ABPG2203 Introduction To Counselling PDF

ABPG2203
INTRODUCTION TO
COUNSELLING
B D Singh
Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Project Directors: Prof Dato’ Dr Mansor Fadzil
Dr Rozeman Abu Hassan
Open University Malaysia
Module Writer: B D Singh

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First Edition, December 2010
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Malaysia, December 2010, ABPG2203
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Table of Contents
Course Guide xi - xv
Topic 1 The Basics of Counselling 1

1.1 History of Counselling Profession 2
1.1.1 First Period ă Evolution of Counselling 2
1.1.2 Second Period ă Emergence of Counselling 2
1.1.3 Third Period ă Growth of Counselling 5
1.1.4 Fourth Period ă Developments in Counselling 6
1.2 Trends in Counselling 8
1.2.1 Postmodern Trends 9
1.2.2 Counselling and the Internet 9
1.2.3 Diversity Issues 10
1.2.4 CounsellorÊs Job Security 10
1.2.5 Change Management 11
1.2.6 Managing Diversity 12
1.2.7 Team Management/Conflict Resolution 14
1.3 What is Counselling? 16
1.3.1 Essential Elements of Counselling 17
1.3.2 Counselling for Older Adults 19
1.4 What is Guidance? 22
1.5 Who is a Counsellor? 23
1.6 Who need Counselling Service? 24
1.6.1 Need for Counselling at Workplace 25
1.7 Types of Counselling 29
1.7.1 Individual Counselling 29
1.7.2 Group Therapy 29
1.7.3 Online and Telephone Counselling 29
1.7.4 Self-help Groups 30
Summary 30
Key Terms 31
References 31
Self-Test 1 31
Self-Test 2 31
Topic 2 The Counselling Process and Assessment 32

2.1 Helping People Change 33
2.2 Characteristics of Counselling Approaches 34
2.3 Major Counselling Approaches 35
2.3.1 Behaviour-centric Approach to Counselling 35

iv  TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.3.2 Humanistic Approach or Person-centred Counselling 38

2.4 Building a Counselling Relationship 41
2.5 Stages in the Counselling Process 44
2.6 The Assessment Interview: Testing, Assessment and
Diagnosis in Counselling 46
2.6.1 Determining Goal(s) 48
2.6.2 Doing the Follow-up 50
2.7 Working in a Counselling Relationship 52
2.8 Termination of Counselling Relationships 53
Summary 54
Key Terms 55
References 55
Self-Test 1 55
Self-Test 2 55
Topic 3 Traditional Counselling Styles 56

3.1 What are the Different Types of Traditional Counselling
Styles? 57
3.2 Individual Therapy 57
3.3 Couple Therapy 58
3.3.1 Basic Principles 60
3.3.2 Basic Practices 61
3.4 Family Therapy 66
3.5 Group Therapy 67
Summary 69
Key Terms 70
References 70
Self-Test 1 70
Self-Test 2 70
Topic 4 Theory and Practice 71

4.1 Psychoanalytic 71
4.2 Adlerian 73
4.2.1 Notable Adlerians 75
4.2.2 Adlerian Counselling 76
4.3 Humanistic 77
4.4 Behavioural 81
4.5 Cognitive 86
4.6 Crisis Theories of Counselling 87
4.6.1 Elements of Crisis Counselling 87
Summary 89
Key Terms 89

TABLE OF CONTENTS  v
Self-Test 1 89
Self-Test 2 90
Topic 5 Specialities in the Practice of Counselling 91

5.1 Groups in Counselling 92
5.2 Career Counselling Over the Life Span 93
5.3 Marriage and Family Counselling 93
5.4 Elementary, Middle and Secondary School Counselling 93
5.4.1 Elementary School Counselling 94
5.4.2 Middle School Counselling 95
5.4.3 High School Counselling 95
5.5 College Counselling and Student Life Services 97
5.6 Substance abuse and Disability Counselling 107
5.6.1 Drug Terminology 108
5.6.2 Addiction 109
5.6.3 Habituation 109
5.6.4 Dependence 109
5.6.5 Abuse or Misuse 110
5.7 Mental Health and Community Counselling and Private
Practice 110
5.7.1 What is Community Counselling? 111
5.7.2 Private Practice 112
Summary 112
Key Terms 113
References 113
Self-Test 1 113
Self-Test 2 113
Topic 6 Listening Skills 114

6.1 What is Listening? 115
6.1.1 Approaches to Listening 116
6.1.2 Listening as Behaviour 117
6.1.3 Payoffs for Effective Listening 118
6.1.4 Actions Required for Effective Listening 121
6.2 Stages of Listening 125
6.2.1 Sensing 125
6.2.2 Understanding 126
6.2.3 Evaluating 126
6.2.4 Responding 126
6.3 Obstacles to Listening 128
6.3.1 Inaccurate Assumptions about Listening 128
6.3.2 Barriers to Listening 130
6.4 Empathic Listening 135

vi  TABLE OF CONTENTS
6.5 Listeners in Control 136

6.5.1 Features of a Sound Plan 136
6.6 Traps for Listeners 138
6.6.1 Good Listeners and Bad Listeners 138
6.6.2 Feedback 141
Summary 147
Key Terms 148
References 148
Self-Test 1 148
Self-Test 2 148
Topic 7 Life Career Development and Counselling 149

7.1 Definitions Related to Life Career Development
and Counselling 150
7.2 Career Development 151
7.2.1 Career Development Theory 152
7.2.2 Eight Critical Steps to Career Development 152
7.2.3 Resources 154
7.3 Occupational Choice-making 157
7.4 Other Factors in Occupational Choice 158
7.5 Life Career Counselling 160
7.6 The Process of Life Career Counselling 161
Summary 162
Key Terms 163
References 163
Self-Test 1 163
Self-Test 2 163
Topic 8 Group Counselling 164

8.1 Introduction to Group Counselling 164
8.2 Counselling Theory and Group Counselling 168
8.3 What Makes the Group Effective? 168
Summary 172
Key Terms 172
References 172
Self-Test 1 172
Self-Test 2 172
Topic 9 Counselling in a Multicultural Society 173

9.1 Cultural Differences and Counselling 174
9.2 Barriers to Multicultural Counselling 176
9.3 The Skilled Multicultural Counsellor 180
9.3.1 Role Playing 181

TABLE OF CONTENTS  vii
9.3.2 Bodily Awareness and Relaxation Activities 181

9.3.3 Thoughts and Imagery 183
9.3.4 Desensitisation 183
Summary 184
Key Terms 185
References 185
Self-Test 1 185
Self-Test 2 185
Topic 10 Ethical Principles of the Counselling Profession 186

10.1 Purposes of Ethical Codes 187
10.2 Codes of Ethics and Decision Making 189
10.2.1 Conditions Required for Ethical and
Effective Counselling 189
10.2.2 Tips for Ethical and Effective Counselling 190
10.2.3 Pre-disciplinary Action 191
10.3 Principles of Ethical Conduct 197
Summary 199
Key Terms 199
References 199
Self-Test 1 199
Self-Test 2 199
References 200

COURSE GUIDE

ii X COURSE GUIDE

COURSE GUIDE DESCRIPTION
You must read this Course Guide carefully from the beginning to the end. It tells
you briefly what the course is about and how you can work your way through
the course material. It also suggests the amount of time you are likely to spend in
order to complete the course successfully. Please keep on referring to the Course
Guide as you go through the course material as it will help you to clarify
important study components or points that you might miss or overlook.
INTRODUCTION
ABPG2203 Introduction to Counselling is one of the courses offered by the
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences at Open University Malaysia (OUM). This
course is worth 3 credit hours and should be covered over 15 weeks.
COURSE AUDIENCE
This is a core course for students undergoing Bachelor of Psychology with
Honours.
As an open and distance learner, you should be able to learn independently and
optimise the learning modes and environment available to you. Before you begin
this course, please confirm the course material, the course requirements and how
the course is conducted.
STUDY SCHEDULE
It is a standard OUM practice that learners accumulate 40 study hours for every
credit hour. As such, for a three-credit hour course, you are expected to spend
120 study hours. Table 1 gives an estimation of how the 120 study hours could be
accumulated.

xii  COURSE GUIDE
Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours
STUDY
STUDY ACTIVITIES
HOURS
Briefly go through the course content and participate in initial 3
discussions
Study the module 60
Attend 3 to 5 tutorial sessions 10
Online Participation 12
Revision 15
Assignment(s), Test(s) and Examination(s) 20
TOTAL STUDY HOURS ACCUMULATED 120
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1. Describe the basic concept of counselling;
2. Explain the role of the counselor and skills required; and
3. Differentiate the type of counselling and several theories in counselling.
COURSE SYNOPSIS
This course is divided into 10 topics. The synopsis for each topic is presented
below:
Topic 1 describes the history of counselling profession, trends in counselling,

what is counselling, what is guidance, who is counselor, who need counselling
service, type of counselling.
Topic 2 explains the counselling process and Assessment Interview: Introduction:

Helping people change, characteristics of counselling approaches, major
counselling approaches, building a counselling relationship, stages in the
counselling process, the assessment interview: testing, assessment, and diagnosis
in counselling, working in a counselling relationship, termination of counselling
relationships.
Topic 3 explains what are the different types of traditional counselling,

individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy, group therapy.

COURSE GUIDE  xiii
Topic 4 describes psychoanalytic, adlerian, humanistic, behavioural, cognitive,

crisis theories of counselling.
Topic 5 describes specialties in the practice of counselling: Introduction: Groups

in counselling, career counselling over the life span, marriage and family
counselling, elementary, middle, and secondary school counselling, college
counselling and student life services, substance abuse and disability counselling,
mental health and community counselling, and private practice.
Topic 6 explains what is listening, stages of listening, obstacles of listening,

emphatic listening, listeners in control, traps for listeners.
Topic 7 explains some definitions, career development, occupational choice

making, other factors in occupational choice, life career counselling, the process
of life career counselling.
Topic 8 explains introduction to group counseling, counselling theory and group

counselling, what makes groups effective.
Topic 9 discusses the cultural differences and counselling, barriers to

multicultural counselling, the skilled multicultural counselor.
Topic 10 discusses the purposes of ethical codes, codes of ethics and decision
making,principles of ethical conduct.
TEXT ARRANGEMENT GUIDE

Before you go through this module, it is important that you note the text
arrangement. Understanding the text arrangement should help you to organise
your study of this course to be more objective and more effective. Generally, the
text arrangement for each topic is as follows:
Learning Outcomes: This section refers to what you should achieve after you
have completely gone through a topic. As you go through each topic, you should
frequently refer to these learning outcomes. By doing this, you can continuously
gauge your progress of digesting the topic.
Self-Check: This component of the module is inserted at strategic locations

throughout the module. It is inserted after you have gone through one sub-
section or sometimes a few sub-sections. It usually comes in the form of a
question that may require you to stop your reading and start thinking. When you
come across this component, try to reflect on what you have already gone
through. When you attempt to answer the question prompted, you should be

xiv  COURSE GUIDE
able to gauge whether you have understood what you have read (clearly,
vaguely or worse you might find out that you had not comprehended or retained
the sub-section(s) that you had just gone through). Most of the time, the answers
to the questions can be found directly from the module itself.
Activity: Like Self-Check, activities are also placed at various locations or junctures
throughout the module. Compared to Self-Check, Activity can appear in various
forms such as questions, short case studies or it may even ask you to conduct an
observation or research. Activity may also ask your opinion and evaluation on a
given scenario. When you come across an Activity, you should try to widen what
you have gathered from the module and introduce it to real situations. You should
engage yourself in higher order thinking where you might be required to analyse,
synthesise and evaluate instead of just having to recall and define.
Summary: You can find this component at the end of each topic. This component
helps you to recap the whole topic. By going through the summary, you should
be able to gauge your knowledge retention level. Should you find points inside
the summary that you do not fully understand, it would be a good idea for you
to revisit the details from the module.
Key Terms: This component can be found at the end of each topic. You should go
through this component to remind yourself of important terms or jargons used
throughout the module. Should you find terms here that you are not able to
explain, you should look for the terms from the module.
References: References is where a list of relevant and useful textbooks, journals,

articles, electronic contents or sources can be found. This list can appear in a few
locations such as in the Course Guide (at References section), at the end of every
topic or at the back of the module. You are encouraged to read and refer to the
suggested sources to elicit the additional information needed as well as to
enhance your overall understanding of the course.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Please refer to myVLE.
REFERENCES
John McLeod (1998). An introduction to counselling (2nd ed.). Open University
Press.
Nelson-Jones, Richard (2003). Basic counselling skills: A helper's manual,

Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publication.

COURSE GUIDE  xv
Ray Woolfe, Windy Dryden, & Sheelagh Strawbridge (2003). Handbook of

counselling psychology (2nd ed.). SAGE Publication.

Topic  The Basics of
Counselling
1
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Explain the emergence and growth of counselling;
2. Discuss the changes in aspects of counselling as evolved over a
period of time;
3. Define the meaning of counselling;
4. Identify the trends in counselling;
5. Describe the need for counselling service; and
6. List the types of counselling.
 INTRODUCTION
All of us have been part of „counselling‰ in one form or another. This is the
problem ă the word is so familiar that lots of people have different ways of
defining it. To some, it involves never asking direct questions. To others, it
involves giving advice and making suggestions about how another person might
find his own solutions. Yet others scorn such an idea and feel that it is always the
recipient of counselling who identifies solutions to problems.
Counselling is a process in which two people meet to explore personal problems

and identify practical solutions to life or work related problems. In this topic, you
will study about the emergence and growth of counselling.

2  TOPIC 1 THE BASICS OF COUNSELLING
1.1 HISTORY OF COUNSELLING PROFESSION

Counselling has been in existence since the very inception of human race and
civilisation. But this subject has drawn the attention of scholars in the mid 18th
century and over the time has gained acceptance owing to a number of reasons
including developments in business and technology. However, emergence and
growth of counselling can be classified in the following periods:
1.1.1 First Period – Evolution of Counselling

The first period in which the concept of counselling took shape can be traced
back to the time period, 1850 to 1900. During the latter part of the nineteenth
century, far reaching innovations in the field of psychology were made. The
entire period is also referred to as Psychoanalysis movement.
(a) The very first Psychological Laboratory was set up at Leipzig by Wilhelm
Wundt in 1879. (Look at Figure 6.1)
(b) It was followed by Stanley Hall (1844-1924), who started the first
Psychological Laboratory in the US in 1883.
(c) In 1895, George Merill established the first systematic vocational
programme in San Francisco.
(d) The first psychological clinic was founded by Lightner Witmer in 1896,
which stated the beginning of the counselling movement.
(e) Jesse B. Davis first used the term „counselling‰. He set up the Educational
Career-counselling Centre in Detroit in 1898.
(f) President of Chicago University, William Rainey Harper, stressed the
importance of guidance in his annual address in 1899 thereby giving
importance to the guidance movement.
(g) J.B. Miner established and directed the free clinic in mental development at
the University of Minnesota in 1909.
1.1.2 Second Period – Emergence of Counselling

The second period is also known as Guidance movement. This period for the
evolution of counselling can be marked from 1900 to 1930. During the first few
years of the twentieth century, following significant events took place:

TOPIC 1 THE BASICS OF COUNSELLING  3
(a) The first convention of the International Congress of Psychoanalysis was

held at Salzberg.
(b) Stanley Hall invited Carl Gustav Jung to deliver a lecture on Counselling at
the Clark University.
(c) The Mental Hygiene Movement was launched by Clifford Beers (1908) with
his epoch-making book, The Mind that Found Itself.
(d) Rev. Elwood Worcester advocated the use of psychological principles in
pastoral counselling (Cunningham, 1967).
(e) Binet-Simon tests of intelligence were adapted to American conditions
about this time.
(f) The Progressive Education Movement was initiated by John Dewey (1910)
with his epoch-making book, How We Think.
(g) Mrs. Adolf Meyer started „The School of Social Work‰, which also involved
casework and psychiatry (Wirth, 1931).
These movements boosted the efforts to develop knowledge and services in order
to assist individuals in need of help. In the years that followed, these movements
converged, pointing to the need for the application of psychological insights for
obtaining and providing a meaningful base and sense of direction for the efforts
to become fruitful and rewarding.
Unfortunately, there is a wrong impression that counselling is a poor manÊs

psychotherapy. It is hoped that with a greater degree of professionalisation,
many of the prejudices and misconceptions concerning counselling will be
dispelled.
The first decade of the 19th century saw the popularisation of the Guidance
Movement. Eli Weaver published, Choosing a Career in 1906. Frank Parsons
started the vocational bureau of Boston in 1908 and published his book, Choosing
a Vocation in 1909. The state of Michigan started the first city-wide Guidance
Movement in Grand Rapids in 1912. The National Vocational Guidance
Association (NVGA) was founded in Grand Rapids in the following year. Thus, it
can be seen that the Vocational Guidance Movement grew out of voluntary
efforts in educational, civic and social work. These events not only signified
growing public interest but also concern for the future welfare of the youth.
Educationists and administrators began to recognise that it was hazardous to
leave pupils to fend for themselves.
There were cases of wastage and stagnation, evidences of under-achievement,

instances of retarded learning, problems of handicapped children, special
problems of school learning, truancy, delinquency and the like, which required

close attention and supervision by the teacher concerned. In addition, remedial

measures had to be devised and implemented. It is easy to see that this was a tall
order for any individual teacher. Educational authorities became slowly but
increasingly convinced that there was a genuine need for providing guidance to
pupils to help them learn efficiently and effectively. With this recognition of the
need for guidance at school, it was evident that the school leaving youth and the
out-of-school youth also required appropriate guidance in their choice of
occupation. Thus, the Guidance Movement was started out of societyÊs concern
for the youth.
In the early year, guidance consisted of giving the necessary occupational

information to the young to decide for themselves what would be most
appropriate for them. With the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918) and the
entry of the US on the side of the Allies, Psychology in general, and Guidance in
particular, received tremendous impetus. As a part of the war effort, E.L.
Thorndike (1874-1949) and Robert Yerkes (1876-1956) helped develop the Army
Alpha and Army Beta tests in 1917 for screening the defense personnel. James
Burt Miner developed the first ever known questionnaire in 1908. It was closely
followed by R.S. Woodworth and F.L. Wells associates tests and psychometric
inventory in 1911, which was specially developed as a screening device for the
army recruits.
This was published later as ÂPersonal Data SheetÊ (1920). The cessation of
hostilities resulted in an unprecedented situation, which helped the Guidance
Movement to consolidate its position and make further progress. The war had
uprooted thousands of young as well as middle-aged men from their normal
occupations and lives. They had been engaged as defense personnel at different
theatres of war in Europe and the Middle East. When the hostilities ended, the
servicemen were repatriated and had to be rehabilitated. Thousands of jobs had
to be found.
The Vocational Guidance Movement, which was already in existence at several

places, was pressed into service for this purpose. The problems of the war
veterans were different from those of the young. The former had once been
gainfully employed but the war had torn them away from their traditional
occupations in which they had acquired certain degree of competency. In
addition, as members of the defense services, they had received a different kind
of training that had also to be taken into account in finding them suitable jobs.
All these factors afforded ample opportunities for the development of the
Guidance Movement. There was a great need for its services and the movement
braced itself to meet the demand.

1.1.3 Third Period – Growth of Counselling

Also known by the name of Psychometric Movement, the third period in the
growth of counselling is classified from the year 1930 to 1940. In catering to
guidance needs, guidance workers looked around for suitable tools and
techniques. The Psychometric Movement, with its fascinating and interesting
tests of mental functions and abilities, attitudes, interests, etc., began to attract
attention. They took advantage of the new innovations and pressed them into
service with great success.
The Guidance Movement thus, developed a vocational bias. It came to be

recognised as the Vocational Guidance Movement as distinct from vocational
selection. In the Vocational Guidance Movement, subjects were to be apprised of
their assets and liabilities (their abilities and skills) so that they would have a
fuller and healthier appreciation of themselves and choose occupations that were
congruent with their abilities. It was appreciated that vocational maladjustment
resulted from an appropriate choice of jobs in the absence of a proper and
adequate understanding of oneÊs own capacities and potentialities. In 1930,
Donald Paterson of Minnesota remarked that when parsons launched his
vocational bureau, he found psychological cupboard bare. There were no
psychological tests he could have readily used in guidance work (Lofquist and
Dawis, 1991). This was owing to the obvious fact that the influence of
psychometric was not yet appreciably felt. There were very few psychological
tests available and few persons were trained to use them at that time.
Consequently, Parsons had to be content with providing only the occupational
information basic to proper vocational choice. Thus, in the first few decades, the
guidance movement was only aimed at providing educational and vocational
guidance.
The post-war situation remarkably changed the character of the Guidance

Movement. The period, 1918-1939, from the end of World War I to the outbreak
of World War II, saw the publication of books and important psychological tests,
such as Harry KitsonÊs Psychology of Vocational Adjustment in the year 1925,
Clark L. HullÊs Aptitude Testing in 1927 and E.K. Strong JrÊs Strong Vocational
Interest Blank (SVIB) in 1943. The National Vocational Guidance Association
(NVGA), founded in 1913, formed the American Council of Guidance and
Personnel Association (ACGPA) in 1934, which later merged with NVGA to
become the American Personnel Guidance Association (APGA). Robert
Hoppock, a former Secretary of NVGA published his book, Job Satisfaction, in
1935. With Hoppockis (1935) work, the guidance movement tended to become
more psychologically oriented, unlike the earlier period in which it was more
concerned with school education and provision of career information. Another
milestone in the progress of the Guidance Movement in this direction was

marked by the publication of L.L. ThurstoneÊs (1887-1955) Tests of Primary

Mental Abilities in 1938. The following year, i.e., 1939 saw the publication of the
Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), which listed 18,000 jobs (Morton, 1969).
The Guidance Movement made tremendous progress in the hands of Donald
Paterson and E.G. Williamson during 1930-1940 at the University of Minnesota.
Their work was largely concerned with the objective assessment of the
individualÊs abilities, to help him gain adequate self-knowledge so that he is able
to make meaningful choices in his career and get maximum job satisfaction.
1.1.4 Fourth Period – Developments in Counselling

The fourth period in the growth of counselling is marked by the Second World
War and the years that followed. It is also known by the name of the Counselling
movement.
The major breakthrough which finally established counselling as a science in its

own right was achieved through Carl RogersÊ book, Counselling and
Psychotherapy (1942). The VeteransÊ Administration Authority had become more
concerned with the provision of counselling as part of the rehabilitation
programme. However, counselling has not only stood the test of time but also
obtained recognition by the American Psychological Association (APA).
Owing to the efforts of Profs. C.G. Wrenn, D.E. Super, P. Robinson, E.S. Bordin
and other psychologists, a meeting was convened at the Northwestern
University, Evanston in 1951 prior to the Annual Convention of the American
Psychological Association of September 1951. At this conference, 60 leading
psychologists currently involved in guidance and counselling, were invited to
participate. They recommended, among other things, the starting of an
independent division for counselling. The report of the conference was published
in the American Psychologist in June 1952.
The American Psychological Association also introduced certification and

professional examination for counselling psychologists to be held by the
American Board of Examiners in professional psychology. The first journal of
counselling psychology was published in 1954. This conclusively established
counselling psychology as a specialisation field of psychology.
There has been a growing awareness of the need for professionalism. For a long
time, the medical men and general public had serious reservations about the
credibility of psychological techniques of therapy. MesmerÊs (1734-1815) work
had two-fold effects, while it popularised mesmerism, it also raised serious
doubts in some circles. Since then, the need has been felt for a sound professional
basis for psychotherapy. In course of time, the need for improving the efficiency

of training led to scientific selection procedures. To exercise healthy supervision,

a scheme of certification or licensing was introduced as in the other professional
fields like medicine, law, accountancy, etc.
Over the past five decades, counsellors have gained overwhelming acceptance
from society; consequently, a large number of sub-specialities have developed to
serve in settings such as schools, mental health clinics, rehabilitation centres,
community agencies, college personnel services, etc. They incorporate the
important findings of the personality theory, social psychology, counselling
psychology and therapeutic techniques.
The early innovators were mostly preoccupied with practice and were impatient
for the practical results. Perhaps because of their preoccupation with results, they
adopted a pragmatic approach. In the first two to three decades after inception of
the Guidance Movement, which was pragmatic in its outlook, the movement
developed into a powerful Counselling Movement, and the importance and need
for a sound theory came to be acutely felt. Therefore, the attention of counsellors
was naturally drawn to this lacuna. The different approaches adopted by the
guidance workers and counsellors have led to different approaches to
counselling. Psychoanalysis, as a theory of human personality, was like a
Copernican revolution in psychology and was perhaps the first systematic
attempt to explain human behaviour-both normal and abnormal. Theory
building in counselling began with the adoption of the psychoanalytic approach
to counselling needs. However, the different views concerning human nature
and manÊs philosophic concerns significantly influenced theory building. Thus,
several theoretical approaches to counselling are in vogue today.
The following Table 1.1 summarises the emergence and growth of counselling:
Table 1.1: Emergence and Growth of Counselling
Periods Important
First Period ă Evolution of  Period is also referred to as Psychoanalysis
Counselling (1850 to 1900) movement.
 First Psychological Laboratory was set up at Leipzig
by Wilhelm Wundt in 1879.
Second Period ă Emergence  First convention of the International Congress of
of Counselling (1900 to 1930) Psychoanalysis was held at Salzberg. Ć Progressive
Education Movement was initiated by John Dewey
(1910) with his epoch-making book, „How We
Think‰.
 The development of the Guidance Movement took
place.

Third Period ă Growth of  The Guidance Movement developed a vocational bias.

Counselling (1930 to 1940)  The National Vocational Guidance Association
(NVGA), founded in 1913, formed the American
Council of Guidance and Personnel Association
(ACGPA) in 1934.
 The Guidance Movement made tremendous progress
in the hands of Donald Paterson and E.G. Williamson
during 1930-1940 at the University of Minnesota.
Fourth Period ă  The major breakthrough which finally established
Developments in counselling as a science in its own right was achieved
Counselling (Marked with through Carl RogersÊ book, Counselling and
the Second World War and Psychotherapy (1942).
the years that followed.)  Growing awareness of the need for professionalism
MesmerÊs (1734-1815) work had two-fold effects,
while it popularised mesmerism, it also raised serious
doubts in some circles.
 Psychoanalysis, as a theory of human personality, was
like a Copernican revolution in psychology.
 Different views concerning human nature and manÊs
philosophic concerns significantly influenced theory
building.
SELF-CHECK 1.1
Discuss briefly the emergence and growth of counselling
ACTIVITY 1.1
Make a flow chart to show the evolution of counselling over the
period of years.
1.2 TRENDS IN COUNSELLING

You have studied in the previous section that counselling has emerged over a
period of tune. So there are various trends in counselling as well. The Figure 1.1
illustrates the different trends in counselling:

Figure 1.1: Trends in counselling
1.2.1 Postmodern Trends

Postmodern Trends can be explained as follows:
(a) It conceptualises the self to include interpersonal, systemic, and
socio-cultural forces.
(b) The relationship of counselling is collaborative.
(c) Most of the aspects relate to qualitative research and evaluation.
(d) Psychological problems are viewed from a phenomenological perspective.
(e) Process is emphasised over content.
(f) The emphasis is laid on relational perspectives
(g) Initially, clientÊs story and narrative are explored and after that goal setting
and intervention comes into existence
1.2.2 Counselling and the Internet

Internet has changed the outlook of counselling.
(a) E-mails are advantageous because they have improved the communication
between counsellors and clients. The main disadvantage is that it adds an
element of risk regarding confidentiality.

(b) Internet facilitates online access to scholarly journals and newsletters

which can be an aid to counsellor in his or her work.
(c) It helps the colleges and universities in offering online classes and
continuing education opportunities online.
(d) Through chat rooms, self-help groups can be conducted and clients can
share information.
(e) With the help of websites, information can be disseminated to larger
numbers of people.
(f) Search Engines are useful tools that help counsellors and clientÊs locate
information on the internet.
(g) Online Communities can be formed which allow many internet users with
similar interests to interact.
1.2.3 Diversity Issues

The various diversity issues are as follows:
(a) Sensitivity to cultural and diversity issues in counselling is very important.
(b) Diversity includes culture, gender, individuals with disabilities, spirituality
and many other aspects.
(c) It has been found that itÊs not compulsory that traditional therapies based
on research done with white, male, middle-class individuals may apply
well to diverse groups also.
1.2.4 Counsellor’s Job Security

Important points you should remember regarding counsellorÊs job security are as
follows:
(a) There are less doctoral positions available because many states cut funding
for mental health care.
(b) Funding has been cut to community based clinics, eliminating many
counselling positions.
(c) The MasterÊs level counsellor may come under the category of more
employable in many cases.

1.2.5 Change Management

In order to create and maintain competitive advantage, companies have to be
flexible about changing, and yet continuously uphold the highest level of
performance and productivity from employees. Implementing positive strategies
to ease the pressures of upheaval and uncertainty is absolutely necessary. Given
peopleÊs resistance to and natural fear of change, managing it is not an easy task.
Employees require counselling to cope with and adjust to changes.
Managers should use counselling skills not only to support and motivate
subordinates during periods of change, but also to create the environment
towards which organisations are attempting to change. Many companies have
benefitted from changing from being downwardly operating, hierarchical,
directive and slow to change to being upwardly operating, flatter, facilitative and
more flexible. Many consider using counselling skills is essential in order to
implement this cultural change effectively (rather than just giving it lip service),
so an ideal time to institute the top-down training of managers in counselling
skills has to be a part of change management programme.
Downsizing Just as organisations change their products, services, or

administrative systems to stay competitive, so too do they alter the size and basic
configurations of their organisational chart, i.e., they restructure. In many cases,
this has meant reducing the number of employees needed to operate effectively,
a process known as downsizing.
Typically, this involves more than just laying off people in a move to save
money. It is directed at adjusting the number of employees needed to work in a
newly designed organisation, and is therefore, also known as rightsizing
(Hendricks, 1992). Whatever you call it, the bottom line is painfully clear. Many
organisations need fewer people to operate today than in the past-sometimes far
fewer.
Another way organisations are restructuring is by completely eliminating parts

of themselves that focus on the non-core sectors of the business, and hiring
outside firms to perform these functions instead·a practice known as
outsourcing (Tomasko, 1993).
Handling the process of downsizing in the most humane manner possible is

worthwhile both for the sake of the organisation and for those made redundant.
When a large number of people are made redundant, employees will require
counselling at many levels. Besides the redundant employees, others who will
need help include the remaining employees and the managers who must
communicate the changes and then adjust to running a new organisational
structure.

Taking steps to make sure that the remaining staff stays motivated and
committed will improve their morale and reassure them that the company cares
about them. It preserves the internal company image. Immediately following a
large-scale redundancy is an opportune time to institute top-down training of
managers in counselling skills. Feelings, which likely need to be dealt with by
using counselling skills include resistance, lack of trust, anger, fear,
demotivation, hostility and a disinterest in the future.
1.2.6 Managing Diversity

Diversity can be defined as a mixture of people who vary by age, gender, race,
religion and/or life style (Thomas, 1992). One management challenge is to help
people understand diversity so that they can establish productive relationship
with people at work. Effectively managing a diverse workforce means adopting
practices that recognise all aspects of diversity. Perhaps nothing has greater
implications for managing diversity than the changing characteristic of the
workforce. The make of the workforce is changing at a very high pace. Most of
the multinational organisations have diverse workforce comprising men and
women of different races, national origins and ethnic backgrounds.
Organisations like Hewlett-Packard conduct workshops for all employees in
which the emphasis is on educating and encouraging managers to understand
culturally different employees and to create an environment that fosters
productivity.
Workforces in Asia, Western Europe, Latin America and North America are
growing more complex and diverse. Thus, managers need to recognise
differences resulting form this diversity, particularly in terms of what employees
want from the job. According to De Luca and McDowell (1992), some of the
challenges that an organisation faces with a diverse workforce are as follows:
(a) Language Differences

Unless employees can understand each other, communication is difficult or
even impossible. Employees cannot train each other or work together if
they canÊt communicate. Language barrier, therefore, poses real and often
serious problems, which could lead to misunderstanding of essential
working conditions.
(b) National Ethnic Groupings

Sometimes employees tend to form strong ethnic groups on the basis of
similarities. Although such grouping develops a strong sense of teamwork
within the group, it does not promote working with others who donÊt share
the same language and cultural heritage.

(c) Attitude and Cultural Differences

Most people have developed attitudes and beliefs that create frustration,
anger and bitterness in those at whom they are aimed. Managers who want
to foster employee tolerance are opting for major change. In many
organisations, women and minorities are bypassed when important, formal
decisions are made. Informally, these people often are left out when others
go to lunch or a sporting event. These informal get-togethers give older
employees a chance to counsel junior employees about coping with
problems. For managers to effectively create an environment where
everyone can contribute to the organisationÊs goals, attitudes must change.
Employees are adapting too much more heterogeneous work environments
(race, class, sex, religion and culture). Using counselling skills is a way to
manage diversity. Adopting a counselling style of management will set an
example of how to communicate, learn from one another, and get the most
from everyone.
(d) Equal Opportunities

The use of counselling skills can be invaluable in organisations, which are
implementing equal opportunity policies. It can assist in tapping and
developing the resources of female employees, and also in helping men and
women to adjust to one another and work together most productively.
Women may require counselling as they move up the ladders, often alone,
into uncharted territory with few role models. Women have not been
conditioned for the traditional work environment in the same way that men
have been. Counselling can help to provide them with much needed
support and confidence.
However, womenÊs conditioning can help them to excel as managers using

counselling skills in a modern, co-operative work environment. Men may
require counselling in order to adapt to organisational cultures, which are
becoming less patriarchal and masculine. In the past, to get to the top, an
employee had to repress feelings, adapt to hierarchy and also at times deny
reality. Emotions were not shown at work, and certainly not discussed.
Counselling can help men to break out of old habits and thinking which
could hold back in the modern environment.
(e) Mentoring
Mentoring programmes pair more senior people in the organisation with
people who are junior, in order to help them to learn the ropes, advance,
and grow and achieve in their career. Mentors help mentees with personal
objectives and effectiveness, self-confidence and self-awareness as they
apply to organisational objectives, directly or indirectly. The role involves a
mixture of counselling, coaching and advising.

