COUNSELLING
COUNSELLING
COUNSELLING
Guidance and
Indira Gandhi
Counselling
National Open University
School of Education
Block
2
TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES
UNIT 5
Techniques of Guidance 5
UNIT 6
Guidance Programme 29
UNIT 7
Group Guidance 45
UNIT 8
Techniques of Counselling 61
EXPERT COMMITTEE
Prof. Neerja Shukla (retd.) Dr. Swati Patra
NCERT, New Delhi SOSS, IGNOU
Prof. Jessy Abraham Dr. Eisha Kannadi
JMI, New Delhi SOE, IGNOU
Prof. M.C. Sharma (retd.) Dr. Gaurav Singh
SOE, IGNOU SOE, IGNOU
Prof. N.K. Dash Dr. Elizabeth Kuruvilla
SOE, IGNOU SOE, IGNOU
PROGRAMME COORDINATION
Prof. Saroj Pandey Dr. Gaurav Singh
SOE, IGNOU SOE, IGNOU
Material Production
Prof. Saroj Pandey Mr. S.S. Venkatachalam
Director A.R. (Publication)
School of Education School of Education
IGNOU, New Delhi IGNOU, New Delhi
October, 2017
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2017
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BESE-132: Guidance and Counselling
4
Techniques of Guidance
UNIT 5 TECHNIQUES OF GUIDANCE
Structure
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Objectives
5.3 Techniques of Guidance
5.4 Non-standardized Techniques
5.4.1 The Questionnaire
5.4.2 Observation
5.4.3 Sociometry
5.4.4 Autobiography
5.4.5 Rating Scales
5.4.6 Anecdotal Record
5.4.7 Case Study
5.4.8 Cumulative Record
5.4.9 Interviews
5.5 Standardized Techniques
5.5.1 Aptitude Tests
5.5.2 Achievement Tests
5.5.3 Interest Inventory
5.5.4 Personality Tests
5.6 Let Us Sum Up
5.7 Unit-end Exercises
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Children come into the world genetically endowed with all their human potential
for growing, developing and learning. You, as a parent or teacher have an exciting
opportunity as you become part of a team of adults interacting with young children
and stimulating the development of their human potential through careful and
thoughtful guidance techniques. A child’s natural endowment requires a rich
environment with thoughtful nurturing and guidance if the human potential
contained in each child is to reach full bloom in order to contribute fully to
improve the quality of human life.
5.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through the unit, you should be able to:
• explain the term techniques of guidance;
• describe the major techniques of guidance;
• enlist different non-standardized and standardized techniques of guidance;
• identify non-standardized and standardized techniques of guidance;
5
Techniques and Procedures • use different techniques of guidance in school settings; and
• discuss the techniques of guidance in education.
The techniques which are generally employed by guidance workers for collecting
basic data about a person are either standardized or non-standardized ones. The
non-standardized techniques are case study, interview, ratingscales, questionnaire,
observation, sociometry, biography, cumulative record, and anecdotal records.
The standardized techniques are tools of measuring interests, intelligence,
aptitudes and personality traits. Both the categories of techniques are used in
getting primary data. All the techniques are useful. The only consideration which
the guidance worker should keep in mind is that the techniques employed should
give reliable and objective information. Standardized tests of intelligence, interests
and aptitudes provide reliable and valid information. They are reusable, less
time consuming and can be scored easily. Non-standardized techniques used in
the study of human beings are also helpful, and sometimes give more useful
information than that given by standardized tests. For example, autobiography
which is a non-standardized technique does provide clues and insights into the
emotional problems of a person as well as hopes and aspirations. Similarly, case
study helps the counsellor in understanding the whole individual.The use of a
technique, however, depends upon what the guidance worker wants to get out of
it.
5.4.2 Observation
In this technique behaviour is studied through observation by a trained observer.
The effectiveness of the technique depends upon the skillfulness of the observer.
The observer is expected to observe well defined behaviours free from biases
and prejudices.
Observational techniques are useful in the study of students and individuals but
their usefulness depends upon the manner and purpose with which they are
conducted.
5.4.3 Sociometry
The purpose of this technique is to study the nature of social relationship of
individual within a group. It offers an opportunity to identify personality problems,
especially in isolates and the rejected. Isolatesare students who remain alone
with no relationships in the class. Rejected students are disliked by other students.
The technique is a useful source of information for appraisal of social behaviour
of students.
There are usually three types of sociometric techniques: (i) the nomination (ii)
the social acceptance and (iii) the ‘who’s who’ or ‘guess who’. In the nomination
techniques the student is asked to select and name his/her peers in terms of some
criterion suggested by the teacher. For example, the teacher may ask students to
name three best friends in the class. In the social acceptance technique, levels of
social relationship are stated and the student is asked to express his/her sociometric
choice. In the ‘Guess who’ technique, brief descriptions of various types of
students are provided and they are asked to guess who in the class matches with
the description. For example, one of the statements may be ‘The boy is always in
trouble with his parents’, who?
The sociometric data are presented in the form of a sociogram which shows
attractions and repulsions within a group and helps the teacher and the counsellor
in discovering the problems of students in relation to the group.
7
Techniques and Procedures 5.4.4 Autobiography
You might have read autobiographies of great personalities. An autobiography is
a description of an individual in his/her own words. As a guidance technique for
studying the individual, it gives valuable information about the individual’s
interests, abilities, personal history, hopes, ambitions, likes, dislikes, etc. In
guidance, structured autobiographic items are given to the individual and he/she
is asked to write them out. The autobiographical material thus obtained is verified
by various other means. Since feelings, values and attitudes cannot be measured
by any other technique, autobiography appears to be the one technique for
appraising these characteristics.
In a rating scale, the characteristics are rated according to given number of points.
The points are in terms of grades or numbers. For example, meeting strangers
may present a serious problem to one individual and no problem at all to another.
Between these two extremes, the seriousness of the problem may differ from
one individual to another. The ratings may be qualitative or quantitative. For
example, seriousness of the problem may be rated as below:
Qualitative Rating Quantitative Rating Grading
Never a problem 0 E
Seldom a problem 1 D
Occasionally a problem 2 C
Fairly serious problem 3 B
Serious problem 4 A
Characteristic situations in which rating scales are used given below. These are
the situations when no other technique gives reliable and valid measurements of
the individual’s characteristics seeking educational or vocational guidance.
8
1) Areas which cannot be objectively measured. Techniques of Guidance
Types of Rating Scales: Some of the frequently used rating scales include: (a)
descriptive, (b) graphic, (c) forced choice, (d) the paired comparison, and (e)rank
order.
The teacher places a mark at a point which describes the trait possessed. A
check mark may be placed in between if necessary.
c) The Choice Method: Forced choice rating scale forces the rater to choose
between two alternatives such as True or False. The two alternatives appear
to be similar, nevertheless only one statement reflects the presence or absence
of the trait. The rater is forced to make a choice. A number of such statements
are given and the rater has to choose only one of the two from each pair.
Such word snapshots written by as many teachers as they meet individual students,
in as many situations as possible, give a true picture of the students’ behaviour
pattern or his/her personality.
Every teacher in the school should be provided with forms to write down the
incidents about students as and when they occur. A few basic considerations to
be kept in mind are given below:
1) The form should be short and informal.
2) Reports should be of some significant episodes. The episode described should
show a marked tendency from the norm of the individual or the group.
3) The anecdotes should be written about all students and not just about the
high achiever or the problematic ones i.e., stereotypes.
4) The anecdotes should be the reports of the actual observations and written
just after the events.
5) A single incident is of no value.
6) Both positive and negative incidents of behaviour should be noted down.
7) We should know what to look for, where to look for and how to record.
Uses of anecdotal records
1) Anecdotal records supply useful information about the individual’s
personality characteristics, reactions to different situations, interests in
studies/vocation and interpersonal relationships. They give a realistic picture
of students’ personality.
2) Anecdotal records are of special value in indicating social and emotional
situations.
3) Anecdotal records are very useful in fields where formal measurements are
very difficult. For example, in judging sociability, social alertness, social
behaviour, attitudes, acceptance of personal responsibility and work habits.
4) A healthy teacher-pupil relationship is established when teachers are asked
by the school organization to write down anecdotal reports.
5) Systematically kept anecdotal records provide an exceedingly valuable
information to the counsellor.
12
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5.4.7 Case Study Techniques of Guidance
Behind a case study there is always a large developmental view. The counsellor
is interested not only in diagnosing the problem and suggesting suitable remedies,
but s/he is also interested in bringing about a better adjustment. A detailed case
study is conducted for bringing about a better adjustment of the person who is
the subject of investigation. The counsellor looks for the strengths and weaknesses,
abilities and disabilities to plan possible ways of development and proper growth
of the individual.
