4Differences of Social Science and Applied Social Science
Social Sciences
 It allows humans to study the different
aspects of society
 These are vast fields of scientific studies
that investigate human societies and the
different forces that work within them
 As a body of scientific knowledge, it
provides a diverse set of lens that help us
understand and explain the different of
human society
 The field of social sciences uses a unique
set of lens composed of a body concepts,
theories, frameworks, and methodologies
to help us understand and study the
multifarious forces that constitute and
affect human society
 It focuses on the theoretical study of
society
 It originally referred to the specific study
of sociology (study of society). It then has
evolved to encompass the disciplines that
may be classified under the humanities
 It may pertain to any field of inquiry that is
outside the realm of the natural sciences
(referred to as hard sciences). Social
science evolved as an offshoot of the hard
sciences as a response to the need of taking  Applied social sciences are those academic
a disciplined and more scientific approach
in studying and quantifying human society.
The social science can explain human
experience and the worlds beyond these
immediate experiences.
 The word social means that the discipline
deals with people, communities, and
experiences that define human existence
which includes the issues and collective
problems of people.
 Questions on what makes people happy,
why people vote, and what causes
unemployment might seem mundane and
ordinary but it underpins our understanding
Applied Social Sciences
 It focuses on the use and application of the
different concept, theoretical models and
theories of Social Science disciplines to help
understand society and the different
problems and issues it faced
 Utilized to provide alternative solutions to
the diverse problems of society
 The application of social science is a natural
consequence of the need to address social
issues from a multidisciplinary background
 The application of the social sciences in
investigating and addressing real-world
concerns and problems could make an
impact on people and their communities
social science disciplines, professions and
occupations which seek to use basic social
science knowledge to make an impact on
the daily life of communities, organizations
and persons.
e.g. Urban planning, along with landscape
architecture and architecture, can be
considered applied social sciences to the
extent they are concerned with the effects on
humans of the built environment.
*** Urban planning, along with landscape
architecture and architecture, can be
considered applied social sciences to the
extent they are concerned with the effects
 of ourselves, our very existence, and our on humans of the built environment.
communities
 Social science describes the world by The practice of politics is an applied social
gathering and using evidence, data, science only to the extent that political
theories, explanations, norms, and values, action seeks to apply the insights of
and it makes sense of them through political research or theory in practice.
interpretation, analysis, and explanation
 In practicing social sciences, one must
understand social science theory or the idea
that there is a systematic way of
quantifying and understanding social
phenomena or the things that happen in
human society. Once a social phenomena is
understood clearly, the challenge that
social science theory leaves for people is to
decide on the best course of action that
should be taken to address human problems
 It enables us to answer the most pressing
human concerns that we are facing
 Economics and demography –
problem on population, pollution.
We can predict the limits of strain
we put on our resources and
immediate environment
 Political science – law and politics
allows us to recognize tat human
communities and organizations are
more likely to succeed under the
imposition of order and structure
 Psychology – tries to understand
how people and groups experience
the world through various
emotions, ideas, and conscious
states

GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING

Guidance
-focused in helping clients determine what they
value most, and from there choose the path that
they want to pursue
Counseling
-one of the services provided to guide students
in better understanding themselves and striving
for change to improve their lives’
circumstances
-it deals with more encompassing concerns so
that all efforts exerted in the process should end
in self-empowerment and self-reliance

COUNSELING
 It is the discipline that demonstrates unconditional acceptance, emphatic caring, and
collaborative problem-solving to move an individual or a group of people toward autonomy
and self-reliance
 It is an interactive process between the counselor and the client that aims to assist the client to
better understand themselves and strive for changes to improve their lives’ circumstances

 The professionalization of guidance and counseling was realized through Republic Act 9258 or
the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004
 Guidance and counseling was defined as the profession that involves the use of an integrated
approach to the development of a well-functioning individual primarily by helping him or her
utilize his or her potential to the fullest and plan his or her present and future in accordance
with his or her abilities, interests, and needs

 One of the important goals of the counseling process is to move the client toward proper and
empowered self-management.
 If you seek counseling so that you can get immediate solutions to your problems, you might
feel disappointed in your guidance visit.
 Professional counselors are not trained to give you direct advise or act as your problem solvers.
Rather, they:
-listen to you
-guide you to see the whole picture of your situation, present options to you, and facilitate you
in making informed and wise decisions
--counselors introduce tools such as time, stress management, and social skills you can use
to manage and solve your problems

The counselor
 A counselor is like an artist who can be flexible and creative with how he or she can relate with
his or her client. He makes himself or herself available to attend to the counseling process.
 A counselor practices objectivity and follows a proper methodological process.
 Because he needs to empathize, he or she is at risk of being irrationally influenced by
the client’s emotions which can affect how the counselor perceives a presented situation
 The objective approach makes professional counselors from nonprofessional helpers
like peer facilitators who trained only with the basic skills to help but are not fully
equipped with the professional competencies in guidance and counseling
 To resolve the conflict, the counselor has to be systematic in observing behaviors and
interpreting information that he or she receives from the counselee. He needs to use
counseling scientific techniques and methods (studying case formulations, testing
hypotheses, using psychological tools for systematic assessment, going through the
step-by-step process of diagnosing, and thinking of effective counseling interventions
critically) in order to guide the client objectively.

