4/1/2020 GUIDANCE

AND
COUNSELLING
IN
SECONDARY
SCHOOLS
TODAY
BY: ACEDU GEORGE 0774756669
georgeacedu@gmail.com

BY: ACEDU GEORGE 0774756669

NATIONAL TEACHER’S’ COLLEGE, UNYAMA. ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED.
FOREWARD:

This book provides up-to-date information in elementary concepts of guidance and

counselling. It will provide the teachers’ in the making practical skills of how to guide and
counsel learners in secondary schools let alone for their own consumption. It also provides
insights to other education stake holders like parents, policy makers, school administrators
and indeed all those who value education. The language used is also user-friendly and
straight to the point.

Enjoy your academic expedition!

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DEDICATION:

To my dear children: Emasu Joshua, Anaso Anna Grace and Agunyo Agatha. I love you
very much!

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GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

COURSE OUTLINE:

1. Meaning and distinction of guidance and counselling.

2. Types of counselling.
3. Orientation; social, career/vocational counselling.
4. Educational counselling.
5. Personal counselling.
6. Qualities of a good counsellor.
7. Skills of counselling.
8. Counselling processes.
9. Life skills
10. The management and administration of guidance and counselling in schools.
11. Counselling programme in secondary school.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE UNIT:

The course unit has the following objectives;

1. To enable the learners to define the key terms used in the course unit.
2. To enable learners to acquire basic skills in guidance and counselling.
3. To prepare teachers for the field of work as guidance and counselling at school and the
community.
4. To enable the teachers to appreciate the need for guidance and counselling at school
and the near-by community, the challenges at hand so as to propose possible
mitigating interventions.
5. To set a foundation for further studies in guidance and counselling.

MODE OF DELIVERY:

1. Lecture.
2. Tutorial and
3. Discussion.

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MEANING AND DISTINCTION OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

GUIDANCE:

Guidance can be defined and the process of giving information to individuals so as to help
them make informed decisions. For example; the guidance given to children at school to
make choices during school and later in life after school. It can also be defined as the
process of enlightening the client of the problems he/she is/will face so as to give the client
an opportunity to seek for counselling service. Guidance Is the process of preventing
unpleasant life event from taking place.

It’s important to note that guidance is initiated by the counsellor (service provider/expert)
to the client so as to help the client understand (appreciate) his/her problem in order to
ably solve/overcome it. Guidance opens un the client to the need for counselling because
he/she will realise the counselling need from the life situation he/she is facing or is exposed
to.

Guidance it generally referred to as “preventive measures” while counselling is referred to

as “curative measures”. Guidance is generally preventive in nature.

HOW GUIDANCE IS OFFERED

Guidance services is offered in the following;

1. Clan leaders.
2. Siblings.
3. Teachers.
4. Parents.
5. Peers.

COUNSELLING:

This is a trusting and confidential relationship where the counsellor (expert) helps the client
(counselee) to overcome the problem he/she is currently facing, to live with or to least
supress the problem he/she is currently facing. It is started/initiated by the client.

Counselling refers to interventions put forward by the expert (counsellor) to help the client
(counselee) to identify the problem he/she is currently facing so as to overcome it.

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It can also be defined as any assistance offered to perplexed persons to enable them
make choices from the options available to them so as to solve the present
problem/challenge.

It can also be defined as the process of helping persons make the best possible decisions
about their lives so as to help them solve the problem they are facing.

Counselling is basically “curative in nature”, that is, it aims at solving the current
problem/challenge faced by the client.

It can also be defined as the process of empowering a person to deal with his/her own
undesirable problem/life situation in order to improve it. It can be illustrated as below;

Counselling process

Present /problematic life better life/ future

It’s important to note that counselling is initiated by the client (counselee) who is facing a
challenge/problem in life with the help of a professional (counsellor) so as to solve it.

Counselling is not advice giving or deciding on the client. It’s important for the counsellor
not to give advice to the client instead should help the client to solve his/her problem.

HOW COUNSELLING IS OFFERED

By experts who have studied counselling psychology and other related courses.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

1. Both aim at change on life/behaviour.

2. Both are offered by experts.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

S/N Guidance Counselling

01 Is initiated by the counsellor Is initiated by the client
02 Focuses on the mind Focuses on the heart
03 Is Less personal; does not Is more personal; involves close relationship
involve close relationship between the counsellor and client.
Between the counsellor and
client

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04 Is more public Is more private
05 Confidentiality is not observed. Confidentiality is highly observed.
06 Is more informative in nature; Is less informative; helps the client to discover
tells people what to do or not to possible ways of solving/coping the
do problem/challenge faced.
07 Helps the client to understand Helps the client to solve the problem/challenge
his/her life he/she faces.
08 Is done from any where Is done in a counselling room/space.
09 Takes a short period of time. Takes some time.
10 Is not done in some definite Is more organised and has a more definite
arrangement. arrangement.

SOURCES OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

THE BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

Christians trace the origin of guidance and counselling in the bible times as documented in
proverbs 9:9 “Give instructions to a wise man and he will yet be wiser, teach a just man and
he will increase in learning”. Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel is, the people fail, in the
multitude of counsellor’s there is safety”. Therefore, guidance and counselling has its origin
in the bible. Therefore, a good counsellor is the one who upholds the moral and spiritual
principles in God’s written word.
TRADITIONAL AFRICAN FOUNDATION OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING
Guidance and counselling is as old as mankind though the way it was done was different.
The traditional African society has some elements of guidance and counselling which was
termed as “seeking and giving advice” like initiating young men and women into
adulthood. It was basically done by parents, elders, aunties, uncles’ elder brothers and
elder sisters. Young girls would go to their mothers, unties and elder girls for guidance on
how to be a good woman in future, how to respect elders, how to manage the kitchen
and family issues. On the other hand, boys who had problems would go to their uncles,
fathers’ or elder boys to be helped on how to be courageous, and how to be a man
according to the acceptable norms of the society or clan. The helper in this case was
usually older than the person seeking help and the helper was believed to be wise and
knowledgeable.

