TYPES OF COUNSELING

TYPES OF COUNSELING

It has long been recognized that it can be

extremely difficult to maintain your
psychological well being in today's high stress
world on your own. Because people need help ,
there are different types of counseling
professionals who can help every day
individuals who are struggling in a variety of
areas.

Here are some of the major types of counseling

that are available and who might benefit from
them.
 MARRIAGE COUNSELING

It’s natural for conflicts to occur in a healthy

marriage. However , when the two spouses have
never learned effective ways of resolving these
conflicts, the marriage can be in danger.
Marriage counseling helps couples explore the
ways in which they get stuck in their conflicts
,and how to break out of those negative life
cycles.

In many cases, divorce may be the best option,

However in many cases , two people may still
love each other but not be equipped to
effectively mediate the conflicts they encounter.
In these cases, and even in cases where
divorce is inevitable , marriage counseling can
help. Marriage counseling is a form of
professional therapy which focuses on helping
communicate more effectively with one
another.

When two people in a committed relationship

are constantly finding themselves dealing with
insoluble conflict, they can usually benefit
from marriage counseling.
This includes couples who are childless, have
many children, have been married for years,
are living together without been married and
even those who are in all likelihood headed for
divorce.
A trained marriage councilor focuses on
improving communication between couples by
teaching them to focus and share their actions.
Once they have that understanding they can
begin to take a new approach with their
spouse, stop the negative cycles and learn to
start more positive cycles.
Couples will always have conflicts, but there
are healthy ways and unhealthy ways to deal
with the resolve such conflicts, and marriage
counseling can help couples learn these ways.
 GRIEF COUNSELING
Loss is extremely difficult for every one,
especially he lost of parent, spouse or child.
Unfortunately, in an increasingly more isolated
society , many people grow up without the
coping mechanisms to grief effectively. A grief
counselor can help an individual work through
this difficult time.
The idea of grief counseling may be
intimidating to some, especially those who
never participated in any kind of therapy
before. However, if a loss feels completely
overwhelming, counseling may present an
ideal option for helping a person overcome
lose and eventually resume normal functioning
.
 Many cultures have built in traditions and
systems for managing misery. These
systems allow an individual to mourn a loss,
integrate the loss into his or her life, accept
the loss, and move forward. Those who did
not grow up in such a culture, or for whom
the cultural system is not effective, may be
caught up in cycle of grief. Grief counseling
can help an individual break that cycle and
move on with his or her life.
Grief counseling can take a number of
different forms. There can be one-on one
counseling, where the individual works only
with the counselor. There can be group
counseling ,where a counselor works with a
number of people in varying stages of
unhappiness. There can also be family grief
counseling, where the rest of the family
works together to grieve over a lost
member, There can be a combination of
these different approaches to grief
counseling.
The grief counselor may begin working with
the patient before the loss, as when a loved
one is in the final stages of a terminal illness,
immediately after The loss, or even some time
after the loss, when it is clear that the time for
completion of a healthy grieving process has
passed.
Grief counseling typically has two goals.
Helping the patient complete a healthy grief
cycle and helping the patient deal with other
pathologies, such as crippling anxiety or
depression , which may have been triggered
by the event which cause the grieving.
 FAMILY COUNSELING
Family units have different group
pathologies than individuals which require
different types of counseling. A family
counselor is trained in the type of negative
family dynamics that can occur and how it
can effect each individual family member.
This counselor can then teach family
members how to work, live and love
together in a more positive way.

Family counseling is a type of counseling

that involves the entire family, rather than an
individual or a couple.
It is usually the nuclear family, with a husband,
a wife and any children rather than an extended
family, but many different models can be seen
in such counseling. The goal in family
counseling is usually to help family members
communicate better and teach them how to
better resolve conflicts that arise with in the
family unit.

Nearly every family has some sort of

dysfunction, and therefore nearly every family
can benefit from family counseling. Even if
there really is only one member who has a
serious pathology, all members can benefit
from counseling to learn how to best support
this individual.
Non- traditional families, such as single parent
families involving same sex couples, can all
benefit from family counseling.

The family counselor pays careful attention to

how the members interact. This means
observing as much of the content of the
interactions as the style of interaction and
conflict resolution family counselors are also
careful to observe which members interact
with which others. In some case, a single
individual is the focus of all the conflict. In
others, one or two family members may stay
away from the fray while others engage in
conflict resolution.
Once the family counselor has observed all of
this, he or she will usually want to explore how
each family member feels about their
interactions, but also about the interactions
that they observed and were not a direct part of
it. Once this phase is complete, the counselor
will help each family member learn effective
communication and conflict resolution skills.

Many families are surprised by how much they

are helped by family counseling, and go on to
be more supportive of one another and happier
together after the counseling experience.
 RELATIONSHIP COUNSELING

Marriage is not the only type of relationship

that may require healing. Boyfriends and
girlfriends, brothers and sisters, even business
partners may need help developing coping
methods that will enable them to interact
effectively. Relationship counselors can
provide this assistance.

