DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

Module 5:
Settings, Processes, Methods, and Tools in Counseling

Counselors work in various settings- from government to private sectors, to civil society to school setting.
Drawing on a wide range of processes, methods, and tools, counselors are trained to use what is appropriate
for the setting and relative to their specialty. There are classical approaches informed by theories to
counseling that scaffold their process and selection of methods and tools.

Counseling Approaches
Psychoanalysis

o represented by Sigmund Freud

o a theory of personality, an approach to psychotherapy, and method of investigation founded by Sigmund Freud
o the assumption is that there are inner battles that are waged in a client that are directly responsible for the
appearance of symptoms and behavioral problems
o emphasizes the role of early childhood experiences
o early childhood experiences: dictate us of who we are as an adult
Behaviorism
o behavior and mental processes are determined by our environment
o all psychological disorders are a result of maladaptive learning that all behavior is learnt from our environment
and symptoms are acquired through classical and operant conditioning
o Classical conditioning – involves learning by association; introduced by Ivan Pavlov
o Operant conditioning – involves learning by reinforcement; introduced by B.F. Skinner
The therapeutic techniques used in this type of treatment are action-based and rooted in the theories of
classical conditioning and operant conditioning and utilize the same learning strategies that led to the
formation of unwanted behaviors. Behavioral therapy tends to be highly focused on teaching clients new
behaviors to minimize or eliminate the issue.

Humanistic Perspective
o behavior and mental processes are determined by our need to fulfill our potential

o attempted to understand the conscious mind, free will, human dignity, and the capacity for self-reflection and
growth
 o the human potential for change requires only exercise of the distinctively human capacities for choice,
creativity, and drive toward self-actualization
o humanistic therapeutic models are rooted in insight and focus on self-development, growth, and responsibilities
o they seek to gain self-empowerment by recognizing their strengths, creativity and choice in the given
circumstances

Discussion
Reading 1: Settings in Which Counselors are found
There are numerous career opportunities for counselors abroad because of the different areas of
specialization that prospective in counseling can enroll in. Counselors abroad can work in various settings
depending on their academic preparations, training, work experience, and specialization. Their roles and
responsibilities vary depending on the setting or “workplace” they are and their specialization.
Schools and Educational Facilities
School from guidance counselors help students (from elementary to college) deal with their personal and
educational issues or concerns. They may help students in evaluating their skills, interests, talents, abilities,
and personalities. They can conduct a one-on-one counseling or group session, interviews, and assessment
test, among other ways to help students. based on previous assessments.
More importantly, school or guidance counselors help students deal with social, behavioral, and personal
issues or problems. School counselors can also collaborate or consult parents and teachers in order to help
students properly deal with personal issues or concerns.

Human Resources (HR) Department

Counselors can also work in a company’s human resources department. Career counselors can help
employees make career choices and decisions. They can help individuals with work related issues or
concerns, such as job stress, depression and how to achieve a work-life balance. Career counselors can also
conduct company activities or seminars that can help improve the well-being and work outlook of
employees. In these settings counselors can act as coaches that help employees improve their productivity,
motivation, and professional-personal development.
Private Clinics
Counselors can also choose to have their own private clinic, where they can accept clients. In this work
setting, counselors focus on individual or group appointments. For example, in individual counseling,
counselors can help a client undergo a therapeutic process in order for the clients to resolve personal issues,
problems, and concerns. Counselors can also perform family or couples counseling. In this case they help
couples resolve family and marital conflicts and issues.

Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers

In this work environment. Counselors help clients suffering from physical and emotional disabilities. They
help clients have a healthy family, work, and social life.
Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities
In this setting, counselors help clients overcome different kinds of addictions, such as drugs or illegal
substances, alcohol, and gambling, among others. Counselors who work in these facilities can also do
consulting work in hospitals and detention facilities.
Mental Health Institutions and Hospitals
In these work settings, counselors help individuals recover from mental and emotional disorders and issues,
such as depression, anxiety stress, trauma, and low self-esteem, among others. Counselors in this work
setting often work with other professionals like psychologies, psychiatrist, social workers, and doctors.
Government
Counselors can be found in the different government agencies that offer counselling services such as social
welfare, correctional institutions, state-run rehabilitation centers, military, and police. (careers in
Psychology, n.d.) For example, counselors provide direct counseling services to the following:

Abused woman and children-in-conflict with the law (CICL) in institutions run by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD), inmates in prison, recovering substance users in rehabilitation centers,
and military and polices personnel.
Private Sectors
Counselors in the private sector are found in private clinics and in industries/companies. They provide
independent services through private practice and hold appointment-based counseling sessions, while clients
pay for counseling services based on professional fees. As full-time employees, they are regular employees
who are required to work office hours. As part-time/adjunct employees, counselors are consultants who
report for work as needed. In this industry sector, counselors can give personal counseling, career
counseling, crisis counseling, and mental health to employees who require these kinds of services.
Reading 2: Services in Counseling
There is a wide range of services counselors offer to clients. The following are some of the services
counselees may avail:
• • Addiction counseling focuses on clients with addiction problems (e.g. alcohol, drugs, gambling).
Counselors use behavior modification strategies to help clients minimize and eradicate these problems.
• • Career counseling focuses on helping clients make career decision. Counselors employ assessment
tools to help clients arrive at decision which are best suited to them.