Discipline of counseling
A. Misconceptions on counseling – not only to mental health services but also those who seek
counseling
1. A person seeing a counselor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or any mental health
practitioner has a mental illness
o Such stigma is associated with visiting a mental health clinic or situation.
o However, a person should be able to freely consult any mental health practitioner and
share his or her concerns so that he or she can deal with them effectively
 o Example: frequent feelings of anxiety with excessive worrying may worsen and
develop into panic attacks unless intervention is provided by a qualified mental
health practitioner.

2. Counseling means giving advice

o The opposite is actually true
o Professional counselors are trained to avoid giving advice
o When an advice is given, the client is kept from gaining a better position to
understand, analyze, and solve his or her own problem.
o Instead of giving advice, the primary goal of the counselor is to assist the client to
identify the factors that contribute to his or her problem and address them
accordingly
o Hence, in the course of counseling, the client is moved toward gaining the
willingness and strength to resolve his or her predicament. This way, the client
develops volition and determination to respond correctly to his or her circumstances
as he or she owns full responsibility of his or her decisions and actions
o Counseling programs aim to provide preventive measures to clients. The counselor
assists you to anticipate the challenges that may arise from a particular situation
o As the challenges are point out, he or she will discuss and provide guidelines about
how you can properly deal with them. In doing so, you can function better by being
wiser in choosing your decisions, words, and actions

3. Counseling is a part of the discipline board

o Violators or rule breakers are referred to the counselor. However, it does not mean
that his role is to reprimand and discipline students
o The counselor provides the following assistance:
a. Facilitate an understanding of the factors that caused him or her to disobey
school rules and regulation
b. Reorient the student on school policies
c. Recommend seminars or workshops aimed to impart the characterization of the
school’s values
d. Provide psychological support should the student’s action merit dismissal

4. A counselor is a problem-solver
o Nowadays, there is instant access to almost everything. Information can be accessed
at the click of the mouse. Meals be delivered at your doorstep; communication
happen with the single tap of a button. It comes no surprise that many want instant
solutions. Counseling does not work that way

o Counselors do not give easy solutions to problems. Through an honest, transparent,

and goal-oriented discussion between the counselor and client, the counselor is able
to facilitate realizations of the advantages and disadvantages of identified solutions
to a dilemma
o A counselor is a person who guides you towards possible solutions to resolve your
dilemma. However, only when the counselor knows and understands the entire
situation could he or she best help the client
o Counseling works best through collaboration with the client. It is accomplished
through a therapeutic relationship between the counselor and the counselee
 o It is important that a client understands that it is necessary to consider and weigh
identified options to achieve a well-evaluated process of decision making and smart
problem solving

o When you seek and accept the opportunity to consult a counselor, you learn to aim
for emotional growth. Gaining a constructive perspective and reflective
understanding of yourself – your weaknesses and strengths, correct and incorrect
responses, and misaligned understanding of your situation – you earn a broader
perspective and understanding of your situation. With this, you will be able to
closely examine the factors that affect your view of yourself and the way you deal
with people involved in your concern.

B. The core values of counseling (Hutchinson, 2014)

 your values constitute your beliefs that can affect how you view the people you deal
with and how you understand your situation
1. Each person is, in essence, naturally pure and good
o This belief makes you:
-treat every individual with care and respect
-operate from a nonjudgemental point of view
-try to understand why some people cannot perform or function well
o One job of a counselor is to see the inherent goodness or beauty of the person even
in the presence of negative behaviors

2. The primary role of a counselor is to give support so that the client will be able to attain
autonomy
o This would enhance the client’s sense of responsibility so that he or she could later
arrive at a better position and see how he or she influences and is influenced by
social forces.
o If you want to be a counselor someday, start reminding your friends (even yourself)
to believe in their capacity to make positive changes by taking full responsibility

3. The essential values that will compel and sustain you in doing this work are love and
compassion
o To become an effective counselor, you must have a big heart because you will learn
to prioritize the needs of your clients
o You must show genuine concern on their problems or needs
o You have to be a loving person, especially when you encounter persons who
experienced painful incidents in their lives. A loving counselor is eager to listen
and demonstrates personal and warm acceptance of the client

