WHY INTRODUCTION TO GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING IS IMPORTANT TO ME

AS A PROFFESIONAL GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING

INTRODUCTION
Although it is a chronologically young profession, counseling seems to have come of age quickly,
especially in the United States. This growth is buttressed by the fact that it has gained a reputation
around the globe (ohenshil, !"#"$. %ne reason for its worldwide growth is its positive role in
addressing and promoting the mental health of individuals. Thus, it is useful to e&amine the status of
counseling in a developing country like 'igeria and investigate its role in meeting the needs of its
people.
` HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
(n order to discuss some of the historical factors that led to the establishment of professional
counseling in 'igeria, it is necessary to define the term. (n 'igeria, professional counseling is
described as professional assistance that is provided by counselors to help clients integrate their
abilities, attitudes, and needs, thereby assisting them in making effective and realistic decisions that
will foster their development as fully functioning individuals. )ormal counseling services in 'igeria
started in #*+* at St. Theresa,s -ollege (comprised of middle and high schools$ in (badan. This first
step in launching the counseling profession was initiated by -atholic nuns who invited several
resource individuals from different occupational fields to speak to the students about their careers.
This activity had a positive outcome on the career development of most of the students because a
ma.ority of them were able to secure .obs in the workplace after graduation. These resource
individuals formed what later became the (badan -areers -ouncil in #*/!. Soon thereafter, this
council e&panded to function as a national entity that became known as the 'igerian -areers
-ouncil. (t provided workshops on career guidance for classroom teachers and career masters and
mistresses. -areer masters and mistresses are individuals, usually teachers, with limited counseling
knowledge and e&perience who are responsible for providing vocational guidance to students.
Why Become a Professional Counselor?
Professional Counseling as a Career Choice
0hat is professional counseling1 -ounseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse
individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.
2eople have many different reasons for deciding they want to become a counselor. Some people
choose this career because they once had a good e&perience with a counselor during a difficult time
in their own life and they want to 3pay it forward.3 Another person may have done some volunteer
work at a crisis hotline and reali4ed that they en.oyed both the challenges and .oys of working with
clients facing difficult times. 5et another person may have been told that they are a good listener
and they ought to consider working as a mental health professional.
3( have always desired to become a counselor since ( was five years old. ( have always loved
helping people A wonderful lady in our community who worked in the counseling field was
instrumental in encouraging me to follow my dreams.3 67arbara 8ceuen
0hatever the reasons, individuals that choose to seek a career in counseling usually have one thing
in common 6 a desire to help people work through life,s challenges. Some individuals want to work
primarily with children or teens. %thers prefer to work with adults. Some want to work in specific
#
settings, such as 96#! schools or college campuses. %thers prefer to work in a community setting
such as a mental health center or private practice setting.
-ounseling can offer the right individual a rewarding career path in a health profession that is
growing. (t requires a strong desire to interact with people, e&ceptional communication skills, and
an ability to complete a graduate degree. -hoosing to become a professional counselor is a
commitment to yourself, to others, and to society as a whole.
7ut choosing to become a counselor is .ust one of the choices that prospective students must make.
Student will need to consider all of the different speciali4ations in counseling with their varying
work environments. School counselors work in 96#! educational environments (schools$, while
clinical mental health counselors may work in private practice, a hospital setting, or some other
community agency.
GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING
Teachers as helping professionals have to come across many situations which demand
guidance and counselling help from them. Students require counselling and guidance. 'ow a day
the guidance and counselling is an integral part of teaching. (n this lesson we will discuss meaning,
types and importance of guidance and counselling.
GUIDANCE
:uidance is a personalised assistance made readily available by a sympathetic, mature,
e&perienced and personally qualified person to a needy person. A variety of definitions are available
for guidance.
Guidance is a process of helping individuals through his own efforts to discover and develop
their potentialities for personal happiness and social usefulness 68oris
Guidance as kinds of help given by one person to another in developing ability, making
adjustments and problems that confront him in attainment of his goals 6 ;ones
:uidance is an <umbrella term= involving several functions such as publications, information,
institutions, testing, counselling services, etc. :uidance is not carrying others burden, but enabling
them to carry their burden themselves.
Types of Guidance
1. Educational Guidance
>ducational guidance is aimed to help students to solve their problems related to education at
different levels of education ? from primary to university. :ood -. @ in his ABictionary of
educationC regards educational guidance as <guidance concerned principally with matters relating to
schools, courses, curricular and school life, rather than vocational social or personal matterC. (ts
functions are to help the students toD
a. Selection of course.
b. Ad.ustment with the institution and course.
c. >nsuring achievement in the course.
