Doon_Psychotherapeutic_centre

@doonpsychocentre

Process of counseling

Presented by: Doon

Psychotherapeutic centre
 DEFINITION OF COUNSELING
• Counseling is essentially a process in which the
counselor assists the counselee to make
interpretations of facts relating to a choice, plan
or adjustment which he needs to make.
-Glenn F. Smith
• Counseling is a series of direct contacts with the
individual which aims to offer him assistance in
changing his attitude & behaviors.
Carl Rogers
Tools for counseling services
 Nontesting tools

Interview Observation
It is an interaction It is careful watching or
between the counsellor & monitoring of the counselee by the
counselee with a definite counsellor with a specific
objective in mind. objective in mind
 Nontesting tools
Cumulative
record
Anecdotal record It is a method of
It consists of recording an recording &
important incident that providing
happened & is a carefully meaningful,
recorded snapshot of the significant &
incident comprehensive
information about
an individual, over
a year
 Nontesting tools

Checklist Rating Scale

A is used to identify the It is better tools to assess
presence or absence of the degree or extent of the
specific attributes or skills performance of a
of a particular expected particular task or the
behavior in students. possession of a trait.
 Nontesting tools

Sociometry
It is used to measure sociability Autobiography & diary
or the social distance between It may also provide
students or members of a useful information about
groupAutobiography students
 II. Psychological tests

Aptitude tests
Personality tests Eg; Specialize aptitude
Eg; EPQ test, 16 PF test & General aptitude
test
 II. Psychological tests

Achievement
tests Interest
Eg; Academic inventory tests
achievement Eg; RIASEC ,CIS
test

Study habit inventory tests

Eg; The Brown-Holtzman survey of
study habit
 II. Psychological tests

Anxiety test- Depression test-

Hamilton BDI
anxiety test
Counseling Interview: Strategies
• The counsellor performs the counseling role whenever
called upon to offer advice on emotional, financial,
academic, or personal problems. These situations are
very important since they directly influence sensitive
aspects of others’ lives.
• Effective counseling skills begin with a thoughtful self
analysis including an assessment of counsellor’s own
feelings and communication skills. Based upon this
analysis, the counsellor must be realistic about his own
counseling skills and not try to solve every problem
encountered .
• The counsellor must also carefully consider the
background of the client so that the counsellor’s advice
can meet that person’s needs.
• Based on the counsellor’s analysis of own skills as well
as the needs of the other person, the counsellor must
decide whether to use the directive or nondirective
approach. The directive approach is best when it is
necessary for the counsellor to control the interview
situation and the nondirective
approach is best when the interviewee would best
control the situation
• Although the structure of the interview can vary, four
stages are typically followed. First, the counsellor should
establish rapport and create a helpful climate. Second,
he should thoroughly assess the crisis/problem faced by
the client. Third, the counsellor should probe more
deeply into the client’s feelings. Finally, the counsellor
should come to some decision and offer potential
solutions.
• A conductive interview climate must allow for trust,
openness, and rapport
between the client and the counsellor. The counsellor
must also be an effective listener to truly understand the
feelings of the client. When appropriate, the counsellor
must ask probing questions to gather more information.
• The counsellor should use a client centered approach
and provide either highly directive or highly nondirective
responses. Highly nondirective responses encourage the
interviewee to continue analysing and communicating
ideas. Highly directive responses provide the interviewee
with directives and ultimatums. These forms of
responses are two ends of a continuum, and can be
thought of as extremes.
• After effective closure of the interview, the counsellor
should carefully evaluate the interview so that he can
further refine his skills.
 ROLE OF THE COUNSELLOR
• Arrange orientation programmes for the other support
staff to enlist their cooperation.
• Prepare an up-to-date list of resources, information,
referral & energy available to him.
• Organize the guidance committee.
• Set up an educational & occupational information centre.
• Display the information collected in an attractive way.
• Disseminate information through educational & career
talks, group discussion & so on.
• Arrange talks by expert from different fields.
• Organize career days, career weeks, career conferences,
parents day & so on.
• Educate students regarding proper study habits &
assist them in their development.
• Arrange individual discussion with students & their
parents for giving them educational & occupational
information.
• Arrange visits to place of work like industries,
business, establishments, offices, higher education
institutions & other important educational places.
• Maintain an active relationship with schools,
colleges, universities.
• Maintain an active liaison with club like Lions Club
& Rotary Club.
• Refer serious mental cases to clinical psychologist or
psychiatrists.
• Maintain complete secrecy of the discussion
between him & the patient.
• Administer psychological tests.
• Provide counselling services to students.
• Help in the student placements.
• Take up research projecting relating to the fields
of educational, vocational, personal & social
guidance in colleges
 Preparation for Counselling