4. An effective counselor finds the job’s intrinsic rewards more interesting than its
extrinsic ones
o Intrinsic reward – come from the counselor’s sense of fulfilment in seeing his or
her clients achieve life success, attain autonomy, and exercise effective coping
skills
Examples:
-saving a suicidal client’s life
-facilitating the psychological and emotional recovery of a traumatized person
-leading a son or daughter to believe that he or she is loved by his or her parents
 5. Deal with life through an attitude of gratitude and forgiveness
o Each of us encountered painful experiences
o To become a counselor who is capable of instilling optimism and grit your client,
you have to embody such characteristics as well
o You have to keep inspiring other people to be well; to be hopeful and confident in
facing life’s challenges; and to stay positive in times of problems and difficulties
o A counselor needs to let go of his or her painful past experiences through
forgiveness in order to be empowered to move forward in his or her life and aid
others to do the same. If you become a counselor, you likewise need to encourage
your clients to forgive so that they may view life positively

Goals of counseling
A. Insight – understand the origins and development of emotional difficulties, leading to an
increased capacity to take rational control over feelings and actions
B. Relating with others – becoming better in forming and maintaining meaningful and
satisfying relationships with other people. (e.g., family, workplace)
C. Self-awareness – becoming more aware of thoughts and feelings that had been blocked off
or denied, or developing a more accurate sense of how self is perceived by others
D. Self-acceptance – development of a positive attitude towards self, marked by an ability to
acknowledge areas of experience that had been the subject of self-criticism and rejection
E. Self-actualization – moving in the direction of fulfilling potential or achieving an integration
of previously conflicting parts of self
F. Enlightenment – assisting the client to arrive at a higher state of spiritual awakening
G. Problem-solving – finding a solution to a specific problem that the client had not been able
to resolve alone and acquiring a general competence in problem-solving
H. Psychological education – enabling the client to acquire ideas and techniques with which to
understand and control behavior
I. Acquisition of Social Skills – learning and mastering social and interpersonal skills like
maintaining of eye contact, turn-taking in conversations, assertiveness, or anger control
J. Cognitive and behavior change – modification or replacement of irrational beliefs or
maladaptive thought patterns associated with self-destructive behavior
K. Empowerment – working on skills, awareness, and knowledge that will enable the client to
take control of his or her own life
L. Generativity – inspiring in the person a desire and capacity to care for others and pass on
knowledge and to contribute to the collective good through political engagement and
community work

Characteristics of a professional counselor

A. Empathy – the ability to accurately sense the feelings and understand the counselee’s
experience.
- It also includes the counselor’s capacity to communicate acceptance and understanding
of the counselee’s point of view

B. Acceptance – ability to demonstrate an attitude accepting the client’s insights as expressed

during the counseling session
- This also is referred to as unconditional positive regard
 C. Genuineness
D. Self-awareness
E. Cultural acceptance
F. Open-mindedness
G. Integrity
H. Competence
I. Problem solving skills and creativity
J. Embracing a perspective of wellness

Competencies of counselors (McLeod, 2003)

A. Interpersonal skills – counselors who are competent display ability to listen and
communicate, empathize, be present, aware of nonverbal communication, sensitive to voice
quality, responsive to expressions of emotion, turn taking, structure of time and use of
language
B. Personal beliefs and attitudes – counselors have the capacity to accept others, belief in
potential for change, awareness of ethical and moral choices and sensitive to values held by
client and self
C. Conceptual ability – counselors have the ability to understand and assess the client’s
problems, anticipate future problems, make a sense of immediate process in terms of wider
conceptual scheme, to remember information about the client
D. Personal soundness – counselors must not have irrational beliefs that are destructive to
counseling relationships, self-confidence, capacity to tolerate strong and uncomfortable
feelings in relation to clients, secure personal boundaries, ability to be a client, must carry
no social prejudice, ethnocentrism and authoritarianism
E. Mastery of techniques – counselors must have a knowledge of when and how to carry out
specific interventions, ability to assess effective interventions, understanding of rationale
behind techniques, possession of may interventions
F. Ability to understand and work within social systems
G. Openness to learning and inquiry – counselors must have the capacity to be curious about
client’s backgrounds and problems. They should be open to new knowledge

Competencies of a transformative counselor

A. Establishing rapport
o It means to create and foster a warm and accepting relationship with the counselee
o It can be achieved by the counselor’s ability to demonstrate empathy or an
understanding of the counselee’s feelings and perspectives
o When rapport is established, the counselee may feel safer during the counseling session
hence gaining an increased confidence in expressing his or her thoughts and feelings

B. Basic Attending Skills

o It refers to nonverbal behaviors which are important in the counseling process
o This makes the counselee feel that the counselor is sincerely listening and paying
attention to the counselee’s concerns.
o Be easily recalled by the acronym:
- S means sitting across the counselee
- O means adopting an open posture during the counseling session
- L means leaning at times toward the counselee
- E means maintaining eye contact, but not necessarily staring at the counselee
 - R means being relaxed or the ability to be composed and confident during the
session