The mentor-mentee relationship is less directive than the manager-

subordinate relationship. Within the mentoring relationship, mentors are
less concerned with their own and departmental objectives and less worried
about loss of professionalism. Subordinates may want to paint the best
possible picture for their manager, who is their immediate boss and can
affect their pay cheque. They are more likely to open up to a mentor.
Success and failures, personal strengths and weaknesses, and problem
areas and difficulties can be discussed and analysed in a relationship,
which feels safe. Therefore, effective counselling skills are especially vital
for a mentor. Services that mentors provide include:
(i) Helping the mentee to understand how the organisation works.
(ii) Helping the mentee to understand organisational politics.
(iii) Providing specific knowledge about the broader aspects of the
business and the industry.
(iv) Helping the mentee to set development goals.
(v) Helping the mentee to achieve full potential within the organisation.
(vi) Helping the mentee to explore and identify learning needs.
(vii) Determining with the mentee, ways of meeting those needs.
(viii) Acting as a neutral and non-judgmental sounding board for new
ideas.
(ix) Providing coaching in particular skills.
1.2.7 Team Management/Conflict Resolution

Counselling skills can be used very effectively to facilitate groups in problem
solving, decision-making and conflict resolution. Group counselling is similar to
facilitation, but there is more focus on feelings and emotions. It can greatly
improve the way teams work together.
When individual project team members suffer from personal problems, which
affect their ability to work, other team membersÊ ability to work is often affected
as well. Sometimes a team will have difficulty working together, even if there are
only one or two problem-causers.
A manager or a consultant trained in counselling skills can use a counselling

process to address these situations. Someone outside the team has no investment
in the work or the outcome, and will be free to offer interpretations about the
group process (what the team interacts) and to help the team clearly define and

communicate expectations. Following are some of the aspects of group process,

which can be addressed (Kolbe, Rubin & McIntyre, 1984):
(a) Goals or Mission

(i) How clearly defined are the goals?
(ii) Who sets the goals?
(iii) How much agreement is there among members concerning the goals?
How much commitment?
(iv) How clearly measurable is goal achievement?
(v) How do group goals relate to broader organisational goals and
personal goals?
(b) Group Norms

(i) What are group norms?
(ii) Are they implicit or explicit?
(iii) Who sees the norms?
(iv) Are they being followed by the individual members?
(c) Leadership
(i) Who is the formal leader of the group?
(ii) Who is the informal leader?
(iii) What style does he use?
(iv) What power base does he use?
(v) Is he effective?
(d) Decision-making
(i) How does it happen?
(ii) Is everyone satisfied with how it happens?
(iii) Is there a better way?
(e) Role Expectations

(i) Role ambiguity-are people clear about their own and othersÊ roles
within the team?
(ii) Role conflict-do any team members feel pulled in different directions
due to dual or multiple roles?

(iii) Role overload-are the responsibilities of the roles manageable?
When using counselling skills with teams, it is necessary to encourage group

members to speak up about their feelings, even when those feelings are vague
and unfocused and people feel unsure about them. Insist that the participants
listen to one another and try to get them to use ÂIÊ statements to express their own
feelings rather than make accusations.
SELF-CHECK 1.2
1. „Counselling skills can be used very effectively to facilitate

groups in problem solving, decision-making and conflict
resolution‰. Do you agree? Why or why not?
2. Find out other recent trends in counselling.
ACTIVITY 1.2
Explain the various trends in counselling.
1.3 WHAT IS COUNSELLING?

(a) Counselling is the means by which one person helps another through
purposeful communication.
(b) Counselling involves a series of problem solving interviews.
(c) Counselling is a process in which two people meet to explore personal
problems and to identify solutions.
(d) Counselling is a method of identifying practical solutions to life or work
related problems.
Counselling as a fast growing dynamic movement has rapidly progressed from

its modest beginning in the early part of the present century to its current
dynamic status in a brief period of six decades. In the rapidity of its growth,
counselling has overlooked many issues, causing apparent confusion with
psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, behaviour conditioning, guidance, advising, etc.
Yet it is all these things in one-way or the other. The counselling function is
claimed to be performed also by ministers, physicians, social workers, teachers,
managers and many others whose number is ever on the increase. Counselling,
like any other science, is based on scientific principles of objectivity and
verifiability; it cannot proceed in the absence of subjective aspects, such as

rapport, warmth and trust.
Counselling has earned recognition through its service in enhancing and in

preserving human happiness. It is found to be of service by different
organisations for increasing their efficiency and productivity. In the history of its
growth, as a science and as a profession, it has changed its emphasis, aims and
roles as can be seen from its expanding range of activities in diverse settings.
Based on all these definitions, it can be rightly said that counselling is a process, a
relationship that is designed to help people take right decision. It is basically to
help the counselee answer the question-what shall I do? Underlying better
choices are matters of learning, personality development and self-knowledge,
which can be translated into better role perception and more effective role
behaviour.
Certain factors that seem common to all or most of these definitions and about
which, many counsellors would agree are given below.
(a) Two people are present;
(b) The process leads to action on the part of the client;
(c) The counsellor is a person who listens;
(d) The client can be trusted to find their own solutions;
(e) Personal growth of the client usually occurs;
(f) Resolution of problems is an expectation;
(g) Advice-giving is on the part of the counsellor;
(h) Psychotherapy;
(i) Treatment of severe mental illness;
(J) Solving lifeÊs problems.
1.3.1 Essential Elements of Counselling

Two researchers and counselling theorists have attempted to identify the factors
that are essential to the process of counselling. Fiedler asked a range of
counsellors to say what they considered to be the ideal therapeutic relationship.
The list that they compiled (Fiedler, 1950) included:
(a) An empathic relationship;
(b) The counsellor and client relate well;

(c) The counsellor sticks closely to the clientÊs problems;

(d) The client feels free to say what they like;
(e) An atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence exists;
(f) Rapport is essential.
Some years later, Carl Rogers, father of client-centred counselling, developed that
list and produced what Rogers was to call the Ânecessary and sufficient
conditions for therapeutic changeÊ (Rogers 1957). He hypothesised that the
following conditions had to be present if counselling was to be effective.
(a) Two persons are in psychological contact;
(b) The client is in a state of incongruence, vulnerable and anxious;
(c) The counsellor is congruent or integrated in the relationship;
(d) The counsellor experiences unconditional regard for the client;
(e) The counsellor experiences an empathic understanding of the clientÊs
internal frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience
to the client;
(f) The communication to the client of the counsellorÊs empathic
understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree
achieved.
The pressure arising due to stress at work place has been increasing with a rapid
pace. OÊLeary (1993) and Cartwright and Copper (1994) have documented some
statistics around mental illness in the workplace.
(a) One in five of the working population (approximately 20 percent of the
total working population) suffers some form of mental illness each year.
(b) Some 90 million working days are lost each year as a result of mental
illness.
(c) Over half of the employees feel that emotional/personal stress is the true
reason for their being absent from work.
(d) Between 30 to 40 percent of all sickness at work is reported due to mental
illness or emotional stress.
(e) Alcohol abuse by employees to bust stress also poses a problem for the
organisation as it adversely affects progress.
(f) Approximately 20 percent of any workforce is affected by personal
problems, which adversely affect their working performance.

There are several reasons why employers should be closely involved in the
physical and mental well-being of employees (OÊLeary, 1993, 1994). It makes
sense to have a healthy and high-performing workforce. It only creates happier
individuals who provide quality service, but also contributes to the overall
profits. But there is some incongruence in this. In a study, it was found that while
94 percent of the companies surveyed felt that the mental health should be their
concern, only 12 percent actually had a policy. OÊ Leary, introduce the ideas of
counselling services in business organisations but the other side of the dictum
also holds true that today most of the organisations need work place counselling.
1.3.2 Counselling for Older Adults

Across the period of thirty years or so (up to age sixty to ninety and above) that is
referred to as older adulthood or the third age, there is a fairly predictable set of
experiences that all of us encounter. These experiences come as the inevitable and
irreversible consequence of biological, sociological, and psychological aging.
Some of the developmental tasks of later life are:
(a) Adjusting to Decreasing Physical Strength and Health

By middle age, most adults begin to notice that certain activities, such as
moving and that recovery after strenuous activity accumulate so that
simple tasks, such as climbing stairs become a challenge for some. Sexual
capacities decline, even though sexual functioning remains important to
most. As systems of the body decline, people become more subject to acute
(sudden-onset and usually temporary) illnesses such as colds and flu, and
also acquire chronic afflictions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
osteoporosis. As physical strength declines and illness accumulate, the
older personÊs attention is inevitably drawn to contemplation of his or her
own death.
(b) Adjusting to Retirement and Reduced Income

Employment provides for a sense of accomplishment, and identity in the
world of commerce, an area for social discourse, a basis for structuring time
into a daily routine and money. It may also be physically and emotionally
stressful and limit oneÊs time and energy for other pursuits. In an idealised
view, retirement may be seen as having completed lifeÊs work, freedom
from required toil, opportunity to be free of a major responsibility and to
pursue other interests, a time to reap the benefits of a life of working and
saving. For some, many of these benefits, along with improved health and
an opportunity to invest anew in relationships with spouse, children, and
grandchildren, in fact, do materialise, and the period of adjustment is
satisfying and growth producing. For others, the end of employment
signals a sense of uselessness, a feeling of having nothing of consequence to
do and time languishing, and a sense of loss of valued human contact.
Needless to say, retirement is a life transition of major importance because

of apparent loss of finances, status and power.
(c) Adjusting to the Death of a Spouse

For older adults, the loss of a spouse means the loss of a long time
companion who had chosen to share all the sorrows, joys and burdens of
life. A household that was organised around the needs and interests of two
individuals must now be reorganised with new daily routines and the
absence of an in-house partner for social and sexual intercourse. Patterns of
friendship that were previously shared by the couple do not work when
one becomes single, and isolation from friends and silence that follows after
the funeral is over and adds to a profound sense of loneliness. All these
changes in life routines are superimposed on and exacerbate the experience
of grief that comes from the loss of the one person who has usually been the
most important person in oneÊs life. Needless to say, in cases of second
marriages, the duration of relationship is often shorter and there is not as
much shared history. Still, many of the same adjustments are required
though perhaps to a lesser extent.
(d) Establishing an Explicit Association with OneÊs Age Group

Throughout our life, it is probably so that most of our friends are near
about our own age group - at least roughly in the same cohort. However,
with the withdrawal from work and perhaps community involvements of
one kind or another, opportunities to interact with younger people outside
the family decrease. It is often helpful for older persons to seek new
opportunities for social interaction with other seniors, sharing a common
hobby, working on political issues of value to older citizens, or simply
sharing recreational time together. Even so, it is a typical experience of the
oldest of the old that in their social circle of persons their age diminishes,
especially if they are still living in the community.
(e) Adopting and Adapting Societal Roles in a Flexible Way

As older adults give up the roles of the generative period of midlife and
younger old age, each person must decide what new roles are rewarding
and what changes may be made in roles that will continue. One person may
take on new responsibilities in a church, assume a role as an officer in his or
her condominium association, or join a book club to expand reading
horizons while gaining social interaction. Another may assume a very
active role in bringing up and taking care of the grandchildren. Still others
seem satisfied to devote their time and their energies (often depleted) to the
simple tasks of maintaining the comfort and quality of home life.

(f) Establishing Satisfactory Practical Living Arrangements

A major goal of most senior adults is to maintain the maximum
independence possible in their living arrangements. For some, this means
hanging on to the home in which they have spent the majority of their adult
lives. Others are ready to shed the responsibilities of maintaining a home
that was suitable for rearing a family but now has unused and unwanted
space. Still others recognise the need for assistance with living that can be
acquired only by moving in with a family or going to an assisted living
facility.
(g) Opting for Pre-retirement Counselling

Retirement is a major life transition. Because retirement will be such a
significant change in lifestyle, it is worthwhile for employees to prepare for
it in advance. In Individual counselling (or counselling for couples), there
can be issues that people will prefer to discuss privately.
Specially trained professionals best offer retirement counselling. However,

some employees will want to talk to their managers about the approaching
retirement, so having an understanding of what happens during retirement
counselling is useful.
Retirement counselling should relieve employeesÊ negative thoughts, build

their confidence and be informative. The employeeÊs feelings should be
discussed in order to help them to accept the change and its losses, and to
anticipate the future in the most positive light. Not enough people realise
what an opportunity retirement can be. Some people look forward to
reaching retirement age. Positive feelings about retirement include:
(i) Freedom from demands of work and parenting
(ii) Opportunity to expand on favourite hobby
(iii) Opportunity to try something new
(iv) More time to spend with family.
Some people dread retirement and show signs of apprehension about
retirement depression or tiredness. Negative feelings about retirement
include:
(i) Loss of identity and status
(ii) Lack of purpose/usefulness in life
(iii) Awareness of negative attitudes towards older people
(iv) Loss of income
(v) Lack of friends outside present work

(vi) Boredom
(vii) Concern about future health
Providing the employees with information on what to expect (normal reaction to

the transition) is helpful. Retired people will often go through three stages as
they adjust to their new lifestyle, i.e., initially a honeymoon phase, and then
approximately 6 to 12 months later a period of disenchantment followed by
reorientation and stability.
SELF-CHECK 1.3
Explain the meaning of counselling in your own words.
ACTIVITY 1.3
1. Mention the essential elements of counselling.
2. What are the unique features of counselling as regards older
adults?
1.4 WHAT IS GUIDANCE?

Both counselling and guidance are similar terms. Guidance and counselling is
advice one may give you when a question is asked. Both mean to lead one in
hopefully a positive direction helping you to do better in any point or time you
are feeling off key or down.
Guidance is giving leadership, supervision, direction, a course for future actions.

Counselling is giving opinion, instruction, advice, or professional guidance.
SELF-CHECK 1.4
Distinguish between counselling and guidance.

1.5 WHO IS A COUNSELLOR?

Various definitions of counsellor are as follows:
(a) Counsellor is a person who gives advice about problems.
(b) Counsellor is person who has supervisory duties at a summer camp.
(c) Counsellor is one who provides guidance i.e. provides direction or advice
as to a decision or course of action.
(d) Counsellor is one who provides counsel/assistance (particularly from a

professional) in the resolution of personal difficulties.
(e) Counsellor is an advisor.
Various types of counsellors are:
(i) A licensed and professionally trained counsellor;

(ii) A school counsellor, often in a specialty such as careers, education;
(iii) A health counsellor;
(iv) Counsellor-at-law is an attorney, etc.
Figure 1.2: The role of the counsellor is not limited to giving advices
Source: http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.Us/50960101295754/lib/50960101295754
/counselor.jpg

Most of the people consider counsellor as a person who gives advice. They can
help you question the way you look at things, to develop new strategies for
dealing with your situation and they can also help you the way you behave or
react to situations or people look at Figure 1.2. This is done by getting to know
you, developing an understanding of your situations, listening to your feelings
and by offering support and insight.
SELF-CHECK 1.5
Explain the role of Counsellor in your own words.
ACTIVITY 1.4
Try to remember any situation, where you gave an advice to your
friend and it helped him.
1.6 WHO NEED COUNSELLING SERVICE?

Almost every person at certain situations needs counselling service.
Counselors can talk to you on various issues or problems. Few areas of modern
life as dealt by the counsellor are as follows:
(a) Relationship or Family Issues;
(b) Loss and grief;
(c) Parenting and step-parenting;
(d) Major life changes;
(e) Coping with separation and new relationships;
(f) Domestic violence or sexual abuse;
(g) Coming to terms with abuse in your childhood;
(h) Depression or anxiety;
(i) Stress, Anger, Gambling;
(j) Financial difficulties.

Figure 1.3: Counselling is beneficial even in relationship issues

Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/cza0887l.jpg
1.6.1 Need for Counselling at Workplace

There are several factors which compel to run counselling as one of the
techniques to take care of their workforce. Some of these reasons are as follows:
(a) The welfare of employees is one of the major responsibilities of the

employers. More and more employers realise that illness and productivity
do not go well together.
(b) The fact that harassed employees can take legal actions is another reason
why organisations should introduce counselling.
(c) Employers are turning to counselling as one way of helping the employees
to cope with the changes taking place in organisations. Change is never
easy-it disrupts, disorientates, causes anxiety and takes time. Support is
needed for individuals and teams as transitions in organisations are
managed. Counselling is one way of supporting employees as they reel
under the pressure of organisational change.
(d) Counselling can be seen as a way of improving mental health of the

troubled persons. Employees do not leave their problems aside as they
enter into work place. Egan (1994) has noted that the financial expenses
borne by the organisations to deal with the psychological and social

problems can prove costly to an organisation, such as a poor relationship
between two members of the team, a manager going through an impending
divorce and an employee beginning to be abused by drug. If these problems
go unnoticed and not dealt with, the cost can be immeasurable.
(e) More and more companies are realizing that their employees are one of
their best assets. The direct link between the responsibility of taking care of
their staff and the drive for achieving success and/or profit is a major factor
in convincing employers to employ counselling services as one of the
means to manage workforce constructively.
(f) Counselling services can also be viewed as a preventive service.

Counsellors are in a unique position within the organisational settings to
offer the kind of training and education that prevents mental illness.
(g) Organisations are realising that a ÂwholenessÊ approach needs to be

adopted towards employees which implies that their physical, mental,
emotional and social well-being go together and that they need to be
worked with in totality. Emphasising one element is not enough.
Counselling process is a part of that package, where it is accepted that some
individuals may require a professional counsellorÊs help at any critical stage
of their lives and that for the majority, it does prove quite helpful to enable
them to deal with transitions and crises.
(h) And finally, counselling can itself be a source of organisational change.

Rather than just being an appendage to a company, counselling can bring
the values, the energy for change, the vitality of acceptance, a realisation of
who we are and what we can be to the very dynamics of work place life.
Counselling values are about the important and process of change, how
people can be empowered to manage their lives, how social responsibility
can be built into life and how social responsibility can influence
organisational culture to work towards the ideal strong and adaptive
culture that serves the company.
These are some of the reasons why employers need to introduce counselling into
the workplace. According to his research, Cooper (1995) has divided the reasons
into three main categories:
(a) 76 percent of employees see counselling as a caring facility,
(b) 70 percent see counselling as a way to help employees deal with workplace
changes, and

(c) 57 percent view counselling as a means of managing stress.
Counselling at workplace makes sense when it is realised that employees spend

about one-quarter of their life at work; that personal identity is often bound up
with jobs; and that almost all people integrate personal and professional lives to a
great extent. Having counselling available in the workplace means that the
problems can be dealt with fairly quickly and can be worked through in the
environment from which they often emerge. The rate at which counselling
practices have grown over the years is the results of a number of experiments
conducted over a period of considerable time.
SELF-CHECK 1.6
Make a list of situations where counselling may be required by a person.
ACTIVITY 1.5
Following link will take you to an article on „Unmet Need for

Counselling Services by Children in New York City after the
September 11th Attacks on the World Trade Center‰. Read and
analyse the requirement of the counselling.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/5/1367

ACTIVITY 1.6
Read the following article about „Exploring the need for a counselling
service in a primary school‰ and analyse the need for counselling in
case of primary school teachers.
Aims: The school counselling resources that do exist are directed

toward secondary rather than primary schools. The aim of the study is
to seek to record the experiences, perceptions and attitudes of a group
of primary school teaching staff, regarding the need for provision of a
counselling service in the school. The researcher will then determine
whether his research links into, supports or counteracts the findings of
existing research in the area of counselling provision and related areas
in primary education.
Participants and design: Seventeen primary staff participated in semi-

structured interviews within three focus groups conducted in the
school. The researcher adopted a descriptive phenomenological
approach to the research.
Findings: Participants described a range of issues relating to school

counselling, including pupil exclusion and awareness of the emotional
distress experienced by some pupils. Delivery of counselling in
primary schools was proven to be problematic due to factors such as
confusion amongst staff over the dual roles of teacher and counsellor
they are expected to fulfill. There was also debate over whether
counsellors external rather than internal to the school would provide a
more effective counselling service.
Conclusion: Counselling skills courses should be delivered as part of

teacher training courses. Structured counselling services should be
introduced into schools. Staff should be provided with clear guidance
about their counsellor/teacher roles and areas of conflict that may
arise. Finally, school counselling may prove to be an effective
intervention in tackling the growing problem of pupil exclusion.
Source: http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/26076271/
Exploring-the-need-for-a-counselling-service-in-a-primary-school/fulltext.

1.7 TYPES OF COUNSELLING

Figure 1.4 depicts the different types of counselling:
Online and telephone counseling
Figure 1.4: Types of counselling
1.7.1 Individual Counselling

A counselor can meet with you on a one-to-one basis, with you and your partner
or with members of your family, to talk about problems that are concerning
you. Figure 1.6 depicts a individual counselling session.
1.7.2 Group Therapy

A counselor shows the way for the discussion for a group of people (with or
without similar issues of concern) who get together on a regular basis to share
their experiences or concerns. Figure 1.7 depicts a group therapy.
1.7.3 Online and Telephone Counselling

In this type, modern technologies are considered. In includes discussing with a
counsellor online, by telephone, by email, chat-room or instant messaging.
Although, it is not as good as face-to-face counselling but can be very effective
when there are long distances involved. This is particularly relevant in India,
USA, UK and France.

1.7.4 Self-help Groups

The group of persons who are facing same problems, such as loss and grief,
trauma, divorce and illness, meet to discuss similar issues and problems (with or
without a counsellor to lead the discussion).
We will look into these four types of counselling in coming topics.
SELF-CHECK 1.7
List various types of counselling.
ACTIVITY 1.7
Choose the appropriate answer:

1. Period-4 is known as:
(a) Counselling Movement
(b) Negotiation Movement
2. The first period in the emergence of counselling is also referred to
as:
(a) Psychoanalysis Movement
(b) Negotiation Movement
 Counselling as a field gained momentum in the early 20th century and

emerged as a profession within six decades.
 Historical development of counselling can be divided into four periods, viz.
Evolution of Counselling; Emergence of Counselling; Growth of Counselling;
Developments in Counselling.
 Both counselling and guidance are similar terms. Guidance and counselling is
advice one may give you when a question is asked.
 Almost every person at certain situations needs counselling service.

 The four main types of counselling are individual, groups online, telephone
counselling and self helf groups.
Counselling Psychotherapy
Guidance Vocation
1. „Counselling has been in existence since the very inception of human race
and civilisation.‰ Elaborate.
2. Give a brief description of following:

(i) First Period - Evolution of Counselling
(ii) Second Period - Emergence of Counselling
(iii) Third Period - Growth of Counselling
(iv) Fourth Period - Developments in Counselling
1. Explain the role of counselling in team management and conflict resolution.
2. Explain the features of counselling.
3. What is the need for counselling at workplace?
4. „Role of the counsellor is limited to giving advices‰. Do you agree? Why or

why not?

Topic  The
2 Counselling
Process and
Assessment
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Explain the various characteristics of counselling approaches;
2. Explain behaviour-centric approach to counselling;
3. Describe humanistic approach to counselling;
4. Discuss the different stages of counselling process;
5. Define the working in counselling relationships; and
6. List the points to be considered at the time of termination of
counselling process.
 INTRODUCTION
A process is an identifiable sequence of events taking place over time. For
example, there are identifiable stages in the healing process for a serious physical
wound, such as a broken leg. Similarly, there are identifiable stages in the
process of human development from birth to death. Although the stages in this
process are common to all human beings, what happens within each of these
stages is unique for each individual.

TOPIC 2 THE COUNSELLING PROCESS AND ASSESSMENT  33
2.1 HELPING PEOPLE CHANGE

Human behaviour is very different and complex. Many theories of human
behaviour have been proposed to explain human behaviour. Each theory seeks to
integrate its postulates consistently with the specified hypotheses constructed.
The theory is then verified in terms of experimental findings or observational
data. Further, a theory is integrated in what is known as a meaningful
framework. Within this framework, it predicts new relations and outcomes and
seeks to obtain solutions to the anticipated problems. Scientists have stated most
of the criteria of a good theory with great care. A theory is considered acceptable
if it meets the stated criteria, the most important being precision, clarity and
comprehensiveness, i.e., it should include within its scope as many facts or
phenomena as possible, provide for empirical verifiability and stimulate
research. The usefulness of a theory is considerably enhanced if it defines its
terms operationally. These definitions help in developing suitable procedures for
testing the derived propositions.
The substantive elements of a counselling theory include:
(a) Assumptions regarding the nature of man.
(b) Belief regarding learning theory and change in behaviour of people.
(c) Commitment to certain goals of counselling.
(d) Definition of the role of the counsellor.
(e) Generic contribution made by the theory.
Role of a counsellor will differ with respect to the place and the manner in which
the diagnosis is conducted.
For example, some counsellors while diagnosing might make use of tests; case
histories and screening interviews while others may not. There may be
differences in terms of basic styles. These differences can be with regard to
special problems as dependency of the client, communication problem and other
elements, which may appear of help, to define the role of the counsellor.
A theory that is completely abstract is a poor theory not because it is wrong but
because it does not help us to understand the facts, which are already available.
Different approaches to counselling are based on the varying conceptions of
human personality structure and dynamics, and are subject to the limitations to
which the personality theories are prone. The term approach is used in

34  TOPIC 2 THE COUNSELLING PROCESS AND ASSESSMENT
preference to theory as no single theory has yet been able to encompass all the
aspects of counselling.
SELF-CHECK 2.1
List the substantive elements of counselling theory.
ACTIVITY 2.1
1. „Each theory seeks to integrate its postulates consistently with

the specified hypotheses constructed.‰ Elaborate.
2. Suppose your friend tells you his problem. While counselling
him, try to consider substantive elements of a counselling
theory.
2.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNSELLING

APPROACHES
Effective counselling is a two way process. It takes a supportive effort by both the
persons receiving counselling and the counsellor. And it requires a commitment
to make sometimes complicated changes in behaviour or thinking patterns.
What you expect to achieve with your counsellor should be clearly stated as you
start your counselling. You and your counsellor should discuss practical time
frames for achieving your goals and agree on how you will measure your
progress.
It is essential that you and your counsellor establish a good relationship that
helps you to be totally honest about your thoughts and feelings. Often, this
requires an elusive „chemistry‰ between both of you in which you feel
comfortable with your counsellorÊs personality, approach and style. If after the
first few sessions you do not feel this chemistry, look for another counsellor with
whom you feel more comfortable.
A good counselling approach should help you in making positive changes in

your relationships with others, helping you to recognise behaviours which
results into a complicated relationship. Your counsellor can teach you effective

ways of communicating, clearing the way for honest exchanges with people in
your life who may be causing you emotional pain.
Counselling Approach helps to determine whether your work with your

counsellor is effective if you begin to obtain insights about your own thoughts
and behaviours that may have frustrated you before. Eventually, you should be
able to identify patterns in the way you act, trace their sources and identify
stumbling blocks to your happiness that you may have unwittingly created. The
end result is personal growth that empowers you to control your life and enjoy
optimistic, life-affirming relationships with others.
SELF-CHECK 2.2
In your own words, try to explain the characteristics of counselling

approaches.
2.3 MAJOR COUNSELLING APPROACHES
2.3.1 Behaviour-centric Approach to Counselling

Counselling and psychotherapy are concerned with behaviour change and,
therefore, according to some theorists, must involve the applications of the
principles of learning or learning theory. Learning here is understood as changes
in behaviour which are relatively long-lasting and which are not due to
maturation or due to physiological factors like fatigue, effect of drugs, etc.
However, counselling, by and large, has developed outside the learning theory.
It is only in recent times that the principles of learning theory have been sought
to be applied in the counselling technique. One such application is in the form of
behaviouristic approach to counselling.
The purpose of behavioural counselling is to change ineffective and self-

defeating behaviour into effective and winning behaviour, and only measurable
behaviour change is regarded as evidence of successful counselling. Generally,
behavioural counsellors do not regard hypothetical concepts about mental
functioning, such as the unconscious, as important to the counselling process.
Self-understanding is not an outcome goal.
Not a single author is credited with the development of behavioural counselling.

Joseph WolpeÊs (1958) work on reciprocal inhibition applied the principles of
classical conditioning to change neurotic behaviour. B.F. Skinner (1971) is widely

recognised for his work in developing operant conditioning are the principal
methods employed in behavioural counselling. Lazarus (1989), Wolpe (1990) and
Kazdin (1995) offer contemporary applications of behavioural methods. Interest
in behavioural methods increased during the late 1960s, when many people
became disenchanted with Rogerian methods as a predominant approach to
counselling. During the 1970s, narrowly conceived behavioural approaches
declined in popularity, and some behavioural counsellors (for example,
Meichenbaum, 1977) turned their attention to the thought processes that
mediated behaviour, blending their work with that of cognitive counsellors.
Lazarus (1989) has described a broad array of behavioural techniques, each of
which provides clients with new opportunities for learning strategies of self-
management.
The learning approach employed in the behaviouristic model could be either the
classical conditioning or the operant conditioning model. While it is not
necessary to go into the details of conditioning, it is essential that the basic
principles be grasped. From the behaviouristic point of view, all behaviour·
adjustive or maladjustive·is primarily learnt in the same manner. Hence, it
should be modifiable by employing suitable learning principles. All behaviour of
organisms, including human beings, ranging from simple to complex behaviour,
is learnt. Four basic principles (DCRR) are involved in all types of learning.
The behaviouristic approach to counselling employs has four principles of

learning namely, drive, cue, response and reinforcement. Every response is
considered modifiable by the use of an appropriate system of reinforcement. The
behaviouristic approach differs from the psychoanalytic approach and medical
approach with regard to its attitude towards maladaptive or maladjusted
behaviour. In psychoanalysis approach or clinical approach, the concern is with
the past, i.e., as to how a particular symptom or syndrome has been caused. The
therapist explores deep into the life history or case history of the client to identify
the causes. The dispelling of these causes is expected to rid the client of the
undesirable symptom(s). In sharp contrast to this view, the behaviour therapist is
least concerned with the past. He is not interested in knowing what caused the
symptom. He is concerned with treating the present symptoms. The past for him
is something, which cannot be changed. It is irrelevant. But the future can be
modified. Past, however, is not existent and, therefore, non-modifiable. There is
no need for exploring the past life history of the client. It serves no real purpose.
Therapy essentially consists of several simple steps such as:
(a) Identifying the undesirable, unwanted, maladjusted and maladaptive
behaviour;
(b) Careful analysis of the maladaptive behaviour into small units; and
(c) Eliminating the maladaptive unit by using an appropriate technique
involving an operant conditioning procedure.
There are different approaches stressing different aspects of the learning theory.
Dollard and MillerÊs (1950) reinforcement theory is a thought-provoking

approach. They define neurosis as learned behaviour. What is more interesting is
that, according to them, neurotic conflicts are taught by parents and learnt by
children. Thus, unwanted and maladjusted behaviour is acquired or learnt. This
includes phobias, compulsions, hysterical symptoms, regression, reaction
formation, alcoholism, etc. In the long run, many behavioural reactions become
maladaptive. They increase the misery, though in the beginning the results
appear favourable. In the treatment of the clients, therapy involves the creation
of a new type of social situation, which is the opposite of that responsible for
inducing repression. The new social situation provides for gradually overcoming
the repressions under permissive social conditions. The therapeutic situation is
characterised by permissiveness, which leads to the removal of repression.
Rogers (1951) underlines the importance of the permissiveness because fear and
anxiety accompany the repressed ideas and even though the therapist is
permissive and neutral, the client cannot help experiencing these unpleasant
emotions. The client is encouraged to verbalise his/her experiences, i.e., talk
about things and events related to his/her life, and in this process give vent to
his/her emotions.
The Nature of People

Behaviourists see human behaviour as a function of heredity and environment.
This view is often called deterministic, because both elements that shape
behaviour are largely beyond the individualÊs control. One is born with certain
inherited equipment that cannot be changed, so the only variable left that can be
altered after birth is the environment. What one learns from the environment
determines oneÊs behaviour; changing the environment changes behaviour.
Behaviourists hold no general view that humankind tends toward good or evil.
Given adequate hereditary characteristics, any individual can become good or
evil depending on what he or she learns from the environment. Constructs such
as the self-concept, the ego and the unconscious have no meaning in describing
human nature in a strict behavioural system. Behaviourists do not necessarily
deny that such mechanisms exist but say that, if they do exist, it is impossible for
the counsellor to observe or manipulate them. The description of human beings
as capable of learning is sufficient to behavioural counselling. A lot of knowledge
about how people learn exists, and it makes sense to use it to influence them
toward effective behaviour.

2.3.2 Humanistic Approach or Person-centred

Counselling
Carl Rogers (1942, 1957, 1961, 1980, and 1986) is known as the founder of the
person-centred approach to counselling. Two other names, non-directive
counselling and client-centred counselling, were attached to this approach in
RogersÊ earlier writings, and a majority of the references to the system are to be
found under client-centred counselling or client-centred therapy. The change to a
person-centred approach reflects RogersÊ (1980) later recognised that his system
worked in any setting in which a helper sets out to promote human
psychological growth and that many of those who are helped (for example,
students in a classroom) do not think of themselves as clients.
RogersÊ approach to the helping process was presented initially as an alternative

to psychoanalytic psychotherapy, in which he was first trained. Because his
views of human nature (1942) appealed to educators and his method of
counselling did not require extensive psychological training, the person-centred
approach was adopted by many then-practicing counsellors and it had a great
influence on the preparation of new counsellors. RogersÊ work is regarded as one
of the principal forces in shaping current counselling and psychotherapy.
Rogers did not present his approach as a systematic theory until 1947 when he
presented it in his Presidential address to the American Psychological
Association. The approach caught the attention of psychologists because it was
related to psychology more than to medicine. The course of treatment proposed
was relatively brief compared to that of psychoanalysis. The major concepts of
client-centred theory, thus, do not arise from psychopathology. Its aim was not to
cure sick people but to help people live more satisfying and creative lives. Rogers
was influenced to a considerable extent by the phenomenological psychology
popular during that period. He is also counted as one of the important
protagonists of the humanistic approach popularly known as the third force in
psychology.
Client-centred therapy, i.e., the practical application of humanistic psychology

made a great impact on the academic scene. According to Rogers, in any kind or
type of psychotherapy the underlying basic theme is the helping relationship. In
all human interactions, such as mother-child, teacher-pupil manager-
subordinate, therapist-client, etc. the helping relationship is fundamental. This
relationship is intended to facilitate the growth of the person receiving help. Such
a growth in individuals is aimed at improving their functioning and/or
accelerating their maturity. This is usually called psychological growth or
psychological maturity. Counselling aims at bringing about psychological
growth or maturity in the client. The helping relationship is also generally a one-

to-one relationship. It could also be in some specific cases an individual-group

relationship.
The Nature of People

In person-centred counselling, human beings are seen as possessing positive
goodness and the desire to become fully functioning, i.e., to live as effectively as
possible. This view of human nature contrasts with the Freudian view that the
people possess such impulses, which, if inadequately socialised, will lead to
behaviour, that is destructive to themselves and others. According to Rogers, if
people are permitted to develop freely, they will flourish and become positive,
achieving individuals. Because of the faith in human nature expressed in Rogers,
theory, it is considered a humanistic approach to counselling.
Person-centred counselling is based on a theory of personality referred to as

self-theory. OneÊs view of oneself within the context of environment influences
oneÊs actions and personal satisfactions. If provided with a nurturing
environment, people will grow with confidence toward self-actualisation and
becoming all they can be. If their development is restricted and if they do not
receive the love and support of significant others, they will see themselves as
lacking in worth and will regard others as untrustworthy. Behaviour will become
defensive (self-protective), and growth towards self-actualisation will be
hampered.
An important principle of self-theory is the belief that personÊs perceptions of

himself or herself in a relation to the environment including others are reality for
that person. Thus, if an individual sees himself or herself as incompetent or
his/her parents as mean, he or she will act on that belief, even if others view the
person as brilliant or the parents as kind. Telling an under achieving student that
he or she is capable seldom makes much difference because the assessment
probably is in conflict with the studentÊs personal reality. Personal reality may be
changed through counselling but usually not by such a direct intervention as
substituting the judgement of the helper for that of the client.
Rogers attaches enormous importance to helping relationships. These may often

be looked upon as nurturing and uplifting contacts among people. This can be
exemplified by enumerating the basic characteristics of all helping relationships.
The main characteristics of helping relationships are as follows:
(a) Helping relationship is meaningful to the persons involved ă it implies
mutual self-commitment.
(b) It has a marked tone of feeling, i.e., the individuals who are involved
experience certain emotional states.
(c) It implies integrity ă the persons involved are intellectually and
emotionally honest with each other.
(d) It can exist by mutual consent only, i.e., there is no compulsion. No one can
be compelled to be helpful and similarly no person can be compelled to
receive help.
(e) It comes into existence or becomes necessary when one is in need of some
kind of help, which another can reasonably provide. For instance, an
individual may need information, advice or assistance in a particular
situation while another individual may have the necessary knowledge and
capacity to provide him with the required helping owing to his experience,
position or situation.
(f) It involves communication and interaction. This may involve non-verbal
behaviour, such as facial expressions, gestures and also direct verbal
communication.
(g) It is often structured, i.e., it is not vague and amorphous. The helping
individual knows what sort of help he could possibly provide and the
individual receiving help knows what kind of help he is in need of.
(h) It is sustained through mutual co-operation and collaboration. If a certain
kind of help provided is not useful, the receiver will indicate the same, and
the helping person will naturally modify his approach.
(i) The helping person must have a sense of security. An insecure person
obviously cannot be of much help to the individual who is in need of help.
(j) The goal or the object of the helping relationship is to change the client
positively.
SELF-CHECK 2.3
What are the main characteristics of the helping relationship?
ACTIVITY 2.2
„In person-centred counselling, human beings are seen as

possessing positive goodness and the desire to become fully
functioning, i.e., to live as effectively as possible.‰Do you agree?
Elaborate it using examples.

