CHAPTER 2 – COUNSELING

LESSON 3: PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS IN COUNSELING

Counselors: Who Are They?

Counselors are professionals who help individuals navigate life’s

challenges through the counseling process. They assist clients in
identifying goals, finding solutions to problems causing emotional distress,
improving communication and coping skills, enhancing self-esteem, and
promoting positive behavior change and mental health (American
Counseling Association [ACA], 2020).

In the Philippines, counselors, also known as guidance counselors, use an

integrated approach to develop well-functioning individuals by helping
them maximize their potential and plan their futures based on their
abilities, interests, and needs (Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004).

Roles of Counselors

Counselors’ roles and functions vary depending on the setting and clients
they serve (Villar, 2009).

- As counselors, they assist clients in developing their maximum potential

through a warm, trusting, and confidential professional relationship,
facilitating self-awareness, self-acceptance, decision-making, and
problem-solving.

- As coordinators, they serve as a liaison between clients and resources,

collecting and disseminating information and providing necessary
services.

- As consultants, they offer expert opinion and suggest helpful strategies

without direct contact with the client.

- As conductors of activities, they plan and implement activities that

support client development, such as stress management seminars.

- As change agents, they act as catalysts, process helpers, solution-givers,

resource linkers, and stabilizers, advocating for organizational change.
Functions of Counselors

Gibson and Mitchell (2008) cite several traditional counselor functions.

1. Counseling is a process assisting clients in personal development by

empowering them to achieve their goals.

2. Assessment systematically gathers client information through tests

and non-test techniques for a well-rounded depiction.

3. Career assistance helps clients explore career options through

integrated programs and counseling.

4. Placement and follow-up focuses on helping clients find their “niche”

(personal-social, academic, vocational) and determines service
effectiveness.

5. Referral takes place when counselors transfer clients to other

experts with specialized training.

6. Consultation is the process wherein counselors confer with a third

party to help clients address their needs.

7. Research helps discover new knowledge, advance current

knowledge, and substantiate theory in the counseling profession.

8. Evaluation and accountability assess the effectiveness of activities

and interventions and ensure program and personnel
responsiveness.
 9. Prevention focuses on empowering clients with knowledge and
awareness to promote healthy attitudes and habits and prevent
problems.

Competencies of Counselors

Counselors need knowledge, skills and attituded.

1. Knowledge involves academic preparation and training to master

counseling theories and techniques.

2. Skills, as identified by McLeod (2003), include interpersonal skills,

conceptual ability, and the ability to understand and work within
social systems.

a. Interpersonal skills refer to the capacity and proficiency of

counselors to communicate or articulate well, listen
effectively, and observe nonverbal behaviors-such as
mannerisms, body language, facial expressions, voice quality,
and use of language.

b. Conceptual ability refers to the capacity of counselors to

remember client information, to understand and assess
clients’ problems, to think of possible consequences of
actions, and to see and connect present problems to a larger
picture.

c. Ability to understand and work within social systems refers to

the counselors’ knowledge of the clients relationships with
family members, coworkers, friends, and others in their social
circles and how these relationships affect clients.
Ivey and Galvin (1984 as quoted in McLeod 2003), on the other hand,
listed micro skills in counseling which counselors need to develop and
enhance to become competent professionals:

-attending behavior

-asking open and close-ended questions

-reflecting feelings and meanings

-influencing skills

-structuring the interview

-client observation skills

-encouraging, paraphrasing, and summarizing

-focusing on problems

-influencing skills

-confrontation

-integrating skills

Counselors utilize several key skills.

Attending behavior is manifested by counselors to show interest,

acceptance, or full attention in what is being disclosed by the clients. This
involves attentive body language to encourage client disclosure.

Asking open-ended and close-ended questions or questioning is an

essential skill in counseling as counselors gather information about the
client. This uses open-ended questions for elaboration and close-ended
questions for specific details.

Reflecting feelings and meanings is a skill that involves the counselors’

articulation of clients underlying feelings in an open-ended and respectful
manner. This articulates clients’ underlying emotions to promote self-
awareness.
Encouraging, paraphrasing, and summarizing skills enable counselors to
provide feedback to their clients. This motivates clients to continue
sharing, reflects content and thoughts, and restates key points.

Focusing on problems is a skill that enables counselors to steer their

clients’ “conversational flow into certain areas.” This guides the
conversation to relevant areas when necessary.

Confrontation is a skill that aids clients in gaining self-awareness during

counseling sessions. This points out inconsistencies in clients’ thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors, but only after rapport is established.

Integrating skills allow counselors to incorporate data from intake

interviews, assessment results (e.g., psychological tests), and other
sources. This combines data from various sources for a holistic
understanding of the client.

3. Attitudes. Counselors are expected to facilitate the establishment of

a working alliance between them and their clients.