Select a suitable place.

 Schedule the time.
Notify the person or the client well in advance.
Organise information.
Outline the counseling session components.
Plan the counseling strategy.
Establish the right atmosphere.
 Select a suitable place
• As for selecting a suitable place, counseling
should be carried out in an environment that
minimises interruptions and is free from
distracting sights and sounds.
 Schedule the time
• The client should be counseled after deciding upon a
mutually convenient timing.
• The length of time required for counseling depends
on the complexity of the issue.
• Generally a counseling session should last less than
an hour.
• If the client needs more time, a second
session may be scheduled.
• Also the counsellor should select a time free from
competition with other activities and consider what
has been planned after the counseling session.
• Important events can distract a client from
concentrating on the counseling.
Counseling session to be client centred
• The client must have time to prepare for it. The
client should know why, where, and when the
counseling will take place.
• Counseling following a specific event should
happen as close to the event as possible.
• However, for performance or professional
development counseling,clients may need a week
or more to prepare or review specific products,
such as support forms or counseling records.
 Organise information
• Solid preparation is essential to effective counseling
• The counsellor should review all pertinent
information. This includes the purpose of the
counseling, facts and observations about the client,
identification of possible problems, main points of
discussion, and the development of a plan of action.
• Focus on specific and objective behaviours that the
client must maintain or improve as well as a plan
of action with clear, obtainable goals.
 Outline the components of the
counseling
• The counsellor should determine what to discuss
during the counseling session.
• He must note what prompted the counseling, what the
counsellor aims to achieve, and what the role of the counselor
is. It is important to identify possible comments or questions
to help the counsellor keep the counseling session client
centred and help the client progress through its stages.
• Although the counsellor never knows what a client will say or
do during counseling, a written outline helps organise the
session and enhances the chance of positive results.
• Many approaches to counseling exist, such as directive,
nondirective, and combined approaches to counseling. The
counsellor should use a strategy that suits the clients and the
situation.
 Right atmosphere
• the right atmosphere which promotes two way
communication between a counsellor and a client.
• Some situations make an informal atmosphere inappropriate.
• For example, during counseling to correct substandard
performance of a subordinate, the manager who functions
also as a counsellor, may direct the client subordinate to
remain standing while he remains seated behind a desk. This
formal atmosphere, normally used to give specific guidance,
reinforces the manager’s rank, position in the chain of
command, and authority. But in general counseling session
this is not advocated. The counsellor should sit in such a
manner that he is able to observe every emotion of the client
and note every gesture verbal and nonverbal that the client
makes so that the same could be used in counseling and
problem solving sessions.
COUNSELLING PROCESS
Phase I Establishing
relationship

Phase II Assessment

Phase III Setting goals

Phase IV intervention

Phase V Termination & follow-

up
Phase I: Establishing relationship
• It is an ice breaking session during which the
counsellor & counselee introduce each other &
establish a primary rapport.
• Good rapport building provides the respect,
trust & sense of psychological comfort to the
counsellor-counselee relationship for
progression to the counselling process.
• Strategies to establish an effective relationship:
• Introduce yourself
• Being the phase with adequate social skills
• Always address the individual by his or her name
 Continue..

• Ensure physical comfort of the counselee & self.

