History of Counseling

“We are all in some way or other kept asunder by our secrets”, meaning that by keeping secrets,
especially painful ones, we separate ourselves from others and create problems for ourselves.
There is an old saying that exists in many languages, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’. It
shows that we all fundamentally understand; that we are social creatures and when we are
suffering we will naturally seek out someone who can hear our story. There was a Roman
philosopher, Seneca, who lived around the time of Jesus Christ who stated, “One of the most
beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood.” We may not all have
perfect friendships, but we all need to have our problems heard and for them to be understood.
Although counselling as a profession and discipline is a product of the 19th and 20th centuries,
the underlying principles of counselling are as old as human problems. Tribal communities
would gather together and talk, tell stories and share dreams. As our society has become more
complex, roles have become more formalized, and as Jung observed, the origins of
psychotherapy lie in the confessional where priests would act as the listener and advisor for the
troubled individual and still do.
Given this basic human need, counselling as a discipline has evolved from several other
disciplines, including but not limited to, guidance, teaching, law, social reform and
psychotherapy. It is the study of the last that has developed the intellectual framework for
counselling.
In the 1890s, German neurologist Sigmund Freud developed a method called psychoanalysis,
which allowed individuals to tell their problems to a ‘psychoanalyst,’ an individual trained in
interpreting the hidden aspects of the psyche, known as the unconscious. Freud theorized that
although we are unaware of our unconscious, its nature can profoundly influence our lives. The
work of Freud and his students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Jung established psychotherapy as
a treatment for numerous mental health conditions. The work of these thinkers was based on the
relationship between the conscious, unconscious and the external world — psychodynamics.
As a reaction to the emphasis on the unconscious, some psychologists, such as John B. Watson,
Ivan Pavlov and B. F. Skinner, developed the Behavioral approach. They rejected the
unobservable unconscious in favor of a system that believed our behavior is the direct response
to external stimuli. Actions followed by reinforcement or reward increase while actions that are
followed by punishment decrease.
Counselling as a method was really as a result of the work of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
The term “counselling” was coined by Carl Rogers, who, lacking a medical qualification was
prevented from calling his work psychotherapy. Rogers and Maslow developed a new person-
centered or humanistic approach. They believed in the innate desire of people to ‘self-actualize’
and proposed that everyone has an inbuilt tendency to self-fulfillment and growth. The
counsellor’s role is to provide an empathic and facilitative environment in which the client can
discover their own answers.
Counseling

Glanz (1972)
“open, ended, face to face problem solving situation within which a student with
professional assistant, can focus and begin to solve a problem or problems”.

Rogers (1965)
The assistance which comes to a child through face to face contact, with a professionally
trained person in a psychological relationship using either talk or play as the primary
medium of communication.

A relationship in which one of the parties has the intent of promoting the growth,
development, maturity and improved functioning of the other.

Shostrom and Brammer

“A purposeful, reciprocal relationship between two people in which one, trained a person,
helps the other to change himself or his environment.”

Brewer (1933)
“Counseling talking over, a conference, a friendly discussion, upon as equal terms as may
be, with no attempt to impose a decision, and with every effort to stimulate the thought of
the student to find or generate such technical knowledge and wisdom as will lead him to a
right decision.”

Counseling a Process and a Relationship

It is a process by which concerted attention is given by both counselor and a counselee to

the problems and concerns of the student gains intellectual and emotional stability from
which he can resolve difficulties, make plans and realize greater self-fulfillment.

As a process, it utilizes appropriate tools and procedures which contribute to the

experiences.
 It is a relationship characterized by trust, confidence, and intimacy in which a student
gains intellectual and emotional stability from which he can resolve difficulties, make
plans and realize and greater self-fulfillment.

The Nature of Counseling

Food and urban in their book entitled Systems of Psychotherapy (1963); called
four natures of counseling.
These are as follows:
1. Counseling involves two people in interaction, a genetic term for the exchange of
meanings between people which includes the direct communication of talking and
listening as well as gestures, glances, nods or shakes of the head, frowns, and other non-
verbal features by which meaning is transmitted from one person to another. The
interaction is highly confidential, and since counselee discuss themselves in an intimate
fashion, it is highly private and unobserved by others.

2. The mode of interaction is usually limited to the verbal realm; the counselor and
counselee talk with one another. Counselees talk about themselves, their thoughts,
feelings, and action. They describe events. The counselor listens and responds in some
fashion to what the counselee says to provoke further responses. The two think, talk and
share the ideas.

3. The interaction is relatively prolonged since alteration of behavior takes time. In contrast
to a brief conversation with friend in which distortions or unconscious desires are usually
maintained and usually only temporary relief is gained, counseling has it goals, the
change of behavior. It is assumed that through counseling interaction, the counselee will
in time revise his distortions and alter behavior.

4. The purpose of the relationship is change of behavior of the counselee. The counselor
focuses the interaction upon the counselee. Counselees need not to be concerned about
the happiness of the counselor must be devote their energies to changing themselves.

Ford and Urban’s four major points highlight the fact that counseling is a collaborative
relationship that permits counselees to freely express and explore themselves and the issues
which are concern to them.
PURPOSES OF COUNSELING
According to Dunsmoor and Miller (1955), the purposes of counseling are:

To give students information on the matters important to his adjustment and growth;
To get information about the student which will be of help to him in solving his
problems;
To establish a feeling of mutual understanding between pupil and teacher;
To help the pupil work out a plan for solving his difficulties;
To help the pupil know himself better, his interests, abilities, aptitudes and available
opportunities;
To encourage special talents and develop right attitudes;
To inspire successful endeavor toward the attainment or realization of objectives;
To assist the pupil in planning for his educational and vocational choices