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PROVIDERS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICES IN ATS

1. Elders.
2. Peers.
3. Class-mates.
4. Course-mates.
5. Village-mates.
6. Age mates.
7. Sex-group.
8. Siblings.
9. Parent- child talk.
10. Elders-chid talk.
11. Career talk.
12. Roommates.
13. Friends.

MODERN/PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING:

This is the provision of guidance and counselling by trained experts in a professional and
confidential manner. It is done by people who have under gone professional training as
counsellor like those who have studied counselling psychology, guidance and counselling
etc.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRADITIONAL GUIDANCE AND MODERN GUIDANCE AND

COUNSELLING:

S/N Traditional counselling Modern counselling

1 Done by untrained persons. Is done by trained persons.
2 Is basically advice giving. is basically a helping relationship not advice
giving.
3 Not confidential. Is highly confidential.
4 No conduisive environment is Conduisive environment is used.
used.

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5 Time used depends on the Time is restricted.
magnitude of the problem.
6 Older men and women are Clients are free to choose the counsellor of their
imposed to the youth as choice depending on their problem.
counsellors
7 Counselling is based on Counselling is based on skills.
experience.
8 Tells clients what to do. Directs Helps clients to overcome their problems.
clients.
9 Is role model oriented. Is skills based.
10 was informal in nature Is formal in nature with a curriculum, syllabus
and time table.
11 Is based on blood relationship like Is based on professional relationship with the
mother, father, unties and uncles. counsellor.
12. Is gender sensitive. Females guide Is not gender sensitive. A male counsellor can
females. work with either a male or female client.

QUESTION: Discuss the aims and objectives of guidance?

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF COUNSELLING

They include the following;

1. To help a person to solve a challenge he/she is facing.

2. To develop the self-esteem of a person.
3. To develop the self-awareness of a client.
4. To enable the client to develop skills that will enable him/her to manage the challenge.
5. To improve the life situation of the client as he/she will be able to move away from
his/her undesirable life situation to a better one.
6. To enable a person to live well with other people in the community.
7. To help the client to prevent a repeat of the bad life situations he/she is facing in future
by equipping the client with problem solving techniques.
8. To build hope in the life of the client who is facing a psychological problem like grief,
stress and frustration.

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9. To facilitate behaviour change in the client who is defeated by inappropriate behaviour
like smoking, drug addiction, worry among others.
10. To help the clients to independently and effectively cope with their problems in life
especially those problems that cannot be fully solved like positive living with HIV AIDS.
11. To help a person to heal from the past circumstances that gave fear and anger to a
person.
12. To enable a person to make proper career choice which is suitable to ones’ interests,
capabilities and current trends in the job market.
13. To enable a person to make correct decisions that he/she is ready to live with the likely
consequences that may come later in life without regrets.
14. To enable a person to solve social, financial and political problems that he/she is
currently facing.
15. To enable learners to cope and confront the educational challenges they may face in
life like the issue of retakes and poor grades in class.

PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS FOR GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

The following are the four psychological reasons why guidance and counselling is
necessary;

1. To address individual differences.

2. To mitigate differences in family patterns.
3. To address environmental factors and
4. To address conflicting and widening choices in life.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES:

These are the differences that exist between the learners. They may be categorised into
the following;

1. Physical differences: i.e. differences in physical appearance like height, weight, speech
rate, growth rate fluency, ability and energy.
2. Sex differences: i.e. some are male while others are females. The male thinks that
females are a weak sex and cannot perform some tasks like loading sacks on trucks
unlike the male sex. Females say, males are generally dirty and disorganised.
3. Intellectual differences: i.e. some learners are very intelligent while others are average
and below average.

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4. Personality differences: i.e. some learners are extroverts (outgoing) while others are
introverts (reserved and “silent burners”).
5. Emotion differences: i.e. some are emotionally stable while others are emotionally
unstable and short tempered.

DIFFERENCE IN FAMILY PATTERNS:

Some families may be nuclear, while others are extended or with single parents. All this
impacts on psychological guidance and counselling needs of a learner. Some learners also
come from low socio-economic families which may face a problem of drug abuse,
domestic violence and stress compared to those from stable and high socio-economic
families.

Environmental factors and differences: Learners who have faced unfavourable

environmental factors of life like being street children or children raised by single parents
due to painful family beak-ups or have lost parents to HIV/AIDS require more guidance and
counselling than their colleagues raised in stable homes.

Conflicting and widening choices: The ever-rising changes in the society like the rising cases
of domestic violence and Drunkardness has left behind a litany of orphans and hopeless
children. Such challenges therefore expose children with psychological torture among
other problems which require guidance and counselling unlike their colleagues who are
from stable homes.

TYPES/LEVELS OF COUNSELLING

They include the following;

1. Individual counselling: This is the type of counselling where the counsellor interacts with
only one client only. This is done in a private and confidential manner. This type of
counselling forms the basis of all forms of counselling because it’s from it that the
counsellor identifies the counselling needs of the client.
2. Group counselling: This is the type of counselling where the counsellor relates with a
group of clients from one room so as to help them solve their problems. In group
counselling the following factors should be considered;
• Clients must be of the same age bracket.
• Must have similar problems.
• Should be of the same sex.

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Group counselling is good for clients who are shy to speak out/to talk freely about their
problem through the encouragement of others who freely share their own experiences.
They also learn the coping skills of other clients. Group counselling can be applied for
counselling formally abducted children, child mothers and people living with HIV/AIDS.

3. Family counselling: This is counselling offered to family members who are related by
blood or by extension but staying in one home. In family counselling, the counsellor talks
to all the members of the family so as to help them understand their role in facilitating
the healing process of the client or of all the family members. It takes place in a family
setting/environment where the affected person comes from. The aim of family
counselling is to develop a strong support network for the client.
4. Outreach counselling:

This is the type of counselling where the counsellor travels and reaches out to a client in a
venue outside the normal counselling office. The advantage of this counselling is that the
counsellor reduces the transport costs of the client and the counsellor meets the client in
their natural setting/habitat. However, the counsellor should adjust to the realities he/she
will meet at the outreach work station/habitat/home of the client.