C. Observational Skills
o He must have the ability to observe the verbal and nonverbal messages conveyed by the
counselee
o Verbal messages – these are the spoken words through stories or insights shared by the
counselee
o Nonverbal messages – these are the cues or indicators of kept thoughts and feelings that
may indicate the counselee’s personal issues or problems.
- This may provide important information about the client’s verbally
unexpressed thoughts and feelings
- Nonverbal communications confirm the discrepancies between what is
being said and what is actually happening
- E.g. a counselee who just lost a parent might say he moved on but he can’t
look at the counselor in the eye and the tone of his voice suggest sadness.
The disconnection may indicate that the person may still be affected and is
denying his true feelings
6 basic types of nonverbal expression
a. Physical appearance – this may include one’s manner of dressing or grooming
indicating his or her ability to adapt and take care of himself or herself
- A person who demonstrates neglect for his or her grooming may be
demonstrating signs of personal problems
- E.g. bruises on the counselee’s skin may indicate physical or physical pain

b. Personal space – this refers to the proximity or distance between two persons
- Touch is an element of personal space. Some see touch as unpleasant and
may be constructed as a threat
- Counselors therefore must not assume that human touch is acceptable or
received positively by all

c. Voice – pay attention to tone of voice as the counselee is sharing his or her story. Any
fluctuation from the original pattern of speech must be noted
- Intensity of emotions can be gauged through the counselee’s speech rate and
tone of voice. A very fast speech rate may signify fear about a topic, discomfort, or
embarrassment. Speech rate that is slower than normal (e.g. pausing for a long times in
the middle of narration) may mean sadness or pain
- A pitch and volume that is louder than usual may mean the person is angry
and disappointed or joy and excitement

d. Facial expression – an individual’s face often reflects genuine feelings and emotions
- A counselee’s verbal expressions may contradict the emotions reflected on
his or her eyes and facial expressions
- Tightening of the facial muscles and stifling a cry or a tear may signify kept
emotions like sadness or anguish
- Smiling while crying is an example of disconnect and may suggest a
concealment of one’s true feelings

e. Body language – body language suggests unexpressed emotions

 - A counselor may encounter clients who have a rigid posture or who tightens
their fist while sharing their story. Some will consistently hold or play a pen or phone
while expressing their insights. This may indicate either a positive or negative emotion
- The counselor must be aware of it and take note of the possible messages that
these body languages are communicating

f. Sudden change in behavior – this may indicate possible emotional stress or resistance
- Behavioral expression of excitement as he or she shares his or her story.
Then he or she appears to lose interest about the topic as he or she continues to narrate it
- In some cases, the counselee displays active participation during the first
meeting but does not show up in the 2nd meeting. The counselor must take note of this
and consider it as a reason to follow up on the counselee

D. Basic responding skills

o It is also known as listening skills
o This refers to the counselor’s ability to not only hear the counselee but also to
understand him or her from his or her spoken words to the emotions he or she shares, as
well as the nonverbal messages he or she lets out
o These skills are important because they help the counselor establish rapport with his or
her client. Trust is also established by avoiding immediate judgement and selective
listening (listening only to what he or she wants to hear)
o With this, empathy is a vital trait that counselors must possess. A counselor with
empathy is able to communicate empathic understanding. Empathic understanding
means understanding one’s thoughts, feelings, experiences, and ideas from his or her
vantage point
o The following skills allow effective communication with the counselee:
a. Use of encouragers – encouragers are verbal and nonverbal means to encourage a
client to continue talking
- These are ways to break down a client’s walls as they make the client feel
that he or she is actually being listened to
- It shows that you care about what the client is saying. This can make him or
her continue talking
- Encouragers can be:
 nonverbal minimal responses (simple nonverbal cues like nod of the
head or reassuring smile)
 verbal minimal responses – simple phrases like ‘uh-huh’, ‘i see’
 brief invitations – like ‘tell me more’ and ‘please go on’. Invitations to
share more

b. Restatement and paraphrasing – involves restating what the counselee has shared
without altering the meaning
- Restatement allows the counselor to deeply understand the client’s
experience by using his or her own words to approximate what the counselee has
shared
- This provides immediate feedback to the counselee if the counselor
understood him or her correctly
 c. Reflection of feelings – it involves the counselor’s capacity to reflect on what
emotions or feelings the counselee has about a particular event or experience

d. Summarization – it attempts to bring together all the important parts of the

discussion, especially when the counselee discussed different concerns or had a
lengthy explanation of his or her experiences
- Through it, the counselor repeats and rephrases statements shared by the
counselee. The counselor clarifies the relevance of events or sequence of
experiences as narrated by the client
- This allows the counselor to ensure an accurate understanding of the
counselee’s confided disposition, circumstances, or dilemma

Career opportunities and areas of specialization of counselors

A. Marriage and family counseling
o It refers to the efforts to establish an encouraging relationship with a couple or family
and appreciate the complications in the family system
o The focus is on helping couples and families discover options and opportunities for
effective family living

B. Child and adolescent living

o It is focused on common problems like child abuse and neglect, child/adolescent
depression, and antisocial behavior
o The counseling strategies focus on helping children and adolescents acquire coping
skills through promotion of resiliency, positive attachment relationship, emotional, and
intellectual intelligence, and other qualities that promote optional development

