ROLES AND FUCNTIONS

OF COUNSELORS
Counselors are individuals who are educated and experienced in
learning human behavior. Their primary task is to assist individuals who need
therapy in achieving an optimum degree of psychosocial functioning through
applying ideas learned and, over time, learning the individual's way of life
through counseling. Counselors provide support to clients, partners, friends,
and communities who are struggling with mental health and wellbeing
problems.

DISCUSSION OF THE LESSON

A counselor is needed to provide professional social counseling and

guidance services. Its implementation is both in school education and in the
community, in order to have the ability to understand, plan for the future,
design life rationally, get a role that is in accordance with the interests and
situations, conditions, abilities, and socio-economic life, which is fair with a
positive value view of attitudes and behavior theoretically and practically
during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Counseling is a helping profession.” According to Gibson and

Mitchell(2003), a helping profession is composed of members “who
are specially trained and licensed to perform a unique and service for
fellow human beings.”

The following are the functions and roles of Counselors:

1. Individual Assessment. Seeks to identify the characteristics and

potential of every client; promotes the client’s self-understanding and
assisting counselors to understand the client better.

Assessment methods which include a wide array of formal and

informal instruments and strategies such as standardized and non-
standardized tests, questionnaires, inventories, checklists, observations,
portfolios, performance assessments, rating scales, surveys, interviews
and measures.

2. Individual Counseling. Considered as the core activity through which

other activities become meaningful. It is client-centered process that
demands confidentiality. Relationship is established between counselor
and client.

Individual counseling can help one deal with many personal topics
in life such as anger, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, marriage
and relationship challenges, parenting problems, school difficulties,
career changes, etc.
 3. Group Counseling and Guidance. Groups are means of providing
organized and planned assistance to individuals for an array of needs.
Counselor provides assistance through group counseling and group
guidance.
The clients can meet other individuals who have gone
through similar events and have felt many of the same things
especially those with mental health concern such as social anxiety
or depression. Some other examples of conditions a group may
focus on include: generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic
stress disorder, panic disorder, phobias, depression, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance use disorder.

4. Career Assistance. Counselors are called on to provide career planning

and adjustment assistance to clients.

The counselor will help a person explore skills and

strengths, consider education levels and give advice about
continuing education, and determine interest and personality type.
Counselors may also administer an IQ test or an aptitude test.

5. Placement and Follow-up. A service of school counseling programs

with emphasis on educational placements in course and programs.

It is the appraisal of how counselees who have been counseled,

placed or referred or have graduated are doing to determine whether
further assistance is necessary.

6. Referral. It is the practice of helping clients find needed expert

assistance that the referring counselor cannot provide.

Referral can be an important tool in ensuring a continuum of care

of clients by helping them to access all the relevant services available to
address their physical, psychological and social needs. Sometimes clients
need help with other things such as medical issues, debt,
claiming benefits, legal difficulties, and so on. This is where referral is
useful.

7. Consultation. It is a process of helping a client through a third party or

helping system improve its services to its clientele
Consultation takes place to evaluate mental health that occurs
when another individual (counselor or other professional has a question
regarding the mental health of the client, to determine the cause of the
behavioral difficulties and form a solution to the client and organization
that seeks the expertise of a counselor.
 8. Research. It is necessary to advance the profession of counseling; it can
provide empirically based data relevant to the ultimate goal of
implementing effective counseling.

Research matters for clients, practitioners and for commissioners.

It provides evidence for the range of issues where therapy can be
effective and positive outcomes for clients.

9. Evaluation and Accountability. Evaluation is a means of assessing the

effectiveness of counselor’s activities. Accountability is an outgrowth of
demand that schools and other tax-supported institutions be held
accountable for their actions.

The purpose of evaluation is to determine the value of the

program, its activities, and staff in order to make decisions or to
take actions regarding the future. The evaluation will measure the
delivery of services (the process evaluation) and outcomes
(product evaluation). This ongoing process provides information to
ensure continuous improvement of the guidance program and
gives direction to necessary changes.

10. Prevention. This includes promotion of mental health through primary

prevention using a social-psychological perspective.

Preventive counseling aims to prevent anticipated problems.

A school-based preventive counseling program for example, may
focus on educating and providing guidance to adolescents about
such issues as bullying and school violence, substance abuse,
teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, eating disorders,
and suicide, the goal of reducing their vulnerability to these and
similar problems that often occur in this particular age group.
 PRACTICE EXERCISES

Situational Analysis
Objective: Determine the roles and functions of a counselor in the given situations.
Directions:
1. Identify the roles and functions of a counselor in given situations.
2. Provide explanation.
Situation 1.
Ana, one of Grade 11 students got depressed while answering her module for the
Second Quarter. With this, the Counselor went to her house and helped her
overcome depression.
Roles and Functions:
___________________________________________________________________

Situation 2. Zion’s mother died after he graduated in senior high school. His mother
was a teacher and he needs to claim his benefits at GSIS. Consequently, he went to
a Counselor and seeks for advice regarding his problem but the Counselor said that
she will recommend him to other experts in the field.
Roles and Function:

___________________________________________________________________

Instructions: Please write your learnings from what has been discussed. Write
your learning in your DIASS activity notebook.
Upon reading the lessons, I learned that…

and realized that…

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
 PERFORMANCE TASK
Role-Play – Me as Counselor

Write your answer in your DIASS activity notebook.

