• Counseling is a profession that allows you to

help others manage their responses to life’s

challenges.
• It is a career that provides you an opportunity
to assist others in developing their potentials
and to encourage personal growth and
learning.
Professional counselors Informal helpers may
are expected to provide assistance to
maintain a high degree people who are
of objectivity in doing personally related to
their job. To do this them.
effectively, they must not
have a personal
involvement with their
client.
Counselors are guided by rules Informal
and regulation or what is called
Code of Ethics. In high helpers may
recognition of the role of help people as
counselors in the Philippines, the encouraged by
Guidance and Counseling Act of
2004 was promulgated to
their personal
support the improvement, rules.
advancement, and protection of
the guidance and counseling
profession. Counselors are
expected to perform their duties
and responsibilities according to
the standard set by this law.
• Counselors use strategies • Informal helpers
and techniques to are those who are
promote the client’s not formally
personal growth and equipped with
development. standardized
• For example, the strategies or
counselor may apply approaches.
cognitive strategies to Usually, they rely
help a student who has a on providing
low self-steem. By using advice or tips they
SELF-TALK Technique. feel suitable.
• SELF-TALK TECHNIQUE ( a cognitive approach
in counseling), the counselor will help the client
evaluate his or her thoughts about himself or
herself and figure out thoughts which are
helpful or not.
They have acquired body of knowledge, skills, or
competencies through formal and specialized training.
Thus, professional counselors are competent to provide
approaches or strategies that promote personal
growth of clients.
They are guided by standards of professionals
practice and laws. Thus, they maintain confidentiality
of their client’s issues and concerns and act to the best
interest of clients.
They are formally identified as members of the
helping profession, competent in promoting growth and
personal change in their clients.
• The counseling profession evolved as a response to various
changes: economic, social, and technological. The Guidance
Counselors are considered important members of the
educational team. They provide assistance to students’
academis pursuit, socio-emotional needs, career plan, and
moral development. In this way, the guidance and
counseling program ensures that students are able to cope
well with their circumstances. This results in nurturing
students who shall be responsible and productive members
of society.
The role of professional counselor is important in school to assist
students in theis academic well-being.
Providers of individual and group counseling services
Developmental classroom guidance specialists
Leaders and advocates of academic success
Career development specialists
Agents of diversity and multiculturalism
Advocates of students with special needs and students-at-
risk
Advocates of a safe school environment
School and community collaboration specialists
• School counselors take an active role in
counseling groups and individuals. In a school
setting, professional counselors are equipped
not only in helping individuals understand
themselves, but also in providing correct
evaluation for either behavioral or clinical
problems a students may have.
• Professional counselors also prepare lessons
and implement guidance instruction to students.
These are executed by developing clear and
measurable objectives to meet the needs of
students. To meet these objectives, professionals
counselors deliver talks, seminars, workshops,
and other interesting activities. Lastly,
professional counselors improve their programs
and mode of instruction through consistent
feedback and evaluation.
• Professional school counselors have an ethical
responsibility of promoting academic success by
helping students identify barriers affecting school
performance. These barriers may be personal,
socio-emotional, moral dilemmas or career-related
barriers. Professional counselors guide the students
by identifying strategiesso they can positively cope
with these challenges and see these challenges as
opportunities for growth.
• Professional counselors also provide activities
that will prepare students for the demand and
requirements of their chosen profession.
Furthermore, to ensure proper coping and
success in the workplace, professional counselors
help students develop essential, basic skills such
as effective communication, creativity, decision-
making, critical thinking, and work ethics.
• Professional school counselors are trained to
deal with and address the needs of people
from different cultural backgrounds.
• Professional counselors give attention to
students with special needs-such as the athletes,
honor students, students with absentee parents,
those with learning disablities, and other
clinically diagnosed students. They are special
groups who need additional assistance to help
them cope better-by providing comprehensive
assessment programs to better understand and
address their special needs.
• Conflicts, may lead to violence, happen in some
schools communities. For instance, there are
issues on bullying-
physical,verbal,cyber,psychological,etc. A
comprehensive school counseling program with
intervention components such as school bullying
campaign and peer mentoring can address this
issue.