ACTIVITY 2.3
Complete the following sentences:

1. Counselling theory may not necessarily derive from a specific
⁄⁄⁄⁄.., some assumptions must be made about what kind of
a person he is in order to construct a theory about counselling
him.
2. The purpose of behavioural counselling is to change ⁄⁄⁄⁄..
and ⁄⁄⁄⁄.. behaviour into effective and winning behaviour,
and only measurable behaviour change is regarded as evidence
of successful counselling.
3. Behaviourists see human behaviour as a function of ⁄⁄⁄⁄..
and ⁄⁄⁄⁄..
4. According to Rogers, in any kind or type of psychotherapy the
underlying basic theme is the ⁄⁄⁄⁄.. relationship.
2.4 BUILDING A COUNSELLING

RELATIONSHIP
During this initial stage, the counsellor must create an appropriate atmosphere
and try to establish a special rapport with the client. This safe environment
encourages them to open up more, to take a closer and more objective look at
them, and ideally to challenge themselves in a way they might not otherwise do.
The ability to self-criticise is a prerequisite to change and improvement. The
conditions, which induce people to open up in such a way, are referred to as the
proper counselling attitudes.
Carl Rogers, renowned for his client-centred counselling, emphasised the

importance of the relationship between the counsellor and the client in fostering
clientÊs growth, and what he called the counsellorÊs unconditional positive
regard for the client.
In order to build an appropriate relationship there are attitudes which have to be

adopted for the counselling process to work:

Figure 2.1: Attitudes required for building a counselling relationship
(a) Respect
Respect for subordinates by the managers is necessary for them to feel
confident and gain the strength to move forward. The counsellorÊs belief in
them is more important than the advice and knowledge in setting up a
relationship, which will encourage them to change for the better. It is
important to make subordinates feel worth listening to and to treat them as
a unique individuals, not a case study. This means not jumping to
conclusion but trying to understand their thinking from their point of view.
(b) Genuineness
Genuineness means being real (being yourself) and not putting on a fake
professional facade. It also means being open and showing a real interest in
the person. Pretending to be interested does not work. Falseness shows
through and affects the relationship.
(c) Empathy
Empathy is different from sympathy. It is caring about people and
understanding them without taking their side, or agreeing with them
completely, or becoming too involved. Responding to people in an
empathic way will encourage them to shift from talking about the problem
in a general detached manner to talking in a more personal and emotional
manner.

Sometimes it can be difficult to remain distant enough from the problem if

the counsellor relates to the problem personally. On the other hand, he can
be too distant if he cannot relate to the problem at all. It is important to be
aware of both extremes and maintain the right balance. Communicating
empathy entails showing that the counsellor has heard, understood and
accepted (not necessarily agreed with) what the other person has
communicated.
(d) Equality
An equal relationship is necessary for the process to work. A counselling
session is a meeting between equal individuals instead of a meeting
between a superior manager and an inferior subordinate. This meeting of
equals needs to be established early and even more explicitly when using
counselling skills in a work situation, since a manager does at time behaves
more directive.
(e) Listening
The counsellor should establish in the beginning that he or she is there to
listen to their subordinates. The subordinates should be doing most of the
talking, especially in the early stages of the process. They should be leading
the conversation. This does not mean that the counsellor has no input or
control whatsoever, or that he or she can sit back and take it easy. The kind
of listening he or she will be doing is hard work and involves much more. It
has been referred to as active listening.
The counsellor needs to avoid changing the topic or taking the conversation
in a new direction, except in cases when it is definitely necessary, such as
when the subordinates are waffling, taking in circulars, or not taking about
what is really significant. In these cases, it is best to point out to them what
is happening and why they are changing the topic or the direction of the
conversation. But generally the counsellor needs to keep the focus on what
is important to the client, and let them lead the conversation.
(f) Confidentiality
It is very important to set clear boundaries on what will be kept
confidential and what cannot. The subordinates will trust the counsellor
more if they are clear regarding his or her confidentially boundaries,
ideally, all employees should have some awareness of this before coming to
the counsellor. It should be stated as part of company policy. If the
counsellor wants or needs to break confidentiality for some reason (for
example, if he or she has obtained information which indicates that
someone else may be in danger), this needs to be explained to the
subordinate.

The effects of the relationship created by adopting the attitudes discussed

earlier are that the subordinates not only gain confidence and
independence, but it also enables them to tackle the problem successfully.
During this initial phase, they are often unloading, simply getting things off
their chest. Talking about their feelings, thoughts and behaviours is a great
relief. It clears their thinking and relieves tension and anxiety. When people
think or worry about problems, their thoughts are vague. Amorphous,
partially formed ideas, fears, and images float around in their heads, often
not in any logical or sensible order. Having to put them into words in a
way, which will make sense to someone else, helps the person to begin to
see the problem much more clearly.
SELF-CHECK 2.4
Explain the attitudes required for building a counselling relationship.
2.5 STAGES IN THE COUNSELLING PROCESS

The 5-D model of counselling describes the process in five stages as proposed by
Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam which are easy to remember because they all start
with the alphabet „D‰. The stages are shown in Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2: 5-D Model of Counselling
The process of counselling is fluid. Stages do not necessarily follow strictly in the
order given in the model. The counsellor will sometimes go back and forth
between stages, and he might jump around.

Not all the stages are always necessary. Counselling could stop after any stage.
Sometimes the first or second stages are all that is required. The client having
expressed the problem and then examining it more clearly with the help of the
counsellor might make a decision immediately regarding the goals to follow or
come to a realisation, and might not require any help at all.
Counselling could also start anywhere in the process, although earlier stages will
either already have been established or will have been quickly reconfirmed. For
example, a subordinate in an organisation might see the problem clearly and
know what needs to be done, and yet be unable to act. In this situation the
counsellor can start at stage 4.
SELF-CHECK 2.5
List the various stages in the counselling process.
ACTIVITY 2.4
Read the following example from Knapp & Jongsma (2000) „Child
with Anger Management Issues‰ and assume similar situation and try
to define problem, goal, objectives and intervention in your own way.
Problem: Repeated angry outbursts out of proportion to precipitating
event.
Goal: Significantly reduce intensity and frequency of angry outbursts.
Objectives: Parents clearly define rules and boundaries and follow
through with the child.
Intervention: Assist parent in the process of identifying and
presenting rules and consequences to the child.

2.6 THE ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW: TESTING,

ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS IN
COUNSELLING
During this stage, the problem is first of all defined by the subordinate from their
point of view. The problem often then needs to be redefined more objectively
before moving on towards finding a solution. It is important to show that the
counsellor understands the problem from the subordinateÊs point of view before
challenging them to look at the problem more objectively. The following steps
should be taken in this direction:
(a) Examining the Problems

The counsellor should seek to define and understand the problem clearly
from the subordinateÊs frame of reference, also to show acceptance of their
view, even if he or she does not agree with it. Demonstration of
understanding is achieved by using a skill called reflecting.
(b) Prioritising the Relevant Issues

The counsellor may need to encourage the person to talk about the most
significant concerns, i.e., the ones having deep influence on their lives. This
may mean helping them to organise the issues. Often distressed people will
throw a lot of confused talk at you, some related and some unrelated. In
these cases, the counsellor needs to help them to sort out the issues.
(c) Focusing on the Perspective

The subordinate will frequently need to gain a more objective view of the
problem situation before they can move on to finding productive ways of
managing the problem. Often people will initially describe a problem as
being insoluble, or as being someone elseÊs problem or the result of
someone elseÊs actions as depicted in examples below.
Example: There is nothing I can do about the situation. I am stuck. I

have no control over company policy or management decisions so there
is nothing I can do to remedy the situation.
She just does not like me. She is always trying to make my life difficult.
She needs to learn to be more responsible.
(d) Acceptance of the Problem

The subordinates need to come to the point of accepting that the problem
does indeed exist before they will be motivated to do something about it.
There is no point in using counselling skills with someone to help them to
solve a problem, which they do not understand to be a problem.

(e) Emphasising on Self-responsibility

After acceptance of the problem existence, the next step for the counsellor is
to make the client realise that it is his/her own problem and not someone
elseÊs. Ownership is a key concept in counselling because it leads to self-
responsibility. Ownership means acknowledging that the problem is
affecting them, and is therefore theirs, so they need to decide what to do
about it.
(f) Analysing and Solving Problems

For providing effective counselling, the problem of the subordinate or the
client should be analysed minutely, and then corrective steps should be
taken to make them understand why the problem occurred and how it
needs to be tackled. A subordinateÊs dependency on the counsellor may
have to be continuously but gently fought off, especially at first.
Subordinates are likely to try to get the counsellor to give them answers to
all their queries. It is a good idea to talk about the dependency/Self-
responsibility issue openly. Keeping the problem analysis and solution
generation in the hands of problems-owners is the basic force behind
effective counselling. They need to accept responsibility both for the
problem and for doing something about it, which means they recognise that
the counsellor is not going to take over the problem for them but it is them,
who have to work on the problem themselves. When using counselling
skills, one should not allow oneself to be forced or tempted into producing
quickly an easy answer.
Consider the difference between the following two interactions:
INTERACTION 1
Manager/Counsellor: „Right, thatÊs the problem. What now‰?

Subordinate/Client: „Well, uh, what do you think I should do about it?‰
Manager/Counsellor: „This is what you do. First you....Then you....and
finally you....‰
After this interchange, the subordinate or the client may leave feeling
delighted that the problem is solved. However, the subordinate could possibly
have other feelings about being told what to do. He or she could leave
thinking „that was a lot of use; I knew all that before I went in:‰ or „that might
be what they want, but I am going to do it my way.‰
In the following version of the interchange, the problem is put back where it
belongs, with the problem-owner, so that they themselves work through from
the problem to the solution as much as possible.

INTERACTION 2
Manager/Counsellor: „Right, that is the problem. What now?‰

Subordinate//Client: „Well, uh, what do you think I should do?‰
Manager/Counsellor: „You must have given some thought to the possible
Solutions. Have you any ideas yourself?‰
Subordinate/Client‰: „I am not sure, but one thing we might be able to do
is........‰
Manager/Counsellor: „OK, that is one solution. Is that the only one or are
there any other possible approaches?‰
Subordinate/Client: „Well, I did think that perhaps....‰
Manager/Counsellor: „Good any others?
Subordinate/Client: „No. I cannot think of any more.‰
Manager/Counsellor: „We could always have a look at....‰
2.6.1 Determining Goal(s)

During this phase the subordinates or the clients will establish their goals. They
need to decide what they want to change, and they need to consider what can be
solved vs. what can only be managed differently.
(a) Choosing and Prioritising Goals and Objectives

Now, the subordinates or the clients have to finally choose and prioritise
their goals. The general goals need to be determined and then broken down
into workable objectives. Objectives must be prioritised, and realistic time
frames for meeting them are considered. Some problems (such as an
immediate difficulty with a subordinate or client) are short term ă the
problems which can be solved in shorter time frame and others (such as a
desired change in career direction, etc.) are long-term ă which might
require longer time frame to be solved.
(b) Making Commitment

The subordinate or the client must be committed to the goal(s); otherwise,
they are unlikely to carry out the plans decided on. The level of
commitment and the need for it may need to be discussed rather than taken
for granted.

(c) Deciding the Plan of Action

For each objective, a specific and workable plan for action needs to be
devised. To be workable, the plan must fit in with the subordinate or
clientÊs life plan, goals, values, and the time that is available.
Generating and Exploring Alternatives: The subordinates or clients may

need encouragement or even help in exploring the range of options open to
them. The manager or the counsellor might even need to remind them
about the other options available. For example, consider the following
interaction:
Manager/Counsellor:
„You have expressed concern about your relationship with the
manufacturing department mangers. What do you think can be done
about it?‰
Subordinate/Client:
„Want to consider options, but do not know what options are available
to me. Can you please help?
Then the counsellor or manager may decide how to help and how much to
assist. He can make suggestions or the subordinate can be offered a
resource for finding alternatives like consulting literature or seeking any
other knowledgeable personÊs opinions or the counsellor can continue to
probe the subordinate or client for his own suggestions.
The manager or the counsellor may further encourage the subordinate or

the client to consider all options, even ones they would rule out
immediately in order to examine why each is being dismissed. The reasons
for ignoring or dismissing options can be significant. An alternative, which
is ruled out initially sometimes, turns out to be the one eventually chosen.
There is another reason for considering all the practical options available ă
it is useful to have fallback plans if the first option chosen does not work
out.
Decision-making: Reluctance or difficulty in making a decision can be

barrier to moving forward. Different methods for arriving at the decisions
can be used with the help of decision-making skills.
Specific steps: Once a decision has been made regarding the choice of
option then the strategy to be pursued needs to broken down into specific
steps. The subordinate or the client may be tempted to jump into action
with only a broad strategy to guide him, but it should always be kept in

mind that the action is much more likely to be effective if each step is
planned and considered carefully beforehand.
2.6.2 Doing the Follow-up

The phase of counselling which is easiest to overlook is making sure that the
action plan is implemented. The subordinates or the client will need to be taught,
encouraged and reminded to manage monitoring (looking at indicators of
progress), support provision and incentive provision for themselves. However,
the manger or the counsellor can check with them at regular intervals to see how
is it going, and can be available for back-up support, especially to help them to
work through any blocks. In a work situation, depending on how directly the
change is related to the objectives, as a manger one may want to arrange regular
follow-up meetings in any case.
All Talk and No Action: In some situations, some of the subordinates may be a
bit too comfortable in self-pity mode, complaining about a situation, but not
doing anything about it. Throughout the counselling process even during the
first phase of empathetic listening, the manager or the counsellor must adopt
such attitudes that the meetings are for working on problems rather than just
talking about problems. Exceptions to this are serious personal problems such as
the death of a spouse, where the manager is not qualified to help with the
problem and can only offer an empathic ear and/or referrals.
Several precautions can be taken in order to facilitate action and to avoid the Âall
talk no actionÊ syndrome. Opening the meeting with statements, which set the
expectations and time limits, will assist in focusing the meeting. While the
subordinate is determining the steps of their action plans, the manager or the
counsellor should encourage them to think ahead regarding what resources will
be needed, and what is going to impede the implementation of the action plans,
and ways of lessening these impediments. Have them plan ahead for the
provision of motivating incentives. Another source (or sources) of support may
be necessary in cases where change is not going to be an easy process.
Emotional Block: The manager or the counsellor may be tempted to encourage

the subordinate or client to take actions by pushing them. Unfortunately, this is
likely to make the subordinate or the client more anxious to take action. If the
above procedures have been used and still the subordinate or the client is not
taking action, then it might be an emotional block, which is preventing him from
acting. The manager or the counsellor can use the counselling process to help
them to recognise and overcome these blocks.

ACTIVITY 2.5
Following is a simplified example of a subordinate working through
the five phase of counselling process. Try to understand it and give
one more example of this sort.
STAGE 1: Developing the Relationship

1. The manager or counsellor tries to develop a friendly relation
with the client. The client may be afflicted by bout of anger,
depression and anxiety and wants to be left alone; the
counsellor may like to talk about it.
2. Discussion leads to stating of problems like colleagues do not
involve him in decision-making and keep him out of the
grapevine so the client finds the behaviour of his colleagues
hostile.
STAGE 2: Defining the Problem

1. As the client sees it initially, others are excluding him.
2. Continued discussion reveals that his workstation is physically
isolated becuase to his colleagues.
3. It emerges that he may be contributing to the problem by not
listening well and being forgetful.
4. Problem is redefined as general communication difficulties.
STAGE 3: Determining Goals

1. After realising the problem the counsellor or the manager may
suggest the client to find new ways to receive information,
which is being disseminated around the office.
2. The counsellor instructs the client to improve his listening
capabilities and remembering skills.
3. The counsellor also suggests the client to change the
workstation, i.e., get a transfer.
STAGE 4: Deciding Plan of Action

1. After listening to the suggestions the client determines specific
steps involved in devising and proposing a new system for
memo distribution.
2. He decides to now request for a change of workstation next
time someone leaves.
3. He determines steps for himself which need to be taken in
order to obtain communication skills training.

STAGE 5: Follow-ups
1. The client meets again with his manager a week later to discuss
progress so far.
2. Two weeks later, his manager approaches him to see whether
his situation has improved.
ACTIVITY 2.6
According to you, what are the important issues that a counsellor
should take care of, while providing services to his client? Write in the
space given below:
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2.7 WORKING IN A COUNSELLING

RELATIONSHIP
Working in a counselling relationship is a unique process in which the
CounsellorÊs job is to hold up a mirror for the client to see himself or herself in.
There are certain situations where you cannot see things about yourself without a
mirror.

For instance, whether your hair is fully combed, or when you get something
stuck in your teeth, or when you have a wound in a place hard to see, you often
need mirrors to see these things well enough to do something about them.
Moreover, at certain situations, you require another person to hold the mirror so
that you can see the things at more hidden angles.
Along with knowing what angles to hold the mirror from, the counsellor tries to
understand what a person needs, especially, the important needs which are
required to be recognised early. Therefore, most of the people tend to be hard on
themselves (if not downright mean to themselves) the counsellor should know
how to hold the mirror in a way that the client can see himself or herself from a
caring, accommodating, and kind perspective.
SELF-CHECK 2.6
How can a counsellor act like a mirror for the client?
2.8 TERMINATION OF COUNSELLING

RELATIONSHIPS
It is necessary to consider the following points regarding the termination of
counselling relationships:
(a) Counsellor should always be careful of avoiding fostering dependency and
is aware of clientÊs needs.
(b) Counsellor should plan or prepare himself/she well for termination long
before.
(c) It should not be close ended, that is termination of relationship should be
taken up in an open- ended way i.e. the possibility of future needs should
also be recognised.
(d) Termination not only takes place at the end of a successful relationship, but
should also be considered where the counselling is not helping the clients.

ACTIVITY 2.7
Fill in the blanks:

1. According to Rogers, humans have a ⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ and
⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ nature.
2. An ⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ relationship is necessary for the process to work
for the counsellor and the client.
3. Counsellors not only provide the ⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ environment that
may be missing elsewhere in clientsÊ lives, but also serve as a
⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ of how fully functioning persons relate with others.
4. A purely ⁄⁄⁄⁄⁄ counsellor would not be likely to use
tests.
 Counselling theory may not necessarily derive from a specific philosophy,

some assumptions must be made about what kind of a person he is in order
to construct a theory about counselling him.
 By discussing theories, one is able to identify, whether the theories are
assuming the innate goodness or evil of man, the problems attendant upon
the human condition and the pliability of man, i.e., whether he is sufficiently
plastic in nature that he can be shaped in one way or another by the
interaction of genetic elements and environment or not.
 Counselling theories also include beliefs about how people change or how
people learn. Counselling constitutes a learning process, but theorists may
agree or disagree on how learning occurs. Change is the goal of counselling,
but there are different opinions as to how it is brought about.
 Goals of counselling are related to providing a cure to various emotional
afflictions in order to improve the mental health of the people. The goals of
one theorist might be totally different from the goals of other theorists.
 A person could be considered to have been successfully treated by advocate
of one theory but at the same time be seen in need of therapy by advocates of
another theory. A good theory will be explicit and clear regarding its goals.
 There are various approaches to counselling which, if followed will have
counselling done in quite technical and positive manner.

 In general, the counsellors should listen to the client without interrupting-in

or imposing their own values and beliefs. The client should be given space to
explore their thoughts, feelings, or behaviour, and to express whatever they
are.
 People can find it helpful just to have their concerns taken seriously. The
counsellor may also employ a variety of techniques to help the clients
understand their feelings.
 There is a set process that the counsellors follow. Counselling has stages
which start from beginning and developing a counselling relationship and
end at the termination of that relationship.
Behaviour Proactive
Confrontation Self-exploration
Counselling Self-theory
Empathy Therapist
Person-centred
1. Explain the behaviour-centric approach to counselling.

2. Critically examine the behaviour-centric approach to counselling.
3. Describe the humanistic approach to counselling.
4. Critically examine the humanistic approach to counselling.
1. Describe the detailed process of counselling.

2. Explain various phases involved in the process of counselling.

Topic  Traditional
3 Counselling
Styles
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Explain individual therapy;
2. Identify the issues dealt in couple therapy;
3. Discuss family therapy; and
4. Identify the various aspects of group therapy.
 INTRODUCTION
Mostly counselling is conducted on a one-to-one basis that is one counsellor for
one client. The most important point to consider is the confidentiality of these
sessions. Though, there are other situations where more than one patient is
involved because of specific objectives. These include marital, family, and group
therapy.
Counselling awakens, releases, and strengthens the forces of positive growth

already present within a person, which helps the client to remove the blocks to
living his life fully. Counselling is a unique process which emphasis on deep
understanding of the principles of growth and change. Counselling services can
be helpful for individuals, couples, and families, one-day workshops, and
therapy groups. In this topic, you will study in detail about different traditional
counselling styles.

TOPIC 3 TRADITIONAL COUNSELLING STYLES  57
3.1 WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF

TRADITIONAL COUNSELLING STYLES?
Various types of traditional counselling styles are depicted in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1: Traditional counselling styles
You will study more about it in coming sections.
SELF-CHECK 3.1
List the various traditional counselling styles.
3.2 INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

In individual therapy, the counsellor helps to resolve the issues that bring you for
counselling and to help you establish or re-establish your life as a flourishing,
fostering process. The following steps can be initiated in the individual therapy:
(a) First and foremost, the counsellor is required to help the client to identify
the objectives which the client seeks to accomplish.
(b) After that, the counsellor should try to enliven and release the forces of
positive growth already present within client.
(c) Then the counsellor should act as a facilitator to fulfil the clientÊs objectives
and grow beyond negative patterns from the past, empowered to move
forward with freedom.

58  TOPIC 3 TRADITIONAL COUNSELLING STYLES
Counsellor should be well trained to help the client in resolving all: life, career,
family, and relationship difficulties or transitions. Some of the issues addressed
in individual counselling are as follows:
(i) It may focus on developing clientÊs ability to express healthy emotions.
(ii) It may focus on the issue of overcoming depression, anxiety, stress.
(iii) It may help in creating intimacy and trust.
(iv) It may focus on dealing with grief, loss, loneliness.
(v) The focus may be on resolving career conflicts.
(vi) The focus may be on overcoming co-dependency.
(vii) It may help in resolving sexual difficulties.
(viii) The focus may be on learning effective communication and anger release.
(ix) It may help to resolve issues concerning money and power struggles.
(x) It helps to handle addictions and compulsive behaviours.
(xi) It helps in working through midlife crisis.
(xii) It may also facilitate in exploring purpose, meaning, spiritual growth.
(xiii) It may focus on freeing creativity, spontaneity and joy.
(xiv) The focus may be on strengthening self-esteem.
(xv) It may help in developing healthy boundaries.
(xvi) The issue may be healing childhood wounds related to alcoholism, incest,
and other traumas.
SELF-CHECK 3.2
Make a list of issues that are dealt in individual therapy.
3.3 COUPLE THERAPY

Couple therapy is also known as relationship therapy. The counselling can be a
short-term i.e. between 1 to 3 sessions or it can be a long-term therapy, which can
last between 12 and 24 sessions. An exception is to the point or result oriented
focused on couple therapy. Moreover, counselling tends to be more Âhere and
nowÊ and the outcome is new coping strategies. Couple therapy focuses on
intractable problems with a relationship history. The uniqueness of the couple
therapy is demonstrated by the fact that „It is the one where emotions are the
target and the agent of change.‰
It includes full range of issues that couples experience during the lifetime of a
relationship. Such issues may include:
(a) Working through midlife crisis
(b) Sexual concerns
(c) Premarital counselling
(d) Communication skills
(e) Learning to express feelings so they can be heard
(f) Dealing with an affair
(g) Feelings of anger and betrayal
(h) Deciding to break-up or break through
(i) Problems with adult children
(j) Issues arising from previous relationships
(k) Intimacy and trust-building
(l) Money issues
(m) Blended family issues ă „his children/my children/our children‰
(n) Spiritual or religious differences
(o) Stress due to time, money, work: the „not enough time for us‰ syndrome.
Counsellor should focus on such therapy methods that allow couples to repair,
renew, and restore their love, or to move forward with clarity and growth.

Figure 3.2: Couple therapy is not easy task because it is difficult to identify the truth
problem as each person has a unique personality, perception, set of values and history
Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/rmo0039l.jpg
3.3.1 Basic Principles

Prior to understanding a relationship between individuals, it is significant to
recognise and accept that each person, including the counsellor, has an exclusive
personality, perception, set of values and history. The most important point to
note down in this case is that individuals in a relationship may adhere to
dissimilar and unexamined value systems. Institutional and societal variables
(like the social, religious, group and other collective factors) which shape a
personÊs nature and actions are considered in the process of counselling and
therapy. A tenet of relationship counselling is that it is fundamentally
advantageous for all the participants to interact with each other and with society
at large with optimal amounts of conflict. Conflict is not fundamentally
unfavourable to relationship happiness. In fact 60% of divorces occur in low
conflict marriages. It is unavoidable to manage those conflicts deliberately.
Almost all the relationships get strained at some time, as a consequence, they do
not function optimally and producing self-reinforcing, maladaptive patterns.
These patterns are termed as negative interaction cycles. There are various
possible reasons for this which is as follows:
(a) Poor communication/understanding or problem solving;
(b) Insecure attachment;
(c) Ego;

(d) Arrogance;
(e) Jealousy;
(f) Anger;
(g) Greed;
(h) Ill health;
(i) Third parties; and
(j) Moreover, changes in situations like economic condition, physical health,
and influence of other family members can have a profound influence on
the behaviour, reactions and acts of the individuals in a relationship.
Mostly, it is an interaction between two or more factors, and often it is not just
one person who is involved that exhibit such traits. Relationship influences are
reciprocal as it takes each person involved to make and manage problems.
A feasible solution to the difficulty and setting these relationships back on track
may be to reorient the individualsÊ perceptions and emotions i.e. how one looks
at or responds to situations and feels about them. Perceptions of emotional
responses to a relationship are contained within an often unexamined mental
map of the relationship, often known as love map by John Gottman. These can be
explored collaboratively and discussed frankly. The core values they include can
then be understood and respected or changed when no longer suitable. This
implies that each person takes equal duty for awareness of the difficulty as it
arises, awareness of their own contribution to the problem and making some
fundamental changes in thought and feeling.
Further, conscious and structural changes are adopted to the inter-personal

relationships and assess the effectiveness of those changes sooner or later.
Indeed, „typically for those close personal relations there is a certain degree in
ÂinterdependenceÊ - which means that the partners are alternately mutually
reliant on each other. As a unique aspect of such relations something
contradictory is avoided: the need for intimacy and for autonomy.‰
3.3.2 Basic Practices

There are two methods of couple therapy focus mainly on the process of
communicating. The most frequently used method is active listening, adopted by
the late Carl Rogers and Virginia Satir, and suggested by Harville Hendrix in
„Getting the Love You Want‰. In recent times, the method which is generally
used is known as Cinematic Immersion. It is developed by Warren Farrell in
„Women CanÊt Hear What Men DonÊt Say‰. The aim of both of these is to help
couples in learning a method of communication, designed to create a safe

environment for each partner to express and hear feelings.
SELF-CHECK 3.3
Explain the basic principles and practices in case of couple therapies.
ACTIVITY 3.1
The following links would take you to some important resources for
couple therapies. Read them carefully and try to analyse the therapies
used for couples.
1. GottmanÊs what makes marriage work
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gottman)
2. The Five Love Languages - what spouses respond to?
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Chapman_%28author%29)

ACTIVITY 3.2
Read the following case study about „Couples Counselling

Communication‰ and analyse how Tim Desmond (Marriage and
Family Therapist) identified and resolved the problem.
Couples Counselling ă Communication

Communication problems are by far the most common reason that
couples come in for counselling. However, learning new
communication skills does not always address the true cause of their
problem. For example, many people who have difficulty
communicating with their partners have a much easier time
communicating with other people. In cases such as these, a lack of skill
is not the real problem. It is the personÊs inability to use the skill with
his or her partner. The following example shows a couple whose main
issue was resolved in just one session by discovering its hidden
emotional truth.
Julie and Greg lived in Sacramento. He worked as a computer

programmer and she was in graduate school to become a teacher.
JulieÊs mother had died three months earlier and she was struggling to
do well at school, hold her job and deal with some pretty complicated
feelings. After being together for a year and a half, she told Greg that
she wanted to take a break from the relationship while she was under
so much stress. When I asked Greg how he felt about this, he answered
that he was scared and did not want to break up.
I wondered what they hoped to get from therapy, and wondered if they
might have two very different goals in coming to see me. It is important
for me to understand this first and get a lot of clarity about what each of
them is hoping for. After asking each of them, it became clear that Greg
wanted the relationship to stay together. Julie said that her first priority
was taking care of herself, but if she could find a way to do that in the
relationship, she would want to stay. However, she said she could not
really imagine that happening and Greg looked pretty sad.
We all agreed that if there was a way for Julie to feel that the
relationship helped her with her stress rather than adding more, that
would be ideal situation and would create happiness for both of them.
However, if this did not happen, Julie will leave for as long as she felt
more stable.
ContÊd...

At this point, my job had been defined. I was to understand if there was
a way for Julie to feel supported enough by Greg that she would want to
stay. Julie was quick to tell me that she could not imagine Greg becoming
any more supportive. She said that he had listened to her feelings for
countless hours and always been there to help her. Greg was in
agreement with this, but said that he would be happy to try anything
new that might keep them together.
I began wondering about why some people want to be with their partner
when they are under a lot of stress while others want to be alone. It
seemed to me that Julie felt under tremendous stress and sought to feel
better by taking a break from the pressures of a relationship. However, I
know that it is possible for someone to find comfort in a relationship in
her situation.
I began my inquiry by asking Julie to allow herself to feel all the

pressures, stresses and grief in her life. Then while she was feeling them,
I asked her to imagine just for a minute knowing that she will never
leave her relationship. She quickly began to feel her anxiety increase and
was very uncomfortable. I asked her to stay with that feeling and to tell
Greg, „I just cannot stay with you⁄‰ and let the sentence finish itself
without pre-thinking an ending.
She said, „I just cannot stay with you because there is too much
pressure.‰ I asked to continue with the sentence and she said, „I just
cannot stay with you because there is too much pressure and I will pop.‰
I then asked her to stay in that feeling and finish the sentence, „There is
too much pressure because⁄‰ She immediate exclaimed „Because I
cannot be myself.‰
I now had the beginning of the story. If Julie feels that she cannot be
herself around Greg, it makes sense why that would add pressure and
stress to her life to be with him. What I still did not understand was why
she felt this way, and luckily there was still about 20 minutes to go in the
session.
In couples counselling, it is usually the case that both partners have a

hand in creating their dynamics. I decided at this point to focus on Greg
in order to learn why Julie might not feel comfortable being herself. I
asked Greg to imagine a recent time when Julie felt particularly
distressed. Once he had this in mind, I asked him just to keep visualising
this image of her feeling distressed and not to do anything to change it.
ContÊd...

He told me that this was hard for him and it gave him a sinking feeling in
his chest. I asked him to stay with that feeling and try saying to Julie, „If I
do not try to change you‰ and let the sentence finish itself. He said that
he did not feel like he was trying to change her, so we changed his
sentence to say, „If I just allow you to feel this way and do nothing,
then⁄‰ He took a few deep breaths and said, „If I just let you feel this
way, you will never get better and you will be depressed forever.‰
I now felt like I might have a pretty good sense of what was going on, so
I asked him to make that a little more explicit. I asked him to try out
saying to Julie, „I just cannot let you be sad or fried all the time or you
will never get better.‰ He said that it felt true to say it. I then asked him
to go even further and try saying, „Even if it makes you feel pressured to
change, I just cannot let you be sad or fried all the time or you will never
get better.‰ Neither of them had had any idea that this was true prior to
our session. Greg quickly recognised how significant this was. He said,
„Wow. If I cannot stand to just let you feel sad and stressed out, then it
makes sense why you do not feel like you can be yourself around me.‰
Julie started to tear up, and nodded her head. They were both pretty
shocked and disoriented as we unpacked what we had discovered and I
summarised it on a note-card for them to read each day. I asked them to
correct me and make sure that the words we chose were complete true.
We ended up settling on: „Greg is afraid that if he lets Julie be sad and
fried all the time, she will never get better. But this makes Julie feel like
she cannot be herself around Greg, which makes her feel even worse.‰ I
asked them just to recognise that this was true and not to try to change it
immediately.
In a follow up call five months later, Greg told me that he had realised
how much pressure he had been putting on Julie to get better and that he
had been able to start feeling more comfortable when she felt distressed.
He said that they were still together, and while Julie would still get
overwhelmed by work and school and grief over her mother every so
often, she no longer would push him away at that point of time. He said
the relationship was more secure than it ever had been and felt that our
session had been largely responsible for the change.
Source:http://lisakifttherapy.com/relationships/the-healthy-relationships-place-a-
relationship-blog/couples-counseling-communication-a-case-study-by-tim-
desmond-imf /

3.4 FAMILY THERAPY

Family therapy is also known as couple and family therapy and family systems
therapy. It focuses on viewing change in terms of the systems of interaction
between family members. It works on the principle that family relationships are
important factors concerning psychological health.
Family therapy also plays important role as when a personÊs family life is tense,
stressed, or conflicted, it affects his whole life. The main focus is on helping
families to attain harmony, balance, and resolution. The main focus is on
following issues:
(a) Grief due to loss, separation, divorce
(b) ChildrenÊs aggression, lying, stealing
(c) Discipline issues and differences
(d) Issues related to life-threatening or chronic illness
(e) Communication struggles
(f) Difficulties with friends
(g) Bed-wetting and soiling
(h) School difficulties
(i) Teen problems
(j) Temper tantrums
(k) Drug and alcohol use
(l) Concerns involving elder care.
SELF-CHECK 3.4
What are the unique features of family therapy?