2. Vocational Guidance
@ocational guidance is the process of helping the individual to choose an occupation that fits
him best. The :eneral -onference of (nternational Eabour (:-(E%$ defines it as AAssistance given
to an individual in solving problems related to occupational choice and progress with due regard for
the individual=s characteristics and the relations to occupational opportunity.C (ts functions are to
help the studentsD
a. To select a career
b. To ad.ust with the career
!
c. To enhance and fulfil his potentiality in the career.
3. Personal Guidance
2ersonal guidance refers to the guidance to students to enable them to ad.ust themselves to their
environment so that they become efficient citi4ens. (ts functions are to help in solvingD
a. 2ersonal problems
b. )amilial problems.
c. %ccupational problems
d. 2roblems in attaining fulfilment and success.
Steps in the Organisation of Guidance Programme
#. )ormulation of a guidance committee.
!. %rganisation of the guidance bureau.
:uidance bureau organises the following programmes.
a. -areer -orner ? availed periodicals, employment news and bulletins.
b. -areer Talks ? on teaching, banking, (ndian defence services, (ndian administrative forces, etc.
c. -areer -onference ? supplementing information. A number of successful persons e&plains the
vocations in which they work and answer questions about their .ob. %ccupational orientation covers
the following points.
i. 'ature and importance of work.
ii. -onditions of work.
iii. 8inimum qualification necessary for receiving training.
iv. Bifferent aspects of training.
d. 2lacement programme ? provide help to secure a grade, a place or a .ob.
e. Testing programme ? administration of tests or assessing traits and aptitude of peoples.
f. )ilm show ? arranged to give educational and vocational informations.
g. @isits ? visit to institutions relevant to occupational choices.
h. >&hibitions ? organised to disseminate information regarding modern courses and occupation.
i. Biagnostic programmes ? for identifying physical disabilities, mental ill health and mal
ad.ustment
.. :uidance service centres ? like ? employment guidance bureaus.
6 >mployment news bulletins, -areer guidance academics and institutions.
COUNSELLING
-ounselling is a process of enabling the individual to know himself and his present and
possible future situations in order that he may make substantial contributions to the society and to
solve his own problems through a face to face personal relationship with the counsellor.
ACounselling is a unique relationship in which the counsellors job is to hold up a mirror for the
client to see himself or herself in we all have e!periences in which we cant see things about
ourselves without a mirror
-ounselling is a process by which a troubled person (the client$ is helped to feel and behave
in a more personally satisfying manner through interaction with an uninvolved person (the
counsellor$ who provides information and reactions. These stimulate the client to develop
behaviours which enable him to deal more effectively with himself F his environment. A
theoretical definition of counselling, widely accepted by the educators and counsellors is given by
Carl Rogers. According to him, counselling is a series of direct contacts with the individual
which aims to offer him assistance in changing the attitudes and behaviour
%ther popular definitions regarding counselling are as followsD6
"uth #trang - ~(t is a face to face relationship in which growth takes place in the counsellor as well
as the counseleeC
G
$ebsters %ictionary ? A-ounselling is A-onsultation, mutual interchange of opinions deliberating
togetherC.
#mith &'())* defines counselling as Aa process in which the counsellor assists the counselee
to make interpretations of facts relating to a choice, plan or ad.ustments which he needs to makeC
-ounselling also has been defined by +ahn and ,ac-ean as Aa process which takes place in
a one6to6one relationship between an individual beset by problems with which he cannot cope alone
and a professional worker whose training and e&perience have qualified him to help others reach
solutions to various types of personal difficultiesC.
.epinsky and .epinsky &'()/* state that counselling is that interaction which (#$ occurs
between two individuals called counsellor and client, (!$ takes place in a professional setting, and
(G$ is initiated and maintained to facilitate changes in the behaviour of a client.
.atterson &'()(* characteri4es it as Athe process involving interpersonal relationships
between a therapist and one or more clients by which the former employs psychological methods
based on systematic knowledge of the human personality in attempting to improve the mental health
of the latterC.
0locher &'(11* e&plains it as Ahelping an individual become aware of himself and the ways
in which he is reacting to the behavioural influences of his environment. (t further helps him to
establish some personal meaning for this behaviour and to develop and clarify a set of goals and
values for future behaviourC.
Chief Goals of counselling
>motions play and significant role in determining the goals and direction of human activities.
The goods qualities latent in and individual can be fully reali4ed only if he harmoni4es all his
reactions with his logical insight, by utili4ing all his innate capacities.