• To ensure student’s wholistic development and
success , professional school counselors work in
collaboration with the other school authorities
with the parents of the student.
• Counselors also collaborate with mental health
practitioners when a student needs referral. For
example, those with depression may experience
hormonal imbalance resulting in depressive
moods. To provide proper response to
circumstance, the professional help of a
psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist is needed.
 MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
• PSYCHOLOGIST
• PSYCHIATRIST
• NEUROLOGIST
• SOCIAL WORKER
• They provide counseling and psychotherapy to
promote a healthy mental state.
• Psychotherapy is known as the use of psychological
approaches, such as talk therapy which allows the
client to tell whatever is in his or her mind.
• This requires longer duration compared to regular
counseling. Because counseling is given to mentally
healthy individuals, while psychotherapy is proved to
those with mental problems or disorders.
• Psychologists are require to undergo a thorough
academic training so they may appropriately respond
to mental health conditions.
• They specialize on the treatment of mental health
disorders and believe that this may be resolved by the
use of pharmacological interventions.
• Usually, they require physical examination, such as
complete blood test and urinalysis to determine
physiologicalcauses of the client’s conditions.
• Afterwards, they usually prescribe medications to
stabilize or regulate these physiological causes.
• Neurology is a branch of medicine that deals
with the study and treatment of disorders of the
nervous system.
• When a client’s performance is affected by
neurological problems, such as speech and
language disorders, brain seizures, or
movement disorders, professional counselors
refer him or her to a neurologist.
• Specific concerns related to housing
emergencies or crisis situations may be
attended by a social worker, upon referral of
professional counselor.
• EMPATHY EFFECTIVE
COUNSELORS MUST
• ACCEPTANCE DEVELOP AND SHOW
PERSONAL AND
• GENUINENESS PROFESSIONAL TRAITS
THAT ARE UNIQUE IN
• SELF-AWARENESS THE PROFESSION
• CULTURAL COMPETENCE
• OPEN-MINDEDNESS
• INTEGRITY
• COMPETENCE
• PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS AND CREATIVITY
• EMBRACING A PERSPECTIVE OF WELLNESS
• It is the counselor’s 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.
• It is the counselor’s ability to demonstrate an
attitude that is accepting the client’s insights as
expressed during the counseling session. This is
also referred to as unconditional positive regard.
• When a person is genuine, this means that he or
she is authentic, open and in touch with his or
her thoughts and feelings.
• When you as counselor talk to the counselee, a
genuine trait is manifested when you feel the
same for your counselee even if he or she is not
around.
• An awareness of one’s strengths and limitations
is necessary for an efficient and ethical practice
of profession (Parsons and Zhang,2013)
• When a counselor has self-awareness, he or she
id conscious about his or her personal
motivations, values, world views, and biases-
and how these influence his or her professional
decisions which may affect his or her work as
well as his or her relationship with the client.
• The effective counselor need to be culturally
competent in order to facilitate change to diverse
populations.
• This implies that counselors must know and understand
the background of their clients such as traditions,
beliefs, and family systems.
• Neukrug (2011) identified factors that counselors need
to consider in addressing cultural diversity of clients.
These factors include religion, economic background,
sexual identity, ethnic or racial identity, physical
attributes, language and location of residence, and
family background.
• Counselors must also be open-minded about
improving themselves-new possibilities,
knowledge, or suggestions they may obtain
from colleagues and other professionals- to
help themselves grow in maturity and develop
professionally. Thus, they must welcome and
embrace new experiences and their lessons.
• Professional counselors must demonstrate
personal values expressed in the ethical
practice of their profession.
• For example, if a counselor believes that
honesty is important in work and personal
relationships, honesty must be evident in how he
or she lives for his or her life and deals with
people –on an everyday basis.
• Professional counselors must be highly skillful and
knowledgeable in applying the theories and strategies
to effectively help people.
• This is done when they keep themselves updated about
recent and most effective practices in counseling,
research, program development, and evaluation.
