INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER
MODULE 1 - THE COUNSELING PROFESSION: ITS
HISTORY AND TRENDS
Counseling
● Collaborative process that involves the
development of a confidential professional
relationship that focuses on personal problem
● Helps in anxiety about academics, conflict with
friends, family or relationship/partner problems,
career indecision, habit control, low
self-confidence, excessive feelings of stress and
many more
Goals of Counseling
● Facilitating behavior change
● Improving relationships
● Facilitate client’s potential
● Promote decision making
● Enhance potential and enrich self development
Categories of Counseling Goals
● Developmental goals
● Preventive goals - avoiding undesired outcomes
● Enhancement goals
● Remedial goals - overcome/treat undesired
development
● Exploratory goals - examining options
● Reinforcement goals- recognizing that what
they are doing is okay
● Cognitive goals - learning
● Physiological goals - for good health
● Psychological goals - good social interactions,
emotion control, positive self-concept
John Dewey
● Social Reform Movements of the 1800s -
together with social workers, psychiatrists, and
other educators, insisted on more humanistic
teaching methods and access to public
education
Vocational Guidance
● 10th century writings in Iraq - addressed
occupational information
● Sanchez de Arevalo (1468) - first job
classification system
● Early to mid-1800s - a number of poorly writing,
moralistic books were written
● End of 19th century - dramatic shifts in US,
responsible for the beginnings of vocational
guidance movement
○ History saw a rise of social reform
movements, impact of Industrial
revolutions, increase in immigration
Frank Parsons
● Had the greatest impact on the development of
vocational guidance in America
● Seen as founder of guidance in America
● Greatly influenced by reform movements
● Established Vocational Bureau - assisted
individuals in choosing occupations
● 1909 - published ‘Choosing a Vocation’
posthumously
○ Founding of NVGA in 1913
○ Later became ACA
● Parson’s main thrust towards VG
○ Clear understanding of yourself
○ Knowledge of requirements and
conditions of success
○ True reasoning on the relations of these
two
● Emphasized on the importance of having an
expert guide in making difficult decisions
Testing Movement (1900-1950)
● WW1 - tests of ability were used on large-scale
○ Army Alpha
● Strong Vocational Interest Bank - revolutionized
vocational counseling
● Woodworth’s Personal Data Sheet - early
personality instrument used by the military to
screen out emotionally disturbed individuals
○ Led to dev’t of similar instruments in
schools, business, and industry
● Middle of 20th century - development of tests
measuring cognition, intelligence, personality
Psychotherapy and its Impact on Counseling
Clifford Beers
● Schizophrenic who wrote a book A Mind That
Found Itself
● Helped establish the National Committee for
Mental Hygiene
○ Lobbied laws in the Congress
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 INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER

End of WW1 ● School - work with children, families, and

● Psychologists offered services to doughboys - schooling process
who had psychological problems associated with
the war Psychiatrist
○ Now oftenly diagnosed with PTSD ● a licensed physician who completed a residency
in psychiatry.
E.G. Williamson ● Diagnosing mental health disorders, prescribing
● Developed what is considered to be the first medical treatments
comprehensive theory of counseling ● Less trained in counseling
○ Distinguished from Freud’s theory of
psychoanalysis Psychoanalysts
● Trait-and-Factor Theory ● Trained in psychoanalysis
○ Analysis - examining the problem
○ Synthesis - summarizing and organizing Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse
info to understand the problem ● Skilled in delivery of mental health services
○ Diagnosis - interpreting the problem ● Work in hospital settings
○ Counseling - solving the problem ● RN psychiatric mental health nurse - basic
○ Follow-up - assuring proper support mental health work
● Advanced Practice RN (APRN) - with master’s
Carl Rogers degree in psychiatric mental health nursing
● One of the most influential psychologists and ○ Assess, diagnose, and treats individuals
psychotherapists of the 20th century with mental health problems
● Worked from psychodynamic perspective,
revolutionized the practice of counseling with his Expressive Therapists
client-centered approach ● Conduct therapies through various activities
such as art, dance, play, poems, music and
MODULE 2 - THE COUNSELOR others