Facts to be collected in a case study
A case study about a person presents basic information on the following topics:
a) the physical, socio-economic and cultural environment
b) the history and present status of the family
c) personal history of the individual.
a) The physical, socio-economic and cultural environment:The physical
environment includes the neighbourhood in which the individual has grown
up and now lives, rural/urban, working/middle class surroundings, living in
own/rented/makeshift home, small/large house etc. The socio-economic
environment refers to the society in which the individual is brought up and
its condition regarding material prosperity. Are the people among whom
the individual lives farmers, businessmen, or professional people? Does
the community provide playground facilities and youth activities?
Cultural environment – What are the ways of life, ideals and points of view
of those among whom one lives? Are they well educated and prosperous?
What about the social status of the family? Is it a progressive family? Is the
family well accepted or isolated in the community? Has it fallen into disrepute
or is held in high esteem?
c) Personal history of the individual under study: The study of the individual
is to be made in a similar way as done under family history.
Individual’s physical health – Has the physical growth been normal as shown
by height, weight measurements or by age, of walking, talking and reaching
puberty? Has there been some illness or physical defects, for example, those
of hearing and vision? Is the individual by appearance active, vigorous or
ailing? What are the findings of the medical check-ups?
Ideals and attitudes - Is s/he a person who believes in ideals? Has s/he
sophisticated tastes? Has s/he ever been a delinquent? Hass/he ever created
troubles at home, in the school and in the community?
Above stated are some of the many details which should be secured before
the case is diagnosed. The data about the individual so collected should be
interpreted keeping in view the total picture. Keeping in mind all the
information collected about the environment the family and his/her own
development, an appraisal is made of the total person. An explanation is
given as to what has made him/her what s/he is and recommendations are
offered as to what should be the most appropriate action in the light of these
findings.
14
Techniques of Guidance
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the block.
4) List the three main topics/headings you would collect information in a
case study technique.
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
The cumulative record has been defined as “a method of recording, filing and
using information essential for the guidance of students”. A cumulative record
card supplies information on points such as the following:
a) Personal: (i) name, (ii) date of birth, (iii) place of birth, (iv) sex, (v) colour,
(vi) residence.
b) Home: (i) names of parents, (ii) occupations of the parents, (iii) parents
alive or dead, (iv) economic status, (v) number of siblings, older or younger,
(vi) language spoken at home.
c) Test scores: (i) general intelligence, (ii) achievement, (iii) other test scores,
and (iv) personality traits.
d) School attendance: (i)days present or absent each year, (ii) schools attended
with dates.
e) Health:record of physical disabilities, vaccination record, diseases suffered
from.
f) Miscellaneous: (i) vocational plans, (ii) extracurricular activities, (iii)
employment during studies, and (iv) counsellor’s note.
If we analyse the items recorded on a cumulative record card, we find that only
such items are included as are recorded in a case study. Data collected through
non-standardized techniques like checklists, questionnaires, autobiographies do
not find a place in the record card file. It must be remembered that recording and
filing of information are not as important as using the information.
Need and Importance of Cumulative Record
The cumulative records about students provide useful information to teachers,
counsellors and administrators. The need and importance of cumulative records
in guidance are given below:
15
Techniques and Procedures Importance in Guidance
i) The basic principle and assumptions of guidance take into consideration
individual differences. Every individual differs from the other in some
psychological character, quality or trait. For example, no two individuals
are alike. They differ from each other as far as interests, aptitudes and abilities
are concerned. Cumulative records reveal such individual differences and
indicate the nature and amount of professional assistance needed by
individual students at various stages of their development.
Importance in Teaching
i) The cumulative record of an individual student indicates if the achievements
are in proportion to his/her mental abilities. If the student is under achieving
he/she can be guided as to what steps he/she should take to remedy the
defect.
ii) The cumulative records of different students help the teacher in classifying
students in accordance with scholastic aptitudes and mental abilities.
iii) The cumulative records of different students of a class help the new teacher
in understanding the needs of students.
iv) They are diagnostic tools to analyse a behaviour problem or an educational
one. For example, why is a student backward in academic performance?
What steps can be taken to remove his/her backwardness?
v) Cumulative records indicate to teachers about students who need individual
attention.
vi) Cumulative records help the teachers in writing reports about individual
students, and the principal in writing a character certificate most objectively.
vii) Teachers can locate children needing special help and adjust the teaching
accordingly.
viii) For making case studies the cumulative record is very useful to teachers,
because there is some similarity of items collected.
Importance to Administrators – Cumulative records give enough information
to the juvenile courts, probation officers for understanding the delinquent
behaviour of a student.
16
Characteristics of a Good Cumulative Record Techniques of Guidance
19
Techniques and Procedures Advantages of an Interview
An interview is a non-standard technique used for studying the individual.
Interview is commonly used in counselling. It is a technique without which no
counselling is possible. It is a valuable technique for obtaining information, giving
information to a group, selecting a new employee and helping the individual in
the solution of an adjustment problem.
2) It is very flexible. It is useful in almost all situations and with people having
different backgrounds.
3) It serves a variety of purposes. You may determine your purpose and have
an interview for that purpose.
4) It has a great therapeutic value. An interview establishes a face-to-face
relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee. The direct
relationship gives a great insight into the problem faced by the client.
5) Interview is helpful in diagnosing a problem. It is very helpful in revealing
the causes of a problem faced by the client. Hence some psychologists regard
interview a very useful technique for diagnoses and remediation.
6) The face-to-face contact gives very useful clues about the client’s personality.
The facial expressions, gestures, postures convey meaning and reveal feelings
and attitudes indirectly.
7) Interview is useful to the client also because it enables him to think about
the problem and about his ‘self’. It is the most useful situation in which the
client gets a better understanding of his ‘self’, his abilities, skills, interests
and also of the world of work, its opening and their requirements.
8) Interview provides a choice to the client and the counsellor to exchange
ideas and attitudes through conversation.
Aptitude tests may potentially be used by counsellors and others because (1)
they may identify potential abilities of which the individual is not aware; (2)
they may encourage the development of special or potential abilities of a given
individual; (3) they may provide information to assist an individual in making
educational and career decisions or other choices between competing alternatives;
(4) they may serve as an aid in predicting the level of academic or vocational
success an individual might anticipate; and (5) they may be useful in grouping
individuals with similar aptitudes for developmental and other educational
purposes.
Special Aptitude Tests – You might have seen or heard about clerical aptitude
test, numerical ability test, etc. Special aptitude tests usually refer to those that
seek to measure an individual’s potential ability to perform or to acquire
proficiency in a specific occupation or other type of activity. Tests that measure
special aptitude are sometimes referred to as single aptitude tests because they
only secure a measure for one specific aptitude. Counsellors, most frequently
use standardized tests to measure a single aptitude in areas of mechanical, clerical,
or artistic abilities. Single aptitude tests have also been developed for use in
various graduate and professional schools. Aptitude tests are also available for
particular school subjects.
21
Techniques and Procedures Vocational Aptitude Batteries – Multiple aptitude tests typically consists of a
series of subtests that relate in varying combinations to a series of occupations
or occupationally related activities. Commonly used multiple aptitude batteries
are the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB); the Differential Aptitude Battery
(DAT); the Flanagan Aptitude Classification Test (FACT); and the Academic
Promise Test (APT).
Achievement tests are used as learning measures of (1) the amount of learning,
(2) the rate of learning, (3) comparisons with others or with achievement of self
in other areas, (4) level of learning in sub-areas, and (5) strengths and weakness
in a subject matter area because of their extensive use and relatively easy task of
identifying appropriate context measures.
You might have observed in your class that some students show more inclination
in math, while others in computers, some in literary activities, in paintings, etc.
Interest is a behaviour orientation towards certain objects, activities or
experiences. It is an expression of our likes and dislikes, or our attractions and
aversions. An individual chooses the most acceptable, suitable alternative out of
many, go after preferred objectives, activities, etc., and consequently derives
satisfaction, success and happiness out of the activities selected.
Interests are related to general ability, special aptitudes and values in various
ways. Linguistic and scientific interests are positively correlated with intelligence,
technical interests are related to mechanical aptitude and business interests are
related to the tendency to stress material as opposed to theoretical, social or
aesthetic values and so on.