• They continue to further enhance their capabilities by
attending professional organizations, seminars,
workshops, forums, or relevant trainings to their
profession.
• Professional counselors see problems not as mere difficulties,
but also as opportunities for psychological growth.
• With these, counselors must be able to facilitate the client’s
realization of the possible solutions given his or her
circumstances. Also, counselors must properly guide the
counseling toward weighing and choosing the best option, as
the latter evaluates the risk and opportunities of each option.
• On the other hand, the counselor’s creativity is expressed
through the imaginative or artistic ways of helping the
counselee explore his or her skill in arts, music, poetry, or
writing activities.
• Through creativity, the counselor becomes more resourceful and
innovative in helping his or her clients solve their problems.
• A wellness perspective is the counselor’s ability
to see the importance of taking care of others.
• The counselor may go through various activities
like sports, meditation, and yoga as a form of
recreation.
• ESTABLISHING RAPPORT
• BASIC ATTENDING SKILLS
• OBSERVATIONAL SKILLS
• BASIC RESPONDING SKILLS

Counselors must be academically and professionally

prepared to be able to assist others toward an
improved life, gained through psychological, growth
and stability.
• To establish rapport means to create and foster a
warm and accepting relationship with the counselee.
• Rapport can be achieved by the counselor’s ability to
demonstrate empathy or an understanding of the
counselee’s feelings and perspectives.
• 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.
• Basic attending skills refers to the nonverbal behaviors which are
important in the counseling process. These basic attending skills make
the counselee feel that the counselor is sincerely listening and paying
attention to the counselee’s concerns.
• According to Egan (1995, 2009) and Guindon (2011) these basic
attending skills can be easily recalled by the acronym SOLER:
 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 an eye contact, but not necessarily staring at the
counselee;
 R means being relaxed or the ability to be composed and confident
during the session.
• A professional counselor must have the ability to observe the
verbal and nonverbal messages conveyed by the counselee.
• Verbal messages are the spoken words through stories or
insights shared by the counselee.
• Nonverbal messages are the cues or indicators of kept thoughts
and feelings that may indicate personal issues or problems of
the counselee.
• According to Guindon (2011) paying attention to nonverbal
behaviors may provide significant information about the client’s
verbally unexpressed thoughts and feelings.
• Nonverbal behaviors confirms the discrepancies between what
is being said to what is actually happening.
• PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
• PERSONAL SPACE
• VOICE
• FACIAL EXPRESSION
• BODY LANGUAGE
• SUDDEN CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR
• This may include a person’s manner of dressing or
grooming, indicating his or her ability to adapt and
take care of himself or herself.
• A counselee who demonstrates neglect for his or her
grooming may be demonstrating signs of personal
problems. Another example is bruises on the
counselee’s skin that may indicate physical abuse or
physical pain.
• This refers to the proximity or distance between two
persons. Cultural background may account for
personal space; that is why there are individuals who
feel comfortable with close proximity, and others who
are uncomfortable with it.
• According to Guindon (2011), touch is one element of
personal space. For some, human touch makes one feel
loved and cared. However, for some, human touch is
unpleasant and may be seen as threat or possible
danger.
• Counselors must pay attention to the tone of
counselee’s voice as the latter shares his or her
story. Any fluctuation from the original pattern
of speech must be noted.
• The intensity of emotions can be gauged
through the counselee’s rate of speech and tone
of voice.
• The individual’s face often reflects genuine
feelings and emotions. A counselee’s verbal
expressions may contradict the emotions
reflected by his or her eyes and facial
expressions.
• The counselee’s body language is a nonverbal
message that suggests unconveyed emotions.
This body language of the counselee may
indicate either a positive or a negative emotion.
The counselor must be aware of this and take
note of the possible messages these body
languages are communicating.
• When a counselee displays a sudden changes
in behavior during the counseling sessions, these
are indicative of possible emotional stress or
resistance.
• Basic responding skills, also called listening skills, are
competencies that indicate a counselor’s ability to
accurately hear and understand the counselee.
• This is the counselor’s ability to understand the client’s
spoken words and shared emotions.
