is more
than an advice-giving activity. To give useful advice, the counsellor should be able to make
judgments about the client's problems and lay out the possible courses of action.

2. Reassurance. This involves giving the client courage and confidence that they are capable of
facing a problem. One problem with reassurance is that the client does not always accept it. Even
if the client initially accepts reassurance, their temporary self-confidence may fade away as soon
as they face the problems again.

3. Communication. This entails providing information and understanding. Counselling is an

exchange of ideas and feelings between two people—the counsellor and the client.
4. Release of emotional tension. This involves helping a client become free of frustration and
stress. This is sometimes called "emotional catharsis." Counselling provides the client an
opportunity to release their emotional tension by talking about their frustrations and other
problems. The release of tension does not necessarily solve people's problems, but it does remove
mental blocks by finding a solution.

5. Clarified thinking. Through emotional release, the counsellor encourages the client to engage
in more coherent, rational, and mature thought. Clarified thinking enables the client to accept
responsibility for emotional problems and find realistic solutions to them.

6. Reorientation. This involves a transformation in the client through a change in their goals,
values, and mental models. Reorientation helps the client recognize and accept their own
limitations as well (Newstrom, 2007).

THE COMPONENTS OF COUNSELLING

The important components of counselling are the counsellor, the client, and the working alliance
between them.

The Counsellor
A counsellor is a trained professional who serves clients through therapeutic communication,
which entails encouraging disclosure, listening to the client, and giving advice, among other things.
A counsellor can be a guidance counsellor in school, clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, marriage
counsellor, organizational behavior specialist, and even a doctor, lawyer, or parish priest.

A counsellor is expected to possess the following attributes and values:

1. A genuine desire to help the client. The counsellor should have a genuine desire to help
the client. This genuine desire must be experienced by the client throughout the counselling
process. If the client feels otherwise, counselling would be unproductive.

2. An acceptance of and respect for the client. Acceptance of and respect for the client are
essential in building trust and confidence in a counselling relationship. The counsellor must
demonstrate a positive attitude toward the client to maintain the latter’s trust and ensure
the success of counselling.

3. An ability to listen and understand the client’s psychological pain from his or her
perspective. This includes creating an environment in which the client feels safe enough
to disclose personal issues to the counsellor. This is achieved by the counsellor’s actions
such as keeping quiet while the client talks, intervening only to encourage him/her to
continue the exploration; demonstrating a keen interest in what she is saying; and
communicating a non-judgmental attitude.
 4. Excellent therapeutic communication skills. Effective communication skills will help the
counsellor guide the client in understanding him/herself and his or her situation. It is
necessary to help the client understand the connection between his or her present and past
feelings, thinking, and behavior, and certain unresolved conflicts in his or her life.

The Client
The client brings to counselling a number of ingredients which include the following:
1) Personal pain. This pain may be a reaction to an adversity like the death of a loved one,
or it may be an enduring concern like chronic low self-esteem. However, there are times
when a client seeks counselling not exactly because of personal pain but for other reasons,
e.g., deciding what course to pursue in college, choosing a job offer, or learning how to
improve class performance.
2) Help-seeking by choice. Counselling is based on the assumption that a client has
voluntarily decided to seek help. A client whose marriage is on the rocks may opt to see a
marriage counsellor to seek help on how to save the marriage. A student who confused as
to what course to pursue may also choose see a counsellor.

3) Personal issues. Counsellors hold the view that all client behaviors are a result of the
issues they struggle with. Clients inevitably bring their problems to the counselling sessions
and these could affect their

The Working Alliance Between Counsellor and Client

Ed Bordin (1979) argued that counselling and psychotherapy can be best understood as an
alliance between the counsellor and client who work together throughout the process. This
relationship is described as the counselling bond.

The counselling bond has several components. The first component is informally known
as the core conditions, which are conditions that bring about constructive personality
change in the client. There are three core conditions which must be experienced by the
client: empathy, respect, and genuineness.