Interest testing is done to achieve some purpose i.e.
i) To provide teachers and counsellors with information regarding the students
preference and aversions which will help them acquire better understanding
of students and their problems.
ii) To help the students to identify and clarify their interests in terms of the
demands of varied courses and careers and choose work and experiences
consistent with their interests.
iii) To enable teachers, counsellors and parents to know the kinds and intensity
of the student’s interests and assist him to prepare his educational and
vocational plans consistent with his interests.
iv) To help channelize the energies of the youth in appropriate directions.
v) To help in the selection of the right person for the right work, and thus save
frustration, unhappiness and disappointment in the lives of the individuals
and increase productive capacity of individuals.
Estimating Interests
One way of assessing the interests is to ask the individuals what they like to do.
The other way is to analyse the activities that a person performs. The third method
of assessing interests is by the use of interest tests and inventories. There are
many instruments now in use and majority of them deal with occupational interest.
1) Kuder Interest Inventories: There are various forms, versions and editions
of the Kuder Interest Inventories. They help in the measurement of interests
from different angles and are designed for different purposes. The items in
24
the Kuder inventories are of the forced-choice triad type. For each of three Techniques of Guidance
activities listed, the respondent indicates which s/he would like the most
and which s/he would like the least.
The following forms of Kuder Interest Inventories are quite common:
i) The Kuder Vocational Preference Record – It provides 10 interest
scales plus a verification scale for detecting carelessness,
misunderstanding and the choice of socially-desirable but unlikely
answers. The interest scales include: Outdoor, Mechanical,
Computational, Scientific, Persuasive, Artistic, Literary, Musical,
Social Service and Clerical. Forced-choice triad items are used. The
respondents indicate which of the three activities they would like most
and which least. The scores are obtained not for specific vocations but
for 10 broad interest areas.
ii) Kuder General Interest Survey (KGIS) – It has been developed as a
revision and downward extension of the Kuder Vocational Preference
Record. It is designed for grades 6 to 12. It employs simpler language
and easier vocabulary. It is a revision of the Strong Vocational Interest
Blank (SVIB).
iii) Kuder Occupational Interest Inventory (KOII) – The occupations
covered by this inventory vary widely in level, ranging from baker and
truck driver to chemist and lawyer.
iii) It helps the teacher and the counsellor. Personality testing through various
techniques will help the teacher and counsellor to get this information and
help the individual on the basis of this information.
Self Rating and Personality Inventories (Paper and Pencil Personality Tests):
An individual’s written account of the past behaviour, feeling and wishes can be
a good source of information about his/her personality. Self-ratings can be done
through personality inventories and paper and pencil tests. Both of these serve
as an excellent basis for interviews later.
As the word psycho-drama implies, the individual has to play a role spontaneously
in a specified situation. His/her behaviour is observed by trained observers. It is
assumed that individuals project their inner feelings and conflicts in the role
they play.
27
Techniques and Procedures The Daily Diary
The daily diary maintained by students can also serve as a device for the
measurement of personality. The diary, being of a very personal nature, can contain
the record of such events, thoughts and feelings as are of great importance to the
student. The diary, if properly maintained and made, can serve as a useful medium
of throwing light upon many aspect of the personality of the individual. It, being
an hour by hour record of the individual, is valuable for showing the general
pattern of a student’s life, the activities in which s/he is currently engaged regularly,
and some of his/her special interests.
Structure
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Objectives
6.3 Various Guidance Services
6.3.1 Orientation Service
6.3.2 Pupil Inventory Service
6.3.3 Occupational Information Service
6.3.4 Counselling Service
6.3.5 Placement Service
6.3.6 Follow-up Service
6.4 Organization of School Guidance Programme
6.4.1 Pre-requisites of a Guidance Programme
6.4.2 Planning of a Guidance Programme
6.4.3 Guidance Activities
6.5 Evaluation of Guidance Programme
6.5.1 Need for Evaluation
6.5.2 Steps in Evaluation
6.5.3 Methods of Evaluation
6.6 Let Us Sum Up
6.7 Unit-end Exercises
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Students facemany problems during the various phases of school life. These
problems may be related to personal, behavioural, educational, or vocational
factors. Enabling students to overcome these problems and become self-reliant
in future is one of the major aims of the guidance programme. However, one is
also aware that the implementation of guidance programme in schools is hardly
noticeable. This situation persists in spite of various recommendations made by
the government since the last few decades. One of the likely causes for the non-
implementation of guidance programme is largely due to the lack of adequate
knowledge among the concerned staff regarding the planning and organization
of the guidance programme in schools.
The present unit deals with the various services involved in a guidance programme
and the functions performed by each of these services. Subsequently a brief is
made on the planning and organization of guidance programme in the schools.
This is finally followed by a description of various steps involved in evaluating
the guidance programme.
6.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
• define a guidance programme;
• explain the various functions of a guidance programme;
29
Techniques and Procedures • prepare a plan for organizing guidance programme in school;
• enumerate different guidance activities required in schools; and
• describe the procedure for evaluation of a guidance programme.
Guidance Services
Orientation
Service
Follow-up Pupil Inventory
Service Service
Guidance
Service
Placement Counselling
Service Service
Occupation
Information
Service
30
3) Provide opportunities for the staff members and student body to interact Guidance Programme
with the new comers.
4) Develop favourable attitudes among the students both towards the school
and the staff.
One should also note that the orientation services are not only restricted to the
students, but they can also be extended for the parents and towards the community.
Further, this service needs to be organized for all students so that they fulfil their
various needs. In addition, this can also be a continuous activity, implying that
implementation of these activities can be distributed throughout the year.
Orientation Activities
The activities are to be organized based on the age group of the students and the
availability of resources.
The activities can be broadly classified as (i) Pre-admission Orientation and (ii)
Post-admission Orientation.
i) Pre-admission Orientation: This is one of the services which is lacking in
our schools. It helps to acquaint students with the institution, its tradition,
purpose, its rules and regulations, curricula, extracurricular activities, the
staff and the student body.
Activities: Some of the suggested activities could be:
a) visit to schools along with the staff or parents;
b) arranging conferences and talks with the parents, since they also play
a major role;
c) issuing handbooks or pamphlets giving information about the school,
its courses and activities; and
d) arranging exhibitions to expose them to the activities that students are
undertaking.
ii) Post-admission Orientation: This service can be provided throughout the
year. It helps the teacher in determining the abilities of students and thereby
adapting their teaching styles and activities according to the student needs.
Activities
a) Conduct various games like “get-acquainted” games where the student
can talk about themselves, such as their interest, hobbies, etc.
b) Arrange group activities, wherein the students are provided
opportunities to interact with each other and exhibit their abilities.
32
6.3.4 Counselling Service Guidance Programme
This service is the most fundamental aspect of the guidance process. The purpose
of it is to assist the students in the process of all round development. It provides
an opportunity to the individual to discuss their plans and problems with a
professional or counsellor in a helping environment. The process ultimately makes
a person capable of self-directing and self-sufficient. This service can be practiced
only by a counsellor. A detailed description of the role of counsellor and
counselling techniques are described in Unit 4&8. However, some assistance
can also be provided by the teacher in a school. This is because a teacher is the
one who spends maximum time working with the students in the classroom.When
the teacher comes across any student who displays deviant behaviours, he/she
can always refer the case to a school counsellor. Further, observations made and
recorded by the teacher about certain students can help the counsellor in the
counselling process. The counselling service includes individual counselling and
group counselling which we have explained in Unit 4. It must be noted that
counselling is open to all students.
Apart from placement, this service also orients the students to some of the job
applying techniques. The guidance worker could familiarize them with the
methods of applying for a job, identifying various sources of information and
how to prepare for the interview. These skills can be developed either through
group or individual counselling. A school that provides placement services hence
33
Techniques and Procedures should be capable to draw upon all the possible resources to assist its students in
finding suitable and appropriate jobs. The extent to which the placement service
fulfils this purpose is a measure of its effectiveness. This could largely be met by
a systematic and proper functioning of the guidance committee. The school
committee could also publicize about the placement programme both to the
students and community. Within the schools, the information could be published
in school magazine, notified in the libraries or announced in student assemblies.
Here, it becomes very essential in a guidance programme to learn the nature and
extent of progress of the student even after he leaves the school. This service
does not only pertain to the study of occupational aspect but also to other related
aspects such as emotional and social adjustments.