Suppose you are a school counselor. Complete the sentences below by supplying
the appropriate role and function as a counselor.
1. Advocates for other sexual orientation such as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning)
Scenario 1: LGBTQ students experience bullying, discrimination, lack of
access to LGBTQ-related information, and in some cases, physical
or sexual assault.
As a counselor I
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

2. Career Development Specialists

Scenario 2: Kristina is already in senior year high school. After
attending their symposium and career choices, Kristina is still
confused with her career plan, whether to take Teaching or
Physical Therapy.
As a counselor I
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

3. Advocate of students with special needs and students at risk

Scenario 3: A group of students are emotionally disturbed due to the new
normal situation in education.
Providers of Individual Counseling
Scenario 4: A woman seeks counseling from the agency because she
has mixed feelings about having a first child in her late 30s. She is
angry at herself for waiting so long and angry with her husband for
putting pressure on her to have a baby. Now she feels that she might
be too old.
As a counselor I
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
 4. Advocates of Preventive counseling
Scenario 5: The COVID-19 pandemic had a major effect on our lives.
Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming,
and cause strong emotions in adults and children.
As a counselor I
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

RUBRICS
Category 4 3 2 1
Understandin Behavior shows Behavior shows Behavior shows Behavior shows
g of in depth satisfactory some little or no
Character understanding of understanding of understanding of understanding of
the character. the character. the character. the character.
Realism Portrayal shows Portrayal shows Portrayal shows Does not
above average satisfactory level some realism. realistically
level of realism. of realism. portray the
character.
Information Provides Provides ample Provides some Provides few or
abundant historical facts. historical facts. no historical
historical facts. facts.
Response to Very thorough Satisfactorily Marginal Poor or no
prompts response to response to response to response to
prompts. prompts. prompts. prompts.
Research or Evidence that role Evidence of Some evidence Little or no
role was thoroughly sufficient research that role was evidence that
researched. of role. researched. role was
researched.
 SPECIFIC WORK AREAS IN WHICH
COUNSELORS WORK
Before we proceed, do you know that graduates having a degree in
counseling gain extensive training, knowledge, and experience that allow him
or her to help individuals in need of personal, emotional, behavioral, and/or
professional guidance. The kind of treatment and advice a professional is
qualified to provide depends on what type of counseling they specialize in,
which may include rehabilitation, mental health, career, school, substance
abuse, behavioral disorders, marriage, and/ or family issues. There are three
main areas of the counseling profession. These three areas of counseling
have a lot in common. Each of the three professions is backed by empirical
research. All of these professions require some type of licensure. The three
types of professionals work in abnormal psychology, human development,
diagnostics, and different types of therapy setting are also all in multicultural
competence and held to a high level of ethical standards.

DISCUSSION OF THE LESSON

Counselors work in diverse community settings designed to provide a

variety of counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Their duties vary
greatly, depending on their specialty, which is determined by the setting in
which they work and the population they serve. Although the specific setting
may have an implied scope of practice, counselors frequently are challenged
with children, adolescents, adults, or families that have multiple issues, such
as mental health disorders and addiction, disability and employment needs,
school problems or career counseling needs, and trauma. Counselors must
recognize these issues in order to provide their clients with appropriate
counseling and support.
 Counseling and Its Work settings

1. Counselors in Schools – According to Gibson and

Mitchell (2003), counselors are recognized especially in the
preventive interventions and developmental stage.
The elementary school counselors, secondary
school counselors, counselors in vocational schools,
counselors in higher education, and counselors in
community and junior colleges. The counseling
service in the schools is usually located under the
student affairs program. It is under the supervision
of the Dean of Students Affairs.

2. Counselors in the Community Setting – refers to

employment in community, agency, and other non-school
professional situations. Counselors can be found in the
community and mental health agencies, employment and
rehabilitation agencies, correctional settings, and marriage
and family practice. (Gibson and Mitchell, 2003)

3. Counselors in the Private Sector – refers to counselors

who decided to do fulltime work as private practitioners or
engage in part-time private practice while employed by
community agencies. This is feasible if the counselors'
expertise and specialization match or relevant to an
adequate client population in the geographic area. (Gibson
and Mitchell, 2003)

4. Counselors in the Government – counselors are also

present in various agencies of government or institutions
supported by the government that is into social welfare,
health, and education. Relevant agencies or institutions
include public schools, public social welfare agencies such
as that for the youth, children, and aging.