5. Peer counselling: This is the type of counselling given to clients who will be expected to
guide and counsel other clients with similar/related problems later. It is given to clients
with the same age group and sex.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING THE LEVEL/TYPE OF COUNSELLING TO USE

They include the following;
1. The age group of the clients.
2. The number of clients.
3. The number of counsellors available.
4. The nature of the problem faced by the client.
5. The sex of the client.
6. The choice of the client.
7. The nearness of the client to the counsellor.
8. The available counselling space in the office.

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GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING SERVICES
There are five main guidance and counselling services today, they include the following;
1. Orientation guidance services (adaptational services): This is a guidance and
counselling service given to clients like students and new workers of an organisation so
as to help them familiarize and adopt to a new environment so that they feel
emotionally secured and happy in the new environment.
2. Educational guidance and counselling: This is guidance and counselling services given
to students to help them improve on their academic experiences and achievement. it
aims at equipping students with skills that will help them to improve on their intellectual
abilities like study skills, note making skills, research skills, examination taking skills among
others.
3. Social guidance and counselling services: These are skills that help students to acquire
skills that will enable a person to adjust and live well with other people like how to deal
with opposite sex, peer pressure, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism and substance abuse.
4. Personal guidance and counselling: These are services intended to help students deal
with personal issues that may affect an individual like emotional stability, grieve, rape
and frustration.
5. Career/vocational guidance and counselling services:
This is a service that helps students to find a suitable career that is related to their
interests, abilities and the available opportunities.

PROFESSIONAL QUALITIES OF A GOOD COUNSELLOR

They include the following;

1. Is confidential. Observes confidentiality by Keeps the secrets of the clients.

2. Is a good listener. He/she listens to the clients attentively for both verbal and non-verbal
communication.
3. Role model. A good counsellor is a role model and will be emulated by the client. Other
members of the public look at a counsellor as a person to learn from.
4. Non-judgmental. A good counsellor should not be biased on the clients.
5. Empathetic. a counsellor should appreciate the client’s problem but not sympathising
with them.

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6. Good will. A good counsellor should be sincerely interested in the welfare and well-
being of the clients.
7. Available. He/she should be readily available and easily reached by the clients when
needed.
8. Understanding. A counsellor should accept the clients the way they are regardless of
their strength and weaknesses.
9. Respectful. A counsellor should respect him/herself so as to be respect by others.
10. Risk taker. He/she should be able to take risks and admits them especially for the good
of his/her client.
11. Knowledgeable. A good counsellor should be knowledgeable in the field of guidance
and counselling so as to help the clients from an informed point of view.
12. Emotionally balanced. A good counsellor should be able to manage his/her emotions
well.
13. Trust worthy. A good counsellor should be able to keep the secrets of the client well
without telling other people without the permission of the client.
14. Keeps time. A good counsellor should value time by managing and using it well for the
good of the client.
15. Does not give advice. A good counsellor should not give advice to the client instead
should help the client to solve or go through the recovery process.
16. should not seek material benefits. A good counsellor does not seek for material benefits
from the counselling relationship.
17. Does not exploit the relationship. A good counsellor does not exploit and take
advantage of the client’s problem for his or selfish personal gain like sexual gratification.

PERSONAL QUALITIES OF AGOOD COUNSELLOR:

They include the following;

1. Shows genuineness and care to the clients.
2. Should be interested in people’s life and happiness.
3. Should guide the clients and the general public regularly.
4. Should be a good communicator to the community and the general public.
6. Should have common sense in whatever he/she does.
7. Should be creative and imaginative being able to come up with different solutions to
the different problems.

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8. Should be patient and tolerant always.
9. Should be compassionate always to all.
10. Should be available always when needed.
11. Should be flexible and dynamic.
12. Should be friendly and approachable.
13. Should be knowledgeable in the socio-economic norms of the people.
14. Should be open and cooperative always.
15. Should have a constructive attitude in life.
16. Should be sensitive to the feelings of clients.
17. Should have a high degree of integrity and honestly.
18. Should generally be disciplined.
19. Should follow the lows of the country.
20. Should be resilient on how he/she responds to problems of the client.
21. Should be dedicated and devoted to his/her work.
22. Should have proven general intellectual capability.
23. Should be emotionally stable and mature.
24. Should be decent in dressing.
25. Should be God fearing.
26. Should generally be polite.
27. Should be an encourager.
28. Should live a simple life.
29. Should live a natural life.

LIFE SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

1. Abortion.
2. Infertility.
3. Failing exams.
4. Choosing a marriage partner.
5. Stress.
6. Choosing a career.
7. Drug abuse.
8. Terminal illness.
9. Loss of a loved one like husband, wife, parents and children.

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10. Demotion.
11. Medical operation.
12. Terminal illness.
13. Extreme poverty.
14. Prison sentence.
15. Loss of a job.
16. Divorce/ separation.
17. Returning from captivity.
18. Returning from prison.
19. Amputation.
20. Sexual assault and rape.

Qns.

• Identify issues in life that require guidance.

• Mention issues in life that will need counselling.
• Specify the misconceptions people have about guidance and counselling.
• Discuss the various ways people respond to problems in life?
• Mention the benefits of guidance and counselling.
• Identify the most common problems that students in secondary school face that
requires guidance and counselling.

THE COUNSELLING PROCESS

This refers to the steps followed during the process of counselling; they include the
following;

1. Creation/building of rapport/warm and cordial working relationship that exists between

the counsellor and the client. This can be done by;
• Welcoming the client.
• Greeting the client.
• Detailed introduction.
• Assurance of confidentiality.
• Encouraging the client to speak.
• Use of friendly approach in counselling.
• Well coming approach to the problem.