C. Group counseling
o It offers opportunities for members to learn from observing other group members
o Members can function as helpers and helps
o Opportunities to discover that others have similar concerns
o Members are encouraged to offer help to others
o Opportunities to enhance interpersonal skills
o Therapeutic climate is created as the client’s family origin

D. Career counseling
o It aids individuals on decisions and planning concerning their career

E. School counseling
o It refers to the process of reaching out to students with concerns on drugs, family and
peers, or gang involvement
o They link with several relevant community agencies and closely coordinates with the
stakeholders in the school and family
o It requires sensitivity to individual differences and considers diversity in enhancing
educational perspective
o The job requires consultation, counseling exceptional students who are not able to
handle problems like drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorced or single parents, and
dropping out of school
 F. Mental health or clinical counseling
o They may only focus on mental health counseling by providing programs and services
specifically designed to address the needs of individuals with mental health issues like
depression, anxiety, and substance or chemical dependency
o Philippine Mental Health Association and Dangerous Drug Board are some institutions
where counselors work and focus on mental health issues

G. Industrial counseling
o They provide workplace counseling to respond to the concerns of employees
o They provide activities that address issues on employee wellness like job stress, conflict
management issues, and other personal concerns like tardiness and absenteeism

H. Rehabilitation counseling
o They work in institutions or centers and are responsible for helping patients with
physical, mental, or emotional issues
o They deal with psychological issues like anxiety about their condition and physical
issues like disability. Emotional – can’t cope up with stress,
o They use different approaches to help patients understand and overcome their disability

I. Private clinics
J. Researcher
o They were trained to conduct evidence-based research and identify the most effective
activities that will improve the conditions of certain individuals
o They evaluate programs and developments to further promote the cognitive,
socioemotional, and moral-spiritual well-being of individuals

Clientele and Audience of Counseling

 Most often, people who seek counseling are overwhelmed by emotions like pain, depression,
desperation, anger, or sadness
A. Individuals

B. Groups and organizations – it consists of people who either share similar concerns or
benefits from giving support to one another
- A program is prepared for them to assist them in the difficulties they encounter

1. Students with academic difficulties – the counselor identifies students who experience
difficulties in their academics. He calls for them to identify their common concerns that
have possibly affected their academic performance
- The counselor carry out activities that are aimed to develop effective study
habits and time management, developing the ability to concentrate, teach stress management
techniques

2. Honor students – counselor meets best performing students to inspire them to continue
their hard work and perseverance
- The counselor meets the best performing students to inspire them to continue
their hard work and perseverance
- The counselor also encourages them to determine the difficulties they
encounter that could affect their academic performance
 3. Students with career uncertainties – Students with career uncertainties may not be able
to perform well in their academics because of the lack of interest caused by such
uncertainty and the lack of clear direction for the future
- Counseling with these students involves an assessment of their interests,
personality traits, and competencies
- The results of the assessment will serve as basis for discussing related career
options these students may consider

4. Children of OFW parents and single parents – A lot of Filipinos left the country to seek
employment abroad
- Children of absentee parents are more prone to higher rates of stress,
depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem during the teenage years
- Research consistently shows that the absence of parent(s) has lasting negative
emotional effects on children (Alegria et al., 2018)

5. International students – these are people from different countries

- During their stay in the Philippines, they experienced difficulties in adapting
and adjusting to the Filipino culture
- Counselor assists them in their adjustment process
- The program are focused on effective coping, problem solving for situations
new to them, and appropriate response to feelings of homesickness

6. Individuals with socioemotional concerns – this group is composed of individuals who

feel alone and depressed because they experience being bullied, rejected, or left out
- They may appear quiet and behaved but because of what they experienced,
there is a possibility of kept anger, frustration, and pain
- If these emotions are not addressed by the counselor and appropriately
processed with the counselee, the student may suffer from an uncontrolled emotional
outbursts or an emotional breakdown
- These students will benefit from trainings on enhancing interpersonal skills,
managing emotions and resilience

7. Victims of disasters
- This group includes individuals who have experienced calamities or disasters
that may have caused them to manifest symptoms of post-traumatic and stress disorder.
- A Critical Incident Stress Debriefing or Psychological First Aid can be
conducted in order to give an initial form of treatment to direct victims of disasters.
- It focuses on enhancing coping skills, acceptance and grieving, and instilling
resilience

8. Parents
- To address students’ needs, collaborative efforts between parents and
counselors are being done through conferences or meetings
- Counselors meet with the parents of students who often demonstrate
behavioral problems to provide positive support to their child.
- Counselors can also carry out orientation sessions and seminars about proper
and effective parenting. This can discuss how to deal with adolescents in the 21st century
context so parents can understand their children’s behavior
 - With this, the parents may render appropriate support for their children’s
holistic development