Professional Counseling Human Service Practitioners

● Professional relationship that empowers diverse
individuals, families, and groups to accomplish
mental health, wellness, education, and career
goals
Social Worker
● Has undergraduate of graduate degree in social
work or related field
● Works with the underprivileged, provide
counseling and psychotherapy
● Have extensive training in counseling techniques
but less prepared in career counseling,
assessment techniques, and quantitative
research
Psychologist
● Clinical - background in science, theory, and
practice, enabling them to alleviate
maladjustment and promote psychological
well-being
● Counseling - worked with relatively healthy
populations
● Found in entry-level support and counseling jobs
● Serves as assistants to counselors and other
mental health professionals
Psychotherapists
● Not regulated and with no legislative foundation
— thus anyone can present themselves as
psychotherapist
Competencies of Effective Counselors
● Communication skills
● Acceptance - being nonjudgmental
● Empathy - feeling what others are feeling
● Problem-Solving Skills
● Rapport-Building Skills - interpersonal skills,
undivided attention
● Flexibility - ability to adapt and change to meet
clients’ needs
● Self-Awareness - looking within the self and its
needs
● Multi-cultural Competency - helping people from
all walks of life, regardless of race, color, beliefs
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 INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER
SKILLS OF EFFECTIVE COUNSELORS
1) Listening
a) Attending - orienting oneself to the pt to
indicate one is aware of the pt, and that
the client has your full, undivided
attention
b) Listening/Observing -capturing and
understanding the verbal and nonverbal
cues communicated by the pt.
Primary sources of information
● Content - what is specifically said; the
words, patterns, and expressions used
● Process - all nonverbal phenomena, how
the content is conveyed, themes, body
language, facial expressions, etc.
2) Empathy - ability to perceive another’s
experience and to communicate that perception
back to the pt.
a) Attending - showing that we are fully
paying attention, and accepting, what
they say
b) Paraphrasing - selective focusing on the
cognitive part of the message
i) Listen and recall
ii) Identify the content part
iii) Rephrase in a concise manner
the key words and ideas
iv) Perception check - asking
questions
c) Reflecting pt’s feelings - reflecting in an
open-ended, respectful manner the client
is communicating verbally and
nonverbally
Characteristics of Effective Counselors
3) Genuineness - the ability of counselors to be
freely themselves; congruence between
words/behaviors and inner feelings;
unpretentious, non defensiveness
4) Unconditional Positive Regard - expression of
caring and nurturance and acceptance
a) Conveying acceptance by responding to
pt’s messages with nonjudgmental,
noncritical verbal & nonverbal reactions
b) Respect
5) Concreteness - keeping communications specific
— focused on facts and feelings of relevant
concerns
a) Assisting client to identify and work on
specific problem
b) Reminding client of the task and
redescribing intent of the session
c) Using question and suggestions to help
client clarif facts, term, feelings, goals
d) Use a here-and-now focus to emphasize
process and content occurring is session
6) Open Questions - assists the client in clarifying
or exploring thoughts or feelings.
a) Facilitate exploration - not necessary
b) Have intention or therapeutic purpose
c) Follow response with a paraphrase or
reflection which encourages client to
share more
7) Counselor Self-Disclosure - counselor is sharing
relevant personal feelings, experiences, or
reactions to the client
a) Safer to avoid this
8) Interpretation - statement that goes beyond
what the pt has said that provides new meaning,
reason, or explanation
a) Keep short and concrete
b) Use sparingly and do not assume pt’s
rejection of it
9) Information Giving and Removing Obstacles to
Change - supplying data, opinions, facts,
resources or answers to questions.
● Be organized
● Practice ethically and professionally
● Educate Yourself - attend conferences, study
hard, ask questions, etc.
● Be confident in position and responsibility
● Be respectful and non-judgmental - do not
assert personal values or beliefs
● Understand the importance of communication
● Have a flexible attitude - be accommodating;
be the pt’s safe place
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 INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER

FUNCTIONS OF GUIDANCE COUNSELORS ● Counselor uses encouragers - nonverbal head

Philippine Republic Act No. 9258
● Guidance counselors are natural person who
has been professionally registered and licensed
by a legitimate state entity and by virtue of
specialized training to perform the functions of
guidance and counseling
Functions
1) Help client develop potentials to the fullest
2) Help client plan to utilize potentials to fullest
3) Help clients plan their future in accordance with
their abilities, interests, and needs
4) Sharing and applying knowledge related to
counseling
5) Administering wide range of human
development services
MODULE 3 - INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP HELPING
RELATIONSHIP
Individual Counseling
● Personal opportunity to receive support and
experience growth during challenging times in
life,
● Clients work one-on-one with a counselor
● Focused on the individual’s immediate or near
future concerns
nods smiles, and facial expressions
○ Paraphrasing - feeding back to the client
the essence of what has been said
○ Reflecting
○ Summarizing - weaving client’s thoughts
and feelings
Group Counseling
● Counseling group is usually comprised of six to
eight student who meet face to face with one or
two trained group therapists and talk about
what most concerns them
● Content of group sessions is absolutely
confidential
MODERN-DAY GROUPS
Self-Help Group
● Espouse a particular philosophy or way of being
in the world
● The education, affirmation, and enhancement of
existing strength of the group members
● NOT in-depth psychotherapy groups
Task Group
● Focus on how group dynamics affect the
successful completion of the product.
● They have a task at hand

Counseling Process Psychoeducational Groups

● Counseling is both art and science ● Guidance groups
● No two clients are the same ● Increase self understanding, promote personal
growth and empowerment to and prevent future
Therapeutic Alliance problems
● The most important predictor of counseling ● Preventive Education!
outcomes is the therapeutic relationship
● Carl Rogers’ Client-Centered Therapy Counseling Groups
○ When counselor is perceived as warm ● Focused on prevention and wellness, self
and interested to client, they are enhancements
understanding ● Clients have struggling with adjustment
● Positive therapeutic relationship - sense of trust problems such as break-ups, or deaths
and respect between the counselor and client. ● Shorter in duration vs group therapy, but longer
vs psychoeducational group
Attending Skills
● Good eye contact, body language, tone of voice Group Therapy
● Deep-seated, long term issues, remediation of
Listening Skills severe pathology, and personality
● Active listener - hearing client accurately and reconstruction
trying to understand them from their POV