Clients who seek career counseling commonly struggle with issues like finding or maintaining a job.
• • Child and adolescent counselor focuses on helping children and adolescents with their
developmental needs and concerns.
• • Community counseling focuses on helping diverse populations with different concerns and needs.
• Correctional counseling focuses on helping clients in various law enforcement settings such as
juvenile delinquency centers and those who are behind bars serving their sentences.
• • Couples and family counseling focuses on assisting couples and families in difficult
circumstances.
• • Crisis counseling focuses on aiding individuals and groups experiencing crisis situations that
hinder them to function in their everyday lives.
• • Employment counseling focuses in assisting clients on finding a specific job and also includes the
clients’ personal and social concern.
• • Gerontology counseling focuses on helping the elder clients address their various concerns.
• • Group counseling focuses on assisting clients with emotional and psychological concerns to
promote mental health. Mental health counselors often work with a team composed of psychologies,
psychiatrist, social workers, doctors, and other health professionals.
• • Multicultural counseling focuses on clients coming from different ethnolinguistic groups, races,
genders, and age. Counselors are expected to exhibit sensitivity among their clients’ plights and issues
during counseling.
• • Pastoral counseling focuses on a diverse population with different needs and concerns. What
makes this area unique is that the members if the clergy are the front lines when church or ministry members
seek help.
• • School counseling focuses on helping clients with personal-social, academic, and career concerns.
They also collaborative with teachers, administrators, and other school personnel.
Reading 3: Nature of Concerns
People pursue counseling for various reasons; thus, the nature of concerns varies. Primarily, though, the
nature can be personal/social, academic/educational, and career/vocational/occupational (Demons
1973;Villar 2009)
Personal/Social Counseling
This focuses on personal concerns and others relating to the client’s relationship with other people. Personal
problems include stress, depression, relationship concerns, and identity issues. Social Concerns include
conflict with friends and bullying. Apart from helping clients see their problems in a different perspective,
counselors also help clients develop necessary coping skills.
Academic/Educational Counseling
Also called school counseling, this is focused on helping students acquire and use lifelong skills by
developing their academic, career, self-awareness, and interpersonal communication skills. This type of
counseling aims to promote and enhance the student’s learning process (ASCA 1997). School and academic
concerns include selecting school, adjusting in a new school, or surviving in a competitive school
environment.
Career/Vocational/Occupational Counseling
This nature of counseling prepared and assists clients in the work setting. Providing clients with the
necessary information for them to plan and make decisions regarding their career is one of the major
activities of this type of counseling. Students who are unsure of what career path to pursue and employees
who are experiencing difficulties at work can benefit from career counseling.
Reading 4: Counseling stages
There are different versions of counseling stages proposed by several authors, some of them identifying only
three stages. Nystul (2016), however, proposed the following six-stage model of counseling.
Stage 1: Relationship Building
Any counselor-counselee relationship is built on trust. At the onset of counseling, counselors establish an
atmosphere where clients feel safe so they can share their innermost concerns, feelings, and thoughts.
Counselors should be able to understand their clients by actively listening to them and communicating what
they have understood back to the clients. It is not enough that counselors know the what, how, and why of
their client; they must also be accurately aware of their clients’ feelings and experiences and be genuine in
communicating with the counselees.
Stage 2: Assessment and Diagnosis
This stage is where counselors gain an in-depth understanding of their clients through assessment. This can
be done through standardized and nonstandardized means. Standardized methods include the use of
psychological that measure characteristic, such as IQ, mental ability, personality, and career.
Nonstandardized methods include interviews, observations, anecdotal records, and care case studies.
Administering both types of assessments will provide a balanced and more accurate records depiction of
clients’ behaviors, Counselors use the information gathered from the clients in goal-setting and planning
intervention strategies needed in counseling.
Stage 3: Formulation of Goals
Goal-setting is a shared task and responsibility of counselors and clients. Counseling goals can be
categorized as process goals and outcome goals. (Nystul 2016). Outcome goals are intended results of
counseling. These are generally what the clients expect to accomplish after counseling. Process goals, on the
other hand, refer to the planned events by the counselor for achieving the outcome goals. For example, these
may include how the counselor’s behavior during the counseling process may affect the clients.
Stage 4: Intervention and Problem-solving
One goals have been formulated, counselors and clients work on defining intervention strategies to
implement. Intervention refers to the deliberate process or methods of solving the client’s problems. It is
advantageous for clients to be involved in the selections interventions to be implemented. Counselors
explain the possible interventions available, the role of counselors and client for each activity, the possible
risks and benefits, and its duration and cost to clients.
In some cases, clients are assisted in identifying and listing all possible solutions to their concerns. The
consequences of these possible solutions are then explored. When clients have chosen their courses of
action, these are then implemented. Counselors will help monitor and evaluate client’s progress.

Stage 5: Termination and Follow Up

For every beginning, there is an end. It is said the end goal of counseling is to empower clients to reach the
point wherein they would have no need of counselors assistance as they journey through life (Nystul 2016)
Counseling can be terminated when clients can navigate through their difficulties on their own. Counselors
and clients agree on the termination date. Most experienced counselors discuss the termination date early
into the counseling relationship to help the clients get used to the idea and to give them time to address
feelings that the process may bring about.
After counseling sessions have been terminated, counselors can arrange follow-up sessions with clients to
know how they are doing and, if necessary, provide additional counseling.
Stage 6: Research and Evaluation
Research and evaluation are essential aspects of counseling that contribute to the advancement of the
profession. Counselors complete research and evaluation throughout the counseling process to determine
whether the interventions applied are appropriate and effective. Doing research and evaluation is a way for
counselors to improve the counseling program and to ensure the accountability.