• Empathy is experienced when the counsellors put themselves in the place of the client. An
empathetic counsellor will be able to better understand the experiences of his or her client.

• Respect is the counsellor's positive regard for the client. Rogers (1957) originally called
this unconditional positive regard (UPR), which involves caring for the client without
setting conditions for doing so.

• Genuineness means being consistent in one's feelings, thoughts, and behavior in the
relationship.
 The counsellor and the client work together for a purpose. Alvin Mahrer in his book The
Goals of Psychotherapy (1967) argued that there are two types of goals:

1. Amelioration of psychological distress

2. Promotion of psychological growth.

The counsellor increases the chances of helping his or her client when they both agree to
pursue goals that are:

• Within the client's direct control to achieve

• Realistic and achievable

• Set by the client himself/herself

• Positively and clearly stated

• Unmediated by psychological disturbance

• Based on the present state of the client

• Reflective of the amount of effort the client is willing to devote in achieving these goals

The counsellor and the client need to perform certain tasks to achieve their goals. These
tasks may be broad, such as self-exploration, or more specific, including engaging in
Socratic dialogue. This involves answering universal questions together, such as "what is
sorrow?" or "what is anger?"

In addition to the goals, tasks, and conditions needed in the counselling bond, the
counsellor and the client also need to look into their views about the problems being
addressed and how the counselling process can address these. However, it should be
noted that the counsellor's interpretation of his or her client's problems can be influenced
by the approach the counsellor has been trained in. Different approaches to counselling
emphasize different constructs or ideas, which can affect how the counsellor understands
his or her client's experiences.

PROCESS GOALS IN COUNSELLING

For us to understand the process of counselling, we need to distinguish between outcome goals
and process goals. Outcome goals are the intended results of counselling. They are described in
terms of change in the client after the counselling sessions and outside the counsellor's office. In
contrast, process goals are objectives that must be achieved during the counselling sessions and
in the counsellor's office. Process goals are considered instrumental in bringing about outcome
goals. One process goal is the establishment of rapport between the counsellor and the client.
Another example is the creation of an environment where the client has trust and confidence in the
counsellor.

Outcome Goals of Counselling

Counselling leads to change in the client. This is true for both individual counselling and group
counselling and whether the expressed intent of counselling is developmental (oriented toward
personal growth) or remedial (oriented toward the resolution of problems).

In counselling, change can take several forms: overt behavior change, improvement in coping and
decision-making skills, altered beliefs or values, or reduced emotional distress.

Behavioral change is easy to recognize because it is overt and observable. A behavioral change
might be the manner of solving a problem, as in the case of a child who learns to get what he or
she wants from others through verbal requests and negotiation rather than physical aggression. A
behavioral change can enhance one's potential for personal growth, as in the case of a middle-aged
person who returns to school or embarks on a new career. Changes in thoughts and attitudes tend
to precede changes in behavior.

Counselling may also enhance an individual's ability to cope with the realities of life. There are
certain environmental conditions that are adverse and are difficult to change. However, learning
how to manage one's life in the face of adversity makes room for accomplishment and enjoyment
despite such conditions.

Counselling also contributes to a client's ability to make important life decisions. The counsellor
teaches the client self-assessment techniques and ways to use information to arrive at personally
satisfying answers. For example, we know that career counselling is still a major concern in our
society. When one is confused about what career to pursue, he or she may undergo career
counselling.

A change in beliefs may also occur due to counselling. This may not be directly observable but
can be assessed from the client's verbal responses. An example of change in beliefs is the
improvement of the self-concept of clients; they begin to deem themselves competent and worthy
of being loved. Another example of change in beliefs is a boost in the morale of the client.
The final manifestation of change in counselling is relief from emotional distress (Brammer and
McDonald, 1996). Clients are able to find an avenue where they can safely vent negative feelings
about themselves. They are able to feel accepted and understood, and prevent their daily activities
from fully interfering with debriefing sessions help victims of disasters process and recover from
the trauma of the experience.
THE STAGES OF THE COUNSELLING PROCESS
Counselling has a set of stages that follow a complete sequence. Initially, the counsellor and the
client must establish contact, define together where the client is in his or her life, and identify the
client’s current difficulties. This is followed by a conversation that leads to a deeper understanding
of the client’s needs and desires in connection to his or her interpersonal relationships and to a
mutually acceptable diagnosis of the problems. Eventually, the counsellor gives a diagnosis of the
client’s situation, which both parties must find valid. Goals for change are then defined and the
appropriate actions to accomplish them are planned.