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 INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER

Stages of Group Development ● Informed consent

1. Pregroup Stage (Forming) Section B: Confidentiality, Privileged Communication,

a. Pregroup meeting with potential
members
2. Initial Stage (Forming)
a. Group members are self conscious,
worried whether they will be accepted
3. Transition Stage (Storming and Norming)
a. Members are beginning to feel
comfortable
b. Anxiety still felt as trust issues continue
4. Work Stage (Performing)
a. Members begin to identify and work on
behavior they want to change
b. Leaders will implement advanced
counseling techniques and skills
5. Closure Stage (Adjourning)
a. Increased sense of accomplishment, high
self-esteem and beginning awareness
that the group process is near
completion.
Basahin niyo na lang yung advantages and
disadvantages. Alam niyo na yan.
MODULE 4 - ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELING
PRACTICE
and Privacy
● Respect different views, inform clients with
whom, when, and how info will be shared
● Take precautions to ensure confidentiality
(emails, chats, etc.)
Section C: Professional Responsibility
● Be alert to signs of personal impairment and
refrain from providing or offering services if the
impairment could potentially harm clients
● Designate a specific colleague and create
proper plan for file and client transfer
● Use techniques and procedures that have
scientific or empirical foundation
Section D: Relationships with Other Professionals
● Be knowledgeable about colleagues and
develop positive relationships with them
● Be respectful of differing approaches to
counseling
● Work to develop and strengthen relations
Section E: Evaluation, Assessment, and Interpretation
● Take into account cultural, social, and personal
factors when making assessments
● Be aware so social and historical prejudices in
diagnosing
● Generate objective findings = appropriate
techniques

Kitchener’s Moral Principles Section F: Supervision, Training, and Teaching

● Autonomy - concept of independence to make
one’s own decision
● Justice - treating each person fairly, but not
necessarily the same way
● Beneficence - doing good or doing the best
interest of the pt.
● Nonmaleficence - doing no harm
● Fidelity - loyalty, faithfulness, honoring
commitments
American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics
Section A: The Counseling Relationship
● Counselors must wait 5 years after the
counselor-client relationship has ended before
engaging in any romantic or sexual relationship
with the client, their fam. members, and partner
● Foster professional relationships and create
boundaries with students
● Be accurate, honest, and fair during training and
assessments of students
Section G: Research and Publication
● Take appropriate steps to destroy any
documents or records that contain confidential
data
● Do not plagiarize
● Avoid biases in reviewing documents and
publications
Section H: Resolving Ethical Issues
● Follow legal requirements or regulations
● Seek out further actions if issues unresolved
● Do not deny those who have past ethics complaint
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 INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - MIDTERM EXAM REVIEWER
Ethical Issues that Influence Clinical Practice
Client Welfare
● Client needs come before counselor needs and
the counselor needs to act on client’s best
interest
Informed Consent
● We need to inform clients as to the nature of
counseling and answer questions so that the
client can make informed decisions
Confidentiality
● Clients must feel safe within the therapeutic
relationship for counseling to be effective
● When to break confidentiality:
○ If the client threatens to harm
themselves or other people
○ When a child under 16 experienced
sexual abuse: has to be reported to
police
○ If the client is found to need
hospitalization
○ In the information is involved in court
action
Dual Relationships
● When a counselor has more than one
relationship with the client (Eg. counselor and
clients are best friends)
○ Included borrowing money, accepting
expensive gifts, etc.
Sexual Relationships
● Professional organizations strongly prohibit
sexual relationships with clients and in some
states it is a criminal offense.
Ethical Issues in a Multicultural Perspective
● Client’s cultural context must take into account
● Theories of counseling and therapy represent
different worldviews, each with own values,
biases and assumptions
Malpractice
● Conditions
● The counselor has a duty to the client
● They duty of care was not met
● The client was injured (physically or mentally)
● The injury has causal relationship with
counselor’s failure to provide care
Suggestions on Avoiding Malpractice
Pre Counseling
● make sure to cover all information regarding
costs, arrangements, competencies of the
counselor
○ Avoid dual/multiple relationships
○ Indicate is a treatment in experimental
○ Identify limits of confidentiality
○ Help clients make informed choice
On-going Counseling
● Maintain confidentiality, seek consultations when
necessary, maintain good client records, take
proper action when there is imminent danger,
and comply with laws regarding child abuse
Termination of Counseling
● Be sensitive to the client’s feeling about
termination
○ Initiate termination when there is not
benefit from sessions
● Address client’s post-termination concerns, and
evaluate the efficacy of counseling services
Ethical Decision Making
● Identify the problem
● Identify potential issues
● Look at relevant ethics codes
● Consider applicable laws
● Seek consultations from other sources
● Brainstorm various possible solutions
● Enumerate various decisions
● Decide of the best possible course of action
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