• A counselor must not only listen to the story and
observe nonverbal behaviors of the client. The
counselor must also pay attention to his or her own
nonverbal messages in an effort to communicate an
empathic understanding.
• USE OF MINIMAL ENCOURAGERS
• RESTATEMENT OR PARAPHRASING
• REFLECTION OF FEELINGS
• SUMMARIZATION
• Minimal encouragers include verbal and
nonverbal behaviors of the counselor, which
express his or her interest in the client’s story.
This also allows the counselee to communicate
and continue sharing his or her stories.
• This 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 skill involves the counselor’s capacity
to reflect on what emotions or feelings the
counselee has about a particular event or
experience.
• This skill attempts to bring together all the
important parts of the discussion.
• Through summarization, the counselor repeats
and rephrases the statement shared by the
counselee.
• SCHOOL COUNSELING
• MENTAL HEALTH AND CLINICAL COUNSELING
• REHABILTATION COUNSELING
• INDUSTRIAL COUNSELING
• MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELING
• PRIVATE PRACTICE
• COMMUNITY COUNSELING
• Guidance counselors usually ensure students’
academic success and assist those with various
career, social and personal development skills
needs.
• A professional counselor may also focus on mental
health counseling by providing programs and services
specifically designed to address the needs of
individuals with mental health issues.
• The Philippine Mental Health Association and
Dangerous Drug Board are some of the local
institutions where the counselors work and focus on
mental health issues.
• Rehabilitation counselors are responsible for
helping patients with physical , mental ,or
emotional issues. They deal with psychological
and physical issues like illness affecting the
individual. They utilize various approaches to
help patients understand and overcome their
disability.
• Counselors may also specialize in the industrial
setting, where they could provide workplace
counseling to respond to the concerns of the
employees.
• Marriage and family counselors explore issues
and concerns that affect the relationship of
husband and wife, and their roles as a parents.
They provide counseling session to develop
stronger relationship within the family.
• Counselors may have their own wellness center
or private clinic. The clinic can accommodate
children and/or adults, depending on the
counselor’s specialization.
• This is provided to members of the society who
encounter difficulties in community setting.
Counselor’s who work in the community setting
are usually adapt in the community’s
background, culture, and practices.
• They help the members of the community
improve their relationship with each other.
• ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELORS
• COLLEGE COUNSELORS
• TEACHING IN ACADEME
• WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
• CAREER COUNSELORS
• COMMUNITY COUNSELORS
• MARRIAGE ABD FAMILY COUNSELORS
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSEORS
• REHABILITATION COUNSELORS
• RESEARCHER
• Counselors working in the elementary and high school
levels usually deal with preschool pupils to grades 1 to
12 students. They provide individual and group
counseling as well as homeroom guidance sessions to
support the academic, social-emotional, and personal
development of schoolchildren. They also provide
psychological tests to assess the students’ strengths and
weaknesses.
• They are in charge of the implementation of
comprehensive guidance programs for the
tertiary levels. They do not only focus on the
academic, social, emotional, and personal
development of students, but they also address
career-related needs of the students. They also
provide psychological assessments, which intend
to identify the students’ strengths and
limitations.
• A professional counselor can also opt to teach
in the college and high school levels as long as
they meet the necessary academic
requirements.
• Guidance counselors are equipped with
competencies that address the needs of diverse
groups through facilitation of seminars and
workshops. They can provide activities to
address issues such as mental health, career
development, adolescents risky behaviors,
resiliency, soft skills, or any other topic
concerning psychological conditions of
individuals.
• Through career counseling and career coaching,
they prepare students and other clients on how
to perform well in job applications. They may
also educate those who wish to change their
career or achieve career advancement. Also,
career counselors provide activities that guide
individuals to explore their interests, personality
traits, attitudes, and aptitudes. Moreover,
career counselors may also provide activities to
retirees to help them cope and adjust with life
transitions.
• They provide help to members of certain
communities by identifying how certain factors
contribute to well-being of its members.