These stages are present whatever the setting of the counselling process—whether in school,
government, private sector, non-governmental organizations, or civil society.

The First Stage: Initial Disclosure

At the start of counselling, the counsellor and the client do not know each other well and have no
prior contact. A student, for example, may have been sent to the counsellor by his or her teacher.
A client might have been referred to the clinic by a friend. One important task of the counsellor in
this stage is to allay the client’s fears and encourage self-disclosure.

To encourage disclosure, the counsellor must set conditions that promote trust. Rogers (1951)
described these trust-promoting conditions as the characteristics of the helping relationship:

1. Empathy — understanding another’s experience as if it were your own

2. Congruence or genuineness — having one’s actions consistently reflect his or her

thoughts and feelings

3. Unconditional positive regard — caring for the client without setting conditions for doing
so

4. Concreteness — using clear language to describe the client’s life situation (Patterson and
Welfel 2000)
According to Carkhuff (1973) and Egan (1998), another important counsellor behavior at the start
of counselling is attending, or paying careful attention to the client’s words and actions.
The Second Stage: In-depth Exploration
In the second stage of counselling, the client should gain a clearer understanding of his or her life
concerns and begin to see a new sense of hope and direction. At this stage, a broad outline of the
pattern of desired change is beginning to emerge.

A client is only able to develop a newfound direction if the conditions in the initial disclosure stage
are met. For instance, if trust has been built in the first stage, the relationship between the counselor
and client becomes less tenuos and fragile than at the beginning. Tension beyond tolerable limits
is avoided, even when the counsellor begins to use more intervention tools and further explores
personal information about the client. The client becomes more ready to disclose more information
to the counsellor.
In the second stage, the relationship between the counsellor and the client becomes more secure.

The counsellor then discusses his or her impressions and observations of the client’s coping
behaviors. The counsellor must help the client examine these coping behaviors and whether or not
they are effective in solving his or her problems. By doing so, the counsellor not only shows
understanding of the client’s circumstances, but also the willingness to further explore better
options of resolving problems. It should be noted that at this stage, when making responses, the
counsellor not only exercises empathy, but also incorporates information from prior sessions.

Immediacy is an important quality that counsellors must exhibit in the second stage of
counselling. According to Egan (1998), immediacy can be characterized in three different ways. It
can relate to general discussions about the progress of the counselling relationship ("Is the
counselling process progressing in a way that is satisfactory to you?"). It can also be manifested
in the immediate reaction to the client's statements or in asking the client to disclose current
thoughts about the counsellor ("I am wondering about your reaction to my comments about your
teacher?"). Lastly, immediacy can be seen in self-involving statements that express the counsellor's
personal reaction to a client's progress ("I am impressed with what you have accomplished in just
a few counselling sessions").

At this stage, clients must realize that their habitual behavior may be detrimental to their well-
being. The clients also need to avoid engaging in the "familiar" yet harmful behavior, and instead
replace it with more beneficial behavior. Counsellors, meanwhile, must maintain a caring
relationship and avoid insulting the client for his or her past behavior.

Eventually, the counsellor and the client come up with a mutually acceptable assessment of the
client and a diagnosis of his or her problems. Assessment is a process of information gathering
that takes into account the client's history, life circumstances, and strengths. It involves the use of
behavioral observations, information from those connected to the client, and findings from
standardized tests (e.g., personality tests and career preference tests). Diagnosis, on the other hand,
is the actual identification of the problem that shall be addressed. Once a diagnosis is established,
the counsellor and the client can now identify the goals and plans that must be achieved to address
the diagnosed problem.