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 • Being available to the client.
• Understanding the client.
• Us of attending skills like good sitting posture, gestures, facial appearance, learning
forward and being relaxed.
2. Listening to the client. This involves understanding what the client is saying by listening to
both verbal and non-verbal communication. This give total or complete
communication. Listening to the client involves the following;
• Listening to the client’s story.
• Listening how the problem started.
• Listening how the client has lived with the problem.
• Listening to what has been done by the client so far so as to solve the problem.
• Listening to the challenges the client now faces.
• Using active listening skills like gestures, tone, facial appearance, sitting posture and
body/hand movement.
3. Clarifying: this is the process of using open ended questions and re-phrasing the client’s
communication so as to understand the client’s problem better. Closed ended
questions are highly discouraged in counselling.
4. Reflecting on the client’s feelings/emotions. The counsellor gets to know the client’s
feelings and what he/she does with the feelings. It’s important for the counsellor to
counter react on the client’s feelings and what he/she plans to handle the
feelings/emotions so as to assess its impact on the recovery of the client. In case the
client cries, it’s important for the counsellor to give him/her time to do so un-disruptedly
since crying is a sign of relief. The counsellor can use the skill of empathy as the client
cries. It’s important to always encourage the client to forgive and to initiate
reconciliation. If the client is a Christian, encourage him/her to read some inspiring
biblical texts.
5. Summary. The counsellor then summarizes the client’s story in a brief statement that
summarises the origin of the problem, the current emotional challenges faced and
interventions made. It’s important for your client to confirm whether the counsellor’s
summary is true. A good summary is a proof of good listening by the counsellor.
6. Generation of Possible solutions: this is the process of helping the client to come up with
possible actions/steps to take so as to solve the problem. Its important to note that the
role of the counsellor is to facilitate the problem-solving process not deciding for the

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 client. The counsellor uses his/her skills to help the client solve his/her problem, however,
the final decision on what to do and how to do it remains entirely with the client. This
makes the client to own up the outcome of his/her action. However, the counsellor
guides the client on the implications of his/her decision and to highlight other options
available to the client.
7. Ranking options and setting priorities. The counsellor works together with the clients on
how to prioritise the implementation of the identified possible solutions.
8. Fixing the next appointment: This is the process of identifying the next date of the
counselling meeting for on-going and to enable the client reports on the progress
he/she is making based on the set priorities already ranked. So that the counsellor
guides the counsellor assesses the effectiveness of the option implemented.
9. Termination of the relationship/referral of the client: termination of the counselling
relationship is the process of bringing the counselling relationship to an end. It takes
place when the client recovers from the counselling problem. However, the counsellor
can terminate the counselling relationship by referring the client to another counsellor
when he/she fails to help the client to overcome the counselling challenge.

COUNSELLING SKILLS

This are the skills that a counsellor should possess so as to provide the counselling services to
the clients effectively, they include the following;

1. Attending skills: These are skills which are used by the counsellor to relate with their
clients both physically and psychologically. Attending skills can be summarised using
and acronym “SOLER”. As explained below;
• S – Sit squarely. This means sitting at 45 degrees angle to your client so that the
counsellor does not face the client directly. This skill enables the counsellor to avoid
having a confrontational discussion with the client. It also enables the counsellor to
attend to the clients who are shy and fear looking straight in the face/eyes.

• O – Open posture. This means sitting in a manner that does not strain the counsellor. It
also enables the counsellor to observe the client effectively well.

• L – Lean forward. This involves extending your upper body forward to the client so as to
have a confidential discussion with minimises other people from hearing the discussions
in the counselling room.

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• E– Eye contact maintenance. This means glancing at your client occasionally so that
you connect to him/her well. The counsellor should avoid looking at the client directly
and regularly as this would instil fear in the client.

• R – Relaxed body: it involves sitting in a relaxed manner without over straining the body.

Others attending skills that a counsellor should possess include;

• Smiling. A good counsellor should have the skill of a good smile so as to offer hope to
the client. This should be done at appropriate situations and where necessary.
• Offers warmth. The counsellor should be able to offer warmth to the client feels
comforted and valued despite the problem situation.
• Uses gestures. The counsellor should know, watch and understand the meaning of
different body gestures that a client can use when telling his/her story like hand
movements, facial expression and sitting posture.
2. Empathy skills: This refers to the skills of feeling with your client or being in the “shoes of
your client” or as if you were the one in the problem but without being taken up
emotionally. This will enable the counsellor to help the client to work towards coping
with the problem. The counsellor should avoid being sympathetic, because, sympathy
will make the counsellor to become part of the problem with no one to provide the
counselling service. To show empathy means the counsellor Listens, understands and
communicates to the clients in the way that they put themselves in the situation of the
client. The counsellor can use a statement like “I understand the situation you are in now
and how you feel”.
3. Questioning/ Probing skills:
This refers to the ability of the counsellor to ask the client relevant questions so as to get
clarification from the clients during counselling process. The two types of questions used
are; open ended questions and closed ended questions.
a. Open ended Questions. These are questions which enables the client to talk more on
the issue at hand because it gives room for explanation. Examples of Open-Ended
questions are;
• What brought you in here today?
• How does that make you feel?
b. Closed ended questions. This are questions that require specific answers and the
client does is not free to make explanations. They are questions that demand for

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 specific answers and are used to get specific information like; YES, NO, or figures like
1, 2, 3---, etc. This kind of questions are strongly discouraged in counselling.
Qns: Using the counselling questions below, categorize them into open ended and
close ended.
• Do you feel angry?
• Is the atmosphere at home tense?
• What is the atmosphere like at home?
• Do you argue with your wife?
• How is your relationship with your wife/ husband?
• Do you love your husband?
• Share with me your past life?
4. Summary skills: Summarization skills refers to skills that enables the counsellor to picks out
the major issues in a client’s story and to communicate it back. It captures the origin of
the problem situation, current state of affairs and the feelings/emotions expressed by
the client over a given period of time. When making the summary;
• Pick the main points from the client’s story.
• Bring a clear picture of the problem.
• Explain how you (the Counsellor) has understood the problem of the client. however,
seek for clarification from the client.
• Bring out clearly the feelings/emotions of the client in the current problem situation.
Summaries are made when closing the session and when opening a new one. It
important for the counsellor to challenge the client to reflect on the most important
issues that have come up in the sharing, usually at the end of the session.
5. Information Giving skills: This is the skills of passing out important pieces of information to
the clients so as to educate them about what she/ he does not know. Information is also
given to correct the misinformation of clients. The following factors/points
should be considered when giving out information;
• Challenging or shocking information needs to be given tactfully e.g. about HIV/AIDS
status, cancer and other chronic illnesses.
• Information should be related to the problem.
• Information should be precise, direct, clear, specific and relevant to the client’s
problem situation.