The guidance worker generally keeps contact with the students and drop-outs
after leaving school. One of the most common methods adopted for follow-up is
the questionnaire which is periodically sent to the students after they leave
school.Based on the experiences of former students, the guidance worker can
formulate future programme for the present students. The follow-up service has
relevance for research. After receiving valid information from former students,
the administrators can improve upon their services. Further, employing this
information, the educational institutions can conduct studies of the relationship
between the training given to these former students and how far the utilization of
the training was made. Studies on the effectiveness, efficiency and desirability
of the courses offered can also be conducted.
ii) Interpretation and presentation of that data to all the concerned personnel,
i.e. student, parent and community.
34
Guidance Programme
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the block.
1) Describe a guidance programme in 3-4 lines.
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2) List out the 3 major services of a guidance programme.
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3) Match the following.
Service Purpose
a) Counselling a) bridge the gap between home and school
b) Placement b) awareness of various career options
c) Orientation c) obtaining suitable jobs
d) Occupational information d) assisting in all round development
4) The service which keeps in touch with the students who pass out of
school is ...................... (Counselling/placement/follow-up)
5) The service which aims at collecting information about individuals by
various methods and techniques is
a) Counselling service
b) Pupil inventory service
c) Placement service
d) Occupational information service
6) Counselling service is not a part of guidance service. (T/F)
7) Guidance programme must be available for children at all levels.(T/F)
8) In elementary level, more emphasis must be laid on occupational
information service. (T/F)
9) Differentiate between placement and follow-up service.
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Techniques and Procedures
6.4 ORGANISATION OF SCHOOL GUIDANCE
PROGRAMME
The organization of guidance programme at the schools requires cooperative
effort of various personnel present both within and outside the school. The
programme must be planned with the assistance of various personnel like the
school principal, the staff, counsellor, career master and the parents. Before
planning a guidance programme, it is essential to understand the purpose and
aims of guidance which we have discussed in Unit 1.
Role of the Principal: The principal, chairperson of the committee provides the
required facilities for the smooth and successful functioning of the guidance
programme at the schools. Some of them have provision of a separate room or
office for the counsellor, space for conference room, clerical staff and other
physical facilities such as table, chairs etc. Apart from that appropriate action
needs to be taken by the principal to make suitable arrangements for the
procurement of psychological test materials, literature, documents and arranging
sufficient budget. Further, monitoring of the guidance activities are also been
done by the principal.
Above all, one should also be aware that during the initial stages of the programme
implementation, the following problems are likely to come up:
1) Inadequacy of staffor trained personnel to provide assistance for conducting
the service.
2) conflict of roles and responsibilities among the various personnel and
3) the involvement of personnel in non-guidance activities.
However, gradually you can overcome the above problems.
ii) Criteria for measurement: After the identification of objectives the criteria
for measuring them must be established. This is followed by the
determination of the appropriate methods and techniques to collect the
required data based on the criteria selected.
41
Techniques and Procedures iii) Implementation of the plan: Once the design of the plan is prepared, it
requires to be implemented. Before its implementations, the expert’s opinions
and suggestions from other guidance personnel could be obtained
subsequently. The activities could be organized and conducted in a systematic
way.
i) Survey method: It is one of the most commonly used methods. Here the
reactions of the students are collected either through questionnaires or by
personal interviews. The survey is not limited to the follow-up study of
school leavers, but it can also be done on the students who are still at schools.
iii) Case study method involves a detail and continuous study of each student
and maintaining contact with him/her for a considerable period. The careful
and individual follow-up of students helps them in making a better school
record in terms of monthly report. This monthly record will indicate the
effect of counselling/treatment of student.
On the basis of the objectives of each service, various guidance activities can be
conducted for the secondary and higher or senior secondary school students. The
activities are also organized keeping in view the need and characteristics of these
students.
2) Visit any school and study the functioning and objectives of the institution
at higher secondary level. Identify the student’s needs and prepare a list of
activities that need to be carried out by each service. Prepare a report in
about 600 words.
43
Techniques and Procedures 3) Suppose you are a counsellor of a school and you wish to make an evaluation
of the guidance services in your school. Write in detail the plan and how
you would like to go about doing it? Write a detailed report in about 600
words only (specify the objectives, and procedure).
5) A survey was conducted on all the 80 students of the secondary class IX and
X in a school. The following data was obtained.
a) 50% of the students were below average students.
b) 10% of the students were above average students.
c) 20% of the students drop-out very year.
d) 70% of the students are unaware of the various courses and job’s
opening.
Mention what guidance activities need to be adopted for any of the two groups
mentioned above. Justify your answer with the help of suitable illustrations.
44
Guidance Programme
UNIT 7 GROUP GUIDANCE
Structure
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Objectives
7.3 Group Guidance: Concept, Need and Significance
7.4 Principles of Group Guidance
7.5 Group Guidance Activities
7.5.1 Orientation to the Students
7.5.2 Career Conferences
7.5.3 Class Talks
7.5.4 Career Talks
7.5.5 Plant Tours
7.5.6 Group Discussion
7.5.7 Socio-Psycho Drama and Role Play
7.5.8 Visit to Career Fair/Exhibition
7.5.9 Career Quiz Session
7.5.10 Student Council Meeting
7.6 Aids to Guidance in Group Situations
7.7 Limitations of Group Activities
7.8 Problems in Organizing Group Guidance Activities
7.9 Let Us Sum Up
7.10 Unit-end Exercises
7.1 INTRODUCTION
Guidance can be imparted individually as well as in groups. This unit discusses
the concept of group guidance. It includes those activities of guidance which are
carried out in a group situation to assist its members to have experiences desirable
or even necessary for making intelligent educational, vocational and social
decisions. Such group activities save time and money. Further certain common
problems can be advantageously discussed among groups of students. It also
prepares the way for individual counselling.
7.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
• Define group guidance;
• Appreciate the need and importance of group guidance;
• Plan and organize group guidance activities such as career conferences,
orientation programme, class talks, career talks, visit to career fairs, etc;
45
Techniques and Procedures • Discuss the limitations of group guidance activities; and
• Identify problems in organizing group guidance activities and find ways to
deal with them effectively.
In schools, where group guidance is promoted, students are able to avail the
following benefits through participation in them.
1) Information regarding:
a) Higher educationprospects
b) Occupational opportunities and vocational preparation
c) Leisure time activities
d) Social and civic conditions.
2) Experience in cooperative living leading to the development of :
a) Interpersonal skills
b) Good sportsmanship
c) Understanding of the self and others
c) Social skills
3) Development of individual’s abilities and interests through:
a) Participation in group projects
b) Organization of student initiated activities
c) Special services and programmes in schools and other institutions.
Advantages of Group Guidance
i) It is suitable for certain kinds of guidance activities like information about
careers or orienting new entrants about the school. Here individual guidance
will be a mere waste of time and other resources involved in undertaking
the activity.
vi) It provides the individual with a chance for real group life and opportunity
to deal with people. In group situation students are more exposed to a variety
of group experiences which help them to modify their behavior in a socially
acceptable way. They also learn to respect others point of view.
viii) The informal and free atmosphere of the group discussion provides a good
opportunity to the counsellor to observe the behavior of each student in a
group situation and learn about them more. In individual counselling
sessions, artificiality in behavior may occur. Further the counsellor may
not be able to note the interaction pattern of the student. Thus, group
guidance is very much required in certain situations.
Orientation programme will not be the same for elementary, secondary and senior
secondary students. It has to be different at different levels depending on the
need.
50
7.5.4 Career Talks Group Guidance
Career talks are different from class talks. The topics for the class talks are general
and varied while career talks concentrate on information about the various careers.
For example, the topic for class talks could be ‘Effective Study Habits’ or ‘Time
Management’ whereas the topic for career talk will be ‘Careers in Chartered
Accountancy’.
While preparing the career talk, the general points are the same as for the class
talks. Certain additional guidelines while preparing the career talk are:
The main purpose of the plant tours is to increase the career awareness of the
students by their interaction with people at work in occupation.
Organization of a plant tour: The idea of the plant tour should be first discussed
with the principal.
Selection of venue: The place to visit should be the one where most students are
likely to work. It should be planned keeping in consideration the socio-economic
status and other variables of the group e.g., few places could be hotels, telephone
company, banks, etc.
Selection of transport mode: How to plan for such tours is another important
question. How do you get permission from companies for the visit? Parents can
act as a resource person. The parent who is involved in specific type of job can
be of potent help. Or else a direct call to the director of the company can be a
help. State to him/her clearly the purpose of your visit and size of the group.
Socio drama is useful in school situation. The plan is to create a situation, assign
roles to players and act out a planned sequence of events. For e.g. a skit may be
prepared showing a party situation. The aim is to make the participants learn
various social graces and manners. Such socio drama could take place in front of
a group of receptive audience.