The following are the significant goals of the counselling
#. To give individual information on important matters leading to his success.
!. To gather relevant information about the person and to make him aware of this with a view to help
him solve his problems.
G. To help the individual to plan appropriate steps and work these out for shoving his problems and
difficulties.
H. To assist the person knows himself better ? his interests, abilities, aptitudes and opportunities.
+. To encourage and develop special abilities and right attitudes.
/. To inspire successful endeavour toward attainment.
Thus, the goal of counselling is problem clarification and self directed needs. The
counselling officer helps the person to understand the problems and helps the individual to assist
himself. The role of the individual is ob.ective self ? assessment of the situation and the role of
counselling officer is to formulate the decision making process and to act as the stimulator of
insights and sensitivities of the person. -ounselling does not solve the problems but only helps in
solving it. (f solution is not possible it helps face challenges and to live with them.
Scope of Counselling
I (ntended to help the individual to reali4e his potentialities.
I (t helps the persons to solve his problems.
I (t provides assistance to teachers.
I Aimed at enabling students to acquire abilities, which promote self6direction and self6realisation.
I (t is a centred round the needs and aspirator of students.
The main approaches in counselling
There are mainly three types of counselling they are %irective counselling, 2on %irective
counselling and 3lectric Counselling
1. Directive or prescriptive or Counsellor cantered counselling.
>.: 0illiamson is the chief e&ponent of this viewpoint. Such type of counselling involves
si& essential steps.
H
#. 4nalysis: -ollecting from a variety of sources the data needed for an adequate understanding of
the student.
!. #ynthesisD Summari4ing and organi4ing the data so that they reveal the student=s assets,
liabilities, ad.ustments and malad.ustments.
G. %iagnosisD )ormulating conclusions regarding the nature and the cause of the problems e&hibited
by the student.
H. .rognosisD 2redicting the future development of the students= problems.
+. CounsellingD The counsellors taking steps with the student to recurrence of the original problem
and determining the effectiveness of the counselling provided to him.
/. 5ollow6up: elping the student with new problems or with recurrence of the original problem
and determining the effectiveness of the counselling provided to him.
ere the counsellor plays the ma.or role he does that entire he can to get the counselee to
make a decision in keeping with his diagnosis. e tries to direct the thinking of the counselee by
informing, e&plaining, interpreting and advising.
A considerable use of interpretations and direction by the counsellor has led to this type of
counselling being described as directive or counsellor centred or active approach technique.
2. Non-directive or permissive or client-centred counselling
(n this type of counselling, it is the client ? the counselee ? who is the pivot. -arl J Jogers
is the chief e&ponent of this viewpoint. The client takes an active part in the process of therapy. e
gains insight into his problem with the help of the counsellor. (t is he who takes decisions as to the
action to be taken. The counsellor=s role is passive. This type of counselling is a growth
e&perience. The goal is the independence and integration of the client rather than the solution of a
particular problem. The principal function of the counsellor is not to cultivate self6understanding in
the client but instead, to create an atmosphere in which the client can work out his own
understanding. The emotional elements or the feeling aspects are stressed rather than the
intellectual aspects and the counselling leads to a voluntary choice of action.
3. Eclectic counselling
>clectic counselling is defined as the synthesis and combination of directive and non
directive counselling. ).- Thorne, is the chief e&ponent of this view. (n electric counselling, the
counsellor is neither too active as in the directive counselling, nor too passive as n the non6directive
counselling. e follows a middle path between these two e&tremes. The process of eclectic
counselling proceeds somewhat along the following linesD
#. -ounselling may be preceded by an intake interview.
!. Buring the opening phase of counselling, the counsellor tries to establish rapport and may have to
do structuring so that the client understands what to e&pect of counselling.
G. %ften a tentative diagnosis is made which may include the collection of a case history and a plan
for counselling is formulated.
H. To enhance the client=s self6understanding, information, about him and his background may be
gathered from various sources. The client needs to be helped to assimilate this information.
+. >ducational, occupational and social information, if needed by the client, may be supplied to him.
/. The client achieves emotional release and insights.
K. Buring the closing phase, the client makes decisions and plans, modifies behaviour, and solves
his problems.
L. There may be follow up contacts, if needed.
4. Group Counselling
(t is an empowerment of person in formal group situations with the leadership of trained
facilitator. ere problems are of more on subconscious and unconscious level of the mind. :roup
counselling has the advantage of having feed backs by participants and less resistance from the
clients as feed backs are given by co6participants.