• Do not interrupt the individual when he/she is
talking.
• Listen attentively.
• Observe nonverbal communication
 Phase II: Assessment
• The second phase of counselling is basically a data
collection phase, where the counsellor motivates the
counselee to provide complete information about the
problem.
• The type of information collected from counselee like
general data, physical data, psychological data,
social/environmental data, achievement data,
educational & vocational data.
• After the collection of information, diagnosis related to
the counselee’s behavior is made.
• Various tools & techniques used for data collection like
intelligence tests, achievement tests, aptitude tests,
interest tests, personality tests, questionnaires,
interview, observation, autobiography, anecdotal
records, rating scale, cumulative record & case studies.
 Phase III: Setting goals
• During this third phase of the counselling process,
goals are set co-operative by both the counsellor &
the counselee.
• While setting goals, the counselee’s strengths,
weakness, constraints & available resources must be
kept under consideration.
• The goal could be immediate & ultimate which
directs the counsellor & the counselee to further
progress in the counselling process.
• Effective & reliable goal setting requires following
skills in counselors:
• Multifaceted knowledge related to the problem of
counselee
• Ability to think critically & inference-drawing
skills.
• Judgment, planning & management skills
• Skills to segregate &differentiate the provided
information
• Ability to each individuals to think critically &
realistically
• Help the counselee set feasible, reliable &
achievable goals
 Phase IV: Intervention
• This stage of counselling is an operational phase
where the counselee is suggested the best possible
options for the management of the present problem.
• The phase is affected by the counselor's own
thoughts about the counselling process.
• The intervention will depend on the approach used
by the counsellor, the problem & the individual.
• The choice of intervention is a process of adaptation
& the counsellor should be prepared to change the
intervention when the selected intervention does not
work.
Phase V: Termination and follow-up
• This is the final stage of the counselling process,
where counselling comes to an end.
• Termination must be planned well ahead so that
the counselee may feel comfortable at the
departure & gradually able to handle the
problem independently.
• Some follow-up sessions may be required to help
the counselee further to handle the problem
independently.
 GOALS OF COUNSELLING
• The counseling process is a very specific step by step
process. There are important steps that must be
adhered to if one wants to maximise positive
outcomes in the client’s therapy treatment of
resolving various psychological, social, emotional
and developmental issues.
• The counseling process has some major goals
through which the entire treatment and positive
outcomes the treatment rests on. Verbal and non
verbal cues of ones body language play an important
role in the counselors counseling process to bring
out the best solutions for client issues and for the
clients comfort level to be established for a positive
and healthy counselor client helping relationship.
 Goals of counseling
• Developmental Goals
These are goals wherein the clients are assisted in meeting or advancing their
anticipated growth and potential development (that is socially, personally,
emotionally, cognitively, physical wellness and so on).
• Preventive Goals
Prevention is a goal in which the counselor helps the client avoid some undesired
outcomes.
• Enhancement Goals
If the client possesses special skills and abilities, enhancement means they can be
identified and/or further developed through assistance of a counselor.
• Remedial Goals
Remediation involves assisting a client to overcome and/or treat an undesirable
development.
Exploratory Goals
Exploration represents goals appropriate to the examining of options, testing of
skills, and trying of different and new activities, environments, relationships and
so on
• Reinforcement Goals
Reinforcement is used when clients need help in
recognising that what they are doing, thinking or
feeling is right and okay.
• Cognitive Goals
Cognition involves acquiring the basic foundations
of learning and cognitive skills.
• Physiological Goals
Physiology involves acquiring the basic
understandings and habits for good health.
• Psychological Goals
Psychology helps in developing good social
interaction skills, learning emotional control,
developing a positive self concept, and so on.
Hackney and Cormier (1996), talk
about 3 goals that are important for
the counseling process
1) Goals serve as a motivational function in the
counseling process.
2) The goals can also have educational function in
counseling, in that they can help clients acquire
and learn new responses and behaviours and
3) The goals can also meet an evaluative function
in the counseling whereby the clients goals help
the counselor to choose and evaluate various
counseling strategies appropriate to the client’s
goals.