Procedure: Some prerequisites for conducting a socio drama are:
• Describing clearly and specifically through discussions, situation common
to the group members. The situation should be appropriate to group
characteristics.
• Breaking down the situation into sequences.
• Obtaining volunteers to play the various roles. Creating a feeling of reality
about the situation by making the players familiar with the persons whose
role(s) they are planning.
• Carrying out the socio dramatic situational sequences.
The audience can give their reactions after the drama is over. Later on, all can be
asked to report on the learning that has taken place and also how they feel.
Problems that may come into the way of carrying out the socio drams are the
lack of time to plan and organize it and sometimes it is difficult to keep it at a
serious level.
Sometimes a reversal of role is helpful. For example, a boy has problem with
father. He feels that the father is always treating him as a kid. He won’t let him
take his cycle on the road. So, this boy doesn’t like the behavior of his father
towards him. In this case, the role play can be initiated. The boy can first act his
role and other student as his father. Once the role play has taken place, the boy
can change into the role of the father and another student plays his role. This
type of role reversal helps the person to see the other person’s point of view also.
These institutions sometimes use video cassettes, slide show, films, etc. to show
the nature of work related to that career. They distribute information booklets or
pamphlets free to the visitor.
Find out if such career exhibition/fair is organized in your city. The advertisement
appears in the newspapers from time to time.
These fairs save time and effort. The students need not go from one institute to
another to get information about the courses. But precaution must be taken and
find out if these courses are recognized by the concerned regulatory body. If the
courses are not recognized they may not lead to any job later.
Such council meet helps in knowing the students’ problems and building a rapport
with the students and the management. Further students feel responsible and
important. They play an active role in the decision-making.
vi) Plant tours do not require deciding upon the time for visit to the
plant. (T/F)
Career query boxes: As there is generally one full time counsellor in the school
and the work load is much on him, so it is not possible for him to devote time to
the career related questions individually. Moreover, many questions are common
therefore the counsellor doesn’t need to address them separately.
‘Career Query Box’ can be used in such cases. A wooden box of approximately
12×12 inches can be taken. There is a small cut on the top of the box from where
papers can be slipped in (like the ballet boxes). It can be locked. Students can
put their questions related to career with name and class. A day in a week can be
decided to open it. The answer can be written on slips of papers with the question
and put up on the display board. The help of the students can be taken for writing
the answers.
These problems can be overcome if tackled with a bit of planning, patience and
boldness. E.g. the problem of time table, which does not have a period for guidance
activities, one may take work experience/S.U.P.W. classes. Further, co-curricular
activity classes can be taken in rotation every week. Career quizzes can be arranged
with no difficulty if the entire plan has been discussed with management.
Further, the use of guidance in teaching and reducing the problem of truancy and
indiscipline, underachievement can be conveyed to the teachers. Once they find
a positive correlation between the two, they will be most willing to help.
Some of the activities of group guidance are group discussions, orientation, career
conferences, career talks, class talks, plant tours, career fair etc.. It also includes
many informal types of play groups like socio drama, psycho drama and role
play.
There are various supplementary things which act as aid to guidance in group
situations. These include reading material like books, magazines, newspapers,
pamphlets, prospectus, brochures, etc. Various audio visual aids are also used to
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Techniques and Procedures provide assistance in group guidance activities. Bulletin board display and career
query boxes provide immense help in carrying out the group guidance activities.
Charts and posters could be used for similar purpose.
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Group Guidance
UNIT 8 TECHNIQUES OF COUNSELLING
Structure
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Objectives
8.3 Counselling Skills
8.4 Behavioural Interventions
8.4.1 Behavioural Counselling Techniques
8.5 Cognitive Interventions
8.5.1 CBT techniques
8.5.2 Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
8.6 Transactional Analysis
8.6.1 Ego states
8.6.2 Contamination of ego states
8.6.3 Exclusion of ego states
8.7 Characteristics of Effective Counsellors
8.8 Let Us Sum Up
8.9 Unit-end Exercises
8.10 References and Suggested Readings
8.11 Answers to Check Your Progress
8.1 INTRODUCTION
After reading Units 1 and 4, you are familiar with the meaning of counselling
and may have realized the importance of counselling services in our life and
especially for school going children. We have discussed the goals and principles
of counselling in schools. Counselling is a process and it goes through different
stages. We have discussed different approaches to counselling which belongs to
different schools of thought. Individual as well as group counselling are important
in school settings. We have highlighted certain important areas in counselling
that schools should engage in. The effectiveness of the counselling process
depends on the skills of the counsellor and his/her ability to choose appropriate
strategies for dealing with problems of the client.
Children spend a lot of their time with teachers in schools. When students have
problems- academic, social or emotional- it is more likely that they approach a
teacher whom they consider confidante as in most cases they have nobody else
to turn to. Therefore, even if you had not prepared yourself for the role of a
counsellor, students tend to see you as their confidante and counsellor. This is
more so a telling reality in India as most schools do not have a counsellor. Teaching
is a helping relationship and the teacher is a helper.In this Unit, we are going to
discuss the skills required to be an effective counsellor and the various strategies
that can be used for helping the clients deal with their problems.
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Techniques and Procedures
8.2 OBJECTIVES
After going through this Unit, you should be able to:
• recognize the need for providing counselling service in schools;
• appreciate counselling as a helping relationship and an extension of your
teaching profession;
• explain the different skills of counselling;
• develop the various counselling skills and use them effectively in your
professional setting;
• explain the various behavioral and cognitive techniques used in counselling;
• demonstrate the applications of different behavioral and cognitive
interventions as a counsellor;
• explain the professional as well as personal qualities of an effective
counsellor; and
• develop professional as well as personal qualities required to be an effective
counsellor.
Active Listening
Counsellors not only listen to the words spoken by the clients but also to the
feelings, facial expression, emotion, gestures, and the unspoken thoughts of the
clients. This means, when the client speaks the counsellormust give full
attention. Active listening is essential for arriving at an objective assessment of
the client’s problem and determining appropriate strategies for starting the healing
process.
Attending
In the counselling process, listening and attending skills go together. Active
listening is possible only when the counsellor gives total attention to the client.
Total attention giving behavior of the counsellor means using body language,
facial expression, eye contact, head nod and such other non-verbal expressions.
If the counsellor is attending to phone calls, writing on the note pad, not looking
at the client, sitting away from the client with crossed arms, showing no facial
expression or such other cues would be perceived by the client as devaluing
him/her. Leaning forward towards the client indicates an attending gesture. On
the other hand, if the counsellor sits or leans too closely, the client may feel
intimidated and withdraws instead of opening about the problem.
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Egan (1994) has summarized the useful non-verbal behavior in counselling as Techniques of Counselling
SOLER.
S- Facing the client squarely indicates total attention to the client.
O – Open posture; crossed arms/legs may indicate less involvement of the
counsellor.
L – Leaning towards the client shows the counsellor’s interest.
E – Eye contact with the client.
R – Relaxed state of the counsellor which acts as social modeling for the client
to achieve relaxation.
Paraphrasing
This is restating or rewording the content (what is said by the client) back to the
client. This should not be mere parroting the words back to the client. Paraphrasing
involves reflection of the content and feelings of the client. Paraphrasing and
reflection help in confirming with the client if the counsellor has understood the
problem as narrated by the client.
Empathy
This refers to the counsellor’s ability to sense what the client is feeling,
experiencing and thinking. Empathic skill involves the use of attending, listening
and interpersonal sensitivity of the counsellor.
Asking Questions
Counsellors ask questions for fact finding and engaging with the client. Fact
finding questions are used for collecting data such as age, occupation, family
status etc. regarding a new client. Open-ended questions help in engaging and
establishing a relationship with the client. Open-ended questions are used to
elicit a response from the client, probe and expand a response given by the client
or explore deeper into the client’s problem.
Immediacy
Immediacy refers to the counsellor disclosing feelings about the client or the
therapeutic interaction at that moment as it happens. For example, after listening
to a student who suffered sexual abuse, the counsellor may share his/her feeling
towards the student:
Counsellor: “I appreciate you trusted me with one of the most traumatic
experiences of your life. And I respect your courage for confronting the problem”.
Self-disclosure
This refers to the counsellor stating feelings about a similar situation as the client
is presently in. For example, the counsellor disclosing to a student seeking help
for dealing with public speaking phobia:
Goal Setting
After assessing the problem, the counsellor works with the client to set realistic
goals or behavioural changes the client wants to accomplish. It is important to
set goals that are achievable. Goals are set depending on the nature of the problem
and the client’s ability to engage in the helping process. Time bound specific
goals give a sense of purpose and accomplishment to the client.