Marriage counseling is a type of relationship

counseling, but it is far from the only type.
There is pre marital counseling, for couples
who want to take that next step but find
something is holding them back.
There is couples counseling for couples who
know they are not ready to get married, but still
who want to be together and maintain a healthy
union. Relationships that can benefit from
counseling do not even have to be romantic.
Business partners, siblings and even best
friends may benefit from relationship
counseling.

Relationship counseling occurs when two

people find that the behavior partners of
interacting that have been effective through out
the relationship, or that they believed had been
effective, are no longer working, or they finally
realize that they have never really worked.
The counselor works to find out what those
negative behavior partners are, how they
arose and how they can be corrected.

If you are struggling to get along with

someone who you used to be quite close to,
relationship counseling may be for you.

The counselor will often carry out this work by

encouraging each member of the relationship
to talk about the underlying feelings regarding
their actions, and by asking the other member
to listen to and validate those feelings before
sharing their own.
 The more effectively the couple can do this,
the better they will become at recognizing the
types of behavior that draw them into cycle of
conflict, and the more able they will become to
short-circuit those negative behavior cycles
and replace them with positive ones.

It may take a considerable amount of time for

relationship counseling to be fully effective.
Those who come to seek professional
counseling for their issues should remember
that they are trying to unlearn behavior
patterns and coping mechanisms that they
spent lifetimes learning, and breaking those
patterns is no easy task.
However, once the counseling reaches its
conclusion, the couple will ideally have learned
to be more supportive, caring, and have a
generally happier, and more satisfying
relationship, whether it is romantic or
otherwise.
 MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING

There are many why an individual may need

mental health counseling. He or she may have a
chemical imbalance that is making it difficult to
function, which can be aided through drugs but
may also require some form of talk therapy. He
or she may have deep seated family issues
which are pervading adult life. In nearly any
case where a psychological issue is making
daily function a problem, mental health
counseling can help.
If you are suffering from some form of mental
illness, you may benefit from mental health
counseling. It is important to note that a mental
illness does not need to mean crippling
psychosis. Severe depression, anxiety or
attention deficits are all legitimate problems that
can be treated with the help of a mental health
counselor.

Mental health counseling is the treatment of a

mental illness by a trained mental health care
professional. The professional can take the form
of a clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or social
worker. The counseling itself can take on a
variety of forms as well from the psychoanalytic
approaches to behavioral approaches.
In many cases, talk therapy will be combined
with some form of medication to treat the
particular mental illness that an individual may
be suffering from.

Anyone who is dealing with some form of

psychological difficulty that is interfering with
everyday functioning may benefit from mental
health counseling. This includes people with
severe depression, with crippling anxiety, with
attention deficits or with eating disorders, as
well as those who struggle with addictions,
trauma or phobias.
The counselor may recommend that the patient
takes a variety of tests which may give a clear
picture of the patient’s specific pathology.
Once the problems have been established, the
counselor will recommend a course of
treatment, which will be number of sessions of
talk therapy, perhaps accompanied by
medication designed to correct the imbalance
in the brain.

Mental health counseling can be highly

effective for many people, and can often allow
them to go on to lead happier, more productive
lives.
 GROUP COUNSELING

In group counseling, a single therapist works

with multiple patients in order to help them
resolve troubling issues. Group counseling
can be effective for people who are not
comfortable in a one-on-one setting, who have
social anxiety issues, or who do not find it
financially feasible to pursue individual
counseling.
Group counseling is fairly popular for a
number of reasons. It is often cheaper than
individual counseling, which is appealing to
some, but it may be more comfortable to
certain people than a one-to-one counseling
situation. If you think that you or someone you
know might benefit from a group counseling
situation, it may be a good idea to learn a little
more about what goes on in counseling.
Group counseling is a type of mental health
counseling that is done with several people at
once, rather than an individual. The meeting is
led by a trained counselor who may be a
medical doctor, psychologist or social worker.
In the group setting each individual is
encouraged to share his or her thoughts and
feelings, both in general and around the
subject of the group, when they are ready. The
group counselor’s usual role is to keep this
dynamic intact and encourage healthy, positive
communication between group members. If a
particular member has been unwilling to speak
after many sessions, the counselor may work
with this individual to help him or her feel more
supportive and more comfortable joining the
discussion.
Ideally, as the group goes on, members will
begin to feel more confident and more
supportive.
There will be more mutual self-disclosure of
experiences, and through being able to talk
about their troubles with their particular
difficulties, healing can occur.

Some individuals who began because they

were not comfortable examining their feelings
in individual therapy may at this point choose
to try one-on-one counseling, while others
may feel they have drawn enough strength
from the group to cope with their difficulties
and move forward with their lives.
 SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELING

People who are in the grips of an alcohol or

drug addiction need a special type of
counseling. Substance abuse counseling uses
professionals who are trained in understanding
the workings and pathology of addiction and
helping patients learn how to manage their
addictions.