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 • Timing of information is very important. Give the information when you see that the
client is ready to receive it.
• Information giving is not advice giving. The last decision should be left to the client
6. Record keeping: The counsellor should be able to keep the information of the client well
in the client’s record book. It’s important to note that recording the client’s information
should be done later after the counselling session so as to enable the counsellor listen
attentively to the counsellor and also to maintain the principle of confidentiality. Record
keeping will enable the counsellor truck the progress of the client and for easy probing.
The information recorded should not bear the name of the client but the client’s
number. Also, the clients file must be kept under key and lock so as to prevent
unauthorised access by other people without the express permission of the client.
TERMINATION OF THE COUNSELING RELATIOSHIP

This is the process of bringing the counselling relationship to an end. It is done to end the
helping relationship which was created at the start of the counselling process.

REASONS FOR TERMINATING A COUNSELLING RELATIOSHIP

the following are the reasons for terminating a counselling relationship;

1. When there is no significant progress in the desired behaviour.

2. If there is need to refer for specialized or further management, e.g.; with health-related
problems or psychological problems, beyond the teacher’s training.
3. If the child exhibits reactions of blocked emotions, for example, the child may stop
participating meaningfully and become so irritable, aggressive or stop communicating
at all
4. The child may regress into a behaviour previously mastered either before or during the
helping relationship. (e.g., thumb sucking, bed-wetting, missing lesions, deteriorated
performance, etc.).
5. There may be evidence of transference and/or counter-transference, which may be
more harmful than useful if the relationship continues.
6. The child may have developed over dependence on the helping relationship that the
new behaviour has not been successfully developed.
7. When there is no significant progress in the desired behaviour.

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8. If there is need to refer for specialized or further management, e.g.; with health-related
problems or psychological problems, beyond the teacher’s training.

9. If the child exhibits reactions of blocked emotions, for example, the child may stop
participating meaningfully and become so irritable, aggressive or stop communicating
at all.

10. The child may regress into a behaviour previously mastered either before or during the
helping relationship. (e.g.; thumb sucking, bed-wetting, missing lesions, deteriorated
performance, etc.).

11. There may be evidence of transference and/or counter-transference, which may be

more harmful than useful if the relationship continues.

12. The child may have developed over dependence on the helping relationship that the
new behaviour has not been successfully developed.

REFERRALS IN A COUNSELING RELATIONSHIP

Referral is a written directive document given to a client by a Counsellor/ teacher to help

the client/ pupil access further assistance from another counsellor. For every referral, the
service providers/ Counsellor should explain to the client the purpose of the referral and
what to expect at the at the referral site. A referral slip should be filled out with the client’s
name and the reason for referral.

WHEN TO REFER A CLIENT

The following are the reasons for referring a client;

1. When the Counsellor has tied schedules; that is to say the work load, numbers of client
being handled by the Counsellor and the area of specialization. However, a client can
be referred when he/she is not responding to counselling after a number of sessions.
2. Limited knowledge of the subject matter; Here, the counsellor may have to give referral
to their client if the client’s problem is beyond the training ability of the Counsellor.
3. When there is transference and counter transference; the Counsellor/ teacher for this
case may decide to refer clients in case he/she has emotional involvement in the client
and the reverse holds.

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4. When there is dependency on the counselor. Then the counsellor/ teacher may refer
clients to another counsellor within the school or to other Counsellor(s) in another
organization.
5. The counsellor may also refer clients when the facility cannot provide comprehensive
care package such as blood screening, ARV for positive clients, etc.
NB. When writing referral, the counsellor should consider the following factors; client’s
name, address, parish, sub-county, name of organization, reason for referral then
counsellor name title, date, signature and the official stamp.

LIFE SKILLS
Introduction: The term ‘Life Skills’ refers to the skills a person needs to make the most out of
his/her life. Life skills are usually associated with managing and living a better quality of life.
They help an individual to accomplish his/her ambitions and live to a full potential.
Therefore, any skill which is useful in the life of an individual can be considered a life skill. Life
skills can be acquired depending on a person’s current life circumstances, culture, belief,
age, geographic location, sex, level of educations and exposure.
Examples of life skills:
The following are examples of life skill;

1. Self-esteem and self-confidence life skill.

2. Assertiveness life skill.
3. Effective decision-making life skill.
4. Self -control skills.
5. Critical thinking.
6. Making and retraining friends’ life skill.
7. Effective communication life skill.
8. Time Management life skill.
9. Anger and Stress management life skill.
10. Conflict management/resolution life skill.
11. Leadership life skill.
12. Negotiation life skill.
13. Study life skill.
14. Career life skill

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SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE LIFE SKILL:

This is a skill of self-belief on one’s capabilities and uniqueness to perform a given task as
well the limitations, shortfalls or incapability of an individual. It’s a push life skill because it
motivates a person to perform or to try out activities that ordinarily may be difficult to
perform because low self-belief. People with this skill are high achievers because they have
strong belief in their inner capabilities.
Discussion questions:
1. Mention the Indicators /characteristics of a person with high self-esteem:
2. Discuss the Impotence/benefits of high self-esteem
3. Specify the Indicators/characteristics of a person with low self-esteem.
4. Discuss the consequences of low self-esteem.
5. Describe how to help a person gain high self-esteem.

ASSERTIVENESS LIFE SKILL:

This is a life skill which enables a person to present his/her view point freely without fear so
that the other person becomes aware of his or her view point or position on a given issue.
This life skill helps a person to maintain good and healthy relations with other individuals
while aware of the individual difference that exists between them.

1. Discussion questions:
2. Specify the Indicators /characteristics of assertive persons.
3. Discuss the Impotence/benefits of assertiveness.
4. Show the Indicators/characteristics of less assertive persons.
5. Illustrate the consequences of being less assertive.