Termination of Counselling
Counselling or therapy relationship is a contract. Therefore, it must come to an
end one day. Termination happens when the set goals have been accomplished,
the client wants to move on or end the relationship, the counsellor wants to
move on, the counsellor concludes that the therapy is not productive, or the
counsellor gives the client referral to another professional in the field. Whichever
way the termination happens the counsellor should prepare herself/himself and
the client for the eventuality. Abrupt ending of the counselling relationship may
adversely affect some clients. Therefore, it is better the counsellor discusses with
the client about the termination plan two or three sessions prior to the actual
event and prepares the client for the day. Morally a counsellor should terminate
the contract if she realizes that the therapeutic relationship is not productive.
After a few sessions, if the counsellor feels that the client is avoiding responsibility
for working towards the desired change, the client should be told so and the
contract may be terminated. Whatever be the reasons for termination, it should
leave a positive feeling with the counsellor and the client.
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Techniques of Counselling
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the block.
1) List the various counselling skills.
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2) Explain SOLER.
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3) What is paraphrasing?
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4) Explain goal setting skill.
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A) Exposure Therapies
Some of the commonly observed behavioral problems among children are due
to anxiety, fear, anger, phobia, etc. For example, a child may be fearful of entering
a dark room, speaking in the class room, an insect, animal, elevator or heights.
Exposure therapies are used to reduce these disabling feelings and emotions.
The client is gradually exposed to the problem situations or in imagination under
the supervision of the counsellor. The behavioural assessment should clearly
indicate that the problem behavior is irrational and inappropriate which means
66
the problem behavior is not because of the inadequacy of skills. For example, if Techniques of Counselling
a child is fearful of swimming it should not be due to the lack of swimming
skills. Let us now discuss some of the techniques used in exposure therapies.
Systematic Desensitization
In systematic desensitization and in vivo desensitization, the fearful situation is
paired with a state of relaxation. The systematic desensitization is done in the
following steps:
Constructing anxiety hierarchy
Training in relaxation
Desensitizing the anxiety inducing stimulus
Constructing Anxiety Hierarchy
The client is asked to list all the situations or events that induce anxiety and
arrange it in increasing order of intensity. In the anxiety hierarchy, the client may
be asked to construct 10-12 episodes/scenes that produce anxiety. The first scene
produces the least anxiety and the last scene produces anxiety of the highest
intensity. Given below is an example of a list of anxiety hierarchy created by a
client fearful of spiders.
Relaxation training
Anxiety induces physiological stress. In some people anxiety may cause irregular
heart beat, sweating or tightening of muscles. Counsellors use a variety of
relaxation techniques to help their clients deal with anxiety. In step 2 of the
desensitization process, the counsellor provides training to the clients in
relaxation. Clients receive training to relax different muscle groups in the order
starting with the small muscles (toes, feet) to the larger muscle groups (shoulder,
neck, face).
Another relaxation technique is using mental imagery in which the client is asked
to imagine herself/himself in a place or situation that is associated with pleasant
memories. The pleasant imagery helps the client to move into a state of relaxation.
When the client is in a state of relaxation, the physiological changes that happen
are opposite to the physiological responses induced by anxiety. In relaxation
67
Techniques and Procedures state, the heart beat and the respiration rate start returning to normalcy, and muscle
tension begins to loosen.
Shavasana is yoga posture that can be practiced for relaxation. In this yoga posture,
the client is asked to maintain the posture of a corpse and instruct the body to
relax gradually from toe to head. Vipassana is a meditation technique which can
be used for relaxation. Pranayama , the breathing technique which many of us
are familiar with, is another relaxation technique.
In Vivo Desensitization
In cases where systematic desensitization fails, in vivo desensitization can be
used. In in vivo desensitization, the client is gradually introduced to the real life
anxiety provoking stimulus. Here too the client is asked to develop a hierarchy
of fear inducing stimulus. The client receives training in relaxation techniques.
When the client is in relaxation state, the counsellor gradually presents the fear
producing actual stimulus. Some counsellors provide positive reinforcement in
place of relaxation.
Flooding
This technique is usually used when the systematic and in vivo desensitization
processes fail. As in the desensitization process, in flooding too the client is
given training in relaxation. A few sessions are used for learning the relaxation
techniques. The client may practice the relaxation techniques at home too. After
the client has learned the relaxation techniques, the counsellor exposes the client
abruptly to the anxiety provoking stimulus. Due to classical conditioning the
client has learnt to associate fear with the stimulus. In flooding technique, the
same principle is used to extinguish the fear response by replacing it with a
feeling of relaxation. Unlike the systematic desensitization process, in flooding
68
the exposure to the fear inducing stimulus is rapid, abrupt and direct. Flooding is Techniques of Counselling
applied in real situation and the client cannot escape from the situation.
Implosion
Flooding is done in real situation whereas implosion is done using imagery. Let
us try to understand implosion using Mohan’s case described earlier. Here, Mohan
may be asked to imagine a scene in which spiders are crawling around the room.
The counsellor continues with exaggerated details of the scene that the spiders
are crawling on Mohan’s face and entering his nose. In implosion treatment the
client may show strong emotional reactions. The treatment is continued till the
client is assessed to have eliminated the anxiety behavior associated with spider.
Let us consider another example.
Sonam is fearful of public speaking. She doesn’t ask questions in the class.
When the teacher asks question, she doesn’t say the answer although she
knows it. In implosion therapy, Sonam is asked to imagine a scene in which
she is addressing the school assembly, fumbling for words, students laughing,
whistling and hooting, noise becoming louder, and principal and teachers
angry and scolding her. Sonam goes through a few more sessions of intensive
anxiety evoking imagery of public speaking till her public speaking phobia
is eliminated.
Arunima teaches English in class IX. After the class also if the students
have any academic problem they would go to her and discuss. She would
listen and help them to deal with their problems. Mira teaches Science to
the same group of students. But the students do not go to Mira although
they experience difficulty in the subject. Initially when students would
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Techniques and Procedures
approach Mira to discuss their subject related problems, Mira would scold
them for not being attentive in the class. Gradually students stopped going
to her. As Arunima listens and provides reinforcement to the students
whenever they approach her, they continued to meet her and discuss their
subject related problems. Here, Arunima’s presence is an antecedent to the
behavior of the students which is discussing their academic problems. Or
we can say Arunima’s presence is serving as stimulus control for the
behavior of the students. As Mira did not reinforce the behavior of the
students, it gradually stopped occurring.
C) Role Play
We learn a behavior by observing others and then imitating their behavior. As
children we acquire certain behavior through modeling and imitating others.
Counsellors use role play technique to modify a behavior. Role play can also be
used to learn a new behavior. In role play, the counsellor and the client assume
specified roles and enact a problem situation. Initially the counsellor plays the
role of the client and the client does the role of the other actor (parent, teacher or
principal) in the problem situation. In the following session, they exchange the
roles which means the client plays his/her role and the counsellor plays the role
of the other actor. In the second session, where the client is playing his/her original
role in the problem situation, he/she attempts to model his/her behavior on the
behavior demonstrated by the counsellor in the first session. Over time in
subsequent sessions of role exchanges and modeling, the client learns a new
behavior or modifies the existing behavior so that the situation is no more
problematic. Consider the following case:
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Techniques and Procedures
8.5 COGNITIVE INTERVENTIONS
Aron Beck is the proponent of cognitive therapy. Cognitive approach to
counselling is based on the understanding that human behavior is influenced by
cognition or thought process. Therefore, when individuals respond to events or
situations they do so depending on their beliefs, attitude, or expectations. This
means there is a pattern of thinking behind our manifested behaviour. That
ineffective behavior is due to distortion in the thinking process.So if maladaptive
behavior has to be unlearnt, modified or a new behaviour has to be learnt, changing
the thinking pattern is necessary. Thus, the client is helped to examine the
rationality of assumptions behind his/her behavior. Most counsellors combine
behavioural and cognitive therapy to deal with client dysfunctions or problems.
Beck (1976) and Burns (1980) have identified a list of some common fallacious
and ineffective thought patterns people engage in.
i) All or none thinking: This refers to thinking in the extreme, either good or
bad. There is no middle ground here. For example, if a child is denied one
of his/her many demands by the parents, s/he thinks that his/her parents
don’t love him/her. This means, my parents love me or they don’t love me.
ii) Over generalization: In this thinking pattern, people draw exaggerated
conclusions, often based on a single event. An unpleasant event has occurred
and you start thinking of it as the beginning of an unending series of disaster.
iii) Arbitrary inference: This happens when people draw unjustified
conclusion without adequate evidence. You went to meet the principal and
she/he didn’t smile at you. You concluded that s/he is angry with you.
iv) Jumping to conclusion: You are a newly appointed principal of a school.