Gladding (2009) cited the list of Foster (1996) and Guy (1987) when it
comes to personal qualities a counselor should possess:

• Curiosity and inquisitiveness – natural concern for people and to know

details about them

• Ability to listen – actively listening to people

• Comfort with conversation – at ease in conversing with people

• Empathy and understanding – the ability to put one’s self in another’s

shoes even if the client’s circumstances are different from that of the
counselor’s

• Emotional insightfulness- comfortable in dealing with a wide range of

feelings

• Introspection – the ability to look within the self and reflect

• Capacity for self-denial – the ability to put aside personal concerns and
feelings to address clients’ needs

• Tolerance of intimacy – the ability to establish and maintain emotional

closeness

• Comfort with power – ability to hold power and maintain detachment

• Ability to laugh – the capability to inject humor when things go wrong.

McLeod (2003), on the other hand, listed the following as competency
areas in counseling

Career Opportunities for Counselors

Counseling careers typically require a graduate degree in guidance and

counseling or counseling psychology, along with certification or licensure
(especially overseas). Specializations are also available for those wishing
to work with specific populations.

In the Philippines, a graduate degree is required, and the Guidance and

Counseling Act of 2004 mandates a professional license obtained through
a licensure examination. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree in
guidance and counseling (or allied discipline) and a master’s degree in
guidance and counseling from a CHED-accredited institution.

Possible types of employment available for counselors in different practice

settings according to Cormier (2016):

School

• School counselor

• College counselor

• Residence hall counselor

• Career services

• Academic advising

• Wellness programming
• Student affairs

• Outreach programming

• Substance abuse counselor

• Support services for special populations (eg, students with disabilities,

minority, etc.)

Community Agency

• Crisis counselor/intervention helpers

• Marriage counselor

• Family counselor

• Mental health aide/ worker

• Community outreach worker

• Case manager

• Youth counselor/worker

• Substance abuse treatment

• Homeless centers

• Private practice

• Couple counselor

Religious Setting

• Bereavement counselor

• Marriage and Family counselor

• Pastoral counselor

• Hospice counselor

• Private practice
Industries

• Career counselor

• Employment assistance

• Out-placement counselor

• Wellness programming

Health Care and Rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation counselor

• Vocational rehabilitation counselor

• Crisis manager

• Grief counselor

• Wellness programming

• Addictions specialist

• Health coaches

• Informational and psycho educational program provider

• Hospice counselor

• Hospital psychosocial services

Military

• Military counselor

• Addiction counselor

• Counselor for veterans

• Vocational counselor

• Educational counselor

• Marriage and family counselor

• Mental health counselor

• Couple counselor
Rights, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors

Counselors, in the practice of their profession, have rights and

responsibilities. They are also accountable to their clients and
professional organizations. This section discusses these rights,
responsibilities, and accountabilities in light of general ethical principles
and the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004.

Counseling is complex because counselors deal with individuals with

varying concerns and needs. Ethical principles—autonomy, beneficence,
fidelity, justice, and nonmaleficence—guide their practice.

1. Autonomy refers to respecting freedom of choice and self-determination

(Gladding, 2009). Counselors acknowledge clients’ right to decide for
themselves as long as actions do not cause harm (McLeod, 2003).
Counselors should not impose their values.

2. Beneficence means doing good and preventing harm (Gladding, 2009).

Counselors act in their clients’ best interests and provide timely help.

Fidelity involves faithfulness and honoring commitments (Gladding, 2009).

Counselors are honest with clients. Breaching confidentiality violates this
principle, though there are limitations as previously discussed.

3. Justice is defined as fairness (Gladding, 2009). Counselors provide

services to all clients regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, race,
ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Counseling resources are distributed
equitably.

4. Nonmaleficence means avoiding harm (Gladding, 2009). Counselors

ensure techniques used do not harm clients. Careful planning and
implementation are essential. Counselors should practice within their
competence.

The following are some of the prevalent forms of unethical behaviors in

counseling (ACA 2005, Herlihy and Corey 2006 as quoted in Gladding
2009):

•Violation of confidentiality
•Exceeding one’s level of professional competence when a counselor
practices outside of his/her area of specialization

• Negligent practice

• Claiming expertise one does not posses

• Imposing one’s values on a client

• Sexual activity with the client

• Dual relationships (cole of counselors is combined with another

relationship-professional or personal)

• Questionable financial arrangements (e.g., excessive fees)

• Improper advertising

• Plagiarism when doing research

The Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 (RA 9258) Section 27 stipulates
that individuals who engage in the practice of guidance and counseling:

a. Should have a valid Certificate of Registration and a valid

Professional Identification Card or a special permit:

b. Should not make representations to the public as a licensed

guidance counselor when his/her license has been revoked or
suspended, and

c. Should not allow anybody to use his/her license as guidance

counselor. This provision is to protect the profession and clients from
possible unscrupulous individuals who might take advantage of
innocent people