EFFECTIVE DECISION-MAKING LIFE SKILL:

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This is a skill of making appropriate and correct decisions to a given problem situation. This
skill enables a person to analyse the benefits and the potential problems of undertaking
such a decision.

Discussion questions:
1. Show the Indicators /characteristics of person with effective decision-making skills.
2. Discuss the Impotence/benefits of effective decision making.
3. Describe the Indicators/characteristics of persons with poor decision-making skills.
4. Illustrate the consequences of having poor decision skills.
5. Demonstrate how to help a person develop effective decision making.

SELF-CONTROL LIFE SKILLS

This is the skill of self-restrain when faced with an intrapersonal challenge with the aim of
restoring such emotional challenge.
Discussion questions:
1. Describe the Indicators /characteristics of person with self-control skills.
2. Discuss the impotence/benefits of having self-control skills.
3. illustrate the indicators/characteristics of persons with self-control skills.
4. Demonstrate the consequences of having no self-control skills.
5. Illustrate how to develop self-control skills.

CRITICAL THINKING LIFE SKILL:

This is a skill which enables a person to consider wider aspects of a given situation. It is a skill
which enables a person to analysis the benefits of a given decision, its disadvantages and
the possible ways of mitigating such disadvantages.
Discussion questions:

1. Describe the Indicators /characteristics of people with critical thinking skills.

2. analysis the Impotence/benefits of critical thinking.
3. Discuss the Indicators/characteristics of persons with critical thinking skills.
4. Illustrate the consequences of not having critical skills.
5. Demonstrate how to help a person develop critical thinking skills.

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MAKING AND RETAINING FRIENDS KILLS:

This is the skill of creating good friendships and sustaining the friendship for a long period of
time. Its important to note that making and retaining friends is a unique skill that all must
acquire. It also goes without mention that some people do not have such a skill and this
makes it difficult for them to make and sustain friendships.

Discussion questions:

1. Describe the Indicators /characteristics of persons with making and retaining friends’
skills.
2. Discuss the impotence/benefits of making and retaining friends’ skills.
3. Demonstrate the Indicators/characteristics of person with poor making and retaining
friends’ skills.
4. Analyse the consequences of poor making and retaining friends.
5. Demonstrate how to help a person develop skills in making and retaining skills.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION LIFE SKILL:

Is a skill which enables a person to convey information and instructions to others in a clear
and understandable manner so that the receiver is able to offer appropriate feedback.
Therefore, a person with this life skill uses language and gestures well and understands the
meaning of the different signs commonly used in the community.

Revision questions:
1. Discuss the indicators /characteristics of persons with effective communication life skills.
2. Analyse the impotence/benefits of effective communication life skills.
3. Demonstrate the Indicators/characteristics of person with poor communication life skills.
4. Describe the consequences of having poor communication life skills.
5. Illustrate how to help a person develop effective communication life skills.

TIME MANAGEMENT LIFE SKILL:

This is a skill which enables a person to utilise, manage and distribute his/her time resource
equitably well to a variety of activities in a given period of time. Some people have

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developed this skill well while others have not. Those who possess this skill tend to be
successful in life and often achieve their targets or planned tasks unlike those who do not.

Revision questions:
6. Discuss the indicators /characteristics of persons with good time management skills.
7. Analyse the impotence/benefits of effective time management skills.
8. Demonstrate the Indicators/characteristics of person with poor time management life
skills.
9. Describe the consequences of having poor time management life skills.
10. Illustrate how to help a person develop effective time management life skills.

ANGER AND STRESS MANAGEMENT SKILL:

This is a skill which will enable a person to deal with emotional imbalance that he/she may
be facing in a given period of time due to some environmental, social and personality
problems. Anger and stress are extreme emotions which if not well managed will affect the
intra and inter personal relationship of an individual.

Discussion questions:

1. Discuss the indicators /characteristics of persons with good anger and stress
management.
2. Describe the impotence/benefits of good anger and stress management skills.
3. Demonstrate the indicators/characteristics of poor anger and stress management skills.
4. Illustrate the consequences of poor anger and stress management.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILLS

Learning outcomes: This topic will define interpersonal conflict and explains the different
types of conflict that may arise. It sets out some strategies that can be used separately or
together to try to resolve conflicts.

Introduction: Interpersonal conflict is a fact of life and can arise in almost any sphere, from
organisations through to personal relationships. Learning to resolve it effectively in a way

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that does not increase your stress levels is therefore important for everyone. Those with
good conflict resolution skills generally help organisations and groups to work more
effectively.

What is Interpersonal Conflict?

Interpersonal conflict is broadly defined as a conflict between two or more people.
Chambers English Dictionary defines conflict as “a violent collision: a struggle or contest: a
battle: a mental struggle”.

Interpersonal conflict may therefore start with a simple disagreement and will eventually
become ‘conflict’ when those involved escalate it beyond disagreement.

In a work situation, interpersonal conflict is generally defined as what happens when one
person or group of people prevents, or attempts to prevent, another person or group from
achieving their goals.

TYPES OF INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT

There are three main types of conflict, namely;

1. Personal or relational conflicts are usually about identity or self-image, or important

aspects of a relationship such as loyalty, breach of confidence, perceived betrayal or
lack of respect.

2. Instrumental conflicts are about goals, structures, procedures and means: something
fairly tangible and structural within the organisation or for an individual.

3. Conflicts of interest concern the ways in which the means of achieving goals are
distributed, such as time, money, space and staff. They may also be about factors
related to these, such as relative importance, or knowledge and expertise. An
example would be a couple disagreeing over whether to spend a bonus on a holiday
or to repair the roof.