The Third Stage: Commitment to Action

In the final stage of counselling, the client must decide on how to accomplish the goals defined
during the second stage. He or she must identify or choose from possible courses of action and aim
for the best possible outcome. Ideally, the client comes up with or chooses a course of action with
help and encouragement from the counsellor. Once a decision is made, the client must commit to
this plan and to his or her new behavior while keeping in touch with the counsellor. The counsellor
should then monitor the client's immediate progress in solving his or her problems.

In case no action is planned, the last stage of counselling can focus on making sure that the client
has done everything possible to deal with his or her situation.

Types of Counselling
Counselling can be viewed as a continuum from full direction (directive counselling) to no
direction (nondirective counselling). Between the two extremes is participative counselling.
These types of counselling are commonly performed in both public and private organizations.

Directive counselling involves learning about, planning to solve, and motivating a client to
act on his or her problems. This type of counselling mostly accomplishes the counselling function
of advice, but it may also reassure, communicate, give emotional release, and to a minor extent
clarify thinking. Reorientation is seldom achieved in directive counselling. In directive
counselling, it is the counsellor who does most of the talking. The counsellor is implicitly superior
to the client. He or she is the "boss" or the "supervisor" of the client who is the "employee." The
client is psychologically dependent on the counsellor whose role as a problem solver may limit the
client's personal growth.

Nondirective or client-centered counselling is at the opposite end of the continuum. It

involves skillfully listening to and encouraging a client to explain his or her issues, understand
them, and then determine appropriate solutions. It focuses on the client rather than the counsellor;
thus, the client does most of the talking in this type of counselling. The client is psychologically
independent as a person, choosing a solution and making better choices for his or her future. The
counsellor, meanwhile, listens to the client in a caring and supportive manner and helps him or her
discover better courses of action. Nondirective counsellors follow the iceberg model of
counselling, which recognizes that there may be certain feelings not revealed despite
communication with the client. This is why nondirective counsellors encourage their clients to
open up more and reveal deeper feelings which may be necessary in solving their problems.

Participative counselling, also called cooperative counselling, is a mutual counsellor-

client relationship that establishes a cooperative exchange of ideas to help solve a client's problems.
The counsellor and the client both mutually apply their different knowledge, perspectives, and
values to problems. Participative counselling is considered a balanced compromise that combines
the good features of both directive and nondirective counselling and tries to avoid their
disadvantages. Participative counselling starts by using the listening techniques of nondirective
counselling. However, as the counselling session progresses, participative counsellors may apply
a more active role than that of nondirective counsellors. For example, if the counsellor works in a
company, he or she may have a broader knowledge of its policies or organizational framework.
Thus, they can help the client develop a different view of the problem. In general, participative
counselling includes the four counselling functions of reassurance, communication, emotional
release, and clarified thinking.

THE ETHICAL DIMENSIONS OF COUNSELLING

Counsellors are expected to value ethical practices in their work. Some important ethical
considerations in counselling are the following:

1. Informed consent. This means that the counsellor has informed the client of what to expect
in the counselling process and that the client has given his or her consent to participate in
the process.

2. Confidentiality. This means that the counsellor should not disclose confidential
information entrusted to him or her by his or her client. However, it should be made clear
that there are limits to absolute confidentiality and these need to be clarified with the client
before counselling. For instance, the counsellor must inform a relevant third party if the
client poses a significant risk to his or her own life. If the client is attending counselling
provided by a private institution, it is likely that the counsellor will have to provide periodic
reports to this company.

3. Protection and Development. The counsellor is expected to protect the welfare of his/her
client as well as his or her own. It is a professional requirement for counsellors to have
their work supervised. Supervision of counselling work enables the counsellor to offer his
or her client a more effective and safer service. In addition, continuing professional
development of counsellors is encouraged for their accreditation to be renewed (Dryden,
2006).