3.5 GROUP THERAPY

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of therapy in which one or
more therapists treat a small group of clients which forms a group. It logically
includes any form of therapy when delivered in a group format, including
cognitive behavioural therapy or Interpersonal therapy, but it is generally
applied to psychodynamic group therapy where the group context and group
process is clearly utilised as a means of change by developing, exploring and
examining interpersonal relationships within the group. The broader concept of
group therapy can be taken which consists of following:
(a) Psycho-education groups;
(b) Any helping process that takes place in a group;
(c) Including support groups; and
(d) Skills training groups (such as anger management, mindfulness, relaxation
training or social skills training).
The differences between psychodynamic groups, activity groups, and support

groups, problem-solving and psycho-educational groups are discussed by
Montgomery (2002). Many more unique forms of group therapy would include
non-verbal expressive therapies, for instance, dance therapy or music therapy.
YalomÊs therapeutic factors (originally termed curative factors but re-named

therapeutic factors in the 5th edition of ÂThe Theory and Practice of Group
PsychotherapyÊ) have been derived from widespread self-report research
through the users of group therapy.
(a) Self-understanding
This factor overlaps with interpersonal learning but also includes the
achievement of greater levels of insight into the genesis of oneÊs troubles
and the insensible motivations that inspire oneÊs behaviour.
(b) Universality
The recognition of shared experiences and feelings among group members
that these may be widespread or universal human concerns, serves to
remove a group memberÊs sense of isolation, validate their experiences, and
raise self-esteem.
(c) Altruism
The group is a place where members can help each other, and feel the
experience of being capable of giving something to another person that can
lift the memberÊs self esteem and help develop more adaptive coping styles
and interpersonal skills.

(d) Existential factors

To learn that one has to take responsibility for oneÊs own life and to face the
consequences of oneÊs decisions.
(e) Catharsis
Catharsis is the experience of relief from emotional distress with the help of
free and uninhibited expression of emotion. When members tell their story
to an encouraging audience, they can a relief themselves from chronic
feelings of shame and guilt.
(f) Interpersonal learning

Self-awareness can be achieved by the group members through the process
of interacting with each other, which helps to get the feedback on the
memberÊs behaviour and what impact did it leave on the other members in
the group.
(g) Instillation of hope

In a mixed group that has members at various stages of development or
recovery, a member can be inspired and encouraged by another member
who has overcome the problems with which they are still struggling.
(h) Imparting information

While this is not strictly speaking a psycho-therapeutic process, members
often report that it has been very helpful to learn factual information from
other members in the group. For example, their treatment or access to other
services.
(i) Corrective recapitulation of the primary family experience

Members often unintentionally identify the group therapist and other
group members with their own parents and siblings in a process that is a
form of transference specific to group psychotherapy. The therapistÊs
explanation can help group members to gain understanding of the impact
of childhood experiences on their personality, and they may learn to avoid
unconsciously repeating unhelpful past interactive patterns in present-day
relationships.
(j) Development of socialising techniques

The group setting provides a safe and supportive environment for members
to take risks by reaching out to their repertoire of interpersonal behaviour
and improving their social skills.
(k) Imitative behaviour

A way in which group members can develop social skills is through a
modelling process, observing and imitating the therapist and other group

members. For example, sharing personal feelings, showing concern, and

supporting others.
(l) Cohesiveness
It has been suggested that this is the primary therapeutic factor from which
all others flow. Humans are herd animals with an inherent need to belong
to groups, and personal development can only take place in an
interpersonal context. A cohesive group is one in which all members feel a
sense of belonging, acceptance, and validation.
SELF-CHECK 3.5
What are the differences between individual therapy and group

therapy?
ACTIVITY 3.3
Following link would take you to the case study about group therapy.
Read it carefully and try to find out the effects of therapy on Johanna.
www.ijqhw.net/index.php/qhw/article/download/5010/5278
 Mostly counselling is conducted on a one-to-one basis that is one counsellor

for one client.
 In individual therapy, counsellor helps to resolve the issues that bring you to
counselling and to help you establish or re-establish your life as a flourishing,
fostering process.
 Couples therapy focuses on intractable problems with a relationship history.
 Group therapy is a form of therapy in which one or more therapists treat a
small group of clients which forms a group.

Cohesiveness Group therapy

Couple therapy Individual therapy
Family therapy
1. Explain the YalomÊs therapeutic factors in detail.

2. What all is included in the broader concept of group therapy?
3. What do you understand family therapy? Explain the issues to be taken
into account in family therapy?
4. „Couples and family therapies are same.‰ Why or why not?
1. What may be the possible reasons, which may create problems between the
couples?
2. What are the steps that can be initiated in the individual therapy?

Topic  Theory and
Practice
4
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Explain the psychoanalytic approach to counselling;
2. Discuss about adlerian counselling;
3. Describe the humanistic approach of counselling;
4. Identify the key aspects of behavioural counselling;
5. Explain the cognitive counselling; and
6. Define the crises theories of counselling.
 INTRODUCTION
In the previous topic, you studied about different types of traditional counselling
styles. In this unit you will study about the different approaches like
psychoanalytic, Adlerian, humanistic, behavioural and cognitive. You will also
study about the crises counselling which involves assessment, planning and
treatment, but the scope of it is usually much more specific.
4.1 PSYCHOANALYTIC
We all in the field of counselling and theories of counselling can never forget the
remarkable contributions of Sigmund Freud.
„Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund

Freud and his supporters, which is dedicated to the study of human
psychological performance and behaviour. (Figure 4.1)

72  TOPIC 4 THEORY AND PRACTICE
Figure 4.1: Sigmund Freud

Source: http://www.jessicafortner.com/illustration/freud-puts-on-his-thinking-cap/
Its applications are depicted in the Figure 4.2.
Under the wide umbrella of psychoanalysis, there are not less than 22 diverse
theoretical orientations about the underlying theory of explaining human
mentation and human development. The variety of approaches in this treatment
is known as „psychoanalytic‰ vary as much as the diverse theories do. Moreover,
it focuses on the method of studying child development.
Figure 4.2: Applications of psychoanalysis
Freudian psychoanalysis refers to a particular kind of treatment in which the

„analysand‰ (analytic patient) verbalises thoughts, comprising free associations,
fantasies, and dreams. From this the analyst discovers the unconscious conflicts
being the reason of the patientÊs symptoms and character dilemmas (look at
Figure 4.3). It interprets them for the patient to formulate insight for resolution of
the troubles.

TOPIC 4 THEORY AND PRACTICE  73
Figure 4.3: It is important to understand the patientÊs symptoms and character dilemmas,
and interpret them for the patient to formulate insight for resolution of the troubles
Source: http://alternativechoicespa.blogspot.com/2009/09/freud-getting-his-due-
again.html
The characteristics of the analystÊs interventions include confronting and

clarifying the patientÊs pathological defences, wishes and guilt. Through the
analysis of resistance barriers and transference to the analyst of expectations,
psychoanalysis aims to reveal wishes and emotions from prior unresolved
conflicts, in order to help the patient identify and resolve lingering problems.
4.2 ADLERIAN
Alfred Adler (1870 - 1937) (look at Figure 4.4) has contributed remarkably in the
Adlerian theory. His school of psychoanalysis is known as Individual
Psychology. Adlerian approach focuses on to see the personality as a whole and
not as the net result of component forces. Therefore, the term individual
(indivisible) psychology is used where Adlerians adopt a radical stance that cuts
across the nature-nurture debate by observing the developing individual at work
in formulating the personality in reaction to the requirements of nature and
nurture but not explicitly determined by them. The self-created personality
controls subjectively and idiosyncratically. The individual is helped in striving
both for self-development and social meaning, expressed in a sense of belonging,
convenience and contribution, and cosmic consciousness.

Figure 4.4: Alfred Adler

Source: http://www.fidnet.com/~weid/psychologists.htm
Neurosis and other pathological states brings about the safe-guarding or

defensive stratagems (largely unconscious or out of awareness) of the individual
who believes him- or herself to be incompetent to the demands of life. In
„normal‰ development the child has experienced support and accepts that his or
her troubles can be overcome in time by focusing on patient persistence and
cooperation with others.
The „normal‰ person feels a full member of life and has „the courage to be
imperfect‰ (Sofie Lazarsfeld).
Adlerians observe a process of compensation at work as the individual strives,

consciously and unconsciously, to overcome and solve the difficulties of life and
moving „from a felt minus to a felt plus‰. Moreover it helps to rise above feelings
of inferiority. Look at the cartoon depicted in Figure 4.5 where counselling
process is going on so as to solve the difficulty of client.

Figure 4.5: Adlerians focuses on helping individuals to overcome and solve the
difficulties of life
Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/a/analysand.asp
4.2.1 Notable Adlerians

Following is the list of notable Adlerians:
(a) Alexandra Adler (USA) -deceased
(b) Heinz Ansbacher (USA) -deceased
(c) Robert Armstrong (Canada)
(d) Phyllis Bottome (UK) -deceased
(e) James Hemming (UK) -deceased
(f) Henry Jacoby (Germany)
(g) Russell King (Canada)
(h) Fritz Künkel (Germany & USA)
(i) Kevin Leman (USA)
(j) Arthur Kronfeld (Germany)
(k) Victor Louis (Switzerland) -deceased
(l) Alexander Mueller (Switzerland) -deceased

(m) Karl Nowotny (Austria)

(n) Linda Page (Canada)
(o) Otto Rühle (Germany)
(p) Manes Sperber (Germany) -deceased
(q) Mark Stone (USA)
(r) Richard Watts (USA)
4.2.2 Adlerian Counselling

Adlerian counselling has been effectively applied in various situations as follows:
(a) Divorce;
(b) Eating disorders;
(c) Grief;
(d) Family issues;
(e) Pressures of work;
(f) Bullying; and
(f) Depression.
Adler believed that as children, because of our smallness, lack of knowledge and
experience, we may inculcate feelings of inferiority living in an adult world.
While we grow up, both in size and skill, for several people those feelings of
inferiority disperse in time- till the pressures of life overwhelm us. When this
happens we mentally revisit our childhood feelings and find it complex to review
or consider the full range of options open to us to resolve the troubles that
compare us. Adlerian counsellors assist clients by looking at their early memories
before the age of 7 and working skilfully with these memories regarding family,
brothers and sisters, etc. Adler made us to believe the point that our memories
are selective. Out of thousands of memories we could have chosen to recall, we in
fact remember only some and these have been chosen as they are significant
subconscious prompts for the way we develop our view of ourselves and the
world around us. To recognise our inner psychological journey gives insight into
why we act and feel the way we do and that insight becomes the springboard for
personal change.

ACTIVITY 4.1
Following link would take you to the website of some of the Adlerian
societies. Go through the websites and find out the purposes and
achievements of the same.
http://www.adleriansociety.co.uk/
http://www.adleriansocietywales.org.uk/index.html
ACTIVITY 4.2
Try to learn about the brief history of any five notable Adlerians as
mentioned in section 4.2.1.
4.3 HUMANISTIC
Humanistic psychology is rooted in respect for the individual; it is not a
particular theory of psychology per se, but depicts a new orientation, it focuses
putting the person in the centre and is not abstract theory. For instance, today
people who visit a psychotherapist are no longer considered ÂsickÊ or ÂneuroticÊ;
therapy as an alternative is seen as an educational process related to personal
growth. An individual who is already fairly successful may just have a desire to
expand his horizons a bit further; it is not simply about curing some mental
illness. The objective is no longer Âadjustment to societyÊ (a general Freudian
aim), but to become further human and more oneself. Maslow previously applied
the term ÂelegantÊ, but by now over-used term Âself-actualisationÊ.
One of the most significant schools in this field is Gestalt Therapy, which can be
traced back to the collaboration of Fritz Perls (look at Figure 4.6) and Paul
Goodman (look at Figure 4.7) (see the basic text, Gestalt Therapy, 1951). Perls was
originally trained as a Freudian analyst in Germany but became disillusioned
with the abstractions and inflexibility of psychoanalytic practice. His first book
(Ego, Hunger, and Aggression), disapproved Freud from the holistic and
semantic viewpoints. Rather than postulating abstract terms like ego,
unconscious, id, etc., PerlsÊ basic concern was with the real continuum of
awareness - the contact at the boundary point - a concrete, existential approach
free from any extraneous interfering outlook.

Figure 4.6: Fritz Perls
Figure 4.7: Paul Goodman
While constructing his new approach to psychotherapy, personality theory, and

psychopathology, Perls drew together thoughts from a multiplicity of sources:
Kurt GoldsteinÊs organismic framework; the academic gestalt perceptual theory
of Köhler and Wertheimer; the Moreno psychodrama procedure, Wilhelm
ReichÊs focus on non-verbal aspects (i.e., breathing, the body, etc.), and the use of
ÂfeedbackÊ from Carl Rogers (look at Figure 4.8). He applied to this new
combination a radical existential thrust: the Here and Now.

Figure 4.8: Carl Rogers
In a gestalt session, the focus is constantly on the instant present, the existential
Here and Now. It means by paying attention to the continuum of awareness, it is
not essential to dig up the past. As a substitute one finds that the most significant
unfinished situations emerge and can be dealt with in an experiential and
experimental manner. Forget FreudÊs archaeological seeking of past memories;
by being conscious second to second on what is going on, by concentrating on
the instant present, major concerns are brought up and confronted.
The basic theme of concentrating on the immediate present may appear as a

simple task, but actuality it presents a challenge, because people usually avoid it
either by reminiscing regarding the past („The good old days were much better.‰
„Last winter I was in Spain.‰ „Yesterday I saw a great film on TV.‰) or
ruminating about the future („If only I could find a better job.‰ „If I get a good
grade on my exam, IÊll be able to graduate next year.‰). The central problem is
that we spend much of our time avoiding the present by gliding into the past or
the future, but the body is always in the Here and Now. Therefore, the individual
is split and a great deal of energy is wasted by being somewhere else, past or
future, rather than being focused on what is happening right now. So if our
energy is split up in this way, there is not much left to work on present concerns
and troubles.

Figure 4.9: Carl Rogers-‰A psychic mechanism is a need for positive regard from others‰
The objective of gestalt therapy is to bring the personÊs awareness back to

actuality, to the now, where he can existentially face himself and take
responsibility for his proceedings.
If conflicts arise, they are not to be explained as in psycho-analysis by tracing the

whole thing back to childhood, but to be resolved here and now. Rather than
asking „Why?‰ - The common analytic question, leading to a theoretical
explanation of causes, the gestalt therapist asks „How?‰ - Through the living and
re-living of a painful circumstances in the now.
In contrast to psychoanalysts, gestalt therapists do not stress the concept of the

unconscious. Perls uses a substitute theoretical model for his therapeutic work:
the gestalt psychological theory.
It is not essential to postulate a hidden, unknown unconscious driving human

behaviour, as in the Freudian school. Rather than being mere passive recipients
of instinctual forces, human beings impose their own perceptions on the world.
Therefore, to some extent, we structure our existence and must take
responsibility for our actions. The famous gestalt illustrations of figure/ground
configuration (Look at Figure 4.10) demonstrates that we do not just respond
passively but interact with the environment. It can be chosen to organise the
picture one way, for instance, by focusing on the two profiles; or it can be turned
around with the help of powers of concentration (i.e., reversing the
figure/ground gestalt) and observe the vase in the foreground with the
remainder dissolving into the background. We configure our perceptual reality;
in the similar manner you can concentrate on breathing, or on parts of body, etc.

Figure 4.10: Well-known Gestalt illustration
In the similar way, we can choose some memories from the past to focus on,
ignoring others. This existential application of the gestalt psychological
principles depicts that it is Âcop-outÊ (bad faith) to blame the parents for oneÊs
behaviour.
Fritz Perls was one of the famous innovators of group therapy. Though gestalt
therapy is also applied to individual and family therapy, it was his group
methods that are well-known. Each of us, according to Perls, uses only a fraction
of our total capability. However, growth is achievable through improved
self-contact and contact with others, which can best be attained in a group
setting.
ACTIVITY 4.3
Find out brief details about the life history of Paul Goodman. You can
take help of the following link.
http://www.nndb.com/people/243/000104928/
4.4 BEHAVIOURAL
This is based on the principle that most important learning comes from
experience. The initial concern in therapy is to assist the client as described in the
Figure 4.11.

Figure 4.11: The initial concerns in the therapy of behavioural counselling
Therapy comprises of homework, behavioural experiments, role-playing,

assertiveness training, and self management training. Like its cognitive therapy it
utilises collaboration between the client and the therapist, and is usually of short
duration.
As you begin to study behavioural counselling here are few important points to
note down.
Every person is unique. There is no one else who is the similar in the world. Even
two twins have different characteristics. You can observe this by completing the
Activity 4.4.
ACTIVITY 4.4
Think of any two children that you know. List three ways that they
tend to be dissimilar from each other and also the ways in which they
respond to situations (for instance, the way they interact with people
they have not met before, the way they deal with stress, their activity
levels).
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

In Activity 4.4, you might have observed that each kid is born with some
characteristics. Other Characteristics develop as a result of his/her experiences.
That more you can understand about a specific person; the more effective you
will be in counselling. There is always a reason why children and youth behave
the way they do. They are learning about the world. They are trying to make
sense of what is happening to them and to find ways to deal with that. The types
of behaviour they prefer to deal with in their world may not be logical to us, but
they are the best the child is able to think of. As counsellors, you should assist the
children to make connections between the way they would like their lives to be
and the types of behaviour that will help them to attain their objective.
Your role in behavioural counselling is to be a coach or helper instead of

telling clients what to do or not do. If there are ways that we can change the
environment to make it easier for clients to attain their objectives we do that as
well.
As a counsellor, you need to be able to treat the client in a positive and respectful
manner. You consider them as learners who are struggling to find ways to make
sense of, and cope with, their lives. You need to be able to support them in a
caring way that enhances their self-esteem and confidence.
Before moving further, complete the Activity 4.5.

ACTIVITY 4.5
Mrs Nurul is usually patient and kind with her children but today,
when she finds Cindy throw away a piece of uneaten apple, she feels
rage rising in her body. She grabs Cindy by the arm, shouts on her,
and punishes her by sending her to bed immediately.
1. Why do you think Mrs. Nurul reacted so strictly?

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. What are some of the thoughts and feelings that Cindy might
have in these circumstances?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. How would you have dealt with this situation if you were the
Mrs Nurul?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Now consider the following points for analysing the behaviour patterns of Cindy
and Mrs Nurul.
(a) You might have suggested that Mrs NurulÊs behaviour is not appropriate
towards Cindy.
(b) Perhaps she had an argument with her husband that morning and is still
feeling upset about that.

(c) You might have guessed that Mrs Nurul was reacting from her childhood
experience in which food was scarce and used cautiously.
In each suppose answer, Mrs NurulÊs extreme response to CindyÊs action comes
not from her knowledge about what is best for Cindy but from something that is
happening, or has happened, in Mrs NurulÊs life. Therefore, in this type of
counselling, it is important to analyse the behaviour patterns of the clients and
reason for the same.
ACTIVITY 4.6
Following link would take to you to an article on Behavioural

Intelligence Model. Read it carefully and try to analyse the figure
given below:
http://www.newintelligence.com.au/site/framework.php

4.5 COGNITIVE
Figure 4.12: Cognition can be natural or artificial, conscious or unconscious

Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/a/analysand.asp
These processes are analysed from various perspectives within diverse contexts.
A clientÊs thought may be linked directly to how they feel.
We define this as any therapy that is based on the assumption that our thoughts
are directly connected to how we feel. The cognitive therapies are comprised of
the following:
(a) Rational-Emotive;
(b) Cognitive-Behavioural;
(c) Reality; and
(d) Transactional Analysis.
Therapists in the cognitive field work assist clients in solving present day
problems (look at Figure 4.12). Helping them to recognise distorted thinking is
the main reason for emotional discomfort. There is little stress on the historical
root of a problem. Rather, what is wrong with the clientÊs present thinking that is
causing him distress.

General characteristic among the cognitive approaches are as follows:

(a) The tendency to be of a short duration.
(b) A collaborative relationship between the client and therapist.
(c) Homework between sessions.
These therapies are well-known for treating mild depression, anxiety, and anger
problems.
SELF-CHECK 4.1
What do you understand by cognitive counselling?
4.6 CRISIS THEORIES OF COUNSELLING

In mental health terms, a crisis does not mean traumatic event or incident, but
how an individual responds to the circumstances. The events that trigger this
crisis can run the extent of life experience, from developmental problems (like
going through puberty) to natural disasters like death of a loved one. Crisis
counselling can assist the client to deal with the crisis by offering help and
support.
The basics of modern day crisis counselling date back to World War I and World
War II. Prior to this time, soldiers who showed important psychological reactions
to the incident they had at war were often considered as weak or even disloyal.
Though, it soon became apparent that soldiers who were without delay offered
treatment fared much better than their untreated counterparts.
4.6.1 Elements of Crisis Counselling

Crisis counselling is intended to be quite brief, usually lasting for a period of no
longer than a few weeks. It is important to note that crisis counselling is not
psychotherapy. Crisis intervention is based on the principle of minimising the
stress of the event, providing emotional support and improving the individualÊs
coping strategies. Like psychotherapy, crisis counselling involves assessment,
planning and treatment, but the scope of it is generally much more specific.
While psychotherapy focuses on a wide range of information and history, crisis
assessment and treatment focuses on the clientÊs immediate situation including
factors such as safety and immediate needs.

While there are various dissimilar treatment models, there are a number of
general elements consistent among the various theories of crisis counselling are
as shown in the Figure 4.13.
Assessing the circumstances
Education
O ffering support
Developing coping skills
Figure 4.13: Main elements of theories of crisis counselling
(a) Assessing the Circumstances

The first element of crisis counselling comprised of assessing the clientÊs
current situation. This includes listening to the client, asking questions and
determining what the individual needs to efficiently cope with the crisis.
During this time, the crisis counselling provider needs to define the
difficulty and at the same time act as a source of empathy, acceptance and
assistance. It is also necessary to ensure client safety, both physically and
psychologically.
(b) Education
People who are experiencing a crisis require information about their current
condition and the steps they can take to minimise the damage. During crisis
counselling, mental health workers often assist the client to understand that
their reactions are normal, but temporary. While the situation may seem
both dire and endless to the person experiencing the crisis, the objective is
to assist the client see that he or she will eventually return to normal
functioning.
(c) Offering Support

One of the most significant elements of crisis counselling includes offering
support, stabilisation and resources. Active listening is critical, as well as
offering unconditional acceptance and reassurance. Offering this kind of
nonjudgmental support during a crisis can assist in reducing stress improve
coping. During the crisis, it can be very advantageous for individuals to

develop a brief dependency on supportive people. Unlike unhealthy

dependencies, these relationships help the individual to become stronger
and more independent.
(d) Developing Coping Skills

Along with providing support, crisis counsellors also assist the clients to
develop coping skills to deal with the immediate crisis. This might involve
helping the client explore various solutions to the trouble, practicing stress
reduction techniques and encouraging positive thinking. This process is not
just about teaching these skills to the client, it is also encouraging the client
to make a commitment to continue utilising these skills in the future.
 Psychoanalysis theoretical orientations are about the underlying theory of

explaining human mentation and human development.
 Adlerian approach focuses to see the personality as a whole and not as the
simply net result of component forces.
 Humanistic psychology is rooted in respect for the individual.
 Behavioural counselling is based on the principle that most important
learning comes from experience.
 Crises intervention is based on the principle of minimising the stress of the
event, providing emotional support and improving the individualÊs coping
strategies.
Adlerian Humanistic
Behavioural Psychoanalytic
Cognitive

1. What are the unique features of humanistic approach in counselling?

2. What do you understand by cognitive counselling?
3. What do you mean by crisis counselling?
4. Explain the elements of crisis counselling.

1. What are psychoanalysis theoretical orientations all about?
2. Explain the basic assumption of behavioural counselling.

Topic  Specialities in
the Practice of
5 Counselling
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. List the groups in counselling;
2. Explain career counselling over the life span;
3. Define marriage and family counselling;
4. Explain the elementary, middle and secondary school counselling;
5. Discuss college counselling and student life services;
6. Explain the substance abuse and disability counselling; and
 INTRODUCTION
7. Discuss the mental health, community counselling and private
practice.
 INTRODUCTION
The human service provider field is included of a complex and confused range of
overlapping and related separate professions. It comprises of mental health
counselling, psychology, social work, marriage and family counselling,
professional counselling, and psychiatry. As each counsellor has basically the
similar ambitions and accomplishes these by performing similar activities,
human service delivery professions may seem very identical from the outside,
which indicates that it can be very confusing to understand a professionÊs distinct
identity. It is not surprising that the nuances that distinguish these professions
seem vague, unclear, and perhaps somewhat irrelevant to the public. In this
topic, you will study about various special types of counselling.

92  TOPIC 5 SPECIALITIES IN THE PRACTICE OF COUNSELLING
5.1 GROUPS IN COUNSELLING

The different groups involved in counselling are depicted in the Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1: Groups in counselling
You will study about it in the coming sections.
SELF-CHECK 5.1
List the various groups using counselling therapies.

TOPIC 5 SPECIALITIES IN THE PRACTICE OF COUNSELLING  93
5.2 CAREER COUNSELLING OVER THE LIFE

SPAN
Career counselling is a personalised process that comprises of both intuitive and
cognitive techniques which facilitates to understand oneself, explore career
options, and to clarify and achieve most wanted objectives. You will study more
about it in Topic 7.
5.3 MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELLING

Marriage and family counselling focuses on viewing change in terms of the
systems of interaction between family members. It works on the principle that
family relationships are important factors concerning psychological health.
Couples therapy focuses on intractable problems with a relationship history.
5.4 ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE AND SECONDARY

SCHOOL COUNSELLING
A school counsellor can be termed as an educator who works in elementary,
middle, and high schools to offer academic, career, college access, and
personal/social competencies to every K-12 student. The interventions used
comprise of developmental school counselling curriculum lessons and annual
planning for each student, and culturally competent group and individual
counselling. School Counsellors use particular skills in advocacy, leadership,
systemic change, technology integration, equity assessment, and teaming and
collaboration with other stakeholders in a data-driven wide-ranging
developmental school counselling program.
Previously, the terms used for the profession were „guidance counsellor‰ or
„educational counsellor‰ however „School Counsellor‰ is preferred due to
professional school counsellorsÊ advocating for every childÊs academic, career,
and personal/social achievement in every elementary, middle, and high school
(ASCA, 2005). In America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific, the terms school
counsellor, school guidance counsellor, and guidance teacher are also used with
the traditional emphasis on career development. Countries vary in how school
counselling program services are provided based on economics (funding for
schools and school counselling programs), social capital (independent versus
public schools), and School Counsellor certification and credentialing movements
in education departments, professional associations, and national and local
legislation (look at the cartoon depicted in Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.2: School counselling is common and essential in the present scenario so as to
develop the required competencies in the child
Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/sbo0970l.jpg
The main accreditation body for Counsellor Education/School Counselling

programs is the Council for the Accreditation of Counselling and Related
Educational Programs (CACREP), which offers international program
accreditation in Counsellor Education disciplines including school counselling.
ACTIVITY 5.1
Find out details about CACREP.
5.4.1 Elementary School Counselling

Elementary professional school counsellors providing most excellent practices
offer developmental school counselling curriculum lessons on academic, career,
and college access. They also provide special and social competencies, advising
and academic/career/college access planning to all students. They also include
individual and group counselling for some students and their families to fulfil
the developmental requirements of young children K-6. Increased emphasis is
preliminary to be placed on college access counselling at the elementary school
level as more school counselling programs are recognised as evidence-based
work with data and particular results. To facilitate the school counselling

process, school counsellors use a diverse theories and techniques together with
developmental, cognitive-behavioural, person-centred (Rogerian) listening and
influencing skills, systemic, family, multicultural, narrative, and role play
therapy.
5.4.2 Middle School Counselling

In middle school counselling, professional school counsellors providing most
excellent practices offer developmental school counselling curriculum topics on
academic, career, college access, and personal and social competencies, advising
and academic/career/college access planning to all students individual and
group counselling for some students and their families to meet the
developmental requirements of late childhood and early teenage years. Increased
focus has been placed on college access counselling at the middle school level as
more school counselling programs move to evidenced-base work with data and
particular result that depicts how school counselling programs assist closing
achievement and opportunity gaps in terms of which students have access to
school counselling programs and early college access activities and which
students do not.
Middle School College Access curricula have been developed by The College
Board that can be used to help students and their families in this process. To
facilitate the school counselling process, school counsellors use a diversity of
theories and techniques including developmental, cognitive-behavioural, person-
centred (Rogerian) listening and influencing skills, systemic, family,
multicultural, narrative, and role play therapy. Transitional issues to guarantee
successful transitions to high school are a key area including career exploration
and assessment with seventh and eighth grade students.
5.4.3 High School Counselling

In high school, professional school counsellors providing most excellent practices
offer developmental school counselling curriculum lessons on academic, career,
college access, and personal and social competencies, advising and
academic/career/college access planning to all students and individual and
group counselling for a few students to meet the developmental requirements of
adolescents. The emphasis is laid on college access counselling at the early high
school level as more school counselling programs move to evidence-based work.
The data with particular results describes how school counselling programs help
to fulfil success and opportunity gaps ensuring all students have access to school
counselling programs and early college access activities. High School College
Access curricula have been developed by The College Board to assist this
process.

ACTIVITY 5.2
The following activity is related to dynamics of sitting.
The purpose of this exercise is to help counsellors to appreciate how

personality style may reveal itself even in apparently simple
behaviours-such as where you choose to sit in a classroom. The
facilitator tells students to get up from their seats (taking their
belongings with them) and move to the sides of the room. He further
adds, „Now, pretend that it is the first day of a class. Sit down in a seat
that would be the one you would probably choose-the one that feels
most comfortable to you.‰ After all the students have positioned
themselves, the facilitator comments on the choices they made and
how these choices describe their personalities. Here are some of the
ideas that often come up:
People who sit in the front may give the kind of impression that they
want to be close to the teacher, like to be seen, be outgoing, be Âbrown-
posersÊ, like to be upfront where all the action is (perhaps even to help
them stay awake), want to be sure they hear everything that the
teacher says (perhaps are grade-conscious?).
People who sit in the back may give the kind of impression that they
like to sleep during class (are ÂslackersÊ), like to see everything that is
happening in the room (are ÂobserversÊ), dislike attention, or like the
attention of having everyone turn around to see them when they talk,
like the security of having their back against a wall, are oppositional or
rebellious.
People who sit by the window are usually day dreamers, they like the
ÂfreedomÊ of having wide-open space next to them (but often pay the
price of being far from the door).
People, who sit by the door like having a quick way out of a situation,
are often in a rush to do things.
People, who sit in the middle like to be inconspicuous, like to blend in

with the crowd, are possibly shy people.
The loner avoids sitting near other people.
The changeling sits in various seats (likes variety, likes to see things
from different perspectives, is indecisive, like to experiment).
Cont'd...

Now, students can take an indication from the above account and
observe the sitting pattern of the entire class and attempt to answer the
following:
1. Does the class look cohesive or fragmented?
2. Are there subgroups?
3. Are people seated evenly across the room, or are there gaps? Are
the gaps in the front of the room, middle, sides, back?
4. What might these patterns say about the class and its group
personality?
5.5 COLLEGE COUNSELLING AND STUDENT

LIFE SERVICES
College counsellors advise the students about the following:
(a) College majors;
(b) Admission requirements;
(c) Entrance exams;
(d) Financial aid;
(e) Trade or technical schools; and
(f) Apprenticeship programs.
They assist students to develop job search skills like resume writing and
interview skills. College career planning and placement counsellors help alumni
or students with career development and job-hunting techniques.

Figure 5.3: In the present scenario of tough competitions in college admissions, students
frequently need counsellors
Source: http://mycollegestreet.com/Assets/images/Cartoon-BadCouns.png
The number of college students requiring new medical evaluations for mental
health problems like depression and nervousness has nearly tripled in the past
five years (look at cartoon depicted in Figure 5.3).
Universities around the world including the University of Washington, Seattle

Pacific University and Seattle University -- are reporting increases in campus
mental illness, at certain situations creating a backlog of cases and weeks-long
waits to seek the assistance of a therapist. The college years can be a
developmentally complex period. It is time when youths are forming their
identities and passing from childhood to adulthood. Mental illnesses generally
develop in people during their late teens and early 20s.
Some students join the colleges with unresolved childhood issues or traumas.
Others may struggle due to living away from home for the first time. They may
face problems at the university which may vary from challenging classes or the
breakup of a romantic relationship to problems due to world events.

ACTIVITY 5.3
Based on your knowledge of counselling till now, you can pursue the
following exercises which are in the form of role plays.
Objective
The purpose of this performance counselling activity is to help the
managers as well as the subordinates to improve their overall
performance and deal with only work-related problems. The basic
aim of performance counselling activity is to help the managers to
deal with any ongoing problem; be it a problem caused by a problem
subordinate or a problem faced by a subordinate without wasting any
time and energy, and seeing that the problem is solved without ugly
outcome giving rise to ill-will among the staff and thus, in the process
also avoiding damage to the reputation of the organization or its work
output. These practical sessions are conducted to make the managers
well versed in problem-solving techniques. To conduct these sessions
successfully, certain things are to be considered like the exercise
should be attempted in an organised and easy to follow steps as
mentioned below:
Step 1: Identifying the problem.
Step 2: Analysing the forces influencing the behaviour.
Step 3: Planning, co-ordinating and organising the sessions.
Step 4: Conducting the session using sincerity, compassion and
kindness but remaining firm and in control.
Step 5: Determining what the worker believes is causing the counter
productions labour and what will be required to change it.
Step 6: Maintaining a sense of timing when to use directive or non-
directive counselling.
Step 7: Using all the facts to take a decision or to make any plan of
action to correct the problem.
Step 8: Evaluating the workerÊs progress to find out whether the
problem has been solved after the session is complete or not.
Cont'd...

Procedure
The instructor should adopt such a procedure which will be easy to
follow and will be able to teach the managers as well as subordinates
whatever is being practically practiced in the class. Conduct a
performance counselling session following the steps given below:
Step 1: Gather the class around and break them into groups of three.
Step 2: Give them each a problem case to read.
Step 3: Ask them to enact the roles of the people involved.
Step 4: Repeat the roles and rotate the roles among other groups.
Step 5: Observe them and collect feedback to discuss further.
Exercises to be Attempted
There are five role plays being given below to the participants to
attempt. According to the problem being discussed, choose the players
to enact the role of a person in a problem and the other person for
solving the problem. For example, one can be a supervisor performing
the counselling session and the other can be an employee with a
behavioural problem. Follow the above mentioned steps.
Most of the counselling sessions will be relatively easy. For example, an

errant employee breaks a rule such as being late or does not meet a
performance standard i.e., not completing a task correctly. The majority
of employees follow the rules and excel the standards but they are
humans and make mistakes. The main concern should be to make him
understand and in case if he or she fails to understand and the overall
work output is adversely affected, then to take an appropriate
disciplinary action against him.
Role Play 1
Problem at Hand
Take a case of an excellent employee named Sandra, who has not
needed performance counselling up to this point. But when her
manager reviewed her time record for the previous day he noticed that
she left office 15 minutes early without making a request. The manager
checked to confirm and found out that she did not make a request to
leave early and in the past too, similar incidents had occurred.
Cont'd...

Analysing the Problem

Here the main problem is that the employee left the work early without
giving any notice. A good rule for being objective is, if you are with a
problem but cannot describe it in measurable terms, you do not have a
problem, you just think you do. Here in this case the problem present is
subjective which can be discussed and solved. So according to the step
mentioned above try to plan, co-ordinate and organise the session to
find a cure to SandraÊs problem. Conduct the session teaching the
participants the value of sincerity, compassion, kindness and discipline.
Try to understand what Sandra believes caused the counterproductive
behaviour and what will be required to change it. Now, select the
participants and distribute the roles accordingly and make observation
and collect feedback.
The discussion between the manager and Sandra can take the following
direction:
Manager: Sandra, I have been very pleased with your performance.
But, yesterday you clocked out 15 minutes early, which is in
violation of our company policy. (After a brief pause),
„Could you please explain why you left early?‰
Sandra: I am so sorry, when I looked at my watch; I thought it was
quitting time. It was not until I was on my way home that I
realised I left early.
Manager: (Giving a directive reply), From now onwards, please double
check the time before you leave.
(Giving a non-directive reply) How do you plan to ensure
this will not happen again?
Sandra: I will look at the time more closely to ensure I do not make
the same mistake twice.
Manager: Sandra, I am sure you will not let it happen again. Except for
that one mistake, your performance has been great, your
tasks are always at par and on time, and this is the first rule
you have broken.
Observation
Since it was not a serious violation, no further action is needed and the
counsellor has no reason to believe that it was nothing more than a
human error.
Cont'd...