RESOLVING CONFLICT

It is important to emphasise that dealing with conflict early is usually easier, because
positions are not so entrenched, others are less likely to have started to take sides, and the

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negative emotions are not so extreme. The best way to address a conflict in its early stages
is through negotiation between the participants. Later on, those in conflict are likely to
need the support of mediation, or even arbitration or a court judgement, so it is much
better to resolve things early. There are five main strategies for dealing with conflicts, all of
which can be considered in terms of who wins and who loses. Making a win-win situation is
always going to be better for everyone. It should therefore be clear that some strategies
will be significantly more successful in the longer term.
5 STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH CONFLICT

1. Compete or Fight: This is the classic win/lose situation, where the strength and power of
one person wins the conflict. It has its place, but anyone using it needs to be aware that it
will create a loser and, if that loser has no outlet for expressing their concerns, then it will
lead to bad feeling. This strategy is probably best only used where little or no further
contact is necessary between the individuals or groups concerned.

2. Collaboration: This is the ideal outcome: a win/win situation. However, it requires input of
time from those involved to work through the difficulties, and find a way to solve the
problem that is agreeable to all. This may be hard work, especially if the positions have
already become entrenched, but it is also likely to be the best possible starting point early
in a conflict situation.

3. Compromise or Negotiation: This is likely to result in a better result than win/lose, but it’s
not quite win/win. You could call it a no-score draw. Both parties give up something in
favour of an agreed mid-point solution. This effectively results in a solution that pleases
nobody very much, but hopefully will not offend or upset anyone too much. It takes less
time than collaboration, but is likely to result in less commitment to the outcome because it
is nobody’s preferred option.

4. Denial or Avoidance: This is where everyone pretends there is no problem. This strategy is
used surprisingly often and can be quite effective. It is particularly helpful if those in conflict
need time to ‘cool down’ before any discussion, or if the conflict is unimportant and will
simply resolve itself given time. However, it cannot be used if the conflict won’t just die
down. Under these circumstances, using this strategy will create a lose/lose situation: there
will still be bad feeling, but no clearing the air through discussion. It results, in Transactional

28
Analysis terms, in ‘I’m not OK, you’re not OK’. This can result in serious stress for those
involved.

5. Smoothing Over the Problem: On the surface, harmony is maintained but, underneath,
there is still conflict. This is similar to the situation above, except that one person is probably
OK with this smoothing, while the other remains in conflict, creating a win/lose situation
again. It can work where preserving a relationship is more important than dealing with the
conflict right now. It is, however, not very useful if one person, or others outside the conflict,
feel that the situation must be resolved.

These five behaviours can be shown in terms of a balance between concern for self and
concern for other

Essential Skills for Handling Conflict

There are a wide range of useful skills for handling conflict. Possibly the most important is
assertiveness. You need to be able to express your views clearly and firmly, but without
aggression. One model to use is ‘Describe the situation, Express your feelings
and Specify what you want done’, but for more information, and ideas for developing your
assertiveness, see our Assertiveness section. It is also helpful to think about how you
communicate about the situation. When you want to talk about the effect of the conflict

29
or the other person’s behaviour, it is most effective to use ‘I’ statements. In other words, you
should explain the effect of particular behaviours or actions on you.

For example: This is much easier to hear than “Your behaviour is horrible”, or even “You are
a bad person”. It can therefore make it easier to discuss problem areas without creating
further conflict. You also need to practise active listening to ensure that you fully
understand the position of those involved in the conflict. This is true whether you are an
active participant or a potential mediator.

It is also helpful to understand and recognise emotion in both yourself and others.

Emotions are never good or bad, but simply appropriate or inappropriate. A useful skill in
managing conflict is to be able to help others recognise when particular emotions are
inappropriate, and when it is likely to be fine to express them.

One particular part of emotional intelligence which is likely to be particularly useful

is empathy. This is the skill of being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes, and
supporting those involved to do the same.

Conclusion: In handling conflict both as a direct participant and as a potential mediator, it

is important to know your limitations. If you reach a point where you don’t feel confident
that your intervention is going to help, then it’s OK to step back and ask for help.
Sometimes you might need to involve someone else, such as a trained mediator, and
that’s fine. It is much better to ask for help than to step in and make matters worse.
Discussion questions:

5. Discuss the indicators /characteristics of persons with good conflict management skills.
6. Describe the impotence/benefits of good conflict management skills.
7. Demonstrate the indicators/characteristics of a person with poor conflict management
skills.
8. Illustrate the consequences of poor conflict management skills?

LEADERSHIP LIFE SKILL:

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Are skills which enable a person to influence the behaviour and conduct of other people to
his or her perception. This skill changes peoples thinking, actions and conduct.

Discussion questions:

1. Demonstrate the Indicators /characteristics of people with poor leadership skills?

2. Discuss the impotence/benefits of good leadership skills?
3. Describe the indicators/characteristics of people with poor leadership skills?
4. Illustrate the consequences of being a poor leader?
5. Analyse how to help a person become a good leader?
NEGOTIATION SKILLS
This is a skill that enables a person to acquire or to get service, item or goods of choice at
the lowest possible cost. For example, when buying a computer, you can use your
negotiation skills to reduce the price from 0ne million shillings to eight hundred thousand
shillings only.
Discussion questions:
1. Discuss the indicators /characteristics of a person with good negotiation skills?
2. Demonstrate the impotence/benefits of good negotiation skills?
3. Analyse the indicators/characteristics of people with good negotiation skills?
4. Describe the consequences of poor negotiation skills.
5. Illustrate how you would help a person develop good negotiation skills?
STUDY SKILLS
These are skills a person needs to enable him/her to study effectively well while at, When at
school, college or university. This skill is very important because it helps a student to grasp
concepts taught in class and to apply it in concrete problem situations outside class when
executing his/her career.
Discussion question:
1. Discuss the indicators /characteristics of persons with good study skills?
2. Demonstrate the impotence/benefits of good study skills?
3. Illustrate the indicators/characteristics of people with poor study skills?
4. Analyse the consequences of having poor study skills?

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5. Describe how you would help a person develop good study skills?

CAREER LIFE SKILLS:

These are skills which are acquired from school to enable a person to get a job. These skills
also enable a person to actually perform the task he or she will be assigned to perform in
the office. Examples of employability skills include;
1. Typing skills.
2. Accounting skills.
3. Public relations skills.
4. Medical skills, that is, the skills of detecting and treating sicknesses.