Peer facilitators
- This group is composed of individuals who went through a series of trainings
in peer facilitating
- Their role is important in the promotion of guidance services and programs in
the school
- Peer facilitators help the guidance counselors reach out to students
- Their training allowed them to do paracounseling functions of the office
because there are some students who are more comfortable talking with persons of their own
age
- Paracounseling is counseling is given by nonprofessionals. However, they
have been given some form of counseling-related training. The objectives of their trainings
includes improving self-awareness and self-management, communication skills, and conflict
resolution
- However, it must be noted that the service they give will not be regarded as
sufficient enough as a substitute for professional counseling, especially for more serious
cases

Counseling Process
Counseling has no model strictly followed because it involves different approaches and
techniques. One of the most common models of a counseling process is this six-stage counseling
process:

A. Stage I: Establishing rapport with the client

o Relationship is central in counseling.
o Both the counselee and counselor has the responsibility to contribute to rapport building
that leads to therapeutic alliance. The most important aspect is the mindset of both the
counselor and the counselee upon entering into the counseling relationship
o This stage involves: (Tylus, 2003)
1. Establishing rapport
2. Promote acceptance of the client as person with worth
3. Establishing genuine interaction
4. Promote direct communication
5. Helping clients understand themselves
6. Helping clients focus and slowly promote counseling relevant communication from
the client
o As a counselor, you have to bear in mind that clients need to feel respected, accepted,
and listened to
o The counselor should present an inviting therapeutic environment that can only be
created by demonstrating acceptance and empathy characterized by warmth
o The therapeutic environment allows catharsis or the expression or release of emotions
caused by painful experiences, and disclosure of their struggles and suffering without
the feelings or fears of being judged. The environment must be comfortable, without
distractions, and provides a security of confidentiality
o The counselor must also see through the client’s eyes
 o Empathy is like walking in the client’s shoes. It requires understanding the client’s
circumstances, feelings, and personal context

o Rapport is established when the counselee collaborates with the counselor, participates
in the identification of reasons for concerns, and works with the counselor in the
determination of the best possible solution to a concern

o The counseling process is deemed successful when the counselee is not too dependent
on the counselor and takes full responsibility of the counseling process which can be
seen by the client’s consistent attendance and compliance to do homework

B. Stage II: Assessment

o Careful assessment should be done to accurately pinpoint the real cause of problems.
Identify the root of the problem
o It includes interviews, behavioral observations, psychological tests, mental health
status, and other empirically validated instruments
o All the gathered information will be integrated and used to formulate a case summary
o Assessment reflects the counselor’s ability to integrate the information he or she has
gathered to gain a deep understanding of the client
o During this time, the counselor needs to assess the client’s level of maturity and sense
of responsibility to determine the most appropriate intervention strategies

C. Stage III: Treatment planning

o Treatment planning or the formulation of counseling goals should be a product of
collaboration between the counselor and client.
o This requires the client’s active participation in generating the goals of the sessions
o The treatment plan is created to respond to the client’s specific needs. The counselor
presents options and the client chooses according to his or her primary concerns
o The goals should be optimistic, realistic, and achievable. It must be attainable so that
the client will not be frustrated when he or she works out to fulfil these.
o The plan should be measurable to allow objective evaluation of goals accomplished
o The plan should be flexible to accommodate adjustment and modification when the
need arises

D. Stage IV: Intervention and problem-solving

o Upon identifying the counseling goals, the strategies for intervention can be now
outlined
o The counselor guides the counselee in aligning the intervention with the identified
counseling goals
o Client participation in choosing strategies is important. The following as cited by
Cormier and Cormier (1998) and Tysul (2003) are some of the recommended guidelines
to motivate client participation:
1. The counselor has to provide a mapping of the different approaches offered
2. Describe the role of the counselor and client for each procedure
3. Identify possible risks and benefits that may come
4. Estimate the time and cost of each procedure
o Counseling interventions are used to assist the client in gaining insight about his or her
situation. Eventually, the counselor assists the client in taking the appropriate actions
that will facilitate change and improve the quality of his or her life
 o According to Corey and Corey (2007), insights are helpful but the client’s actions or
behavior are more important. Many counselees would share their intelligent insights
about their situation and enumerate better ways to cope with difficulties but when they
are on their own, they forget about these. As a result, they disregard all plans and
resolutions made to change their circumstances for the better

E. Stage V: Evaluation
o During this stage, implemented interventions and its outcomes are evaluated in terms of
accomplishments of agreed goals
o One form of evaluation is formative evaluation. This is consistently conducted during
throughout the counseling process.
o Using survey forms, clients’ thoughts and comments on how counseling sessions or the
other services helped them were identified
o Summative evaluation – this type of evaluation assesses counseling outcomes. This
involves interviewing and observing the client to evaluate the outcomes of the
counseling sessions, validate the emotions felt in relation to changes that have
happened, and assess the client’s ability to make wise decisions on his or her own