You jump to the conclusion that the teacher from the same school who lost
the job to you would be hostile to you. This is known as “mind reading”,
although you have no evidence to support your conclusion. Another
associated cognitive distortion known as “fortune telling” is, when you
conclude that your time as a principal in the school is going to be disastrous.
v) Magnification and minimization:This refers to magnifying the intensity
of the unpleasantness or negative effect of a situation or event.And shrinking
or rejecting the pleasant experience or positive effect of the event.
vi) Personalization:Whenever things go wrong you think you are responsible
for it. See yourself as the cause of the negative effect of an external event
over which you had no control.
vii) Should statements:You keep saying to yourself, I should do this, or I
shouldn’t have done that. The emotional consequence of this kind of thinking
is guilt.
viii) Labeling and mislabeling: This is overgeneralization in its extreme form.
“I am a loser”. Here, instead of acknowledging your error or shortcoming,
you attach a negative label to yourself. When you find someone’s behavior
unacceptable, you label him, “He is a jerk”.Here, we use highly colored
and emotionally loaded language to describe an event.
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ix) Disqualifying the positive:This is automatic discounting or rejection of Techniques of Counselling
your positive experiences. For example, when you are congratulated for a
task done, you brush it aside as, “it is not so great”. This is due to your
negative self-perception. By disqualifying your every day positive
experiences, you maintain your negative belief about the self.
x) Emotional reasoning:Here your reasoning is not objective but based on
how you feel about a situation. “I am angry with you, therefore you have
wronged me”. “I feel guilty, therefore it is my mistake”. You accept emotion
as evidence for your thought and do not attempt to look for facts objectively.
• Cognitive rehearsal
A client is fearful of travelling in metro train. S/he feels trapped inside the
train. The client describes his/her negative thought patterns and feelings
when s/he uses the train (daily to reach his work place) to a counsellor. The
counsellor helps him/her to explore some things s/he can do to reduce the
anxiety next time s/he boards the train. One of the things could be to do a
breathing exercise as soon as s/he enters the train. Another thing could be to
listen to his/her favorite music track.
• Validity testing
Rohan could not top the class in the annual examination. He was short of
two marks compared to the topper in the class. His mother starts thinking,
“I am to blame for Rohan’s poor performance. I should have spent more
time teaching Rohan. I am a bad parent”. She feels depressed and approaches
a therapist for help. The therapist asks her to list her behavior as bad mother
and prove them so. As she does so the therapist helps her to confront and
test the validity of her beliefs (bad parent) and exposes these negative
thoughts as baseless.
• Guided discovery
The counsellor asks a series of specific questions about the client’s thoughts,
feelings and emotions surrounding the maladaptive behavior. The counsellor
then helps the client link the distorted thought patterns and the maladaptive
behavior.
• Writing in a journal
The client is asked to note down her everyday anxiety behavior and the
thoughts and emotions surrounding such behavior for about 2-3 weeks. The
journal is then reviewed together by the client and the counsellor to discover
the unhelpful thought patterns and emotions that induce the anxiety behavior
in the client.
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Techniques and Procedures 8.5.2 Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy
Albert Ellis is the proponent of rational emotive beahavioural therapy (REBT).
He suggests that our emotional disturbances and dysfunctional behaviours are
largely due to irrational beliefs/thoughts. It is not the reality out there, rather
how we perceive the reality that is causing the emotional disturbance. He says
irrational beliefs are unhelpful and unhealthy, whereas rational beliefs are more
flexible, helpful and enhance our mental health. We allow ourselves to be
‘disturbed’ by having irrational beliefs. So, for resolving our problems, we have
to take responsibility for changing our ‘crooked’ ways of thinking to rational
ways of thinking. According to Ellis, the commonly held irrational beliefs are
the following.
• It is essential to be loved and approved by every significant person in one’s
life.
• To be worthwhile, a person must be competent, adequate and achieving in
everything attempted.
• Some people are wicked, bad, villainous, and should be blamed or punished.
• It is terrible and disastrous whenever events do not occur as one hopes.
• Unhappiness is the result of outside events and a person has no control over
such despair.
• Something potentially dangerous or harmful should be a cause of great
concern and should always be kept in mind.
• Running away from difficulties or responsibilities is easier than facing them.
• A person must depend on others and must have someone stronger on whom
to rely.
• The past determines one’s present behaviour and thus it cannot be changed.
• A person should get upset over the problems and difficulties of others.
• There is always a right answer to every problem, and a failure to find this
answer is a disaster.
Ellis used the A-B-C-D-E therapeutic approach to help clients resolve their
problems.
Your colleague entered the staff room looking very distressed. You enquired
if everything was fine. She said, “The principal doesn’t like me. I feel very
depressed”. What makes you think so, you asked her. When the principal
saw me coming in, she didn’t smile and looked away.
The activating event (A) is principal didn’t smile and looked away.
The colleague’s belief (B) is principal doesn’t like her.
The consequence (C) is a state of feeling depressed.
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Techniques of Counselling
The therapist helps her to dispute (D) her belief. Has such an event happened
before? No. Is she certain the principal has seen her coming in? She is not
certain about it. Could the principal have been mentally preoccupied by
some other serious matter? Yes she could be. Is the principal’s behavior (A)
or client’s belief (B), what has caused the depression (C)? The client’s belief.
What is the effect (E) of the therapy? The client acknowledges it is her belief
rather than the external event which is responsible for the negative feeling.
The client learns to dispute the irrationality of her beliefs.
Adult ego state orAdult(A)which refers to that part of our personality that deals
with the reality of the here and now. A is manifested by objective recording and
processing of the data ,alertness of the outside world of reality and the
psychological reality of the people we interact with in our daily life.
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Child ego stateor Child(C) which refers to that part of our personality we carry Techniques of Counselling
along from birth through childhood into the present moment of our life. It is
revival from our early life experiences which means it is the repository of our
feelings and emotions. Thus, the child ego state is the recording of events that
unfolded around us and our responses to the outside stimulus, for example,
sometimes gurgling with joy, going through distress, feeling sad or angry, feeling
of amazement or fear. In short, the child ego state is the seat of all our feelings
and emotional responses.
PARENT
ADULT
CHILD
Let us now examine in detail the different dimensions of each of these ego states.
In our discussion, we will use Parent with capital P which denotes the Parent
ego state, not the biological parent. In the same way the Adult ego state will be
represented by A and the Child egostate will be represented by C, both A and C
are not the physiological adult and the child.
The P, A, and C are part of our personality that we have started developing early
in our life. We have said earlier that TA is a psychological tool that helps us
understand our personality and the personality of others. How do we experience
ego states? Can we observe the ego state experiences of others? Can others observe
our ego state experiences? Ego states are interior experiences that are not
observable by others. That is why we may not know if there is a distressing,
chaotic thought behind the calm exterior appearance of a person. The inner
experiences of the ego states are perceived only within the self. By developing
self-awareness and with practice, we can identify our inner thoughts, words,
feelings, experiences, and expressions as originating from the Parent, Adult or
Child ego states. Thus, self-awareness of the ego states experiences, which have
their origin in our past, help us to sort out and bring positive and productive
changes to our present day life experiences. Let us try to understand the ego
states using the behavioural models of ego states.
• Controlling Parent
Also known as the Critical Parent, in this ego state we refer through the do’s
and don’ts, the good and bad, and the right and wrong in our life as well as
others. The negative Controlling Parent in us is judgmental about ourselves
and others. But the positive Controlling Parent in us regulates and provides
us with a guidance system that helps us to be productive and constructive in
our life. It is the positive Controlling Parent in you that tells you, “It is
important to prepare a time table and study regularly for the B Ed
programme”.If you tell your student, “You are not working hard and it would
reflect in your exam results”, you are criticizing him/ her (negative
Controlling Parent) and your student is likely to rebel which may prove
counter- productive. This means the positive Controlling Parent is helping
and productive while the negative Controlling Parent is not only non-
productive but may turn out to be counter-productive and ineffective.
• Nurturing Parent
The Nurturing Parent ego state is about providing love, care, support and
protection. It is concerned with the feelings and emotions of the people. It is
founded in understanding and comforting others. In this ego state, we are
accepting of others for what they are, which means in the Nurturing Parent
ego state we are non- judgmental of the other person. We appreciate people
for their achievements and positive behaviours. We don’t criticize them.