After this session evaluate the workerÊs progress in future to ensure that
the problem has been solved.
Role Play 2
Problem at Hand
Take the case of David who has been a valued employee for you for the
last 18 months. But, when you review the production report for last
week, you discover that he was not up to standards on both Thursday
and Friday. The standard is to assemble at least an average of 12 kits per
hour. For Thursday, his average was 10 kits per hour and for Friday it
was 11 kits per hour. You check the schedule and note that he was not
away from the assembly line for training, meetings, etc. Using the
following guide, conduct a performance counselling session:
1. Identify the problem.
2. Analyse the forces influencing the behaviour.
3. Plan, coordinate and organise the session.
4. Conduct the session using sincerity, compassion, and kindness; but
remain firm and in control.
5. During the session, determining what the worker believes causes
the counterproductive behaviour and what will be required to
change it.
6. Try to maintain a sense of timing of when to use directive or non-
directive counselling.
7. Using all the facts, make a decision and/or a plan of action to
correct the problem.
8. After the session and throughout a sufficient time period, evaluate
the workerÊs progress to ensure the problem has been solved.
Role Play 3
Problem at Hand
Take the case of Ruth who has been working in the company for past
three years and has been a very good employee. But, for the last three
project meetings in which she is a key player, she has been coming late.
This has caused the meetings to run late, because she brings some
critical decision-making information and also because she has to be
brought up to date about the proceedings. The first time, you let the
incident go by, while the second time you explain the situation to her as
it is high time that this must be discussed.
Cont'd...

Using what you have learned, conduct a performance counselling session.

The only difference is, you want to use a more non-directive approach by
having Ruth make a firm commitment to correct her behaviour. For
example:
Manager: (Giving a non-directive statement): Ruth, this behaviour is very
disruptive to the department. What are you going to do to
correct it?
Role Play 4
The next two exercises are more difficult than the previous three. In the last
three exercises, the employees knew they made mistakes, took the
counselling in stride, and moved on. In this one, the employee is walking
on an extremely thin line. His performance has extremely disintegrated and
he is about ready to get fired.
Problem at Hand
Eric has been an excellent employee since he started working in your
department two years ago. However, in the last few weeks, he has not been
performing up to the standards.
He has been late three times. His production goals have been below
standards on many occasions. Two of his co-workers have reported that he
seems to be extremely agitated most of the time and in a very cranky mood.
(You checked this out with some other employees and found it to be true.)
Today, he was late for the fourth time. Finally, it is difficult to ignore the
problem and you have called him into your office for a performance-
counselling meeting.
Start the Meeting
First of all, the participants acting as the counsellor should start by being
firm and confident.
Manager: Eric, I have called you in because there is a problem, and quite
frankly, the problem involves you. I have been going through the
documentation on your performance over the last few weeks.
Eric, you know that today is the fourth time you have been late
and your production standards have not been up to standards.
Recently it was reported to me that you have not been getting
along with your co-workers. Your unacceptable performance
cannot continue. We are here to find out what you are going to
do about it.‰ (Notice it is not our problem).
Cont'd...

Use Power Base

The power base is in the documentation that the manager has built from
the previous counselling sessions. He should directly make use of these
documentations in dealing with this errant employee.
This is the first time Eric may have the opportunity to manipulate the
meeting. Eric may try to interrupt by making an excuse why he was late
today, such as:
My car had a dead battery this morning and my neighbour had to help me
start it.
The counselling manger should not let the employee interrupt or distract.
He should firmly stress his point of view. For example:
Manager: Excuse me Eric, I was to give you the opportunity to respond,
but I feel it is important for you to see the entire picture. Once I
lay out the pattern of your deterioration over the past few
weeks, then I certainly want to hear from you.
The counselling manger should be objective and specific. Avoid Âyou

alwaysÊ and Âyou neverÊ traps. Remember, if you have a problem but
cannot describe it in measurable terms, you do not have a problem, you
just think you do.
To make the errant employee realise his mistakes, the counselling manager
should produce concrete proof. For example, show and explain to Eric the
following documentation:
1. April 6 Production 5% below standard
2. April 17 30 minutes late
5. April 29 25 minutes late
6. May 5 35 minutes late
7. May 8 Yelled out to the other workers that they were not doing
their work correctly and was making his job harder to do
8. May 11 Production 10% below standard
9. May 20 Used profanities when telling a co-worker how to set up a
line
10. May 26 Production 15% below standard
11. June 1 30 minutes late (today)
Cont'd...
When in doubt, return to the facts

Eric becomes very defensive. For example: I cannot meet my production
goals because the other workers are getting in my way! Or, „I have been
having car trouble!‰
In spite of efforts to remain in control, the counsellor manager might feel

that he is being backed into a corner. He should take on the defensive if
he feels his emotions taking over, or he is about to lose control. If any of
this happens he or she should simply return to the facts. For example,
Eric, you may feel that is important to the meeting, but the primary issue
is....Get back to your documentation...show a pattern, that is his power.
Move to Closure
After the documentation and the issues have been covered, move to
closure. The counsellor manager has to address three issues. First of all,
he should make the employee own the problem, second inquire about
the reason for the decline in performance and thirdly find out whether it
is a personal problem. These can be handled in the following ways:
First, get the employee to own up the problem. For example, do you
understand the problem I have just addressed? This requires the
subjective employee to become objective, for example, ÂYes, I understand
the problem as you have described itÊ.
Next, ask for the reason the performance has been poor, for example,
what is the reason for your decline in performance? You will probably
not get a good reason; you might only get a shrug, for example, I do not
know.
The manager should not worry about the answer unless it is really
explained to him. What he is doing is re-emphasising the pattern of poor
performance.
But if the employee does not explain to the counsellor in the step above,
then he should express his concern about the problem. For example, is
there a personal problem causing your performance to deteriorate? Do
not wait for a response; continue by saying, Âbecause if there is, we have
assistance counsellors and programmes that can helpÊ.
Cont'd...

The counsellor might get a negative response to this question also. But, by
asking this question, he shows the employee his concern about the
problems underlying the poor performance.
Eric replies that he does not have any personal problems; he has just been
having a string of bad luck.
Commitment
Now, after failing to get the desired response, it is time to apply the
ÂPrinciple of PainÊ. This is a process in which people with a performance
problem must make a choice between keeping their disruptive
behavioural pattern or keeping their job. The pain of losing their job may
be the pain that is necessary to make the choice. For example:
Manager: Eric whatever the problem is that is causing your
performance to deteriorate, There is help if you want to deal
with it. I want you to know that we so value your potential
here that you have a job if you want to deal with your
personal issues. However, if there is no problem or you
choose not to ask for help then you leave me no choice other
than to fire you strictly for your unacceptable performance
problem. What is your choice?
The counsellor manager may ask if the employee wishes to speak

confidentially with a counsellor, or he wishes to postpone the issue by
silently waiting for an answer. If the employee asks for time to think it
over, then give it, but no more than one or two hours.
The manager should always try to offer his help with a firm and precise
outline of the performance-based consequences.
Role Play 5
Problem at Hand
Take the case of Annie who started working for you three months ago.
Since that time, you have counselled her on the following:
June 8 20 minutes late for lunch
June 23 Did not have a helmet on in the production area (health and
safety violation)
July 14 45 minutes late for work
July 24 10 minutes late for break
August 5 Bumped into rack with a forklift (safety violation)
August 13 left 10 minutes early for lunch
Cont'd...
Today, she left for her 15 minutes break and was gone for 25 minutes.
Using the following guide, conduct a performance counselling session:
1. Start the meeting (being firm and confident).
2. Use your power base (documentation).
3. When in doubt, return to the facts.
Annie comments, „I thought we were friends?‰ Note: If they play
on friendship-real friends do not let their buddies self-exit out of
an organisation, real friends help.
4. Move to Closure.
5. Get the employee to own the problem.
6. Ask for the reason for the poor performance.
7. Is there a personal problem?
8. Get commitment!
5.6 SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND DISABILITY

COUNSELLING
The relationship of human beings to drugs is a long one, antedating recorded
history. Drugs have been used for religious, medicinal, hedonistic and social
purpose. Cultural and legal attitudes towards drugs vary. For example, a drug,
such as alcohol may be highly exalted by one society (e.g., France) and at the
same time prohibited by another (e.g., Libya); or another drug, such as cannabis
may be widely used by one segment of a community and severely frowned upon
by another part to it. Furthermore, over time a communityÊs attitude toward a
drug may reverse it; for example, opiates were legally accepted in the United
States prior to World War I and legally prohibited, except under strict regulation,
after that time. The current drug problem all over the world is not a new
phenomenon, although now it is more complex than it was previously.
The increased complexity of the drug problem is related to scientific advances in

the field of pharmacology over the last thirty years. Society today has at its
disposal drugs that cover the whole spectrum of human behaviour. Besides the
contraceptive pill, people have other pills to sedate themselves when they are
nervous, to excite when they are sick, and to make themselves sick when they are
well. Thus, on one hand, drugs can enhance our ability to function more
effectively, but on the other side, they can carry our minds out of the realm of
reality into loneliness, despair and hopelessness.

In discussing such an emotionally charged area as drugs, it is imperative to

maintain a rational perspective. Miracle drugs of the antibiotic family (such as
penicillin), steroids, insulin and other such sort of drugs have brought a
revolution to the treatment of many diseases affecting humans. Thus, drugs in a
generic sense have achieved widespread acceptance in all countries, whether
obtained by prescription or over the counter. The mass media in Western society
is filled with advertisements of chemical agents that will remedy many of our
problems, whether they are body odour, headache, bad breath or digestive
problem. Yet any drug or chemical agent can be misused with negative
consequences to the individual and society. Unfortunately, there are few drugs
out of the thousands available that are consistently misused by any significant
portion of the population (Pitman, 1974).
5.6.1 Drug Terminology

Much confusion surrounds the scientific and the social terminology used in
reference to drugs. The first problem centres on the question, „what is
addiction?‰ Authorities disagree as to what actually constitutes addiction, and as
a result, which drugs are addictive.
One reason for addiction to puzzle scientists is the multifaceted character of the
phenomenon. Addiction to drugs (of which alcohol is one) is typically the result
of many interacting factors. It is not just the effect of the drug on the person, but
the social-psychological state of the individual that is crucial, i.e., how he or she
reacts to the drug in his or her particular environment.
Since there are many different addictive drugs, and many factors influence a
person to get addicted, it is difficult to discover any direct cause-effect
relationship for addiction. Thus, it is not a sufficient reason to state that a person
has become addicted to drugs because he or she took excessive amounts of a
certain drug. One must also consider the drug in question, the laws regarding it,
the societyÊs attitude towards the chemical agent (which is not always reflected in
the laws), the individualÊs attitude towards it, and the physical and psychological
makeup of the individual. Stated differently, knowledge of the drug per se is
necessary for understanding addiction, but it is not sufficient for a full
comprehension of the pathology (GATT, et al. 1967).
In a drug research field four terms frequently appear - addiction, habituation,

dependence, and abuse or misuse. These terms are not mutually exclusive, and
there are frequent disagreements about precise meaning as is being observed
from the following discussion.

5.6.2 Addiction
There are three properties that a drug must have before it is considered
addictive, i.e., it must produce tolerance, abstinence (withdrawal) syndrome, and
craving. Tolerance means that the drug must be taken in progressively larger
doses in order to achieve the desired result. Simplified, tolerance develops when
a person taking one grain of drug A daily, finds that at the end of several weeks
the drug no longer affects him or her in the same manner. He or she then
increases the dosage to two grains daily. After a month or so, the person again
realises that drug A no longer produces the desired effect. He or she, therefore,
increases the daily dosage to three grains, and so on.
If this person is suddenly prevented from taking any more of drug A, he or she
experiences an abstinence syndrome. These symptoms vary from one drug to
another and depend on the amount of drugs being taken. The abstinence
syndrome is characterised by physical symptoms, such as stomach cramps,
diarrhoea and irritability.
5.6.3 Habituation
There are many habit-forming agents that some people use, such as coffee, tea
and tobacco. Also, some drugs are habit-forming. Simply stated, all addictive
drugs are habit-forming, but not all habit-forming drugs are addictive in the
pharmacological sense. Habituation is primarily psychological, as a physical
abstinence syndrome does not develop when the agent is suddenly withdrawn
from the individual. There are, however, habit-forming drugs, such as certain
amphetamines, where tolerance does develop, but there is no abstinence
syndrome. In short, habituation may consist of tolerance and craving (primarily
psychological), but it is never followed by an abstinence syndrome.
5.6.4 Dependence
In 1964, the World Health Organisation released a report published by its expert
committee on drugs which combined the terms ÂadditionÊ and ÂhabituationÊ
under one term, dependence. This committee felt that the scientific literature
reflected much confusion between addiction and habituation, and as a result, the
classification of a drug as addictive or habit-forming was difficult. The WHO
Committee suggested that each drug should be described by its particular type of
dependence, for example, „drug dependence of the alcohol type‰. Thus, the
substitution of the word dependence for both addiction and habituation is an
attempt to clarify drug terminology.

5.6.5 Abuse or Misuse

Almost all drugs that have been produced for medical or scientific use as well as
beverage like alcohol have their consumption controlled by legal statutes. People,
who use drugs illegally or for some purpose other than for which the drug was
commonly designed or in manner other than prescribed by the physician, are
said to be abusing the drug. Generally speaking, people who are dependent on
drugs are also abusing them. However, there are some people who take drugs
but never become dependent upon them. In a nutshell, persons who use drugs
for other than the generally accepted reasons or who take them illegally but are
not dependent on them are classified as drug abusers or
misusers.
SELF-CHECK 5.2
Explain the drug terminology.
5.7 MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY

COUNSELLING AND PRIVATE PRACTICE
Mental health counselling, is one of the recent human service provider
professions, was formed by in-the-field professionals they were looking for
visibility and recognition during the late 1970Ês. Taking the knowledge from the
behaviour sciences as foundation and trained to focus on strengths,
development, and the holistic, multifaceted aspects of on-going mental health,
mental health counsellors make use of scientific processes to strengthen or
restore clientsÊ mental health.
Their framework for conceptualisation integrates following:
(a) The person as a gestalt of a variety of domains.
(b) The personÊs place in the family and socio-cultural matrix.
This focus extends the resources for intervention to include the environment and
extends the pressures and inhibitions on development to include macro-systemic
characteristics along with family or personal dynamics. It is a misinterpretation
to construe „mental health counselling‰ as meaning „to assist those who
experience mental illnesses to become accustomed to life more effectively.‰
Rather, mental health counsellors are associated with health and with the wide
diversity of situations, socially and individually, that can impair or inhibit the
functioning of a personÊs life. Mental health counselling is designed to contribute

to the liveliness and vigour. Moreover, it also focuses on the soundness in body,
mind, spirit, and social connection that sustains well-being, and so is considered,
by our society, to be health.
5.7.1 What is Community Counselling?

The term Âcommunity counsellingÊ is extensively in use at the present time. You
can find numerous instances on the Internet or on television about different
community counsellors that are working for the society to assist people to live
their life in an improved way. Working as a Community Counsellor is one of the
top career opportunity available for people who are in love with society and
educating people the right way of leading their life. If you are looking to become
a community counsellor then it is significant for you to understand the meaning
of community counselling.
Community counselling is a form of counselling in which various counsellors

work with families, individuals, couples and also communities in one or the
other way. Community-counselling is usually conducted to prevent an issue and
help in setting prevention programs in various communities. The community
counsellors also advocate various social changes to help their patients and clients
at the large. Community counselling is in fact a different form of counselling in
which not only people are taught about different right or wrong things but they
are also helped to recognise the right ways so that they can live their life
peacefully and happily.
Community counselling is conducted by community counsellors who are trained

to work in various kinds of settings which may be as follows:
Department of the veteran affairs:
(a) Schools and hospitals.
(b) Family services and mental health agencies.
(c) Private industry and businesses.
(d) Behavioural health agencies including the evaluation, training and abuse
programs.
(e) Insurance companies and private practices.
There are a variety of community counselling programs in various universities

and even on the Internet that will assist you in attaining the right kind of
information and knowledge to become an accredited community counsellor.
These various community counselling programs will offer you the information to
tackle various sections of the society using suitable means and reducing the
disturbance produced by aggressive and mentally challenged people. With the
increase in the development of psychology, it can be observed that people who
are interested in this field are finding various new options to enhance their
careers. Community counselling and psychology aspires to improve the
condition of the community by giving therapy, supportive counselling, linkage
and referral, advocacy and variety of other services as required.
5.7.2 Private Practice

Many professionals in counselling will at some time or another, at least think, the
option of going into private practice. This consideration might be motivated by
several factors encompassing career and personal issues alike. Mid-career
practitioners might desire to have more autonomy and input into their
counselling practice. Counsellor educators might prefer to combine their faculty
position with a part-time private practice. Beginning practitioners might seek out
private-practice settings the same as their first place of employment. The decision
to go into private practice may reflect changing dynamics in community mental
health, which may comprise of salary, trends in hiring or position openings, and,
for some, a frustration with institutional bureaucracy. These motivators might be
coupled with personal issues that make going into private practice more
attractive, flexibility in scheduling, challenge, or simply a wish to be oneÊs own
boss.
 A school counsellor can be termed as an educator who works in elementary,

middle, and high schools to offer academic, career, college access, and
personal/social competencies to every K-12 student.
 College career planning and placement counsellors help alumni or students
with career development and job-hunting techniques.
 The increased complexity of the drug problem is related to scientific advances
in the field of pharmacology over the last thirty years. Society today has at its
disposal drugs that cover the whole spectrum of human behaviour.
 Mental health counselling, one of the recent of the human service provider
professions, was formed by in-the-field professionals.

 Community counselling is a form of counselling in which various counsellors

work with families, individuals, couples and also communities in one or the
other way.
College Counselling Secondary School Counselling

Community Counselling Substance Abuse
School Counsellor
1. List the various groups which may require counselling services.

2. What do you understand by private practice in counselling?
3. What do you mean by community counselling?
1. Explain the following:

(i) Elementary
(ii) Middle
(iii) Secondary School Counselling
2. What do you understand by College Counselling?
3. Explain the substance abuse and disability counselling.

Topic  Listening
Skills
6
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Explain the importance of listening skills;
2. Explain the stages of listening process;
3. Describe the obstacles of listening;
4. Explain the criteria for emphatic listening;
5. Explain how to control listeners; and
6. Discuss the traps for listeners.
 INTRODUCTION
In the previous topic, you studied about the specialties in the practice of
counselling. In this topic, you will study about the listening skills which are
mandatory for every counselor so as to provide effective counselling to the client.
A part of the reason why we do not listen to people at a high level of
effectiveness is that we take listening for granted. Most people assume that they
already understand what listening is all about, and therefore, there is no need to
learn anything more. We also assume it is easy to be a good listener. In fact,
many of us probably assume that we already have effective listening skills. Both
of these assumptions are unwarranted. We cannot assume that our listening
skills are already at a maximum, we certainly cannot assume that effective
listening is simple or easy.
According to research studies, the average listening efficiency rate in the business
world is only 25 per cent. Immediately after a ten-minute presentation, a normal
listener can recall only 50 per cent of the information conveyed.

TOPIC 6 LISTENING SKILLS  115
After 24 hours the recall level is only 25 per cent. Does this bode well for
organisations? No. Why? Let us see why listening is so very important in a
modern organisation.
6.1 WHAT IS LISTENING?

When we hear, we only perceive sounds, but when we listen, this hearing is
accompanied by a deliberate and purposeful act of the mind. To listen means to
get meaning from what is heard. One may hear the words uttered by another
person without really understanding them.
The primary reason why listening is so important is the amount of time people
spend doing just that ă listening. Listening is the most frequent, perhaps the
most important type of on-the-job communication. Studies indicate that adults
spend about 29.5 per cent of their waking hours listening. Recent studies that
focus on the workplace show that, on an average, personnel at all levels spend
about 32.7 per cent of their time listening while speaking takes up 25.8 per cent of
their time and writing 22.6 per cent. Top executives spend even more time
listening than other employees.
Listening on the job is not only frequent, it is very important as well. In fact, most
managers agree that Âactive listeningÊ is the most crucial skill for becoming a
successful manager. Stephen Covey identifies listening as one of the Âseven habits
of highly effective peopleÊ. Listening can improve work quality and boost
productivity. Poor listening skills lead to innumerable mistakes because of which
letters have to be re-typed, meetings rescheduled, shipments re-routed. All this
affects productivity and profits. Apart from the obvious benefits, good listening
helps employees to update and revise their collection of facts, skills and attitudes.
Good listening also helps them to improve their speaking abilities.
Despite all these benefits, good listening skills are quite rare in the business
world today. As pointed out earlier, a number of studies have revealed that
people listen poorly despite the advantages of doing just the opposite.
However, there is hope. Listening is a skill that is a result of learning·it is not

„inborn‰. We learn to attend to, analyse, and comprehend messages directed
towards us, just as we learn other skills. What this means is that anyone can
become an effective listener. Further, if the foundations of listening skills are
understood, people can improve their ability to sort out more fully the meanings
of what people are saying to them.

116  TOPIC 6 LISTENING SKILLS
6.1.1 Approaches to Listening

Discriminative Listening: Discriminative listening involves an attempt to
distinguish one sound from all the others. Stopping work to determine whether
the phone is ringing is an example. We learn how to discriminate among sounds
at an early age. Eventually, we come to recognise not only the sounds that make
up our language, we also learn to identify vocal cues such as tone of voice,
volume, pitch and rate, all of which contribute to the total meaning of a message.
Comprehensive Listening: A person trying to understand a speakerÊs message in
totality, to interpret the meaning as precisely as possible, is engaged in
comprehensive listening. This kind of listening is generally practiced in the
classroom when we must remember what we have heard in a lecture and rely
upon it for future use.
Critical Listening: When a person wants to sift through what he has heard and
come to a decision, he must listen critically. This involves judging the clarity,
accuracy and reliability of the evidence that is presented and being alert to the
effects of emotional appeals.
Active Listening: Active listening is also called empathic listening. This kind of
listening goes beyond just paying attention or listening critically. It entails
supportive behaviour that tells the speaker, „I understand. Please go on.‰
When you listen actively, you encourage the speaker to express himself/herself
fully. Sometimes active listeners provide the speakers with neutral summaries of
what they have heard in order to affirm that they have understood what they
have said. Active listening involves responding to the emotional content as well,
apart from the bare verbal message. An active listener is alert to all cues, and
carefully observes the nonverbal behaviour of the speaker to get the total picture.
ACTIVITY 6.1
1. What do you understand by listening?

2. Explain the different approaches to listening.

6.1.2 Listening as Behaviour

Listening can be viewed as a form of behaviour that is a part of the
communication process ă an active effort of attention and perception on the part
of the person towards whom the message has been directed. In other words, it is
part of the transaction that takes place between people as they communicate.
More formally, listening is an active form of behaviour in which individuals

attempt to maximise their attention to, and comprehension of, what is being
communicated to them through use of words, actions, and things by one or more
people in their immediate environment.
Most people think of listening mainly in terms of using the ears, attending closely
to verbal messages. Listening also refers to monitoring the non-verbal and
contextual aspects of messages. Thus, in the simultaneous transactions view of
communication, listening includes attending to and interpreting all of the ways
in which people use words, actions, and things intended to arouse meanings in
their receivers. Thus, it is more than just hearing spoken words.
Note also that in the definition is included the concept of „immediate

environment.‰ This refers to the meaning that are included in the source message
due to the context in which the transmission takes place. Effective listening
requires attention to those aspects of a message as well, because they can be both
complex and diverse as influences on interpretation. For example, what we
interpret can be very different as we listen to people in familiar and unfamiliar
places, to people we know very well versus people we have just met, in-group
situations versus one-on-one. Another kind of context is provided by different
media that may be part of the communication process ă telephone, radio, TV and
so on. Each of this set of conditions constitutes a different context, a different
„environment,‰ that has its own influence on the listening experience.
What something „means‰ to us is based on the accumulation of both direct and

indirect experiences we have had during our lifetime. This provides for a set of
personal internal meaning responses for each of the huge number of symbols,
gestures, rules, etc., that make up our language and non-verbal signs. Only when
the senderÊs and receiverÊs bases of experience are sufficiently similar, can
meanings of the parties involved be parallel, permitting individuals to share the
same interpretations. Comprehension, therefore, depends immediately and
directly on the existence of parallel meaning experiences, which can accurately be
produced only by effective listening.
The preceding discussion implies that effective listening is no accident ă that is

not an „automaticÊ form of behaviour. While it is true that some aspects of
listening are habitual or reflexive, others are certainly not. Therefore, we cannot

simply stand around talking to people and expect that high quality listening is
just going to „happen.‰ To provide the accurate communication, both parties in
the transaction need to be actively and consciously involved in attending to and
comprehending what is being transmitted by the other by all of the means we
have discussed.
To be done well, listening is something that we must deliberately and

consciously manage. In other words, successfully attending to and
comprehending what is communicated to us will be achieved only if it is
deliberately set as a key objective·an objective we can achieve if we work hard
and systematically. Furthermore, it is not a part-time pursuit. We must set this
objective whenever we communicate with other people.
At the same time, it is possible to listen too intently!. It would be impulsive,

unreasonable, and even impossible to give our total attention to what is being
communicated to us at all times, in all situations, and via all media. That would
be a tidal wave of information with which no normal person could cope.
Furthermore much of it would be either a ghastly bore or a total waste of time.
We can all think of any number of circumstances where we would not want to
involve ourselves intensely in the task of attending to and comprehending
whatever information was sent our way. Stated more simply, an important
prerequisite to effective listening is the acquisition of skills in discriminating
between what we should pay attention to and what we can safely ignore. The
importance of being able to listen selectively but well is closely linked to the
essential objectives or goals of the process.
6.1.3 Payoffs for Effective Listening

Listening serves at least three primary purposes in our lives. One reason we
listen is to acquire information. Another is for the purpose of evaluating and
screening information as it is being presented to us. Finally, we often listen just
for recreation.
(a) Acquiring needed information

Obviously, some information is important and central to our well-being,
whereas other kinds may be insignificant. Most information that we seek
fits somewhere between these extremes. Much of it has some importance to
us. We must be able to sort through and evaluate quickly both the relevance
and the accuracy of the information we receive when interacting with
others. As indicated earlier, we must be able to discriminate efficiently
among the flood of information we receive, and select for more intense
listening that information, which is trustworthy and important to us.

In order to select information effectively, we need a set of criteria according

to which appropriate judgments can be made. These will permit us to
evaluate the source of incoming information and the characteristics of what
is being said against whatever we have selected as standards for judgment.
Such criteria are quite personal, but they are based on common sense and
past experience and are not difficult to formulate. Such criteria would
normally include ways of deciding whether a source is credible, whether
what the person is saying is believable, and whether the message is
important to us in any way.
Such criteria for selective listening provide grounds for judging the degree
to which what is being heard is accurate or inaccurate, reliable or
unreliable, and even honest or dishonest. At a low level of importance are
all those daily messages that make up minor news and gossip about people,
situations, conditions, or events of only limited significance to us. The key
here is not to attend with bug-eyed intensity to all such information, but to
develop the ability to monitor the ongoing information flow to which we
are exposed. In that way, we can sort out that which has true significance in
our lives.
(b) Evaluating and screening messages

The second reason people listen is to evaluate information. This purpose is
inseparably linked to that of information seeking. We seldom just listen
aimlessly or randomly, with the same level of attention to whatever is
coming our way. Rather, we are usually on the lookout for specific forms of
information that are important to us, at least to some degree.
Effective listening for acquiring and evaluating information, then, does not
occur in a passive manner. It takes place as we actively receive, interpret,
and evaluate both the source and the message against those criteria that we
believe to be adequate guides for accepting or rejecting what is said.
(c) Listening as recreation

Of the three main reasons people listen, recreation is the easiest to discuss.
A great deal of our listening comes under the heading of amusement, fun,
or diversion. We engage in this form of listening when we socialise with
relatives or friends, attend concerts, turn on our stereo, or view television.
In fact, we listen recreationally in most interpersonal situations that are not
defined specifically by our need to acquire accurate information.
Recreational listening allows us to interact with people we like for the sole
purpose of enjoying each otherÊs company.
At the same time, all recreational listening may not be fun and games (so to
speak). It all depends on how we define what we are doing. The way we

classify a particular listening experience can have a significant influence on

what we perceive and how we interpret the incoming information. It may
be perfectly harmless just to enjoy much of the listening that we do.
However, when we define certain types of listening as „simply recreation‰,
it changes our conception of the importance and quality of the information
we are receiving.
In fact, classifying certain kinds of listening as recreational can be

damaging. That is, when we use the term recreation we normally think of
synonyms like amusement, diversion, entertainment, leisure, and
relaxation. If we are listening in this mode, it is unlikely that we will be
alert to certain kinds of information that might have real importance to us.
For example, if a professor regularly provides a lot of entertaining jokes and
interesting illustrations during the lecture, the important points of the
presentation probably will be lost for students who have defined it as
recreation. They will be able to remember the jokes and the amusing
examples, but not the essential principles and concepts that were being
illustrated. In fact, a great deal of poor listening that goes on in the world
results from the tendency to think of the process as recreational.
Consequently, students fail tests and cannot figure out why. After all, they
came to every class and „listened carefully.‰
(d) Listening as a requirement for social efficacy

The term social efficacy means being competent as a social person ă being
able to form, manage, and maintain all kinds of social relationships in a
positive manner. Success or failure in the vast majority of such human
encounters will depend on how well we are able to listen to what people
are communicating by verbal, non-verbal, and contextual means.
Listening to listen skillfully, then, is no trivial matter. It can spell the

difference between a successful experience, in the workplace, with
promotions and rewards for effective performance, and stagnation in a
dead-end job. Good listening skills are practical tools for developing
smooth and comfortable social relationships on which professional success
depends. In fact, an important aspect of any form of work is just „getting
along with the people you work around.‰
Outside the workplace, effective listening contributes to successfully

meeting people, enjoying the company of friends, maintaining family ties,
initiating and maintaining a love relationship, and many other similar
experiences. All of these activities depend largely on our ability to hear
what people are telling us, to sort out the true meanings of their messages,
and to respond in ways that meet their needs.

6.1.4 Actions Required for Effective Listening

The degree to which we actively listen directly influences our effectiveness.
Active versus passive reception: Passive listening, i.e., the passive reception of
messages, occurs when little or no effort is exerted by a receiver. The kind of
effort we are concerned with is that which contributes to our close attention to
and careful comprehension of what is being communicated. Depending on the
circumstances, there are a number of reasons people are passive listeners.
Obviously, the causes of passiveness can include complex problems associated
with mental and physical illness, but these need not concern us here. Usually,
passiveness stems from conditions as basic as boredom, hunger, disinterest and
apathy. Of the four, the simple lack of interest is probably the most frequent.
Some people take great pride in their ability to avoid making an effort to listen.
Some of these individuals can avoid listening, while successfully remaining
unnoticed for the lack of effort. This is not to say that it is always bad to act like
we are listening when we are not. In fact, we sometimes need to appear as if we
are not listening when we really are, or vice versa.
Ironically, most people to whose messages we are exposed are absolutely sure
that what they have to say is both profound and critical to our survival. They
expect and even demand that we appear highly attentive. Typically, we give
them what they want ă we look and act like we are listening, even though, we are
not. We look observant, and perhaps nod wisely from time to time, but our mind
is miles away. In some cases, this listening mode is totally justified. The problem
is that it can become habitual. If it is used when information important to us is
being transmitted, such passive message reception can result in a singularly
unsuccessful listening experience.
Active listening, or the active reception of messages, occurs when the receiver
makes a substantial effort to maximise attention to, and comprehension of, what
is being communicated. When the receiver exercises such effort, the likely result
is not only greater attention and comprehension on the part of the receiver but
greater enthusiasm and appreciation on the part of the source. There simply is no
better prerequisite to high-quality communication than the active reception of
messages. It is almost impossible to listen attentively without being actively
involved in what is being communicated. That kind of feedback motivates the
speaker and can make the entire transaction a far better experience than that
occuring when listeners are in a passive mode.
Our Âactivity imperative‰ applies even when a particular encounter ends in

disagreement. Whatever the situation, if individuals listen actively, there is a
very good chance of listening carefully to others. Once understood it may be that

the difference between points of view are not as great as initially perceived.
Effective listening, then, can be a beginning point for conflict resolution.
It is common sense that the degree to which we find a person interesting will
dictate how much effort we exert to listen to what that person has to say. We
have a tendency to disregard individuals who, at first glance, appear to be dull or
uninteresting. A major problem is that truly interesting people are very few.
Fortunately, however, almost every person is interesting in some way. One key
to becoming an effective listener is to try to look for and identify at least one
interesting thing about each individual with whom we interact. In this way,
individuals who initially appear terminally boring or totally uninteresting can be
redefined as worth listening to.
Listening as observable action: Effort and activity when listening are internal or
motivational characteristics. That is, they are factors that operate „in our head‰ to
influence us as good listeners. Such internal factors are not observable by others.
However, the characteristics of an effective listener can also be discussed as
observable actions that make us „look the part.‰ For example, what are the
external and recognisable actions, expressions, and other behavioural signs that
enable someone to identify and classify a person as a „good listener‰? This is a
very important consideration for understanding the relationship between a
sender and a receiver.
People easily recognise those who are actively listening to them in contrast to
those who are „tuning them out.‰ They do this by noticing a variety of signs or
cues. It is not easy to describe what it is they look for or see, but the factors are
real enough. If you think about what we are saying and close your eyes, you can
see someone you know who is a good listener. He or she has a certain way of
reacting as you talk.
It is not enough to say that good listeners „look and act like good listeners.‰ Yet,
as vague as this may sound, they do stand out from poor listeners. For one thing,
good listeners focus their full concentration on individuals to whom they are
attending, and their bodies communicate receptivity to what is being said. This is
a very subtle non-verbal skill, but people who are concentrating on anotherÊs
message tend to lean forward slightly, with eyes fixed on the speaker, and
perhaps almost imperceptibly, they nod in agreement from time to time. The
opposite is to stare off in the distance, with eyelids partially closed, perhaps arms
crossed, leaning backward, and with a bored look or a slight frown.
Even a brief examination of the face of a person engaged in active listening

illustrates a variety of distinctive cues. Observable eye contact, an alert and
amiable expression, an obvious focus on the source person are all typical of the
„look‰ of a good listener. In this way, a necessary (but not sufficient) condition

for effective listening is being perceived and a person is classified by others as a

good listener on the basis of observable signs and behaviours.
Looking like a good listener contributes to effective listening in at least two

important ways. First, when someone is perceived to be a good listener, the
person communicating is likely to feel sympathetic toward that individual.
Accordingly, the sender makes more of an effort to ensure that his/her message
will be understood clearly. This is not easy. Making an effort to maximise
understanding for the listener involves a great deal of what we call role taking.
Role taking is accomplished by means of adaptation on the part of the sender.
Adaptation is a central feature of our explanation of listening. As we are using

the term here, adaptation refers to various ways in which both senders and
receivers independently modify how they think and behave toward each other.
The results of this modification or adaptation include a type of joint posturing
that contributes to the sharing of meaning. A good listener can influence
significantly the amount of effort exerted by persons sending messages simply by
„looking like‰ a good listener.
The second way is when a listener initiates a characteristic pattern of responses

that others can identify. That is, conducting oneself in ways necessary to be
perceived by others as a good listener requires that certain standards of good
listening conduct are met. To be perceived as a good listener, a person must
exhibit a combination of activities that taken together are easily identified and
associated with high effort and motivation. What is interesting about doing so is
that performing these actions can actually change the personÊs habitual
behaviour.
A below-average listener would find it very difficult to behave so as to be

regarded by others as a good listener. In effect, it would involve changing deep-
seated or habitual behaviour patterns that have minimised this personÊs listening
effectiveness. However, such deliberate attempts are important keys to
improvement. If a poor listener takes the appropriate kind of actions, a real
transformation can take place. New listening behaviours can displace the
habitual ones.
The underlying principle is that over a short time, people who work hard to try
to create an impression of self tend to become what others perceive them to be.
This means that if an ineffective listener successfully exhibits the required „look‰,
two conditions will likely result. First, he/she will not only appear to be a good
listener in work situation but will also be the one. Second, if his efforts toward
change continue successfully in situations outside of work, the result will be a
true transformation.