F. Stage VI: Termination

o The counseling process is terminated after the outcomes are evaluated and the counselor
and the counselee have mutually agreed that the set goals have been achieved
o Termination provides a sense of closure for both the counselee and counselor
o Preparation for termination include promoting the client’s independence and
responsibility, assisting them to identify their problems, teaching them to plan for future
situations, and helping them set up long-term goals
o Possible relapse or the recurrence of same problems is discussed during the termination
so that signs and symptoms are identified and thus provided
Counseling Methods
 The carried-out methods or techniques in counseling interventions depend on what the
professional counselor chose

A. Brief Counseling Approaches

 this also is known as solution-focused brief counseling (SFBC)
 instead of focusing on the client’s problems, this approach focuses on the solution that
works best for the client
 this approach proposes that:
1. when clients concentrate on success, it will lead to position change
2. by determining moments or occasions when symptoms do not occur, clients are given
the opportunity to generate solutions
3. clients must trust that small positive changes can facilitate bigger changes
4. all clients have the capacity to solve their problems particularly during the absence of
emotional distress
5. clients must identify goals that are positive and measurable

 the following techniques may be utilized in SFBC

1. Scaling
- Scaling quickly assesses or gauges the client’s progress
- It simply presents the client a 10-point (or 100-point) continuum where he or she is
asked to rate a particular concern
- For example, the counselor will say, “if 1 means sadness and 10 is happiness, what
rating will you give to how you feel now?”

2. Exceptions
- A counselor explores situations or moments when the problem was not occurring.
- Solution-focused brief counseling comes from the assumption that all concerns
have exclusions, which are moments that can be used to generate possible
solutions, sources of strengths, and personal resources
- For example, a counselee who always complains about her conflicts with her
husband. She narrates that they fight every week. Then in one of the counseling
sessions, instead of complaining about quarreling with her husband, she mentions
how her husband helped her take care of their child. This moment is referred to as
an exception. This should be elaborated by the counselor by saying, for instance,
“maybe there was something you did different this week. This is an exceptional
moment”

3. Miracle question
- This technique shifts from a problem-focused way of dealing with difficulties to a
solution-focused one
- It prompts clients to think of what they really want and what are necessary to attain
said wants. It requires clients to describe what they want in detail
- In doing so, the client finds his or her own solutions to problems
- The counselor may ask the questions, “If one night, there was a miracle and this
problem was solved, how would you know? How would that take place? What
would be different?” The answers should be focused on the clients themselves, as
in what they did to solve their problems

B. Adlerian or Psychodynamic Approaches

  The primary goal of these approaches is to recognize and understand the objective reasons
for one’s experiences
 These reasons may be different from the perspective of the client or how the clients view
their lives
 The techniques used aim to improve interpersonal relationships and self-awareness
1. I-messages
- This technique is sometimes called responsibility messages
- It prods the client to take responsibility for his or her feelings, behaviors, or
attitudes
- Acknowledgement of one’s responsibility allows for an expression of the other
person or the other party’s side, thus facilitating an open and respectful
communication
- This technique is nonthreatening because it only involves the client making the
statements so it can be used in situations when communicating with another person
who is either defensive or starting a more complicated problem
- A professional counselor uses I-messages following this structure: “I feel _______
(feeling) when you _____ (behavior) because ____ (consequence).
- These messages should be specific and be focused on behaviors rather than on the
person
- For example, one of your group mates does not do his or her part in the project, you
could use the I-messages technique by saying, “I feel sad when you don’t submit
your part in our report because it is not only our group that suffers but you also fail
to learn from this activity”. As an opener of the dialogue, you placed your group
mate in a more open position. This allows him or her to express his or her side

2. Acting as if
- This technique facilitate change not only in the client’s perception about a
particular experience but also in improving his or her actions or behaviors
- Having this perspective change leads to an increased functioning
- It was believed that people act as if what they believe is true, yet it always has been
proven that not everything we believe in ourselves is real
- This technique is done by asking the client to act as if he or she had the skills to
handle a difficult situation effectively
- The counselor tells the client to act out a role as if he or she can make anything he
or she wants into reality. Commitment in taking the role is important to be able to
carry out the part
- For example, a client who always say that she cannot express what she wants to say
and that people do not understand her may be asked to play a role of a student who
can express herself well and that the people are listening attentively to her concerns

C. Gestalt Approach
 It is a German word that means “a structured, meaningful unity that stands out against a
background in the organism/environment field”
 This suggests that this approach focuses on present moment experiences, existential
meaning, interpersonal relationships, and integration of the whole person
 It intends to help the clients understand the meaning and purpose of their experiences by
increasing their awareness of what is happening in the present moment
 Some techniques used in this approach are the following:
1. Empty chair
 - This aims to help the counselee to work out interpersonal conflict and gain a
different perspective by taking the vantage point of someone else
- The counselee is asked to face an empty chair and visualize that the person whom
the counselee is in conflict with is sitting there (that person could be the counselee
himself or herself if he or she is having internal issues)
- The counselee will speak to the empty chair and elucidate his or her feelings,
thoughts, and understanding of the situation
- After which, the counselee will himself or herself sit on the same chair. This time,
he or she will respond to what he or she had previously shared, in effect taking the
place and point of view of the other person (or again, the counselee himself or
herself)
- The counselor’s role here is facilitate and explore this communication by asking
questions and sharing insights