Substance abuse is a serious problem. While

many mental health problems can be life-
threatening and can seriously affect the people
around the sufferer. Substance abuse has a
particular reputation for ruining lives of
families.
If you or someone you know has a substance
abuse problem, you must get help before lives
are destroyed. You simply cannot afford to
wait.
Anyone who is suffering from an addiction can
and should avail themselves of substance
abuse counseling. Furthermore, friends and
relatives of those suffering from substance
abuse should also consider seeking
counseling. Having a loved one suffer in the
grip of a substance abuse addiction can be
extremely difficult and stressful, and it is
important to get the proper support for
yourself so that you can offer the necessary
support to the one you care about.
Someone suffering from substance abuse
may also choose some form of outpatient
counseling, be it individual or group
counseling. These individuals may not have
yet accepted they have a problem, or they
may have accepted it but for some reason
are not able or willing to pursue inpatient
treatment.
 TEEN COUNSELING

Teenagers are in a different stage of

development than their parents, and hence
need a different style of counseling. Teen
counseling helps teens deal with issues such
as understanding their sexuality, dealing with
the temptations of drugs and alcohol and
relating to their parents.

Teenage years are a confusing and complex

time in the lives of almost every individual, and
issues like sex confusion, parental conflict and
rebellion can all be part of a healthy transition
from childhood to adulthood.
 However, in some cases, there is an underlying
pathology so severe that traditional methods of
handling issues may not be enough. It is in this
type of situation that seeking teen counseling
may be called for.
Teen counseling is mental health counseling
that is administered by a practitioner who has
special knowledge and experience in deleing
with teens. The teenage year represents an
important stage of development, and
counselors who are accustomed to working
with adults or even children who are not yet
approaching puberty may not have the skills or
information needed to effectively counsel
teenagers.
Teen counseling can work in much the same
way that adult mental health counseling
works, with the difference being that the
counselor is trained in teen behavior and
issues.

A parent should accompany their child to his

or her first session to make sure that the teen
is comfortable with the type of therapy and
the counselor chosen, although when the
therapy begins, what goes on in teen
counseling between the counselor and the
teen is private and should remain so.
The counselor may also wish to meet the
parents separately to learn their impression of
the situation, although the goal of counseling
is to help the child, not the parents.

Once the goal is established, the counselor

will work with the teen to learn new coping
mechanisms and explore the roots of the issue
at hand, so that ultimately the teen will be
happier and better able to function during
these difficult years.
 DIVORCE COUNSELING

Not every divorcee needs to end in ruin and

chaos. People separate for all kinds of
legitimate reasons, and a divorce counselor
can help make sure that the break is clean.
Some divorce counselors can even mediate the
separation so that the process does not stretch
out unnecessarily and cost both parties
excessive amount of money.
When we get married, we would all like to
believe that it is for life, “till death do us part”
as the refrain goes. Unfortunately, most of us
are aware of the reality that things don't always
work out this way, when it’s apparent that a
married couple is going to split and go their
separate ways, it can often be to their benefit to
seek divorce counseling.

It may seem strange to think about divorce

counseling as opposed to marriage counseling.
If the marriage has failed, it would seem that
the time for counseling has passed. However
this is not always the case.
For one, a divorce is a traumatic, life changing
event that can give rise to many feelings and
complex issues, and it can be very helpful to
speak with a trained professional during this
difficult time.
For another, divorces can get very
complicated and messy but they do not need
to be. A divorce counselor can help couples
break up cleanly, with a minimum of ill will.

This is not only healthier for the couple, it can

also make things much easier on any children
who might be part of a family going through
divorce.
These divorce counselors work much the way
marriage counselors work, by helping both
parties learn better ways of communicating
with one other.

Even though the goal is not reconciliation, the

two individuals are still related by their history,
and can still benefit from learning to
communicate with each other.

This is true even if the two spouses plan to

have little contact with each other , but it can
be specially important if there are children
involved, since this means that the two
spouses will always be a part of each others’
lives in some way, shape or form.
 INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING

Individual counseling is a direct, active and

personal approach that focuses on increasing
your individual self awareness, understanding
and adjustment.

Individual counseling can help you identify the

most effective ways for you personally, to
achieve your desired goals for this stage in life,
as well as provide you with the tools to cope
with difficult circumstances that may arise
along the way.
Homesickness is to be expected when you
move away from your childhood home for the
first time. When feeling of loneliness or
isolation get to be overwhelming, a counselor
can help. Other adjustment dilemmas might
include dealing with your academic load,
meeting new people or dealing with a long
distance relationship.

Socialization and interacting with a new circle

of friends and acquaintances is a huge part of
the college experience.
 Sometimes though this aspect of university
life can be one of the hardest to adjust to, room
mate conflicts, familial problems, relationships
and dating concerns are all subjects that you
can discuss during individual counseling.

The number of assaults, sexual attacks, and

violence on college campuses is on the rise. If
you find yourself the victim of an attack or
crime or if you are facing a personal trauma,
including the death of a loved one, depression,
anxiety, or suicidal thoughts, then individual
counseling could be the first steps back to a
healthy mindset for you.

THE END