SELF-CHECK 6.1
1. How would you differentiate between hearing and listening?

2. Make a list of actions required to be an effective listener.
ACTIVITY 6.2
While pursuing your daily activities , try to observe the listening
skills of any five people near you and comment on the same. Write
the details in the space below and analyse the information.
Listening Listening Listening

S. No. Age Skills Skills Skills Comments
(Low) (Medium) (Effective)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.2 STAGES OF LISTENING

Effective listening involves four stages as shown in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1: Stages of listening

Source: http://willscullypower.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/listening.jpg
6.2.1 Sensing
(a) The sense of hearing is required to take in the message.
(b) Human minds have the ability to listen four times faster than a person can
talk.
(c) The major challenge to effective listening would be concentrating your
mind on hearing what is said rather than the numerous other things going
on in your lives at any given situation.
(d) To improve the skill, look directly at the person talking. As you hear the
words said, also start reading the body language. Listen for tone and
intonation. With advancement in the art, you will be able to notice even
more subtle body language such as pupil movement.
(e) On the flip side, if you are taking part in public speaking, your audience
will face the same challenge you do with the art of listening. Understanding
this will be an aid to developing and improving your public speaking skills.

6.2.2 Understanding
(a) It refers to the processing and interpreting of the message.
Instead of thinking what you are going to say next, you should try to
concentrate on thinking of what is being said from the standpoint of the
communicator.
(b) Imagine yourself as their advocate and your objective is to help everyone
understand what the speaker is trying to communicate.
6.2.3 Evaluating
(a) Now after understanding the message, next stage is of appraising the
message. You should first sort and classify what you are hearing.
(b) And then try to analyse the implications, the applications, benefit or
damage of the information.
6.2.4 Responding
(a) It refers to acting on the message.
(b) After evaluating, when you have analysed the message, you should then
respond on the same based on your understanding.
(c) Response may be positive, negative or neutral.

Look at the Figure 6.2 which depicts the receptive listening skill
development and expressive skill development.

Figure 6.2: Receptive and expressive listening skills

Source: http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Images/Clerc/receptive-expressive.gif
SELF-CHECK 6.2
Explain the stages of listening process.
ACTIVITY 6.3
Try to ponder on any incidence that led to unwanted response from

your side due to ineffective listening skills.

6.3 OBSTACLES TO LISTENING

A number of factors can reduce our listening effectiveness, and subsequently, the
fidelity of our communication. Look at cartoon depicted in Figure 6.3 which
shows the significance of effective listening skills. These include several
inaccurate assumptions that many people make about the process. They also
include a variety of physical, cultural, and psychological barriers that need to be
understood and taken into account.
Figure 6.3: Absence of effective listening may lead to disastrous results

Source: http://orrinwoodward.blogharbor.com/Listening%20Cartoon.jpg
6.3.1 Inaccurate Assumptions about Listening

Ineffective listening may result from inaccurate assumptions. There are at least
four common misconceptions made by poor listeners and are given as under:
(a) „Listening is easy‰: In our discussion about recreational listening, we

indicated that thinking about listening as „fun‰ or „relaxation‰ changes the
way we attend to and understand what is being communicated. A common
misconception related to this idea is that „all listening is easy.‰ Certainly,

some of the listening we do is easy but most of it definitely is not as we

have emphasised effective listening is a complex activity that requires
effort. Moreover, good listeners are not „born‰; they are made ă through
hard work. Approaching listening with the assumption that it is effortless,
amusement, play, or in other way just „easy‰ is certain to lead to difficulties
in interactions with others.
(b) „ItÊs just a matter of Intelligence‰: A second common misconception about

listening is that all smart people listen well. The conclusion that seems to
follow from such an assumption is that „I am smart, therefore I am already
a good listener.‰ Unfortunately, this is a non sequitur (not a logical
conclusion). Smart people, dumb people, or those in between can be either
good or bad listeners.
(c) „Listening requires no planning‰: A popular belief is that because we

engage in a great deal of listening every day, we need not plan in order to
do it more effectively. That is, the large amount of listening we do routinely
automatically makes us good listeners. This is a totally inaccurate
assumption. It is true that all of us engage in numerous communication
interactions every day, and that whenever we assume the role of a receiver
in an interaction we do something that resembles listening. Unfortunately,
most of us neither practice good listening skills nor have the ability to
assess the effectiveness of our own listening behaviour.
What do we actually learn, then, from most of the listening we routinely do

on a day-to-day basis? We learn almost nothing. Effective listening follows
from having planned carefully, not just from sheer frequency of doing it.
(d) „Read better, listen better‰: A rather curious but misguided assumption is
that by improving our reading ability, we will also improve our ability to
listen. This idea is founded on the belief that there is a transfer to what is
acquired in learning one skill to another, even though what is learned is
different. This is an interesting idea, but no educational research has shown
that this transfer actually occurs. There are certain skills that can generalise
across a variety of activities, such as being able to run fast, which probably
would help in making a touchdown at a football game. But listening and
reading are not based on enough common skills to allow for the same kind
of transfer.

6.3.2 Barriers to Listening

Let us now explore the barriers to listening.
(a) Physiological Barriers

(i) Hearing impairment: Sometimes poor listening can be traced to
hearing deficiencies. However, once these deficiencies are detected,
they can usually be treated.
(ii) Speaking-Thinking rate: According to an estimate, we speak at an
average of 125 to 150 words a minute. Our mind, however, can
process nearly 500 words per minute. This gives listeners a good deal
of spare time, which is often used for mental excursions ranging from
daydreaming to thinking about the speakerÊs hairstyle. Spending this
time for analysing the message would make for better listening.
(iii) Physical conditions: Although this may be obvious, it is surprising
how often physical noise can interfere with effective listening. Not so
obvious is the fact that many people tend to ignore such obstacles and
assume that they make no impact on their communication. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
Noise interference can come from any number of causes external to
listeners, and often these are beyond their control. They include
sounds caused by printers, typewriters, lawn mowers, dishes, aircraft,
or any other source such as uncomfortable seating arrangements that
physically interferes with our ability to hear. Other type of external
barriers are loud voices in the background that either distract us or
limit our ability to receive messages. If a speaker cannot be asked to
move to a quieter location, listening effort and concentration must be
especially high.
(b) Personal Problems

The most obvious personal conditions that can pose barriers to good
listening are those that affect us physically. Sickness, exhaustion, and
discomfort caused by illness, all influence our ability to listen effectively.
Overindulgence in alcohol, or even food, can leave an individual with a
reduced listening capacity. Another set of conditions that can reduce
personal well-being includes things we have on our mind that distract us ă
financial problems, a sick child, a stressful relationship with a loved one, a
preoccupation with a future event, and so on. We can also be so
overextended at work or study that we are unable to concentrate effectively
on other matters.

(c) Cultural Differences

Many of the problems of ineffective listening are brought about by cultural
differences between the communicating parties. Women in the workplace
often find that men „just do not get it‰ when they repeatedly tell them that
sexual advances are inappropriate in that setting. This is a classic case of a
cultural barrier to effective listening. We say that in part this
communication failure is brought about because of major differences in the
cultural worlds of traditional males versus contemporary working women.
Many men do not feel they have to listen because they already „know‰ how
women feel and what they want, namely the very attentions women find
objectionable.
Differences in cultural beliefs of this kind occur widely. Individuals from

low-income background can have difficulty in listening to the affluent,
management may not listen carefully to the complaints of labour, those
from dominant groups in society do not always hear what minority people
are saying. In all of these situations, pre-existing systems of beliefs are
shared within a particular group. Those beliefs define various features of
reality and make it difficult to listen what is being said by persons who
have different interpretations of those same features.
(d) Prejudices
A fourth set of barriers to effective listening, personal prejudices, come
from certain cultural differences found among various kinds of people in
society. Thus, individuals may share with others like themselves negative
attitudes based on unrealistic beliefs regarding a particular category of
people (e.g. stereotypes). The personal behaviour resulting from such
shared beliefs is a tendency to „prejudice‰ any member of the negatively
defined category, regardless of that personÊs individual merits.
Such prejudices can pose significant barriers to effective listening. They

prevent us from perceiving and understanding the actual characteristics,
abilities, or intentions of an individual simply because he or she is a
member of the negatively defined category. Thus, it does not matter what
that individual is actually saying, the message is perceived within the
framework of the stereotypes and other negative beliefs that are the basis of
the shared prejudice.
Prejudices can truly mislead us because, like the traditional males in our
discussion of sexual harassment, we may not even know that we hold a
particular bias. Thus, such an unaware predisposition can influence how
we listen, or fail to listen, without our actually realising it. We are not
referring here just to well-documented prejudices, such as those focusing
on race or ethnicity. They are obviously important. Beyond those, we may

have a difficult time listening objectively to someone of virtually any kind

of category if we are convinced that such people usually lack judgment or
cannot perform effectively in some areas. For example, we may „tune out‰
individuals who do not have a college education, who have limited income,
who are older, or younger, assuming that they could not possibly
appreciate the concerns and viewpoints of someone like ourselves.
Particularly subtle are prejudices concerning physical attractiveness. Many
people tend to overrate the competence and capacities of males or females
who are unusually handsome or beautiful, while seriously underestimating
the abilities of those who are unattractive or disabled.
Generally, then, prejudice against categories of people is an especially

difficult problem in listening. In all acts of perception we use labeled
categories as „concepts‰ to „make sense‰ out of the world around us. We
have to do that to achieve efficiency in coping with aspects of reality we
encounter repetitively. However, if we have prejudices toward a labeled
category of people, listening to what one of them is actually saying is
influenced by the schemata of beliefs we have constructed for that entire
category. Like the mirrors in amusement parks that distort images, such
prejudicial schemata cause misleading interpretations that contort the
meanings we construct as we process their messages. That is, our beliefs
about the entire category in which that person can be classified become part
of her or his incoming message. In this way, we construct meanings and
interpretations that were never intended by the source of the message, and
the index of fidelity is reduced as accuracy is eroded.
(e) Connotative Meanings

A final category of barriers to effective listening is represented by the
connotative meanings we read into messages. Connotative meanings are
those personal, subjective and unshared interpretations we have for verbal
and non-verbal symbols and signs. Obviously, these are not part of the
meanings intended by the source, and when we build them into our
interpretations of an incoming message, listening is impaired and accuracy
in the communication is reduced.
The influence of connotative meanings on accuracy is a difficult one. It

stems from the fact that both senders and receivers have connotative
meanings associated with the symbols used in a message. The former
unknowingly use them in encoding messages; the latter in decoding and
interpretation. It is a difficult problem because it is hard to detect. We have
all come away from encounters feeling that we completely understood and
totally agreed with someone. Later we discover that the other person recalls
a completely different version of what took place and what we thought the
agreements were. Often, we conclude that the person either has a faulty

memory or is deliberately misinterpreting what was said. What we may be

experiencing in this situation is an erosion of accuracy in communication
due to the very different connotative meanings in the encoding/decoding
processed of sender and receiver.
What can be done about this influence on listening? Very little. Usually,
neither party realises their inability to separate connotative and denotative
meanings. However, as listeners, we can be aware of the problems. If we
find ourselves in that stressful situation of recalling a communication
differently than the other person, we can then search for sources of
connotative confusion brought into the transaction by each individual.
(f) Poor Listening Habits

Listening like much of human behaviour, tends to follow consistent
patterns. Most of us develop certain bad listening habits that eventually
create a pattern. Four of the most common bad habits are:
Faking attention: Many of us fake attention so as not to appear

discourteous. However, this can become habitual, and turn out to be a
barrier to effective listening.
Listening only for facts: In looking only for the facts, we often forget to
locate the main idea.
Message overload: When you are forced to listen to a quick succession of

messages, then after a point your receptivity dulls. You find it impossible to
listen attentively. Coping with a overflow of information is like juggling ă
you can keep only a few things going at a time.
Egocentrism: Many people are poor listeners because they are overly
concerned with themselves. Three personal concerns dominate their
listening behaviour. These can be summed up in three sentences:
(i) I must defend my position.
(ii) I already know what you have to say.
(iii) How am I coming through?
These concerns set up effective barriers that destroy the critical link
between speaker and listener.

Table 6.1 summarises the barriers to effective listening.
Table 6.1: Barriers to Effective Listening
Physical Distractions Differences in Sender and Receiver

 Noise  Education
 Interruptions  Age
 Uncomfortable setting  Culture
 Background/experience
Mental Distractions Speaker Characteristics
 Differences in sending and  Unclear, nonspecific message
receiving messages  Lack of sympathy for listener
 Preoccupation with other  Distracting appearance,
matters mannerisms, voice, xpressions,
 Developing a response rather etc.
than listening  Suspect motive (coercive)
 Inappropriate timing
Listener Characteristics Speaker/Listener Hindrance
 Poor listening habits  Various interpretation of
 Unreceptive to new and verbal/non-verbal message
different ideas  Lack of feedback (verbal/
 Lack of empathy for sender non-verbal)
 Negative feelings about the  Lack of trust
speaker  Intimidation or fear caused by
 Low interest level position/status of speaker
 Unwilling to concentrate
Adapted from William C. Himstreet, Wayne Murlin Baty, & Carol M. Lehman (1993).
Business Communications, (10th ed.). California: Wadsworth Publishing
Complany. p. 45.
SELF-CHECK 6.3
„Ineffective listening may result from inaccurate assumptions.‰Do

you agree ? Why or why not?

6.4 EMPATHIC LISTENING

Empathic ÂlisteningÊ is entirely from the listenerÊs perspective. But the speaker
too, to a certain extent, influences the way in which others listen to the message.
Of course, this is not to suggest the entire onus of communicating a message is on
the speaker ă a notion that is alarmingly popular among most poor listeners. But
the speaker can use certain techniques to encourage more effective learning.
(a) Try to Empathise

Speak to your listeners. To do this you must understand them ă understand
how they will respond to your ideas. The best way to do this is to imagine
yourself in their position. This will help you to remove uninteresting and
difficult parts that may be irrelevant or could be made more easily
understandable by being put in a different way.
(b) Adjust your Delivery

Make sure the listeners have no difficulty hearing you. You can retain
listenersÊ interest by modulating your voice and making your speech as
lively as you can without sounding ridiculous. A dull monotone often
induces mental lethargy and turns listeners off.
(c) Utilise Feedback

As the listener can use feedback to improve the communication, so can the
speaker. Be sensitive to listener responses. Ask yourself: Are they paying
attention? Do they look interested? Do they look confused? Are they bored?
Answering these questions will help you to make the necessary
adjustments and tailor your message to the needs of the audience.
(d) Be Clear
Know your purpose. What is the main point that you are trying to make? If
you are not clear about what you want to say and why you want to say it,
you are likely to ramble aimlessly and it is very difficult to pay attention to
disconnected and disjointed wanderings.
(e) Be Interesting
To be interesting you must first of all be interested in what you have to say.
Lack of interest on the speakerÊs part communicates itself immediately to
the listeners and dulls their own response. Lively, stimulating and relevant
speech always has a better chance of capturing the audienceÊs attention.

SELF-CHECK 6.4
What is unique feature of empathic listening?
6.5 LISTENERS IN CONTROL

Though it is difficult to control listeners but they can be controlled to some extent
by realising the importance of planning. We have presented in a systematic
manner the principal factors that can provide the basis of an effective plan for
improving personal listening skills. Clearly, the details of such a plan will
depend greatly on the personal characteristics and circumstances of individuals,
the kinds of communication situations they frequently encounter, the degree of
their determination to learn and improve, and their current level of skills.
However, before discussing the general features of such a plan, it seems fair to
ask: Is it really necessary, or even realistic, to work out a systematic personal plan
for effective listening? The answer is that it depends upon each individual. The
decision will depend on some combination of oneÊs goals and aspirations, plus
oneÊs motivations and self-discipline. However, one thing is certain ă ineffective
listeners with low motivation are not likely to formulate such a plan, and they are
most likely to be unable to improve their skills. If that is the case, as we have
shown, the consequences will be bleak.
Those who really want to improve their listening skills need to recognise at the
outset that it will have costs. No one claims that it is easy and enjoyable, and it
may seem like more trouble than it is worth. In todayÊs complex world, social
skills are far more important than manual or even technical ones. It is those
individuals with high competency in relating to and influencing people of all
kinds of background and cultural origins who become executives,
administrators, successful professionals, and (generally) leaders in their fields.
Those social skills depend heavily on being able to communicate effectively,
which as our simultaneous transactions model shows, includes being a first-rate
receiver and listener.
6.5.1 Features of a Sound Plan

Developing a strategy for effective listening involves incorporating all of the
factors we have discussed in this chapter. Such a plan can be viewed as a series of
steps we can take to make use of those features that will improve both our
listening skills and our ability to interpret messages more accurately. Listed

below are seven specific activities that provide the broad outlines for improving
competence in listening:
(a) Understanding your current listening skills
Each of us is a unique individual who performs the task of listening in
characteristic ways. The individual attributes that influence how well you
listen are called your receiver eccentricities. You need to understand your
own eccentricities as a beginning point for an effective listening plan.
(b) Preparing yourself for listening
Begin to prepare yourself by understanding the concept of sender/receiver
reciprocity. This requires you to be open and sensitive to all kinds of source
persons and to the content of what they are saying.
(c) Control and concentration
This requires learning to concentrate actively on what a person is saying.
Such concentration rests on the distinction between active and passive
listening. Such concentration must be selective, of course, with the greatest
effort directed toward important messages and screening out irrelevant
ones.
(d) Show alertness and interest
It is important to appear to be listening, even if your attention sometimes
wanders from what a speaker is saying. The act of trying to show interest
actually does result in more effective attention to and understanding of a
senderÊs message.
(e) Search actively for meaning
Search actively for the essential meanings in messages being sent by a
source, and summarise them on an ongoing basis in your own terms. Seek
every clue to take into account how the senderÊs special background may
influence what is being said.
(f) Keep active while listening
This can be difficult, but it pays off. Avoid slipping into a passive manner
of receiving, with accompanying daydreaming and distraction. Keeping
active may require changes in behaviour such as adjusting posture, more
active breathing, or other shifts away from a relaxed mode.
(g) Suspend judgment about message and source
Premature judgments about a personÊs intentions, qualifications, or actual
positions can interfere with what is being said. It is essential, therefore, to
withhold early closure about the real meanings being transmitted, and wait
until after the entire message has been heard.

6.6 TRAPS FOR LISTENERS

Ineffective feedback and not understanding the difference between good and bad
listeners are two major traps for listeners.
6.6.1 Good Listeners and Bad Listeners

Regardless of whether the situation calls for appreciative, active listening,
listening skills can be improved with critical discrimination or conscious effort.
Table 6.2 shows the differences between good listeners and bad listeners and
some of the specific steps you can take to become a good listener.
Table 6.2: Distinguishing Good Listeners from Bad Listeners
To Listen Effectively The Bad Listener The Good Listener

1. Find area of interest Tunes out dry subjects Opportunizes; asks, „what
is in it for me?‰
2. Judge contents, not Tunes out if delivery is Judges content; skips over
delivery poor delivery errors
3. Hold your fire Tends to enter into DoesnÊt judge until
arguments comprehension is complete;
interrupts only to clarify
4. Listen for ideas Listens for facts Listens for central themes
5. Be flexible Takes extensive notes Takes fewer notes, uses to
using only one system five different systems,
depending on speaker.
6. Work at listening Shows no energy output; Works hard; exhibits active
fakes attention body state
7. Resist distractions Is distracted easily Fights or avoids
distractions; tolerates bad
habits; knows how to
concentrate
8. Exercise your mind Resists difficult expository Uses heavier material as
material, seeks light, exercise for the mind
recreational material
9. Keep your mind open Reacts to emotional words Interprets emotional words,
does not get hung up on
them
Adapted from C. L. Bovee & J. V. Thil. (1995). Business Communication. New York:
McGraw. p. 571.

(a) Be Motivated to Listen

When you resolve that you will listen, an improvement in your listening
skills will become immediately noticeable. Researchers have concluded that
the more motivated a listener is, the more active and alert he becomes as a
receiver. Though motivation alone cannot solve all problems in listening, it
is the first prerequisite to becoming a good listener.
(b) Be Prepared to Listen

Sometimes you need to make some preparation beforehand in order to
listen effectively to a particular piece of communication. It is helpful to
gather as much relevant information as you can about the subject, the
speaker, and the situation. This will help you to better understand and
appraise what the speaker is saying. Preparations could also include
attempts to minimise physical barriers between yourself and the speaker
and to eliminate all distractions in the environment.
(c) Be Objective
From your own experiences, you would have noticed that you are more
receptive to a message when you approach it with an open mind.
To be objective, one must avoid jumping to conclusions. Keep your critical

faculties on the alert but do not make a judgment until all points are fully
developed. If you make a judgment too fast, there is always the danger that
you may fail to register things the speaker says that may not exactly tie in
with your judgment. Objective listening entails a conscious effort to keep
our emotions and prejudices at bay.
(d) Be Alert to all Cues

Look for the speakerÊs main ideas. The speakerÊs voice quality, inflection,
emphasis and body movement can all offer vital clues to what the speaker
feels is most important. Besides, these cues also give you insights into the
emotional content of the speakerÊs message, which must be taken into
consideration if the message is to be fully understood.
(e) Make Good use of the Thinking-speaking Time Difference

As mentioned earlier, we normally think much faster than we speak. If you
are a listener you can use this gap to your advantage by mentally
summarising and reviewing what the speaker has said. Focus on what the
speaker is saying, rather that on what would be appropriate response to the
message.
(f) Use Feedback

Using feedback is one way we can get more from our communication
encounters. Sometimes this feedback may be as simple as telling the

speaker that you do not understand. This lets you hear the message again.
While using feedback, make sure the speaker receives the message, that
there is no ambiguity about your feedback and that your feedback is related
to what is going on.
(g) Practice Listening

Proficiency in listening, like in any other skill, is the result of conscious
effort. Many of the barriers to effective listening can be successfully
overcome through practice. Force yourself to listen to speeches and lectures
that seem to hold no obvious interest value. Doing this will help you
overcome the temptation to „switch off‰ when the messages seem dull or
difficult.
(h) Use Verbal and Non-verbal Cues to Encourage the Speaker

The listener can use a number of verbal and nonverbal cues to aid the
speaker in communicating. Establishing eye contact with the speaker can go
a long way in reassuring him or her. Looking out of window while
somebody is speaking does little for the morale of the speaker. Sometimes
nodding the head slightly or casual remarks like ÂI seeÊ can tell the speaker
that you are actively involved in the communication process. Even an act as
simple as smiling can offer warmth and support to the speaker and help
him to get over his nervousness.
SELF-CHECK 6.5
What are the major traps for listeners?
ACTIVITY 6.4
Write the characteristics of good and bad listeners in the space given
below:

6.6.2 Feedback
Communication is a two-way process through the use of feedback. It is easy to
give positive feedback to people doing well, or in general to give information
that people want to hear. Most of us do this pretty well. It is giving negative
feedback or information people do not want to hear that is far more problematic,
of course. Feedback taps basic human needs ă to improve, to compete, to be
accurate. Feedback can be reinforcing, if given properly, feedback is almost
always appreciated and motivates people to improve.
Active listening provides important feedback to the speaker. It can show

acceptance or rejection of the message or ideas. It can indicate the accuracy of
understanding, with or without a judgment being made. Questions can be asked.
The degree of open-mindedness of the listener can be shown. Support for a
position or an idea can be demonstrated. Interest in, empathy with, and
sympathy for the speaker can be expressed. In addition, it may encourage the
speaker to provide more information, to disclose more about the issue or
himself/herself, or to make midcourse adjustments in what he or she is saying in
order to achieve the desired objectives. During this process, prejudgment and
selecting out of unpleasant, difficult, or undesirable messages may occur and
may be evident. Silence and motionlessness are terribly annoying and deadly
responses to a speaker.
(a) Characteristics of Feedback

Feedback from the listener is essential for effective interpersonal
communication, and there must be several vital components to the
feedback:
(i) Empathy
The ability of a person to imagine or perceive themselves in another
personÊs situation, to see things as they see them. At times,
understanding the feelings of the speaker may be more important
than the message itself.
When empathy is expressed, the listener indicates a deeper level of

understanding and closeness with the speaker. On the other hand,
objectivity and detachment, the opposite of empathy, may at times
be appropriate.
(ii) Paraphrasing
It is a valuable technique for learning the process of active listening.
Here the listener uses his or her own words to express
understanding of the message. In the process, the speaker has the

opportunity to expand, deemphasise, modify, or correct the message

or paraphrased statement.
(iii) Immediacy
Verbal, one-to-one, direct, interpersonal communication has the
tremendous advantage of permitting immediate responses.
Immediacy gives feedback greater impact. Its influence and
importance are of benefit to both the speaker and listener. Telephone
communication is not as effective as direct communication because
non-verbal transmitters are sharply limited to sound, but it is much
better than written communication.
(iv) Clarity
If feedback is immediate, it is usually clear that it is in response to
the message that was just given by the speaker, be it in verbal or
non-verbal form. These responses should clearly and accurately
represent the message the listener wants to send, e.g.,
understanding, agreement, disagreement, empathy, support, etc.
(v) Appropriateness
Feedback must be appropriate to the situation. It must make a clear
distinction between a response to the message and a response to the
speaker, as an individual. Because appropriateness is a culturally
learned concept, the situation will determine what is considered to
be appropriate.
(vi) Informative
Effective feedback involves the sharing of information and
observations. It does not include advice unless you have permission
or advice was requested. The provision of information is the essence
of feedback.
(vii) Honesty
The best feedback is sincerely and honestly provided to help. We
want feedback to honestly represent the message the receiver wants
to send back to the speaker. If you do not understand a message,
indicate that you do not understand. In spite of the need for honesty
in oneÊs responses, honesty has to be balanced with discretion. Being
frankly honest may communicate insensitivity, cruelty, or even
hostility. This is likely to result in defensiveness, signaling the end to
effective communication. It is important to recognise that feedback is
not always direct; some involves subtlety and implication. This may
be quite appropriate at times. Just as sending feedback is important,
effective reception of interpersonal feedback is also important and

has at least five characteristics: sensitivity, specificity, open-

mindedness, supportiveness, and helpfulness.
(viii) Sensitivity
The speaker must look at the receiver of a message and establish
eye-to-eye contact, or most of the feedback message will be lost,
because most of it is transmitted through non-verbal channels.
Sensitivity to the various channels (parts of the body) through which
non-verbal messages can be sent is essential. Restless motion,
perspiration, crossed arms, and frowning may be just a few of the
messages being transmitted. Caution is suggested in regard to the
interpretation of non-verbal messages. Errors in interpretation are
likely to occur if they are not interpreted in clusters.
(ix) Open-mindedness
If oneÊs mind is closed or if an evaluation or judgment is made too
early, feedback may stop coming and the speaker will be short-
changed.
(x) Supportiveness
Supporting is an essential component of active listening. But support
must be given at appropriate times or it can be interpreted as being
superficial, disinteresting, lacking in understanding, or confusing or
may make the speaker feel worse than he or she did.
(xi) Helpfulness
The giving of support and information to the sender of feedback are
means of being helpful to that person. It encourages more feedback,
which can be directed in such a way that it is specific and
meaningful.
(xii) Problem Oriented, not People Oriented

Effective feedback always focuses on a specific behaviour, not on a
person or their intentions. It is important that we refer to what a
person does rather than to what we think he is.
(xiii) Specific
Effective feedback is specific, not general. For example, „The report
you turned in yesterday was well-written, understandable, and
made your points about the budget very effectively.‰ Do not say,
„good report.‰

(xiv) Descriptive, not Evaluative

People more readily receive information if the sender describes shat
happened and communicates the personal effect it had, as opposed
to evaluating its goodness or badness, rightness or wrongness.
(xv) Validating, not invalidating

It is important to acknowledge the other personÊs uniqueness and
importance.
(xvi) Owned, not Disowned

Use „I have a problem with your work‰, not „others have been
complaining‰.
(xvii) Matches Words with Deeds

Make sure your body language and tone do not contradict the words ;
given directly and with real feeling.
(b) Techniques of Feedback

Focus the discussion on the information needed: Judy, I have noticed in the
past month that youÊve fallen behind on keeping the project schedule
current. I would like to figure out with you what we both can do to get it
back on track.
Use open-ended questions to expand the discussion: You have always kept
the schedule up to the minute, until about a month ago. Why the change?
Use closed ended questions to prompt for specifics: „What projects are you
working on that take time away from your work on this project (warning:
closed ended questions are often disguised as open ended as in „Are you
going to have trouble finishing this project?)
Encourage dialogue through eye contact and expression: This involves

nodding in agreement, smiling, leaning toward the speaker, making
statements that acknowledge the speaker is being heard.
State your understanding of what you are hearing: This can be done by
restating briefly what the other person is saying but do not make fun of it.
‰So it sounds like these phone calls have ended up taking a lot more time
than you or Jay expected; you think the three of us should talk about
priorities; is this your position?‰
Summarise the key points: Try to get some agreement on the next steps and
show appreciation for the effort made so far. „So let us call Jay right now

and set up a time when we can meet and iron this out; keeping the schedule
updated is a high priority and I would like to get this settled by
Wednesday.‰
In giving feedback it is important to use the following techniques:
(i) State the constructive purpose of the feedback („Charlie, I am upset

about some things you say about production control in scheduling
meetings; it is important to me that we talk about it.‰)
(ii) Give the other person an opportunity to respond: try „what do you
think‰
(iii) Focus on what is said and done, not why. The „why‰ involves
assumptions regarding motive or intent and this tends to alienate
the person, generate resentment, suspicion, and distrust. If we are
uncertain of his/her motives or intent, this uncertainty itself is
feedback, however, and should be revealed.
(iv) Check to insure clear communication. One way of doing this is to

have the receiver try to rephrase the feedback. No matter what the
intent, feedback is often threatening and thus subject to considerable
distortion or misinterpretation.
(v) Check to determine degree of agreement from others. Such

„consensual validation‰ is of value to both the sender and receiver.
(vi) Pay a lot of attention to the consequences of the feedback. The

supervisor needs to become acutely aware of the effects of his
feedback.
(vii) Be ready to receive feedback yourself while avoiding defensiveness;

the information may be valuable; ask for clarification, summarise,
check for accuracy, listen carefully; mentally note questions;
paraphrase what you have heard
(viii) It is an important step toward authenticity. Constructive feedback

opens the way to a relationship which is built on trust, honest, and
genuine concern and mutual growth.
(ix) Offer specific suggestions.

(c) Guidelines for Effective Feedback

Following the guidelines to effective feedback can go a long way to limit
these kinds of reactions but we need to be conscious of them nonetheless
and be ready to react appropriately.
When we are on the receiving end of feedback we should be careful to

avoid these pitfalls. Try to keep these points in mind.
(i) Try not to be defensive
(ii) Check on possible misunderstanding („Let me restate what I am

hearing‰)
(iii) Gather information from other sources
(iv) Do not overreact
(v) Ask for clarification.
(d) Why Managers are often Reluctant to Provide Feedback?

As important as feedback is, this critical managerial task remains one of the
most problematic. Many managers would rather have root canal work than
provide feedback to another-especially feedback that might be viewed as
critical. Why are managers so reluctant to provide feedback? The reasons
are many:
(i) Fear of the other personÊs reaction; people can get very defensive and
emotional when confronted with feedback and many managers are
very fearful of the reaction;
(ii) The feedback may be based on subjective feeling and the manager
may be unable to give concrete information if the other person
questions the basis for the feedback;
(iii) The information on which the feedback is based (e.g., performance

appraisal) may be a very flawed process.
(iv) Coach vs. Judge

Many managers would prefer to being a supportive coach than judge;
feedback often forces a change in the relationship from friend to
friend to parent-child. Some have called this „playing God.‰

ACTIVITY 6.5
There is checklist for evaluating your feedback effectiveness as given
below. Try to conduct a feedback session using it.
Before engaging in a feedback session, it might be helpful to answer

these questions:
(a) What is your purpose in giving the feedback?
(b) What specific actions do you want to reinforce or correct? What
are the consequences of the action?
(c) What suggestions might be helpful?
(d) What pitfalls might occur during this interview?
(e) How do you plan to overcome the pitfalls?
After the interview you might address these issues:

(a) Did the feedback accomplish your purposes?
(b) What specifically did you do?
(c) What specifically were his/her reactions and your reactions?
(d) Did you follow the principles of supportive communication?
(e) Where did you fall short?
(f) How well did you focus on the situation, issue, behaviour and
not the person?
(g) How well did you maintain the self-esteem of the other?
(h) How well did you lead by example?
 Effective listening is one of the most important of all communication skills

required in the counseling process. Fortunately, it is one that we acquire as a
result of learning. This means it can be analysed, understood and improved.
 Listening can be defined as a process in which individuals make the
necessary effort to maximise their attention to, and comprehension of, what is
being communicated to them by one or more people in their immediate
environment.

 People listen to acquire information they need, to evaluate incoming

messages, and for recreation.
 Listening to listen well is an important part of getting along with others,
influencing people, and getting them to think of us in positive terms, and this
skill helps us to understand the requirements of a wide variety of social
situations.
 Listening effectiveness is reduced to the extent that people assume listening is
easy; that it is just a matter of intelligence and that it requires no planning.
 Barriers to effective listening arise from five major sources: physical
conditions, personal problems that are distracting, cultural differenced that
exist between sender and receiver, personal prejudices that lead to distorted
perceptions of senders, and connotative meanings that make it difficult to
reconstruct what another person is trying to say.
 A systematic plan to improve listening skills includes understanding your
own current skills, preparing to listen, controlling levels of concentration,
showing alertness and interest, searching for full meaning of a message,
maintain a high level of effort, and suspending judgments that can be
influenced by biases and prejudices.
Connotative meanings Receiver eccentricities

Criteria (in listening) Social Efficacy
Prejudice

1. Why do counselors rate listening as one of the top skills they are expected
to have?
2. Distinguish between good listeners and bad listeners.
1. Discuss the gains from effective listening.
2. What are the misconceptions and barriers that impair listening?