Educational Counselling
+
>ducational counselling has emerged as a discipline to provide help to students on campuses
of schools, colleges and universities, such that they are not tormented by their internal conflicts, do
not become cynical and do not resort to self6destructive strategies. -ounselling in schools has the
ultimate goal of making every individual pupil a responsible individual. The educational
counselling is often considered as a philosophy a function, a role and an activity, as a philosophy,
counselling, in the educational conte&t, is a process by which educational e&periences are related to
students= e&periences. As a function counselling is a set of responsibilities that the institution
should legitimately perform, as a role, counselling should be viewed as the institutions
responsibility to provide services to the students. As an activity, counselling comprises a variety of
functions that different persons with counselling roles perform for students which are consistent
with the philosophy, the function and the role. A student=s function is to study and to obtain good
resultsM otherwise, he has failed his role e&pectation. The school has the responsibility of
determining why this has happened, so that the counsellor can help the student reach his e&pected
level of performance.
Need and Significance of Counselling in the Present Scenario
8odern age is noted for the mobility of its population. The sense of security and the
atmosphere of love and affection e&perienced in ideal family, life are lacking in many modern
families.
The need of counselling is felt today in different dimensions of man=s life. The comple&ities of
modern life and stress and struggles felt by man living amidst the challenges of today call for help
from others. Technological changes have made and ma.or impact on people=s life and work.
(ndustriali4ation has resulted in social and vocational mobility. Japid progress in communication
media, fast changing systems, impacts on cultural systems, consumerist value systems etc. have
affected many of man=s traditional supportive systems and resulted in causing tensions to man=s day
today life. This demands the help of people who can provide methods and techniques of tension
reduction and balancing of life. )or, people are in need of help and these helping people can help
through meaningful relationships and therapeutic interactions. The help given should be adequate
and the people who provide help should be qualified. This help is basically given today by
-ounselling and 2sychotherapy.
I -onflict in social and moral values.
I 8odernisation and globalisation.
I 8odern age is noted for the mobility of its population.
I The old .oint family system to modern nuclear families.
I (solated parents.
I 7roken family.
I (ncreasing divorce.
I Alcoholic problems.
I Se& abuse.
I 8arital problems.
I (ncreasing suicide tendency.
I (nfluence of media
I Eack of healthy relationship among (teacher6pupil, family members, friends, peer groups, working
place$
I Eack of proper education.
All these problems give us the awareness of the need of counselling in present scenario. As
seen above the challenges due to change in the mind process and life style has become
uncontrollable and ama4ing, which is even able to destroy the peace and tranquillity of mankind.
-ounselling has been defined as an empowerment of a person to face his reality in life. The field of
counselling psychology has developed skills and techniques which makes the person capable of
tackling the changes.
/
SUMMARY
I The various approaches to personality areD behavioural approach, cultural approach, type
approach, trait approach.
I )reud devide the psyche into three as the id, ego and superego
I )reud saw the libido as general life energy, generated by the id, se&ual in origin, but e&pressed
in many different ways.
I @arious defense mechanisms areD denial, rationali4ation, intellectuali4ation, pro.ection, reaction
formation, sublimation, regression, fantasy, identification etc
I ;ung distinguished between two types of unconscious mindD the personal unconscious and
collective unconscious
I ;ung proposed personality typology.
I Adler believed everybody has feelings of inferiority at timesM this is a universal part of human
e&perience.
I Allport believes that traits are essentially unique to each individual.
I 8aslow classified and arranged human need called hierarchy of needs.
I The various need according to 8aslow areD physiological needs, safety and security needs, love
and belonging needs, esteem needs and Self6actuali4ation needs.
I The entire personality theory of Jogers is built on a single Aforce of lifeC calls the actuali7ing
tendency.
I According to Jogers a fully function person have the qualities of openness to e&perience,
e&istential living, organismic trusting, e&periential freedom, and creativity.
I A formal effort aimed at understanding personality of an individual is termed as personality
assessment.
I The most commonly used techniques for personality assessment are 2sychometric Tests, Self6
Jeport 8easures, 2ro.ective Techniques, and 7ehavioural Analysis.
I The 0orld ealth %rgani4ation defines mental health as 33a state of well6being in which the
individual reali4es his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work
productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.C
I An&iety is a psychological and physiological state characteri4ed by cognitive, somatic,
emotional, and behavioral components.
REFERENCES
Dr. Santhosh Areekkuzhiyil Asst. Professor, Govt. College of teacher Education, Thalassery,
Kerala Wednesday, February 16, 2011
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