Discussion questions:

1. Describe the indicators /characteristics of people with good career life skills?
2. Discuss the impotence/benefits of people with good career life skills?
3. Illustrate the indicators/characteristics of people with poor career life skills?
4. Analyse the consequences of having poor career life skills?
5. Demonstrate how to help a person become assertive.

Conclusion: Life skills are very important drivers of the life of an individual. It’s important to
know the life skill an individual possess. Ignorance lack of life skills affects a person’s intra
and interpersonal relationships. Therefore, it’s important to learn and use life skill for a good
relationship with oneself and with others.

THE ROLES OF TEACHERS AND SCHOOL ADMINSTRATORS IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

The teachers and school administrators perform the following roles in the administration of
guidance counselling services to four different categories of stake holders in education in
different ways. Such stakeholders include;

a. The learners.

32
b. The teachers’/school authorities themselves.
c. The parents/community.
d. The government.

Generally, teachers and school administrators perform the following tasks in guidance and
counselling;

1. To guide and counsel learners on the subject combinations to offer.

2. To guide and counsel learners on the career to choose based on their performance,
choice and current job market.
3. To guide children on the issue of drugs.
4. To guide learners on the issue of reproductive health.
5. To guide leaners on how to relate with other students especially the opposite sex.
6. To guide them on how to deal with intrapersonal relationship like how live with
themselves especially on the issue of self-esteem, life skills, assertiveness, self confidence
among others.
7. To guide and counsel parents and learner on how to solve problems concerning home
and school.
8. To collect and keep data about learners’ behaviour progress.
9. To make consultations with parents and other teachers on issues concerning learner’s
behaviour so as to mitigate it.
10. So as plan and conduct research on the needs of guidance and counselling so as to
determine what to be done so as to improve on it.
11. To evaluate the student’s abilities, achievements, attitudes and learning needs.
12. Coordinate data accumulated and to supervise it so as to make a follow up.
13. Referring students to other specialists for guidance and counselling help.

Qn: Identify the guidance and counselling services that the following categories of
educational stake holders need;

a. Learners.
b. Parents.

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COUNSELLING PROGRAMMES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Secondary schools implement the following guidance and counselling programmes;

1. Career talks for all classes in groups.

2. Girls/ boys meetings.
3. Disciplinary committee meetings.
4. Parents meeting for all classes in groups.
5. Inviting guest speakers.
6. Use of former students (OBs and OGs).
7. Using role model learners like the most disciplined, smart and academically achieving
learners.
8. Offering gifts to best performing learners to as to guide and counsel others.
9. Having a one on one talk with learners with a problem.
10. Public apology.
11. Using drama and songs.
12. Using films and videos.
13. Girl-to-girls talk and boy-to-boys talk.

PROBLEMS FACED IN THE PROVISION OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSEELING SERVICES IN

SECONDARY SCHOOLS TODAY

They include the following;

1. High teacher-pupil ratio.

2. Lack of enough counselling rooms.
3. Inadequate guidance and counselling knowledge.
4. Inadequate materials to be used in guidance and counselling.
5. Much work load for the teachers.

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6. Under rating the relevance of guidance and counselling.
7. Mixing counselling services with disciplinary measures.
8. Mixing counselling services with advice giving.
9. Little motivation.
10. Lack of support from parents. few parents offer support counselling.
11. Bad peer influence.
12. Abuse of the counselling relationship for selfish gain like sexual favours and material
gain.
13. Lack of confidentiality due to unprofessionalism of some teachers.
14. Few guidance and counselling staff in schools.
15. Poor record keeping of client’s information.

SOLUTIONS/WAYS OF OVERCOMING THE PROBLEMS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING IN

SCHOOLS

they include the following;

1. Lowering the teacher-pupil ratio so that teachers can offer effective guidance and
counselling services on an individual level.
2. building counselling rooms in all schools.
3. Training teachers in guidance and counselling skills and conducting regular refresher
courses so as to equip teachers with the latest skills in guidance and counselling.
4. Provision of enough materials to be used in guidance and counselling sessions like books
and charts.
5. Recruiting more teachers into the service.
6. Recruiting more counsellors in all secondary school to offers the service.
7. The students should be sensitised on the relevance of guidance and counselling services
and encouraged to seek them when need arises.
8. Counsellors should strive to separate counselling services with disciplinary measures so
that learners can freely without fear seek such services without having the worry of
being punished later.
9. Counsellors should avoid giving advice since this is not part of counselling.
10. Counsellors should be highly motivated by offering them allowances and separate
appointment letters.

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11. parents should support counselling services offered to their children by offering all the
necessary information and help requested by the counsellors.
12. Good friends should be used to support effective recovery of clients.
13. the counselling relationship should be professional job not for selfish gain. Counsellors
who misuse the counselling relationship for sexual favours and material gain should be
punished according to the laws of the land and suspended from the counselling
profession.
14. confidentiality should be upheld always when offering the guidance and counselling
service.
15. more counsellors should be trained.
16. More counselling institutions should be opened to train more professional counsellors to
meet the high demand.
17. Counsellors should have meticulous record keeping of client’s information in a
confidential manner.
18. The government should enact a law that recognises the importance of guidance and
counselling in Uganda and employing counsellors in all public and private school.

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REFERENCES:

1. Gladding S.T. (1996). Counselling -a comprehensive profession. (04th Ed.) Englewood

Cliffs, N.J. Prentice hall, New Jersey, USA.
2. Bercvar, D.S. &Becvar, R.J, (1996). Family Therapy. A systemic integration (04th Ed.).
Boston: Allyn &Becon.
3. Bloch, S. (1989). Group Psychotherapy. British journal of psychiatry, 134, 257-263.
4. Mayer. J.W. (1999). Child psychology. Retrieved from Microsoft Encarta
Encyclopaedia. CD ROM, 1999.
5. Shaffer DD. R. (1996). Development psychology. Childhood and Adolescence (04th
Ed.) Pacific Groove: Brooks/cole.
6. Liebert. M.R &Wicks. M.R (1981). Developmental Psychology (03rd Ed.). Englewood
Cliffs. N.J Prentice-Hall.

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