Topic  Life Career
Development
7 and
Counselling
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Define important terms related to life career development and
counselling;
2. Explain career development;
3. Discuss occupational choice-making; and
4. Explain the process of life career counselling.
 INTRODUCTION
In the previous topic you studied about the effective listening skills and their
relevance in counselling. In this topic, you will study about the most common
type of counselling known as career counselling. Various far-reaching changes
are occurring in the nature and structure of the personal/social and family
systems in which people live. Moreover, there are dynamic changes in the
industrial and occupational structures where they work.
In the present scenario, people are looking for meaning and coherence in their
lives, specifically as they think about the work they do, their situation as family
members and as individuals, their involvement in their community, their role in
education and training, and their involvement in leisure activities. Caught up in
the consequences of various far-reaching changes, more and more individuals of
all ages and situations are seeking help from counselors. They are looking for
helping them to deal with the increasingly complex and dynamic world in which

150  TOPIC 7 LIFE CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND COUNSELLING
they live, with situations and conditions they feel are generally beyond their
control.
7.1 DEFINITIONS RELATED TO LIFE CAREER

DEVELOPMENT AND COUNSELLING
Before we proceed further, you should learn some definitions related to life
career development and counselling.
(a) Career
Jones and others (1972) defined career as encompassing a diversity of
possible patterns of personal preference related to an individualÊs total
lifestyle, together with occupation, education, personal and social
behaviour, learning how to learn, social responsibility, and leisure time
activities.
(b) Life Career Development

Gysbers and Moore (1975) proposed the concept of life career development
in an attempt to expand and broaden career development from an
occupational point of view to a life perspective in which occupation (and
work) has place and meaning. They defined life career development as self-
development over the life span through the integration of the roles,
settings, and events of a personÊs life.
Figure 7.1: R.L. Moore
(c) Career Development Theory

It can be defined as the theory base and knowledge regarded necessary for
professionals engaging in career counselling and development.

TOPIC 7 LIFE CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND COUNSELLING  151
(d) Supervision
It is knowledge and skills considered essential in critically evaluating
counselor performance, maintaining and improving professional skills, and
seeking help for others when required in career counselling.
(e) Career Counselling

It is a largely verbal process in which a counsellor and counsellee(s) are in a
dynamic and collaborative relationship, focused on identifying and acting
on the counseleeÊs objectives, in which the counsellor employs a repertoire
of various techniques and processes, to help bring about self-
understanding, understanding of behavioural options available, and
informed decision-making in the counsellee, who has the responsibility for
his or her own actions (Herr and Cramer, 1996).
SELF-CHECK 7.1
Define life career development.
7.2 CAREER DEVELOPMENT

According to Sears(1982), career development is the term which depicts the total
constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical and
chance factors that combine to shape oneÊs career. Look at Figure 7.2, for better
understanding.
Figure 7.2: Career development

7.2.1 Career Development Theory

Career Development Theory is the theory base and knowledge regarded
necessary for professionals engaging in career counselling and development. It
focuses on the following:
(a) Role relationships which helps in life-work planning.
(b) Counselling theories and related techniques.
(c) Theoretical models for career development and related counselling and
information-delivery techniques and resources.
(d) Theories and models of career development.
(e) Individual differences associated with gender, sexual orientation, race,
ethnicity, and physical and mental capacities.
(f) Human growth and development throughout the life span.
(g) Information, techniques, and models associated with career planning and
placement.
7.2.2 Eight Critical Steps to Career Development

The steps to career development are as shown in the Figure 7.3.
Figure 7.3: Steps to career development

Source: http://www.highlandsco.com/career-development.php

(a) Assessing the Abilities

The first and the foremost step is to develop individualÊs abilities by
requiring him/her to perform job samples that test the speed at which he
can do an assigned task. By requiring the individual to perform a timed job
sample, he/she can acquire more knowledge about his/her capability to
perform that task than by any other means. The results enable the
individual to plot his or her career development.
(b) Analysing the Skills

It is significant to note down that skills are developed and learned while
abilities are hereditary. Skills are those function-driven tasks an individual
has learned to perform well. They are developed over time with study,
education, application and practice. To the extent an individual takes
benefit of her innate abilities in developing a skill, the skill will be acquired
more swiftly, without difficulty and fully and would eventually facilitate
career development.
(c) Knowing the Interests

Over the time, a person develops interests inimitable to him/her. When
these are identified and recognised, the individual can be assisted to merge
these with the abilities to attain a fuller and more integrated use of both
(interests and abilities) in career development.
(d) Understanding Personal Style

Every individual has developed speech patterns, body language, social
devices, and personality traits unique to him/her. As other individuals
respond either more or less positively to a personÊs personal style, it is
significant to recognise its ingredients in each individual to allow that
individual to relate better to other people.
(e) Reliving the Family History

An individualÊs background and family shapes his/her life and work ethic.
You should promote each individual to examine and understand how the
familyÊs history and intrafamily relationships have affected him/her.
(f) Relating to Values

An individualÊs values (i.e., the scale for judging good and evil, wise and
foolish, moral and immoral) define the reaction to people and events
around him/her. When a sense of his/her values is combined with
knowledge of other factors in the whole person, the individual is helped to
bring his/her plans and choices into sharper focus and to enhance his/her
career development.

(g) Reaching Objectives

Every person has objectives which control and drive his/her activities, both
every day and over the foreseeable future. The individual may hope to
adapt these objectives in light of his/her innate abilities.
(h) ClientÊs Career Development Cycle

Each individual faces important stages or transitions (Turning Points) in his
or her life. Few of them are work or career-related. These career issues are
sometimes self-created and sometimes caused by external forces (e.g.,
company downsizing). By defining and facing the issues confronting client
at the moment, one is able to help himself through these transitions and
empower himself to make better career development decisions.
7.2.3 Resources
It is significant for a career counselling centre to have some resources available
for students so that they can access information independently to help them in
their career decision-making. The amount of resources available depends partly
on the budget of the career counselling centre as well as the availability of such
resources. Few of these resources are mentioned below:
(a) Books
The kind of books that could be purchased comprise those that provide
information about different types of jobs, such as educational qualifications,
amount of pay and descriptions of the work. It is significant that the
information be up-to-date.
(b) Videos
Videos can be made accessible on various career topics for students to
watch. Videos are mainly useful on the topic of interviewing skills, where
students can watch examples of how to answer questions in a job interview.
If the recording equipment is available, it is also helpful to videotape
students as they practise interviewing skills. They can monitor themselves
as the video is played back and learn what went well and what requires to
be modified in their behaviour.
(c) Well-classified information on careers/jobs

It is valuable to have a classification system of jobs where particular jobs
that are associated have been grouped together. This kind of a system
permits individuals to increase their options when they are researching job
possibilities. In countries where this kind of a classification system is not
present, career counsellors may consider creating this type of a system
using classifications from other countries as a guide. It is significant that
this type of information be up-to-date, relevant, easily available, and
reflective of the nature of the work environment and current possibilities

for students. For instance, many books and resources are written in a way
that presumes a person will pursue one occupation all through his or her
working life. This is not reflective of the actuality in many countries and
there should be information offered on a diversity of options like self-
employment, part-time work, contract work and managing career
transitions.
(d) Career tests/assessments

In career counselling, career tests and assessments are frequently utilised to
offer information related to various areas, like interests or personality style.
Unfortunately, many of these assessments do not translate well cross-
culturally because of differences in cultural values and norms. Though,
there may be assessments offered that have been developed or translated to
fit the cultural context.
(e) College and university calendars

Colleges and universities usually print calendars describing the
programmes offered. It is helpful to have local, national and international
information related to various educational programmes that are offered.
These resources can also be accessed through CD ROM or the Internet.
(f) Computer-based information

Career counsellors are widely using internet resources and computer
assisted guidance systems. With the help of internet, individuals can easily
obtain career information from all around the world. Moreover, there are
also CD ROM or web-based career guidance systems that may be
purchased. Website addresses are almost endless but a few examples are
shown below:
www.myjobsearch.com
www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocecs/CRC/manualhome.html
www.bgsu.edu/offices/careers/process/process.html
Some examples of additional websites include:
United States: www.naceweb.org/about/default.cfm
Canada: www.cacee.com/index.html
In addition to providing access to the Internet for students, the career

counselling centre may also choose to construct its own website. On this
website, information can be provided for students and other interested
individuals. Frequently asked questions can be posted on the website as a
reference for students (Crozier, Dobbs, Douglas, & Hung, 1998).

(g) Journals
It is useful to have journals accessible so that those working with students
can inform themselves about new strategies, theories, and resources.
Names of few renowned career journals are as follows:
African Journal of Education Guidance and Counselling

Australian Journal of Career Development International Journal for
Educational and Vocational
Guidance
The British Journal of Guidance and Journal of Career Assessment
Counselling
The British Journal of Education and Work Journal of Career Development
Canadian Journal of Counselling Journal of Employment Counselling
The Career Development Quarterly Journal of Higher Education (India)
Career Guidance Study (Japan) Journal of Organisational Behaviour
Career Planning and Adult Development Journal of Vocational Behaviour
Journal
The Counsellor: Journal of Counselling Journal of Vocational Education and
Association of Nigeria Training
Occupational Outlook Quarterly Nigerian Journal of Guidance and
Counselling
Oriencacion y Sociedad (Argentina) South African Journal of Education
School Counselling Study (Japan) South African Journal of Higher
Education
Source: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001257/125740e.pdf
SELF-CHECK 7.2
1. Make a list of resources that can be used for career development.

2. Explain the eight critical steps to career development.

ACTIVITY 7.1
The following link would take you to the website of the National
Career Development Association (NCDA) which is a founding
division of the American Counselling Association (ACA). The main
objective of NCDA is to promote the career development of all
people over the life span. Go through the website and find out the
details of their working patterns.
http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/Home_Page
7.3 OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE-MAKING

Career counselling is a personalised process that includes both intuitive and
cognitive techniques to help understand oneself, explore career options, and
clarify and achieve desired objectives. The processes of career counselling offer
insight, guidance and support to help students to recognise and manage various
career and lifestyle issues.
Jones et al. (1970) proposed that the following five assumptions underlie the trait
factor conception of occupational choice-making:
(a) Vocational development is mainly a cognitive process in which the
individual utilises reasoning to arrive at a decision.
(b) Occupational choice is a single event.
(c) There is a single right objective for everyone making decisions regarding
work.
(d) A single type of person works in each job.
(e) There is an occupational choice available to each individual.
Occupational choice-making usually involves face-to-face interaction and

interaction by the use of telephone, letters, or Internet. Though, most significant
of all is the one-to-one interaction between the career counsellor and the client. A
career counsellor deals with people who are making career decisions and choices
or dealing with changes like choice of subjects, career changes, and joblessness.
The matter of career decision, and a studentÊs direction and progress towards
professional objectives usually play a critical role in the development of
individual identity and aim as well as positive self-esteem and interpersonal
functioning.

Occupational choice-making acts as a process of self-exploration and interest,

identification of the client and helps in career selection and decision-making.
Occupational Choice-making therefore spans both the internal psychology of the
person and external context of education and employment.
Occupational choice-making is a useful tool as it helps the students to evaluate

their abilities, interests, talents and personality characteristic to develop realistic
academic and career goals. Career counsellor also helps the individuals to decide
on career issues after exploring and evaluating their education, training, work
experience, interest, skills and personal traits and arrange for aptitude and
achievement tests. This facilitates the individual to develop job search skills like
resume writing and interviewing techniques.
SELF-CHECK 7.3
Explain the significance of occupational choice-making in your own

words.
7.4 OTHER FACTORS IN OCCUPATIONAL

CHOICE
Based on holland theory associated with Occupational Choice, there are six
basictypes of individuals and they choose their career as per their basic type.
They areexplained as follows:
Realistic: Theses type of individuals prefer the careers such as mechanical

engineer,production planner, building inspector, safety engineer, and marine
surveyor, etc.They like working outdoors, and enjoy to work with tools and
machines. Thistype of people usually prefers to work with things rather than
people.
Investigative: These type of individuals comprising of this class are

biochemist,orthodontist, anthropologist, economist, researcher, and management
analyst.They generally have mathematical and scientific capabilities, enjoy
working alone,enjoy research, and like to solve troubles. They like working with
ideas ratherthan with people or things.
Artistic: These type of Individuals likes careers, for instance, architect,

copywriter,technical editor, story editor, composer, stage director, interior
decorator, andcommercial designer. They like creating original work, and have a
good imagination.They wish to enjoy functioning with ideas rather than things.
Social: These type of individual prefer social careers like teacher,

clinicalpsychologist, psychiatric caseworker, personnel manager, paralegal
assistant, andspeech therapist. They have social skills and are interested in
human relationships,and likes to help others with troubles. They appreciate
working with people ratherthan with things.
Enterprising: These sort of individuals like the careers, for example, public
relationsrepresentative, financial planner, real estate agent, sales representative,
stockbroker,and attorney. They have leadership and speaking capabilities. They
prefer workingwith people and ideas instead of things.
Conventional: These type of individuals wish to have careers like as

accountant,cost clerk, bookkeeper, budget analyst, and business programmer.
They preferworking with words and numbers.
The career counsellor should assess following areas with the help of which the
counsellor can help the clients while choosing a career:
(a) The level of responsibility that suits him/her
(b) Interests
(c) Needs
(d) Aptitude
(e) Skills
(f) Personality
(g) Priorities
It is also significant to analyse the skills and capabilities of client for career
counselling as shown in Figure 7.4.

Figure 7.4: Analysing skills and capabilities of client for career counselling
ACTIVITY 7.2
Conduct some research around your town and/or community and

identify organisations and individuals to whom you can send
students for career counselling.
7.5 LIFE CAREER COUNSELLING

Modern theories of career development emerged from the literature during the
1950s. At that time the occupational choice stressing on the first 40 years of career
development was beginning to give way to a wider, more complete view of
individuals and their occupational development over the life span. In the 1960s,
knowledge about occupational choice as a developmental process increased
dramatically. Simultaneously, the terms career and career development were
famous, so that nowadays many people prefer them to vocation and vocational
development. This developed view of career and career development was more
helpful than the earlier view of career development as occupational choice. It
broke the time barrier before restricting the vision of career development to a
cross-sectional view of an individualÊs life.

7.6 THE PROCESS OF LIFE CAREER

COUNSELLING
The opening phase of the counselling process begins when clients share their
existing problems. Initially only problems are shared, but subsequently other
issues and concerns come into sight as the counselling process unfolds. Given
this situation, it is sensible to keep an open mind concerning clients and the
concerns and problems they bring to counselling. The wide-angle lens of the life
career development perspective helps us do just that. In addition to providing
clients with real-world language and real-world connections to help them
recognise and deal with their problematic issues, the life career development
perspective also gives counselors the same language and connections to use and
frame possibly appropriate material to process with clients. Counselors can
follow the following process:
(a) Discover clientsÊ views of themselves, others, and their worlds
(worldviews).
(b) Discover clientsÊ ways of making sense out of their past, present, and future
life roles, settings, events.
(c) Stress on cultural/racial/gender specific variables that may affect clientÊs
behaviour.
(d) Listen for spiritual, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and possible
disability issues that may be associated with clientsÊ problems.
(e) Listen for potential personal and environmental barriers or constraints that
may arise from clientsÊ home, school, or workplace.

ACTIVITY 7.3
Look at the picture and explain the life career rainbow.

You can take help of following link:
www.eoslifework.co.uk/boundaries.htm
Source: http://www.eoslifework.co.uk/Images/rainbowfig1.gif
 Career encompasses a diversity of possible patterns of personal preference

related to an individual's total lifestyle, together with occupation, education,
personal and social behaviour, learning how to learn, social responsibility,
and leisure time activities.
 Career Development Theory is the theory base and knowledge regarded
necessary for professionals engaging in career counselling and development.
 It is significant for a career counselling centre to have some resources
available for students so that they can access information independently to
help them in their career decision-making.
 There are six basic types of individuals and they choose their career as per
their basic type.

Career counselling Life career counselling

Career development Occupational choice-making
1. List and define important terms related to life career development and
counselling.
2. Explain career counselling.
1. What do you understand by occupational choice-making?
2. Explain the process of life career counselling.

Topic  Group
Counselling
8
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Explain the meaning of group counselling;
2. Relate counselling theory and group counselling; and
3. Discuss the characteristics of effective group.
 INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, there is an increase in the use of the method of group
counselling in various sectors of the society. This section comprises of schools,
colleges, community mental health clinics and other human service agencies. In
this topic you will study about group counselling in detail. Group Counselling
essentially involves a small group of members who join each other forming a
group with their own specific goals. They share their problems, provide empathy
and support to others. Moreover, as a consequence, try and change their self-
defeating behaviours. The group members are also facilitated in developing their
existing skills in dealing with inter-personal problems.
8.1 INTRODUCTION TO GROUP COUNSELLING

Group counselling can be defined as follows:
„Group Counselling may be termed as a process of psychotherapy in which a

small, cautiously selected group of individuals meet regularly with a counsellor
to pursue common objectives.‰

TOPIC 8 GROUP COUNSELLING  165
Group Counsellor should pursue the following:
(a) Facilitate interaction among the members,
(b) Assist them in establishing personal objectives,
(c) Support the members in the group,
(d) Help them learn from one another,
(e) Also provide unremitting empathy,
(f) Should verify whether the members have carried their learning experience
from the group and practiced it in the outside world.
Figure 8.1: Group counselling can also be a useful tool for negotiating and overcoming
personal differences

166  TOPIC 8 GROUP COUNSELLING
Stages in the development of the group are depicted in the Figure 8.2.
Figure 8.2: Stages in the development of the group
(a) Formation of the Group

It involves three steps as listed below:
(i) In this stage, clients are made aware about the group by making
announcements, putting posters, etc.
(ii) After this, the important step is screening and selection of group
members.
(iii) The third step includes briefing the members about the group plan, its
goals and also the group ethics.
(b) Initial Stage

This stage includes „Orientation and Exploration‰ which is focussed on
determining the structure of the group, getting acquainted and exploring
the memberÊs anticipation level. They also get acquainted on how the group
functions, define their own objectives and clarify their expectations.

(c) Transition stage

It involves dealing with resistance. This is quite a complicated phase where
the members deal with their anxiety, resistance and disagreement.
Moreover, the leader helps them deal and work with their shortcomings.
(d) Working stage

It involves dealing with „Cohesion and productivity‰. While going through
this stage, the members develop better cohesiveness; develop a sense of
belonging to the group. Moreover, it also focusses on in-depth exploration
of issues and also they robustly focus on bringing expected changes in
behaviour.
(e) Final stage

It includes „Consolidation and Termination‰. This is a time for
summarising, organising the loose ends and integrating the group
experience. Members may get a feeling of grief; they may also express their
nervousness because of separation. Moreover, members may also share
their experiences of being in the group with other members, they would be
able to get the information related to their insights and learning in the
group and the practical use of learning in the group. Planning is
encouraged for follow up meetings for accountability so as to allow
members to carry out their plans for change. The leader in turn should help
the members summarise their learnings by assisting them to develop a
conceptual framework for working. They should also develop explicit
contracts and home assignments as practical ways of making changes.
(f) Follow up sessions

They are initiated after the termination of main counselling sessions.
SELF-CHECK 8.1
In your own words, try to explain the concept of group counselling.
ACTIVITY 8.1
Following link will take you to a research paper on „Application of

Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in Group Counselling‰. Read it
carefully and try to analyse the conclusion.
http://www.eurojournals.com/ejss_10_2_15.pdf

8.2 COUNSELLING THEORY AND GROUP

COUNSELLING
Group counselling is as a matter of fact an effective form of learning experience
because the members get an opportunity to share their experiences, learn from
others, and also come to know that each person has similar difficulties and they
are not the only one struggling with present problem. Group Counselling is
fundamentally effective in a school or college setting since students find it easier
and enjoy learning with their peers given that the leader or the Counsellor is
efficient and maintains the ethical issues and standards proficiently and is able to
use his capability to the fullest and also his personality.
8.3 WHAT MAKES THE GROUP EFFECTIVE?

Effectiveness of the group depends on the group leader as he/she is the one who
coordinates all the activities of the group. Some personal characteristics are
necessary for the group leader for promoting growth in the memberÊs lives; the
leaders themselves should live development oriented lives. They are:
(a) Presence: Being emotionally present refers to the capability of being able to
share the joy and grief that others are facing which helps in being
empathetic and compassionate to the group members.
(b) Personal power: This aspect focusses on the group leader. He has to be
confident about oneself and facilitate the members towards empowerment.
(c) Courage: The group leader must be able to honestly recognise his faults,
confronting others.
(d) Willingness to confront oneself: The group leader should be modest and
moreover be capable of questioning himself, about his attitude, feelings,
biases, etc.
(e) He should be sincere.
(f) Authenticity should be considered.
(g) Sense of identity is must.
(h) Inventiveness and Creativity: They should be ready for new experiences,
share new ideas and not stick to traditional ritualistic methods.

Following are the details of a group-counselling programme for reducing

aggression.
We have chosen this study because it explains in detail the content of an effective
training programme designed to help children cope with their feelings of anger
and frustration. This study was reported in the review.
Twenty-four boys and girls aged nine to twelve in the US who had been selected
randomly from a pool of forty seven children nominated by their teachers as
behaving in an aggressive and hostile manner took part in the study. Half the
children were randomly allocated to receive the intervention; the other half was
assigned to a control group.
The researchers argued that disruptive behaviours, caused by children feeling

angry or frustrated, are best tackled by addressing the root cause of the problem
ă the angry feelings ă rather than by tackling the disruptive behaviour directly by
punishment. They suggested that punishing a child who throws things for
example, while feeling angry, does not allow the anger to disappear; it just
results in stopping an angry child throwing things. The aim of their programme
was to teach children how to handle their angry feelings, in order to prevent
disruptive behaviour occurring.
The intervention had three phases and was delivered by a trained counsellor
over ten sessions:
(a) Phase 1 was to help the children develop an understanding of anger and to
differentiate its positive and negative aspects.
(b) Phase 2 focused on incidents that had precipitated angry feelings in the
children in the past and discussed their reactions to them.
(c) Phase 3 provided opportunities for the children to practise appropriate

behaviours when they felt angry. This was accomplished by modelling,
role-playing and giving feedback.
The children took part in the following sequence of activities.
Name Tag Game
The children were given Âname tagÊ cards on which they wrote:
(a) Their names
(b) Four positive adjectives they believed described themselves

(c) Their favourite television programme
(d) Something they did which they were proud of
(e) Someone they admired
(f) A school subject they enjoyed.
The children discussed their name tags with a partner and then introduced each
other to the rest of the group. The counsellor presented the rules of the group (for
example, one person talking at a time, confidentiality, passing if the child had
nothing to say).
(a) Awareness of Feelings

The children drew pictures of various feelings that they had experienced.
When discussing these drawings, the counsellor discussed the positive and
negative aspects of the various feelings with an emphasis on the childrenÊs
responses to angry feelings.
(b) Specific Incidences of Feelings

The counsellor showed the children a Ferris wheel with seats of different
colours representing different feelings (gold = happy, pink = okay, red =
angry, blue = sad, white = so-so). The counsellor asked each child to:
(i) Suggest specific situations which made them feel happy, okay, angry,
sad, so-so (one for each colour on the wheel).
(ii) Choose the coloured seat that best represented how she/he would feel
in different situations suggested by the counsellor (such as getting full
marks on a test, being punched and falling over).
(iii) Choose the coloured seat that best represented how she/he would feel
in situations that would cause angry feelings (such as a friend stealing
something and blaming you, a teacher accusing you of cheating when
you were not and someone breaking a promise to you).
Finally, the students discussed their reactions and behaviours resulting from
their angry feelings in terms of positive and negative consequences.
(a) Reactions to Anger

The counsellor presented the children with more situations that would
typically result in angry feelings. The children discussed how they would
react and looked at their responses in terms of the seat colours on the Ferris
wheel (for example, remaining angry and being alone = blue, talking it

over, walking away = pink, giving it time to work out = white, hitting and
screaming = red). Then the children discussed alternative reactions that
would result in feeling happy (gold) or so-so (white) and whether or not
their individual responses were constructive or destructive.
(b) Making Choices

The counsellor suggested scenarios whereby the children would practice
decision-making skills. Emphasis was placed on weighing the pros and
cons of each situation in terms of the consequences.
(c) Alternative Reactions to Anger

The counsellor presented the children with situations that they would
normally feel angry about. Referring back to the Ferris wheel, each child
was asked to think of a different response for each of the colours and a
reason for choosing those alternatives. Then the children were asked to give
real life situations that made them feel angry, identify their usual response,
and finally, decide on a different, more appropriate response.
(d) Modelling Behaviours

The children suggested incidences that made them angry. The counsellor
role-played appropriate, constructive outcomes with positive results.
(e) Role-playing
The children were divided into groups of two or three. The counsellor gave
each of the groups a situation, such as, your parents promised that you
could see a movie this Saturday. At the last minute, they changed their
minds and said that you had to baby-sit your younger brother. The groups
role-played their reactions and the whole group discussed each of the
presentations. In the subsequent session, the groups were all given the
same angerprovoking situation. Each group role-played their reactions. The
whole group discussed the different presentations.
(f) Summary and Wrap-up

The children summarised their experiences during the previous ten weeks.
The counsellor answered their questions and the children shared their
reactions.
The researchers found a significant decline in teachersÊ ratings of

aggression and hostile isolation in the children who had been assigned to
the experimental group, compared with the control group. However, the
children displayed aggressive behaviour again, very soon after the sessions
finished, suggesting that the programme may need to be ongoing to
maintain the effect. Another explanation for the short-term effect could be
that the programme did not allow the children to gain control over their

learning or to internalise the learning. The extent of the impact of the

programme may also have been reduced because the class teacher had
revised his or her expectations of the childrenÊs behaviour, in view of the
training they had been given.
Source: http://www.gtce.org.uk/teachers/rft/strat1104/strat1104cs/casestudy2 /
ACTIVITY 8.2
After reading the details of group counselling programme, try to
analyse the result of the programme conduct.
 Group counselling essentially involves a small group of members who join

each other forming a group with their own specific goals, share their
problems, provide empathy and support to the others.
 Group counselling is fundamentally effective in a school or college setting.
 Effectiveness of group depends on the group leader as he/she is the one who
coordinates all the activities of the group.
Empathy Name Tag

Group counselling
1. What is group counselling?

2. Explain the different stages in the development of the group.
1. What are the characteristics of an effective group leader?

2. Analyse the importance of group counselling in the present scenario.

Topic  Counselling
in a
9 Multicultural
Society
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Relate cultural differences and counselling;
2. Discuss the barriers to multicultural counselling; and
3. Discuss about skilled multicultural counsellor.
 INTRODUCTION
Multicultural counselling is emerging as a significant component of counselling
practice in the present scenario. It seems impossible for counsellors to avoid
counselling clients who are culturally dissimilar from them. Even in the United
States, the estimated numbers of racial ethnic minorities will include the majority
of the US population by 2030. Even in Malaysia, our population is made up of
different races and cultures. Consequently, it is significant for counsellors to be
aware of the multicultural differences in society to ensure effectiveness of
counselling sessions while taking into account the principle of beneficence and
justice for all clients. In this topic, you will study more details about multicultural
counselling.

174  TOPIC 9 COUNSELLING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY
9.1 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND

COUNSELLING
Immigrants of today seem to differ from past generations in that they seek to
retain many of their cultural values and are less interested in becoming
homogenised within the US culture.
· Rubaii-Barrett & Back, 1993
This dissimilarity can create a potentially complicated situation for both the client
and therapist who may differ substantially in their own cultural values. For
successful therapy to take place, it is significant for counsellors to be culturally
sensitive with clients and avoid stereotyping. Stereotyping is a hampering
element to the client and counsellor relationship.
For instance, for many people, hearing the words „blonde hair‰ may bring to
their minds a myriad of blonde jokes that they might have heard which imply
that blondes lack the cleverness and mental equality of others simply because
their hair is blonde. Even though these jokes are laughable, but sometimes one
may find them, on more than one occasion, being treated as if those jokes were
proven and sustainable facts. Other stereotypes can involve certain religions, or
pertain to particular races, ages, or genders, and still others can relate to
non-verbal cultural gestures that may mean different things to different cultures.
(Look at Figure 9.1)
For instance, Ivey & Ivey (2007) use the example of Russians who shake their
heads from side to side to indicate an affirmative (or yes) response whereas
European cultures nod their heads up and down to indicate a positive
response. Even though counsellors cannot probably be experts on all cultures
and their particular customs, it is important for therapists to recognise
potential biases that cultural differences can create in the assessment process.
(Ayonrinde, 2003).
Cultural stereotyping can hamper good communication between the client and
counsellor and can be as destructive as ignoring cultural norms and beliefs
altogether. In the absence of familiarity with the specific cultural norms of a
client, we risk stereotyping that client and may fail to recognise the specific
verbal and non-verbal queues which would otherwise facilitate additional insight
as to the clientÊs perception of themselves and their surrounding environment. So
as, to minimise the risk of misunderstanding and misinterpreting clients,
counsellor should take into consideration the influence of culture and respond
respectfully to these cultural differences, values, and beliefs.

TOPIC 9 COUNSELLING IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY  175
Figure 9.1: Cultural and racial difference may prove to be a barrier in communication
Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/rjo0268l.jpg
One instance of stereotyping by failing to be culturally sensitive could be

Muslims and their association with terrorists. Many times, Muslims in different
countries have been persecuted because of stereotyping that associates their dress
and customs with those of terrorists. Although, there are many similarities
between the country of origin for many Muslims and those known to be actively
involved in terrorist activities, it is essential to be culturally sensitive and
distinguish those who would take life from those who are practicing a lifestyle
both outwardly and inwardly based on their religious beliefs. By being
courteous, and giving the individual, the chance to share their story in their own
words, insight can be gained and help offered the individual in resolving the
current issues and problems they are faced with.
SELF-CHECK 9.1
Write a short note on cultural differences and counselling.

ACTIVITY 9.1
1. „Counselling has nothing to do with culture‰. Do you agree? Why

or why not?
2. Suppose you are the counsellor who is about to deal with US
client. Find out the cultural differences you will keep in mind,
dealing with the same.
9.2 BARRIERS TO MULTICULTURAL

COUNSELLING
The barriers to multicultural counselling are as follows:
(a) Not Understanding Cultural Biases

The major challenge for counsellors is to reach out and recognise the
cultural biases and values of different cultures.
For instance, a Malay counsellor might not be able to understand the

Hindu concept of reincarnation and this might lead to
misunderstanding.
A counsellor might also be offended because of dissimilar religious values

and beliefs. For handling such complicated situations, the counsellor has to
work on finding more and more information about other cultures or
religions and acknowledge the differences in a non-judgmental manner.
The counsellor can also explore cultural differences with the client in the
group. This will be advantageous for other group members by increasing
their understanding of cross-cultural differences. But this job will demand
extra time and effort from the counsellor.
The counselling processes and techniques used by Malaysian counsellors

are mainly based on western orientation and lifestyles. Even though
Malaysia is reaching a developed country status, certain values and beliefs
·for instance, the concept of gender disparity·are still upheld in our
culture. The women still uphold the tradition of being calm and gentle
though men are more dominant and aggressive. In counselling (from the
western point of view), eye contact is considered significant gesture in
building relationship. On the other hand in our society, particularly Malay

society, women generally avoid long eye contact which should not be taken
as a sign of non-cooperation but a sign of politeness and respect.
(b) Use of Inappropriate Counselling Techniques

Conducting a multicultural counselling group obviously presents a greater
challenge to the counsellor. In addition to the earlier challenges mentioned,
complexities may occur in terms of approaches and techniques.
According to Sue and Sue (1999), culturally effective counsellors are

truly eclectic. They use skills, methods and techniques that are
appropriate to the experience and lifestyle of the culturally different.
However, looking at counselling practice in Malaysian society, most of
the approaches are based on western culture. These sometimes do not fit
into the needs of our society due to the differences in values, beliefs and
opinions.
An example can be taken from the Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)
group approach by Ellis (in Gazda, 1982) which stated that group
members are urged in regular sessions and during rational encounter
sessions, to push themselves as much as possible, to reveal their utmost
uncomfortable feelings, and to bring out their serious problems. They
are also encouraged to try to get others to reveal themselves, and to
refrain from politely letting inhibited and non-talkative members get
away with this kind of unrevealing behaviour. Other techniques from
the west such as hugging, touching and mixing between different
genders in group counselling might also be inappropriate in our society
since they contradict certain religious or cultural values. Counsellors
must be aware of the sensitive areas when conducting group activities
adopted from the west. To ensure the ethical use of techniques, group
counsellors need to be aware of the necessity to modify their techniques
to fit the unique needs of various cultural and ethnic groups (ASGW,
1989).
Source: http://myais.fsktm.um.edu.my/5108/1/3.pdf
(c) Language Barriers

In addition to values and beliefs, language barriers could create problems in
multicultural group counselling. Two of the most frequent problems in
multicultural group counselling are to understand and be understood. In
few situations, the problem lies in the context in which certain words are
used by participants from different cultural backgrounds. Language barrier
therefore, depicts a major communication problem as the messages are not
properly given and received.

Language should not be a reason for restricting personal growth, and

counsellors should try to ensure effective communication throughout the
group session and clarify any misunderstanding. As communication also
includes body language, and different cultural backgrounds may cause
different types of body language presentation and interpretation.
Counsellors must educate themselves with the acquaintance on body
languages of different cultures. The ethical guidelines in fact involve
counsellors to upgrade their knowledge and skill competencies through
educational activities, clinical experiences and participation in professional
development activities (ASGW, 1989).
SELF-CHECK 9.2
List the ways to overcome cultural biases.
ACTIVITY 9.2
Read the following article carefully and answer the questions given
below:
Multicultural Counsellor Training

· By Patrice Lesco
Counsellor Education
Multicultural counselling embraces the different and shared
characteristics of people, according to the National Guidance Research
Forum. Multicultural counselling training, therefore, is intended to
assist counsellors with providing services to individuals and groups
from all cultural backgrounds. Training can be received as part of a
degree program, or it can be presented through individual courses.
1. Purpose: Multicultural counselling training concentrates on

understanding individuals on the basis of race, gender, sexual
preference, economic background, religious beliefs, age, disability
and social class. Multicultural counselling training, therefore, tries
to provide the counsellor with skills and knowledge that she/he
can use in assisting people from all societal groups.
Cont'd..

2. Significance: Training in multiculturalism for counsellors has been

growing in importance because of the increasingly diverse society
that exists across the world. No longer are countries made up of one
culture, nor do they consist of only people born to that nation, but
are filled with individuals from all parts of the globe. These
individuals bring with them their own beliefs, customs and cultural
connections. Nevertheless, traditional counselling practices have
suggested that all people can receive counselling in the same
manner, without considerations for variations in cultural
background. The National Guidance Research Forum indicates that
this approach to counselling in relation to a multicultural society
does not support the needs of all people. Consequently, training in
multiculturalism for counsellors is imperative.
3. Ethics: The American Counselling Association added ethical

standards for the counselling code of conduct in relation to
multicultural sensitivity in counselling in 2005. According to the
American Counselling Association, counsellors must respect the
varying beliefs of people from different cultural backgrounds, as
well as the individualÊs view towards the counselling process itself.
Counselling training in relation to multiculturalism, therefore, must
include a focus on multiculturalism as it pertains to ethics and the
standards that guide the profession.
4. Self-Examination: Multicultural counselling training should call on

the counsellor or student to examine his own culture and cultural
beliefs in an attempt to understand the cultural factors that
influence his counselling practice. Self-examination means that the
counsellor should consider his own cultural background and his
own values and beliefs in relation to culture and the cultural
standards that he currently embraces. Such an examination creates
a multicultural belief awareness that the counsellor can build upon
or alter to provide more effective services to people of other
cultures.
5. Communication: Training in multiculturalism in the counselling

profession should also include a focus on communication methods.
This includes communication that is verbal and non-verbal.
Communication practices regarding culture are important because
some common statements in one culture may be highly offensive in
another.
Cont'd..