Counselors reach out to the communities and
work with groups who are at risk of certain
problems like poor health, learning disability,
and poverty; the minorities; and those who are
physically and emotionally abused. They may
provide counseling and other therapeutic
activities to help the members cope.
• They are trained to address family issues and
concerns through therapeutic interventions.
Family counseling is usually provided when
there are marital conflicts, sibling rivalry,
intergenerational conflict among members, or
one or more members of the family are going
to a difficult situation. Various approaches are
also being used so that the family can deal and
cope with these challenges.
• They usually work in drug rehabilitation centers.
They are trained to help people understand
how substance abuse affected their way of life
and how they can overcome and prevent some
problem. Their academic training and
preparations helped them to develop programs
and intervention that will address the physical
and psychological well-being of clients.
• They deal with clients who suffer from
physical disabilities and psychological
problems. They provide counseling,
assessment, and activities that will lead the
client to accept that his or her condition
has to be changed or fixed.
• They are trained to conduct evidence-based
research and identify the most effective
activities that will improve the conditions of
certain individuals. They are in charge of
program evaluation and development to further
promote the cognitive, socio-emotional, and
moral-spiritual well-being of individuals.
• CONFIDENTIALITY
• CLIENT WELFARE
• INFORMED CONSENT
• RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIENTS
• PROFESSIONALISM
• This principle states that counselee have the right to
privacy in working with his or her counselor (
Hutchinson , 2014 ).
• All information shared by the counselee, including his
or he identity, must be kept secret. This means that the
counselor should not divulge any information and
protect all documents about the counselee.
• It is the counselor’s primary responsibility to protect the
welfare of the clients. If the identified needs of the
counselee are beyond the expertise of the counselor,
then the counselor must refer the client to another
professional. As such, counselors must be
knowledgeable about cultural and clinically
appropriate sources of referral which they may
suggest to the counselee.
• Professional counselors are required to provide
their clients an overview of what counseling is
all about and what the counseling process
entails. This allow the client to decide whether
he or she would participate in the counseling
process or not.
• A professional counselor must establish and maintain
boundaries in his or her relationship with the clients.
Within and outside the counseling session, the counselor
must be aware and be bound by the ethics of
professional relationships with the clients.
• Since clients tend to be vulnerable and helpless at
times, they become dependent on and see the
counselor as a companion. No matter how emotionally
vulnerable the clients are, the counselor must set
professional limits.
• A professional counselor should clarify with the client
types of activities other than counseling which will be
utilized to address the presenting concerns, the
techniques and counseling procedures that will be
employed, and the sort of payment that is expected to
be paid if working on a private setting. As a
professional individual, the limitations of
confidentiality must also be clarified to the counselee.
• RESPECTING THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF EVERY
HUMAN PERSON
• RESPECTING THE CLIENT’S RIGHTS AS SELF-GOVERNING
INDIVIDUAL
• BEING COMMITTED TO THE CLIENTS WELL-BEING
• BEING FAIR TO ALL CLIENTS BY PROVIDING EQUAL
OPPORTUNITY TO ALL WHO AVAILED COUNSELING
SERVICE
• ENHANCING THE QUALITY OF THEIR PROFESSIONAL
KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION
• BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE SOCIETY
• Professional counselors must bear in mind that
each individual is unique. No matter how unruly
or how disruptive the behavior of an individual
is, he or she deserves to be treated fairly, to be
listened to about what he or she thinks and feels
, and to be respected.
• Counselors feel responsible for the welfare of
the clients. However, counselors must remember
that their clients are capable of helping
themselves and are capable of choosing .
• Professional counselors demonstrate dedication
for their work by showing concern to their client
during counseling session and even after the
session.
• Counselors do not only provide counseling to
few and selected groups, but they
accommodate individuals form all walks of life.
They must render service to whoever is willing
and interested to be professionally helped.
• Counselors provide quality service by keeping
themselves updated on issues and trends in their
profession. Counselors must continuously attend
conferences and conventions. They must also join
and participate in professional organizations
aimed to develop their competencies.
• Counselors collaborate with other members of
the community to provide the best services for
their clients.