2. Body movement and exaggeration

- This is used to increase the client’s self-awareness regarding the nonverbal
messages that he or she is sending to others
- The counselor takes note of the client’s nonverbal cues and him or her to express
these cues through exaggerated movements
- When the client says something important but he or she does not realize that it
was important, the counselor would ask him or her to repeat the statement, this
time increasing the emotional intensity or by exaggerating feelings in saying that
what he or she said is actually important

3. Role reversal
- This is used when the counselor believes that the behavior the client displays is
opposite of what he or she is actually and truly feels
- By trying to play the opposite role, he or she may be able to see the situation from
another point of view

D. Social Learning Approach

 This approach suggests that clients learn to do their tasks and exhibit behaviors by simply
observing and imitating others
 Studies have shown that individuals do not just execute a behavior (Nabavi, 2012)
 Individuals can think and plan their actions before executing it. From here, a number of
techniques were developed. Some of them are following:
1. Modeling
- This is also known as imitation, identification, observational learning, and
vicarious learning
- It emphasizes that an individual’s behaviors and learned from observing a model
(a person whom the client often sees or spends time with) and imitating his or her
actions and behaviors

2. Behavioral rehearsal
- It is a form of role play wherein the client learns a new type of behavior – a
manner of speaking. For example, he or she can use in response to certain
situations and to people around him or her.
- Events that occur in day-to-day life are role-played.
- This technique aims to decrease the client’s anxiety when exposed to anxiety-
provoking situations
 3. Role play
- This technique is used by counselors to facilitate the client’s understanding of, or
a change within, themselves
- In most role plays, the client reenacts oneself, another person, a set of
circumstances, or one’s reactions
- The counselor gives feedback in order to facilitate the client’s better
understanding of himself or herself

E. Cognitive approach
 This believes that clients improve their situations by perceiving and thinking about
problems and solutions through different perspectives or by seeing the situation from
different lenses
 It argues that the clients’ thoughts affect their feelings and behaviors
1. Self-talk
- This technique is like a pep talk by the client to himself and herself
- The client will be asked to repeatedly state a helpful, supportive phrase when
encountering a difficult situation
- This technique suggests that people have the ability to control how they feel
- Positive self-talk helps the counselee become motivated toward his or her goals

2. Visual/guided imagery
- This is used to help clients work through conflicts and ease anxiety
- The counselor can make use of a vivid mental picture of a real or imagined
experience, a pleasant scent, or a visualization of the person successfully solving a
problem
- An example of a multisensory guided imagery is this, “imagine that you are
walking across a field of fresh green grass on a warm spring day. You feel that
softness of the grass beneath your feet, the warmth of the air on your skin, and
hear the sound of birds singing in the distance. You are moving toward a large
tree, you sit down with your back supported by the trunk. Listening to the soft
sound of the running water in the creek, you notice that you are filled with a sense
of well-being”. Through this exercise, clients become more focused on their
thoughts as well as their environment, thus, allowing them to feel more relaxed
and comfortable

3. Cognitive restructuring
- This technique is based on two basic assumptions that self-defeating behaviors
come irrational or defective thoughts or self-statements
- This can be altered by changing these negative thoughts into positive ones
- The three goals of cognitive restructuring are for clients to:
a. Become aware of their thoughts
b. Alter their negative thought processes
c. Think about and change their ideas about themselves and the world

F. Behavioral Approach
 This approach contends that learning happens when a particular behavior is reinforced by
the presence of a reward or discouraged by either giving a punishment or removing a
potential reward
 Behaviors that are rewarded tend to be performed more frequently
 Behaviors that are not rewarded decrease in occurrence
 Behaviors that receive punishment either increase or decrease in occurrence

1. Token economy
- This technique makes use of rewards for displaying a desired behavior
- You can use this yourself
- For example, you spend a lot of time using your gadgets so your study habits are
being affected. You can resolve it by limiting the use of your gadget on school
days and focus on studying hard. Your reward will be a weekend in which you
can enjoy using your gadgets again
- Penalty jar

2. Time-out technique
- This is a form of negative punishment
- This means all positive reinforces are removed when an individual demonstrates a
negative or deterrent behaviors
- This is to discourage the likelihood of such a misbehavior to reoccur
- For example, from the context of an adolescent, a student who is very fond of
using her gadgets to the point that her academic career dipped considerably. Her
parents can take away her gadgets for some time (seclutionary), prohibit her from
joining her friends’ activities for a period of time (exclusionary), or allow her to
join in activities but on certain conditions only (nonseclutionary).

3. Response cost
- This involves removing the positive stimulus to decrease occurrences of an
unwanted behavior
- This can be used to reduce the likelihood of occurrences of negative behaviors
- These are the steps:
a. Identify the specific behavior that you will target
b. Decide the penalty or cost for that behavior
c. Inform the client of the cost or price of this behavior