Likewise, some non-verbal communication that is considered perfectly

acceptable in one culture may be taboo for the members of another
cultural group.
Source: http://www.ehow.com/about_6328109_multicultural-counsellor-
training.html
Questions
1. „Training in multiculturalism for counsellors is considered
important in the present scenario.‰ Do you agree? Why or why
not?
2. What do you understand by self examination?
9.3 THE SKILLED MULTICULTURAL

COUNSELLOR
Skilled Multicultural Counsellor requires Skilled Counselling Training Model
(SCTM). SCTM is skills based training program that encourages attainment of
skills through the use of modelling, mastery, persuasion, arousal, and
supervisory feedback (Smaby, Maddux, Torres-Rivera, & Zimmick, 1999). In the
SCTM, skills are divided into three stages: exploring, understanding, and acting
(Smaby et al., 1999). For each stage, the model depicts:
(a) The objective,
(b) Two counselling processes, and
(c) Six counselling skills.
ACTIVITY 9.3
The following link will take you to an article about „Academic

admission requirements as predictors of counselling knowledge,
personal development, and counselling skills‰. Find out more about
SCTM.
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6274324/Academic-
admission-requirements-as-predictors.html

Modelling means providing a good example or pattern of behaviour for the client
who does not know how to act appropriately in some situations. At one level, of
course, modelling could mean simply showing a physical example. Usually,
modelling refers to actions, which seem very complicated. For this reason,
modelling is usually demonstrated in two ways, i.e., completely, without a break,
to show the total effect, and also in segments to show that the separate skills can
be isolated for observation and practice. The counsellor can act as a model; even a
colleague or a peer can act as a model in client in an ordinary social setting. After
the model has been presented, the client should be asked to attempt to imitate the
model. He or she should be encouraged to rehearse the behaviour, with
counsellor giving immediate feedback in the form of positive comments and
suggestion about needed improvements. He or she should be reminded of the
importance of such behavioural rehearsals in his or her own time.
9.3.1 Role Playing

Role playing means acting out how a person with a particular title or function
usually behaves. It is obviously akin to modelling and behaviour rehearsal, and
all these are often used in conjunction with one another. But role playing usually
implies a less prescribed way of behaving. The emphasis is more upon feeling
what it is like to act in certain manner, sometimes with the further implications
that the role, being different is unfamiliar. It is not necessary for the roles to be
played for long; three or four minutes are all that is desirable.
When people play somebody elseÊs role, they might begin to experience what
another person feels or thinks. In both role playing and role reversal the client
should be encouraged or even coached, to throw himself or herself into the parts
he or she plays, with all the feelings, gestures, words, tones, and volume that
typically are used, or that he or she wants to experiment with. The more
convincingly the roles are enacted, the greater the number of learning
opportunities and change possibilities that are offered to the client.
9.3.2 Bodily Awareness and Relaxation Activities

As part of the processes by which behaviour is changed, it can be very helpful for
people to become aware of and in control of their bodily sensations. Heightened
awareness can help clients to identify their feelings more precisely. It can also
help clients to gain more control of themselves. Relaxation is an especially useful
skill for this. Transcendental mediation, yoga, biofeedback, and hypnosis are few
examples of techniques with similar purposes.

Relaxation is achieved by gradually loosening muscles in all parts of the body so

the there is no tightness or tension anywhere. Full attention is required, so that
different parts of body are relaxed in sequence. It is possible to obtain total
relaxation or partial relaxation. Relaxation can be used in preparing for some
especially tense situations, such as, an interview, examination or important
meeting. Counsellors should encourage clients to use partial relaxation skills
while actually in tense situation. The following set of directions is typical of those
used to attain a deep state of relaxation. Counsellors who often use relaxation
methods usually have such directions readily available for clients in pamphlets
form and recorded on cassette tapes:
(a) Lie flat on the back, placing the feet about 18 inches apart. The hands
should rest slightly away from the trunk, with the palms up.
(b) Close your eyes and gently move all the different parts of the body to create
a general feeling of relaxation.
(c) Then start relaxing the body part by part. First think of the right leg. Inhale
and slowly raise the leg about one foot off the floor. Hold it fully tensed.
After 5 seconds, exhale abruptly and relax the muscles of the right leg,
allowing it to fall in the floor on its own. Shake the leg gently from the right
to left, relax it fully, and let it rest and concentrate on the other leg.
(d) Repeat this same process with the left leg, and then with both hands, one at
a time.
(e) Abdomen, chest, shoulders and all other parts of the body are then
followed for relaxation.
(f) Slowly, gently, turn the neck muscle. Follow it up with facial muscles, lips,
cheek muscle, and nose and forehead muscles.
(g) Now, you have relaxed all the muscles of the body. To make sure of this,
allow your mind to wander over your entire body, reach for any point of
tension. If you come across any spot of tension, concentrate upon and it will
relax. If you do this mentally, without moving any muscle, you will notice
that the part concerned obeys your command.
This is complete relaxation. Even your mind is at rest now. Observe your
thoughts without trying to take your mind anywhere. You will witness that you
are not a body or a mind but an ocean of peace and tranquillity. Remain in this
condition for 5 minutes. Do not become anxious about anything. When you
decide to wake from this conscious sleep, do so quite slowly. Imagine that fresh
energy is entering each part of your body then slowly get up. This exercise helps

create refreshed and peaceful feelings for the body and mind. Try to do this one
to three times a day, especially upon arising and retiring.
Physical activities can reduce the many stresses that come from modern living-
mentally and emotionally demanding experiences and boring, solitary, and
sedentary occupations. Similarly, functions can be served by many other pursuits
such as, dancing, hobbies, games, arts and crafts, and playing and listening to
music.
9.3.3 Thoughts and Imagery

The clientÊs thoughts, ideas and perceptions are obviously important throughout
counselling, so much so that their uses in changing behaviour are often
overlooked. The counsellor can tell the client to recall or imagine events and
situation when indulged in relaxation technique. This imagery encourages the
loosening of muscle tension. Physical tightness in body may be reduced if client
can call up images associated with calm, comfort and rest.
Some clients seem to have too active an imagination and most of their difficulties
seem to arise from the way they concentrate on relative aspects of their thoughts.
These people become more and more anxious and resistant to change because
they constantly anticipate failures, and as a result they avoid facing up to things.
In whatever way he can, the counsellor should stop these clients from dwelling
on these aspects. He can reinforce talk about alternatives, he can ignore
references to negative aspects, and he can point out in rational manner the self-
defeating nature of such thoughts.
Some counsellors, in trying to change the clientÊs behaviour, also use a rather
dramatic technique called thought-stopping. It is sometimes used with clients
who indulge in unproductive talks. Suppose if a client expresses his doubts or
fears for the tenth time, the counsellor may interrupt him and say firmly Âstop
that, right nowÊ and emphasise his point with a gross movement, such as
thumping his chair, standing up or turning away. He might succeed of this
directing his talk in some constructive direction. Obviously, the success of this
depends upon sound counsellor and client relationship and upon the judgment
by the counsellor. It may be used in more subtle ways. He can encourage the
client to devise a thought-stopping signal for himself.
9.3.4 Desensitisation
This approach to changing behaviour uses several techniques together,
including, thinking, relaxing and imagining. In effect the counsellor tries to
inoculate the client against fears and anxieties that have become very intense in a

particular situation. There are several considerations and distinct stages in this
process.
(a) This is used with clients who are anxious about only one specific matter,
e.g., exam fear, dread about travelling in aircraft, fear relating to height, etc.
(b) All the clientÊs feelings should be explored in advance. Until the client
accepts that change is possible and most fears can be learnt and can be
unlearnt, the process will not work.
(c) Then the counsellor should make the client believe that the change for the
better is possible, and they should together work out a list of events that are
associated with fear. These are arranged in a hierarchy from least feared to
most fearful. It is useful to sort them on a scale, assigning a value of 0 to the
least and 100 to the very worst.
(d) The counsellor describes the lowest item in the fear hierarchy. If the client
signals that it is distressing to imagine that event (i.e., by raising a finger) he
helps him to relax and concentrate on other pleasant images until he feels
that the client is able to cope with the things he fears. Not giving a distress
signal means that he can tolerate that event. The Counsellor then introduces
the next item. And soon the client achieves a state of deep physical
relaxation. In this way, the two of them gradually work up the hierarchy.
SELF-CHECK 9.3
In your own words, explain SCTM.
 Multicultural counselling is emerging as a significant component of

counselling practice in the present scenario.
 Cultural biases, use of inappropriate counselling techniques and language are
the barriers to multicultural counselling.
 Skilled multicultural counsellor requires SCTM.

Cultural biases Multicultural counselling

Language barriers SCTM
1. Explain the impact of cultural biases on counselling.
2. Find out the various cultural differences to be considered before dealing

with a client from Europe.
1. What do you understand by desensitisation?
2. Explain the importance of bodily awareness and relaxation activities.

Topic  Ethical
Principles of
10 the
Counselling
Profession
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Discuss the purposes of ethical codes;
2. Identify the codes of ethics and decision making; and
3. Explain the principles of ethical conduct.
 INTRODUCTION
In the previous topic, you studied about cultural differences and counselling.
Counselling services would not be well availed by the client in the absence of
proper ethical conduct. In this topic, you will study about the ethics involved in
the counselling profession. Ethics in counselling service facilitate a safe,
non-judgmental space for reflection and the exploration of problems, challenges
and issues faced by clients in day-to-day life.

TOPIC 10 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE COUNSELLING PROFESSION  187
10.1 PURPOSES OF ETHICAL CODES

The values of clients are not replacements of regulated ethics. Mental Health
associations have developed standardised codes of ethics for governing the
professional application of qualified counsellors. These ethics are the essential
framework that describes professional therapy, and are not the same as values.
Values are not the same as ethics in that ethics define the framework of
professional counselling session, while values predict the motivation and
mechanisms of counselling. For instance, ethics can be thought as the foundation
of a home, and values as the model of the home.
While ethics are critical to the practice of professional therapy, they alone are not
adequate to speak to values, or lack thereof, in counselling. The purpose of ethics
is not to define values. Though, they are certainly important, and we very
strongly uphold them, but they have totally different purpose.
For instance, an ethical principle may state that a counsellor cannot have an
external relationship with a client until at least 2 years have passed from the time
of termination of the professional relationship which is known as dual
relationship. This is an ethical standard. Ethics are rooted in philosophy, and not
only in science (such as in the instance just cited, one regulatory body may say
two years, another may say 3 years, etc). Regulatory bodies have dissimilarities
in their ethical codes from one another, and members of their respective
associations must adhere to them totally so as to be in good standing with their
regulatory body. Although, ethics are essential to the practice of counselling and
therapy, they do not speak to values at all, and are something totally different.
So it is significant to understand that ethics and values exist in harmony.

Moreover, a good counsellor is one who is not only ethical in his or her practice,
but also one who upholds strong values.
Figure 10.1 depicts the various regulated professional bodies of mental health for
ethical standards. Please note that as ethics are rooted in philosophy more than
testable science, many of these will differ from each other.

188  TOPIC 10 ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE COUNSELLING PROFESSION
(a) American Group Psychotherapy Association: Guidelines for Ethics.

(b) American Psychological Association (APA): Code of Ethics.
(c) American Association of Christian Counsellors: Code of Ethics.
(d) American Counselling Association: Code of Ethics and Standards of
Practice.
(e) British Columbia Association for Clinical Counsellors: Code of Ethical
Conduct.
(f) Canadian Counselling Association: Code of Ethics & Standards of
Practice.
(g) Canadian Psychological Association: Ethical Standards.
(h) Canadian Traumatic Stress Network [Reseau Canadian du Stress
Traumatique]: Ethical Principles.
(i) Christian Association for Psychological Studies: Ethics Statement.
(j) International Society for Mental Health Online: Suggested Principles for
Online Provision of Mental Health Services.
(k) National Board for Certified Counsellors: Code of Ethics.
(l) National Board for Certified Counsellors: The Practice of Internet
Counselling.
(m) Avoiding Exploitive Dual Relationships: A Decision-making Model.
Figure 10.1: Regulated Professional Bodies of Mental Health
SELF-CHECK 10.1
Differentiate between ethics and values.
ACTIVITY 10.1
Find out the details of regulated professional bodies of mental

health as given in Figure 10.1.

10.2 CODES OF ETHICS AND DECISION MAKING

According to Sue and Sue (1999), an ethical practice of counselling requires
following things:
(a) Counsellors must be conscious of their own racial and cultural biases and
assumptions;
(b) Moreover, counsellors need to reach out and understand the cultural values
and biases of various cultures;
(c) Confidentiality;
(d) Proper termination;
(e) Being fair to all clients and respecting their human rights and dignity; and
(f) Finally, they must begin to develop culturally suitable counselling practice.
10.2.1 Conditions Required for Ethical and Effective

Counselling
Counselling is a means rather than an end in itself. A clientÊs performance does
not automatically develop in positive ways because counselling takes place. But
when done effectively, counselling can be quite useful in helping a client to
integrate with the organisation and to develop a sense of involvement and
satisfaction. The following conditions are necessary if counselling is to be ethical:
(a) A general climate of openness and mutuality

At least a minimum degree of trust and openness is essential. If the
organisation or the unit in which the client works is full of tension and
mistrust, counselling will not be effective.
(b) A helpful and empathic attitude on the part of the counsellor

Counsellor must approach the task as opportunity to help, must feel
empathy for the client being counselled, and must be able to convey both
helpfulness and empathy to the client.
(c) The establishment of an effective dialogue

Counselling is collaborative rather than prescriptive. It is based on the
clientÊs achievement of performance goals set in concert with his or her
counsellor. Consequently, the counselling process should be one in which
both the counsellor and the client participate without inhibition and engage

in a discussion that eventually results in a better understanding of the

performance issue involved.
(d) A focus on work-related goals

Work-related goals should be the exclusive concern of a counselling effort;
attention should be given only to behaviours and problems that directly
relate to the clientÊs achievement of those goals. During the course of the
discussion, issues that are not work-related may arise; but when this
happens, the counsellor should refocus the dialogue on improvement in the
organisational setting.
(e) Avoiding of discussion about salary, raises, and other rewards

The purpose of counselling is to help client plan improvements in
performance, but discussing the linkage between performance and rewards
may interfere with this purpose.
10.2.2 Tips for Ethical and Effective Counselling

The following are useful tips for counselling that need be followed:
(a) Make sure that the client is willing to learn from counselling
On some occasions, a client does not ask for counselling, but is, in effect,
forced into it. When counselling is provided without having been sought, it
may be of limited value and frustrating to the counsellor as well as the
client. In such a situation, the counsellor would do well to forget about
counselling and instead talk to the client about his or her interest or lack of
interest in growth. If the counsellor establishes the proper climate, such a
discussion can lead to openness on the part of the client. However, if the
client has serious difficulty in dealing with the counsellor, a problem-
solving session should be the first step.
(b) Encouraging the client to function independently

Sometimes, clients are so loyal and their counsellor so protective that they
become totally dependent on the counsellor. From time to time, every
counsellor should reflect on whether he or she is unintentionally fostering
this kind of relationship. It is important to allow clients to make their own
decisions and thereby increase their autonomy. The same principle holds
true in a counselling situation, such as the client should bear the main
responsibility for determining what action to take.
(c) Make sure that the client understands the purpose of counselling
If the client does not understand the purpose or has unrealistic
expectations, he or she may not receive the counsellorÊs message in the

proper perspective. If it is obvious that the client has some

misunderstandings, it is a good idea to spend the first session addressing
them; then another session can be scheduled for the actual counselling
effort.
(d) Minimise arguments

One argument is sufficient to make both the counsellor and the client
defensive. The counsellor should try to accept everything the client says
and build on it. Acceptance is the best way of helping the client to achieve
self-realisation.
(e) Ensure adequate follow-up

Good counselling sessions will ultimately fail to produce effective results if
follow-up is inadequate. When the counsellor follows up though informal
exchanges, this approach goes a long way towards communicating interest
in the client. But when the counsellor fails to follow up, the client may feel
that the counselling was artificial and, consequently, may loose interest in
improving the performance at issue.
10.2.3 Pre-disciplinary Action

The term pre-disciplinary is used because the use of counselling skills is not a
substitute for disciplinary action. Instead, the use of counselling skills precedes,
and is complementary to disciplinary action. Using counselling techniques at an
earlier stage before initiating disciplinary action can often prevent the need for
that action; using counselling skills along with the formal disciplinary procedure
can help clients to take ownership of a responsibility for resolving the problem.
Personal problems, of course, should be allowed to remain private unless the

person is willing to talk or the problem is adversely affecting their work. In fact,
counsellors may feel uncomfortable about initiating a conversation with a client
whose work has not yet been very adversely affected by their problem. However,
attempting to tackle the problem early might avoid it getting much worse. Refer
to the example below.
Example: A normally polite and pleasant customer service representative was

known to have a personal problem, which was making him edgy and sharper
than usual when dealing with people. This developed to the stage where his
approach to the customer became unacceptable and the first step of discipline
had to be taken. A counselling session set up by the individualÊs counsellor or
supervisor when an enduring problem first became apparent would perhaps
have prevented more drastic steps.

If the offer is rejected, do not push the client. Simply point out that the situation
cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely if it is having a negative effect on the
company, and then continue to monitor performance. The counsellor can offer
help again later on.
Pre-disciplinary counselling sessions fall into different categories. Sometimes the

counsellor has the facts, and at other times to communicate the problem clearly
and concisely, he uses the counselling skills to try to establish agreement on the
existence of the problem, and to help the person to decide on courses of action. If
the counsellor asks too many questions before sharing the reasons for the
meeting, he will appear furtive.
Pre-disciplinary counselling sessions are difficult because of the emotional

content. In response to the statement of the problem(s), the counsellor is likely to
face an emotional outburst, denial of a problem or deflections away from his
point.
The counsellor should use his counselling skills to listen to the personÊs
emotional outburst and let them take their time. He should acknowledge their
feelings and reflect back the emotional content. He should not make any
judgement about their feelings, such as „you are right or wrong for feeling
upset/angry‰, he should rather just say „you are upset/angry about that.‰ In
order to avoid getting caught up in deflections, the need to have a very clear idea
of what the issue is and be sure to keep coming back to it.
Reflection can also be used in a pre-disciplinary situation to play back any

ridiculous statements that clients make in defence of themselves. Often they will
then admit they are not being straightforward. For example, if a client with
absenteeism problem brings up her new puppy when the counsellor refers to her
attendance record he could say, „Your puppy has stopped you from coming to
work regularly over the past few months?‰ Then she is likely to realise what a
week excuse it sounded.
Figure 10.2 depicts the summary of important ethical issues to be kept in mind by
the counsellor in multicultural counselling.

Counsellors require a socio-cultural framework to work with clients from

different cultural backgrounds. The requirement for ethical multicultural
assessment and intervention includes the ability to:
(a) Be acquainted with cultural diversity and respect the clientÊs culture.
(b) Recognise the role that culture and ethnicity/race plays in the socio-
psychological and economic development of ethnic and culturally varied
populations.
(c) Acknowledge that socioeconomic and political factors extensively impact
the psychosocial, political and economic development of ethnic and
culturally diverse groups.
(d) Respect and understand the interaction of culture, gender and sexual
orientation on behaviours and requirements.
Figure 10.2: Summary of ethical issues in multicultural counselling
Ethical issues involved in group counselling are given in box 10.3.
(a) Informed consent: The leader has to show to all the membersÊ honesty
and respect and also provide information about the group in the
preliminary session. The information comprises a clear statement for the
purpose of the group, ground rules, the group leaderÊs introduction,
information concerning fees, issue of confidentiality, rights and
responsibilities of group members, etc.
(b) In case a member wants to leave a group, he should provide a suitable
reason to the group leader for opting out. He/she should not leave
without prior notice and justification.
(c) Confidentiality is the most important consideration in a group. It should
be noticeably explained in the initial session by the group leader to all the
members and also the situation when confidentiality can probably be
broken in certain cases.
(d) It focuses on stressing on the responsibilities of the group members which
are regularity, punctuality, being willing to openly talk about oneself,
providing feedback to others and the most important maintaining
confidentiality.
Figure 10.3: Ethical issues involved in group counselling

ACTIVITY 10.2
Following link will take you to the website depicting Malaysian code
of ethics for counsellors. Read them carefully and prepare a list of
ethical codes to be considered by counsellors in Malaysia.
http://www.eghrmis.gov.my/wp_content2/polisihr/kodetika/kod
etika.htm
ACTIVITY 10.3
Read the following case study and analyse the importance of ethical
behaviour:
Until its crash in the fall of 2001, Enron was one of the worldÊs largest
electricity, natural gas, and broadband trading companies, with
revenues of over $100 billion. EnronÊs strategic intent was to become
the blue-chip energy and communications company of the twenty-
first century through its business efforts in four core areas - Enron
Wholesale Services, Enron Broadband Services, Enron Energy
Services, and Enron Transpiration Services. Enron management
claimed that each of these business units supported the companyÊs
shared ambition, stated as follows:
Who are We and Why do We Exist?

We offer a wide range of physical, transportation, financial and
technical solutions to thousands of customers around the world. Our
business is to create value and opportunity for your business. We do
this by combining our financial resources, access to physical
commodities, and knowledge to create innovative solutions to
challenging industrial problems. We are best known for our natural
gas and electricity products, but today we also offer retail energy and
broadband products. These products give customers the flexibility
they need to compete today.
Cont'd..

What do We Believe?
We begin with a fundamental belief in the inherent wisdom of open
markets. We are convinced that customer choice and competition lead to
lower prices and innovation. Enron is a laboratory for innovation. That is
why we employ the best and the brightest people. And we believe that
every employee can make a difference here. We encourage people to
make a difference by creating an environment where everyone is
allowed to achieve their full potential and where everyone has a stake in
the outcome. We think this entrepreneurial approach stimulates
creativity. We value diversity and are committed to removing all barriers
to employment and advancement based on sex, sexual orientation, race,
religion, age, ethnic background, national origin, or physical limitation.
Our success is measured by the success of our customers. We are
committed to meeting their energy needs with solutions that offer them a
competitive advantage. And we work with them in ways that reinforce
the benefits of a long-term partnership with Enron. In everything we do,
we operate safely and with concern for the environment. This is a
responsibility we take seriously in all the different places around the
world where we do business. WeÊre changing the way energy is
delivered, as well as the market for it. WeÊre reinventing the
fundamentals of this business by providing energy at lower costs and in
more usable forms than has been provided before. Everything we do is
about change. Together, we are creating the leading energy company in
the world. Together, we are defining the energy company of the future.
Our Core Values

Integrity: We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly, and
sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we
say we cannot or we will not do something, then we wonÊt do it.
Respect: We treat others as we would like to be treated. Ruthlessness,

callousness, and arrogance donÊt belong here.
Excellence: We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in every
thing we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great
fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.
Communication: We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take

time to talk with one another and to listen. We believe that information is
meant to move and that information moves people.
Cont'd..

But gaping flaws in EnronÊs strategy began to emerge in the „Fall of

2001‰, staring with revelations that the company had incurred billions
more in debt to grow its energy trading business than was first apparent
from its balance sheet. The off-balance sheet debt was hidden by
obscurely worded footnotes to the companyÊs financial statements
involving mysterious partnership in which the companyÊs Chief Financial
Officer (CFO) had an interest (and was apparently using it to make
millions in profits on the side). After EnronÊs strong price slid from the
mid-$80s to the high-$30s despite glowing earnings reports, the
companyÊs well-regarded Chief Executive Officer suddenly resigned for
„personal reasons‰ in August 2001. Weeks later, the companyÊs CFO was
asked to resign as details of his conflict of interest in the off-balance sheet
partnerships came to light. Meanwhile, top company executives
continued to insist publicly that the company was in sound financial
shape and that its business was secure, hoping to keep customers from
taking their business to rivals and to reassure concerned shareholders.
But EnronÊs crown jewel, its energy trading business, which generated
about $60 billion in reported revenues, came under increased scrutiny,
both for the debt that had been amassed to support such enormous
trading volumes and for its very high profit margins (some of which
were suspect due to accounting treatments that had won the stamp of
approval of Arthur Andersen, the companyÊs auditor). Within weeks,
Enron filed for bankruptcy, its stock price fell below $1 per share, its
stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and a scandal of
unprecedented proportions grew almost daily. Arthur Anderson fired the
partner on the Enron account when it appeared that working papers
relating to the audit were destroyed in an apparent effort to obstruct a
congressional investigation of the details of EnronÊs collapse. EnronÊs
board fired Arthur Anderson as the companyÊs auditor.
Then Enron was caught destroying documents (as late as January 2002) in
an apparent attempt to hide. The companyÊs former vice chairman
committed suicide after it became public that he had vigorously
protested EnronÊs accounting practices earlier in 2001. It also came out
that senior company officers had sold shares of Enron Stock months
earlier, when the stock price slide first began. EnronÊs employees-most of
whom had their entire 401 (k) monies tied up in Enron and were
precluded from selling their shares, and 4,000 of whom were dismissed in
a last-ditch effort to cut costs-watched helplessly as their retirement
savings were wiped out by the crash. The extent of managementÊs
unethical behaviour is still under investigation. But Enron management
clearly did not act in accordance with the principle and values it
espoused.

10.3 PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL CONDUCT

Principles bring our attention towards significant ethical responsibilities. Ethical
decisions that are strongly supported by one or more of the principles without
any contradiction from others may be regarded as reasonably well-substantiated.
Although, practitioners will encounter situations in which it is impractical to
reconcile all the applicable principles and selecting between principles may be
required. A decision or course of action does not essentially become unethical
simply because it is controversial or other practitioners would have reached
dissimilar conclusions in similar situations. A practitionerÊs duty is to consider all
the relevant situations with as much care as is reasonably possible and to be
appropriately accountable for decisions made.
(a) Fidelity: Honouring the trust placed in the practitioner

Being trustworthy is regarded as the primary key in order to understand
and resolve ethical issues. Counsellors who follow this principle·act in
accordance with the trust placed in them. Confidentiality should be
regarded as an obligation arising from the clientÊs trust. Restrict any
disclosure of confidential information about clients to furthering the
purposes for which it was initially disclosed.
(b) Autonomy: Respect for the clientÊs right to be self-governing

This principle focuses on the importance of the clientÊs commitment to
participating in counselling or psychotherapy, generally on a voluntary
basis. Practitioners who respect their clientsÊ autonomy·ensure accuracy in
any advertising or information given in advance of services offered; seek
freely given and adequately informed consent; engage in explicit
contracting in advance of any commitment by the client; protect privacy;
protect confidentiality; normally make any disclosures of confidential
information conditional on the consent of the person concerned; and inform
the client in advance of foreseeable conflicts of interest or as soon as
possible after such conflicts become apparent. The principle of autonomy
opposes the manipulation of clients against their will, even for useful social
ends.
(c) Beneficence: A commitment for promoting the clientÊs welfare

The principle of beneficence means acting in the best interests of the client
based on professional assessment. It directs attention to working stringently
within oneÊs limits of competence and providing services on the basis of
adequate training or experience. Ensuring that the clientÊs best interests are
achieved requires systematic monitoring of practice and outcomes by the
best available means. It is considered significant that research and
systematic reflection inform practice. There is an obligation to use regular
and on-going supervision to improve the quality of the services provided

and to commit to updating practice by continuing professional

development. An obligation to act in the best interests of a client may
become paramount when working with clients whose capacity for
autonomy is diminished due to immaturity, disbelief, extreme depression,
serious disturbance or other important personal constraints.
(d) Non-malfeasance: A commitment to avoiding harm to the client

Non-malfeasance includes avoiding sexual, financial, and emotional or any
other form of client exploitation; avoiding incompetence or misconduct; not
providing services when unfit to do so due to illness, personal situations or
intoxication. The practitioner has an ethical duty to strive to mitigate any
harm caused to a client even when the harm is inevitable or unintentional.
Holding suitable insurance may help in restitution. Practitioners have a
personal duty to challenge, where appropriate, the incompetence or
malpractice of others; and to contribute to any investigation and/or
adjudication regarding professional practice which falls below that of a
reasonably competent practitioner and/or risks bringing harm to the
reputation of the profession.
(e) Justice: The fair and unbiased treatment of all clients and the provision of
satisfactory services
The principle of justice focuses on being fair to all clients and respecting
their human rights and dignity. It directs attention to considering
conscientiously any legal obligations, and also being alert to potential
conflicts between legal and ethical obligations. Justice in the delivery of
services calls for the ability to determine impartially the provision of
services for clients and the allocation of services between clients. A
commitment to fairness requires the ability to understand differences
between people and to be committed to equality of prospects, and avoiding
discrimination towards people or groups contrary to their legitimate
personal or social characteristics. Practitioners have a duty to strive to
ensure a fair provision of counselling and psychotherapy services,
accessible and suitable to the requirements of potential clients.
(f) Self-respect: Fostering the practitionerÊs self-knowledge and concern for

one-self
The principle of self-respect means that the practitioner suitably applies all
the above principles as entitlements for self. This involves seeking
counselling or therapy and other opportunities for personal development as
required. There is an ethical responsibility to use supervision for suitable
personal and professional support and development, and to seek training
and other opportunities for continuing professional development.
Guarding against financial liabilities arising from work undertaken
generally requires obtaining suitable insurance. The principle of self-respect

promotes active engagement in life-enhancing activities and relationships

that are independent of relationships in counselling or psychotherapy.

 Ethics play an important role in effective counselling.

 Ethical decisions that are strongly supported by one or more of the principles
without any contradiction from others may be regarded as reasonably well-
substantiated.
 Principles bring our attention towards significant ethical responsibility. A
practitioner's duty is to consider all the relevant situations with as much care
as is reasonably possible and to be appropriately accountable for decisions
made; keeping in mind all principles of ethical conduct.
Autonomy Ethics
Ethical decisions Principles
1. List the purposes of ethical codes.
2. Explain the conditions required for ethical and effective counselling.
3. What do you understand by the term „Pre-disciplinary‰?
1. What are the ethical issues involved in group counselling?
2. List the ethical issues to be kept in mind by the counsellor in multicultural

counselling.

200  REFERENCES
References
Cormer, L. S. & Hackney, A. The professional counsellors process guide to
helping, Englewood and chiffs, New Jersey, PH Inc 1987.
Maclennan, Nigel. Counselling for managers, Aldershot, Grover 1986.
Murro C. A. etc. Counselling - A skills approach, Mithnen 1980.
Reddy Michael. Counselling at work, British Psychological Society and Mithnen,

London 1987.
Barker, L. Listening behavior. (1971). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Rogers, C. R., & Roethlisberger, F. L. (1952), „Barriers and gateways to

communication,‰ Harvard Business Review, July-August, p. 34.
Weaver, C. H. Human listening. (1972), Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merril.
Wolvin, A. D., & Coakley, C. G. (1991). A survey of the status of listening training
in some Fortune 500 corporations. Communication Education, 40, 152-164.
American Association for Counseling and Development (1981). Ethical standards

(Rev. Ed.) Alexandria, VA: Author.
American Counseling Association (1985). Code of ethics and standards of

practice. Alexandria, VA: Author.
American Psychological Association (1981 a). Ethical principles of psychologists

(Rev. Ed.), Washington, DC: Author.
Association for Specialists in Group Work (1989). Ethical guidelines for group
leaders. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Gazda, G.M. (Ed.) (1982). Basic approaches to group psychotherapy and group
counseling (3rd ed.). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Lee, C. c., & Richardson, B. L. (Eds.) (1991). Multicultural issues in counseling:

New approaches to diversity. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling
Association.

REFERENCES  201
National Board for Certified Counselors (1989). Code of ethics. Alexandria, VA:
Author. Sue, D.W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling the culturally different:
Theory and practice (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley 28 Masalah.
Ayonrinde, O. (2003). Importance of cultural sensitivity in therapeutic

transactions: Considerations for healthcare providers. Disease Management &
Health Outcomes, 11(4), 233-248.
Ivy, A., & Ivy, M. (2006). Interviewing and observational skills: Ethical concerns
[Video Recording]. Walden University: Laureate Education, Inc.
Ivey, A.E., & Ivey, M.B. (2007). Intentional interviewing and counseling:
Facilitating client development in a multicultural society (6th ed.). Belmont,
CA: Thompson Brooks/Cole.
Rubaii-Barrett, N., & Beck, A.C. (1993). Minorities in the majority: Implications for
managing cultural diversity. Public Personnel Management, 22(4), 503-521.
Webster R. Why Freud was wrong. London: Harper Collins. 1996.
Crews F. The memory wars. New York, New York Review Books. 1995.
Maslow A. Toward a psychology of being. Princeton, Van Nostrand. 1961.
Perls F, Hefferline R & Goodman P. Gestalt therapy. New York, Julian Press.
1951.
Perls F. Ego, Hunger and Aggression. New York, Random House, 1969. (First
published in South Africa, 1947.)
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
http://changingminds.org/articles/articles/group_counseling.html Kerlinger,
F. (1973). Foundations of behavioural research. New York: Holt Rinehart &
Winston.

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Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Module Writer: B D Singh

Moderator: Acme Learning Private Limited in collaboration with

Developed by: Acme Learning Private Limited in collaboration with

Printed by: Meteor Doc. Sdn. Bhd.

First Edition, December 2010

Copyright © Acme Learning Private Limited in collaboration with Open University

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Topic 1 The Basics of Counselling 1

Topic 2 The Counselling Process and Assessment 32

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

2.3.2 Humanistic Approach or Person-centred Counselling 38

Topic 3 Traditional Counselling Styles 56

Topic 4 Theory and Practice 71

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Topic 5 Specialities in the Practice of Counselling 91

Topic 6 Listening Skills 114

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

6.5 Listeners in Control 136

Topic 7 Life Career Development and Counselling 149

Topic 8 Group Counselling 164

Topic 9 Counselling in a Multicultural Society 173

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

9.3.2 Bodily Awareness and Relaxation Activities 181

Topic 10 Ethical Principles of the Counselling Profession 186

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Table 1: Estimation of Time Accumulation of Study Hours

Topic 1 describes the history of counselling profession, trends in counselling,

Topic 2 explains the counselling process and Assessment Interview: Introduction:

Topic 3 explains what are the different types of traditional counselling,

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Topic 4 describes psychoanalytic, adlerian, humanistic, behavioural, cognitive,

Topic 5 describes specialties in the practice of counselling: Introduction: Groups

Topic 6 explains what is listening, stages of listening, obstacles of listening,

Topic 7 explains some definitions, career development, occupational choice

Topic 8 explains introduction to group counseling, counselling theory and group

Topic 9 discusses the cultural differences and counselling, barriers to

TEXT ARRANGEMENT GUIDE

Self-Check: This component of the module is inserted at strategic locations

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

References: References is where a list of relevant and useful textbooks, journals,

Nelson-Jones, Richard (2003). Basic counselling skills: A helper's manual,

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

Ray Woolfe, Windy Dryden, & Sheelagh Strawbridge (2003). Handbook of

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Counselling is a process in which two people meet to explore personal problems

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

1.1 HISTORY OF COUNSELLING PROFESSION

1.1.1 First Period – Evolution of Counselling

1.1.2 Second Period – Emergence of Counselling

Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

(a) The first convention of the International Congress of Psychoanalysis was

Unfortunately, there is a wrong impression that counselling is a poor manÊs

There were cases of wastage and stagnation, evidences of under-achievement,

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close attention and supervision by the teacher concerned. In addition, remedial

In the early year, guidance consisted of giving the necessary occupational

The Vocational Guidance Movement, which was already in existence at several

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