The Nurturing Parent in you would tell your student, “I know you are working
hard for the exam and I am there for you whenever you need me”. The
negative Nurturing Parent in you would say, “You are intelligent and need
not take the exam so seriously because you will be the topper anyway”.
Such over indulging (negative) nurturing behavior sends a negative message
to the student that he/she doesn’t need to regulate himself/herself and behave
responsibly.
Reflection
i) What is your dominant Parent ego state behavior? Controlling Parent
or Nurturing Parent?
ii) Ask a friend or family member to describe your dominant P behavior.
Validate your P behavior using your self-assessment and assessment by
others.
iii) How will you optimize the positive aspects and minimize the negative
aspects of your CP and NP?
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The Child Ego State(C) Techniques of Counselling
As mentioned earlier, the Child ego state is about gratifying the needs, wants
and desires of the person.
• Natural Child(NC)
When our needs, wants and desires are met we express joy, if unfulfilled
we become frustrated and angry. This is the Natural Child functioning of
our Child ego state. This functioning is also known as the Free Child.
• Adapted Child(AC)
In addition to satisfying the needs, wants and desires, the child wants to
survive. Therefore, when the child senses a situation as dangerous, it will
try to comply or adapt to the situation. This functioning of the Child ego
state is known as the Adapted Child. In the adapting behavior we try to
modify our inclinations as a Natural Child to meet the demands from the
significant authority. For example, if career promotion rules demand that
you acquire a new skill, you would cut short your leisure time and get the
required training. For example, you are pursuing the B Ed programme
presently.
• Compliant Child
There is another beahavioural aspect to the Child ego state which is the
Compliant Child. In the Compliant Child ego state you surrender yourself
to what others want you to do even if that is not what you want to do yourself.
For example, the daughter of doctor parents wants to pursue liberal arts in
higher education but submits to the demands of her parents and takes medical
profession instead.
• Rebellious Child(RC)
There is a third dimension to the Child ego state functioning, which is
known as the Rebellious Child. This functioning of the Child ego state
rebels when it experiences any authority as imposing.
Reflection
i) Identify your dominant Child ego state behavior.
ii) Which of the C behavior is absent in your life?
iii) How does the dominance or absence of a particular C behavior affect
your life as well as others around you?
• Natural Child(NC)
When our needs, wants and desires are met we express joy, if unfulfilled we
become frustrated and angry. This is the Natural Child functioning of our
Child ego state. This functioning is also known as the Free Child.
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Techniques and Procedures • Adapted Child(AC)
In addition to satisfying the needs, wants and desires, the child wants to
survive. Therefore, when the child senses a situation as dangerous, it will
try to comply or adapt to the situation. This functioning of the Child ego
state is known as the Adapted Child. In the adapting behavior we try to
modify our inclinations as a Natural Child to meet the demands from the
significant authority. For example, if career promotion rules demand that
you acquire a new skill, you would cut short your leisure time and get the
required training. For example, you are pursuing the B Ed programme
presently.
• Compliant Child
There is another beahavioural aspect to the Child ego state which is the
Compliant Child. In the Compliant Child ego state you surrender yourself
to what others want you to do even if that is not what you want to do yourself.
For example, the daughter of doctor parents wants to pursue liberal arts in
higher education but submits to the demands of her parents and takes medical
profession instead.
• Rebellious Child(RC)
There is a third dimension to the Child ego state functioning, which is known
as the Rebellious Child. This functioning of the Child ego state rebels when
it experiences any authority as imposing.
Reflection
i) Identify your dominant Child ego state behavior.
ii) Which of the C behavior is absent in your life?
iii) How does the dominance or absence of a particular C behavior affect
your life as well as others around you?
• Photographic Adult(PA)
It is that part of our personality which records what is happening around us,
remembers and reports it. In this functioning of the Adult ego state, our
brain perceives the surroundings like a camera, clicks it, records it, and
reports on it when needed. For example, when you tell someone that you
had met her last Sunday at the theatre, you are using your photographic
Adult ego state.
Nurturing NP CP Controlling
Parent Parent
Photographic Combining
PA CA
Adult Adult
Natural Rebellious
FC AC RC
Child Child
Adapted
Child
In summary,we can say that we have three ego states,each ego state has its own
functions and each ego state has different behavioural dimensions to it. Children
also have all the ego states and their various functions we have discussed here.
For example, children exercise their adult ego state when they learn to use a
knife safely, learn to cross the road safely, keep away from dangerous situations
such as fire or assess if a touch by the other is appropriate or not.
For leading a healthy life we need all the ego states functioning in an integrated
way. The P ego state provides direction to our lives according to certain values
and judgments. It nurtures, safeguards, supports and regulates our life and others
(children, students or employees) in our care. The A functions of collecting,
analyzing, and evaluation of data in the present, help us in examining and updating
our P and C. Thus,A provides a framework to examine, if our old values and
practices (for example, caste system/ women should not work outside home/
dressing style/ child marriage, etc.) are applicable today. It also helps us in keeping
our emotional expressions in checks and balances. The C helps us to meet our
physiological as well as psychological/emotional needs, which is manifested as
expressions of joy, sorrow, frustration, anger, creativity, etc.
Reflection
i) We have discussed different ego state functions. Identify from which of
the ego states you function most of the time.
ii) Do you analyze and evaluate the data before judging others?
Which of the ego states is more effective? When we function more often from
the Nurturing Parent, Adult, or Natural Child ego states, we are more effective
as these ego states provide sustenance to our life and the well being of others
around us. If we operate from the other ego states frequently, we are thought to
be ineffective. In our daily life, as we interact with reality, it is necessary that we
shift from one ego state to another as the context demands. Each ego state has its
own function. Integrated functioning of all ego states make us effective.Can any
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Techniques and Procedures problem arise in the functional autonomy of the ego states and their integrated
functioning? Let us discuss it next.
PARENT
ADULT
CHILD
Reflection
i) Identify contamination in your ego states.
ii) Identify if there is exclusion of ego states in your functioning as well as
in the functioning of people around you.
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Techniques of Counselling
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Equanimity refers to the counsellor’s ability to remain calm and composed during Techniques of Counselling
the counselling process even in times of extreme provocations by the client or
when listening to the client’s tortured past (for example, a child who is subjected
to violent sexual abuse). Maintaining calm and composure during emotionally
charged sessions is important. Because if the counsellor breaks down during the
session, it would send a confusing signal to the client (the client may start thinking
that it is her fault that the counsellor is crying or angry and the client may withdraw
and clam up) and the focus may shift from the client to the counsellor. Clients
feel safe and secure with counsellors who exhibit equanimity in their interpersonal
interactions.
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of the other person. We have
discussed empathy in earlier section.
Unconditional positive regard refers to accepting the other person (client) without
conditions. The counsellor offers warm caring to the client irrespective of the
behavior of the client.
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Unit 6 Techniques of Counselling
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Techniques and Procedures 15) Determine the effectiveness
– quality
– feasibility
– adaptiveness
16) – identification of objectives
– Development of evaluation plan
– Implementation of the plan
– Utilization of the findings
17) Survey method
18) F
Unit 7
1) i) F ii) T iii) T iv) T
2) i) Group Guidance
ii) Instructional
3) i) T ii) F iii) T iv) F
4) i) Orientation, career talks, conferences, plant tours.
ii) Effective study habits, importance of homework
iii) Career in Chartered Accountancy
Career in Company Secretaryship
Law as a Career
iv) a) The topic should be of general interest.
b) Criticising, leg pulling should not be encouraged.
v) In phycho drama, greater emphasis is upon the private and personalized
world of individual whereas in socio drama a problem common to
many is taken.
vi) a) The topic should be according to the level and interest of students.
b) It should be presented in simple term taking examples from the
daily life.
5) i) Orientation
6) i) F ii) F iii) F iv) F v) F vi) F
7) i) Some students may feel hesitant to come out with the personal problem
in group.
ii) These activities are not taken seriously by some students.
8) i) Lack of co-operation on part of the teacher.
ii) A rigid unhelping type of administration is a major cause of trouble.
Unit 8
1) Active listening, Attending, Paraphrasing, Empathy, Asking questions,
Immediacy, Self-disclosure, Summarizing, Goal Setting, Ending sessions
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and follow-up, and Termination of counselling.
2) S – Facing the client squarely indicates total attention to the client. Techniques of Counselling
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