THE COUNSELLING

PROCESS:
• • The counselling process is concerned with
change and growth, but it is not the counsellor
who seeks to change the client.  

• •It is the client who seeks to change and develop

within him/herself and the counsellors’ role is to
aid such change not by taking over the direction
for the client but by enabling him/her to clarify
goals and feelings to the point where he/she can
confidently assume self-direction (Milner, 1980).
• • As a guide for counsellor to proceed in a more
structured manner, we have delineated the process
into five broadly-based stages.

• •The emphasis in each stage will depend on the

specific circumstances, for example whether it is an
initial interview where literally everything is new or
unknown, a-one-off session, a routine follow-up of a
series of meetings.
 
 

There are many ways in which these stages can be

represented.
The five stage structure of the interview represents one way of
viewing these stages in the counselling process. These stages
are:
1.Rapport Structuring
2.Data Gathering
3.Determining Outcomes
4.Generating Alternative Solutions
5.Generalization
•Rapport and structuring
••A client cannot be creative unless the counsellor
provides an atmosphere of sufficient warmth and
support.
• • At the beginning of the interview attention must be
given to developing rapport with the client (Ivey, Ivey
and Simek-Downing, 1987). •In some cases it may take
several interviews before an adequate relationship is
established.
• 
••In addition, clients often benefit from knowing what to
expect in an interview.
•Briefly stating the purpose of the interview can be
helpful in establishing a joint focus.
 
• Data Gathering
• •The purpose of data gathering is to find out why the client has come to
the interview and how she/he views the problem.
• •The client comes with a verbalized “problem”. Is the problem
presented the main issue that should be discussed?
• •Your task in this phase of the interview is to listen to the presenting
problem and to help the client create a clear and accurate definition of
the problem and issues (Ivey, Ivey, Simek-Downing 1987; Culley, 1991).
•  
• •Needless to say, the problem your client presents may not be the
actual problem that needs creative resolution.
•
• •Skillful problem definition will help avoid aimless topic jumping and
give the interview purpose and direction.
 
• Determining outcomes
• •The aim is to find out the ideal world of the client. How would the
client like to be?
• •How would things be if the problem were solved?
• •This stage is important in that it enables the interviewer to know
what the client wants (Culley, 1991).
• • Once you have a clear definition of the problem, it is tempting to
start problem resolution.
• •However your ideas about what an ideal solution is may be quite
different from your client’s.
• • Goal definition can proceed in very precise ways or it can remain
somewhat general.
• 
• •What is important is that the goal is relatively clear (Ivey, Ivey, and
Simek-Downing, 1987).
• Generating alternative solution
• •The purpose of this phase is to work toward
resolution of the client’s issue.
• •Once you have defined the client’s problem and the
desired outcome, you are ready to facilitate problem
resolution, through exploration of alternatives.
• •It is this phase of the interview that draws more
heavily on the creative process stressed in the early
phases.
• •Remember that the client comes to you stuck and
immobilized; your task is to free that person for
creative responding.
• • Encouraging creative responding in the client does
not mean providing the client with the ready-made
solution.
• •How can one facilitate creativity in the client?
• •One route is simply summarizing the client’s problem
and assets as you heard them, repeating the desired
outcome, and contrasting the real, present situation and
ideal future.
• •Your summarization, in your own natural manner, of the
contrast of the real situation and the ideal solution
clarifies and structures the problem for the client’s
creative responding (Ivey, Ivey and Simek- Downing
1987; Culley, 1991).
• •You will find that many clients need only your careful
listening and structuring.
• •Once you clearly have outlined the present and the ideal
situation, clients generate their own new answers.
• Generalization
• •You may do a wonderful job of gathering
data, defining goals, and generating and
sorting alternatives but, unless a specific
commitment to action is obtained, your
efforts may be to no avail.
• •Stories of wonderful insights and
understandings in the interview abound, but
the acid test is does your interview make a
difference in the life of the client?
• •Does the client do something different as a
result of counselling?
• •Having worked through problems and
clarified them, most counselors and clients
are tempted to close the interview and move
on.
• •Data clearly show that clients often, perhaps even usually lose the benefits
of counselling rather quickly; specific steps must be taken to ensure that
your and the client‘s constructive efforts do not get lost (Marx, 1982; Marlatt
and Gordon, 1980, 1985).
• 
• •You as a counsellor must also give special attention to generalization and
work with your client’s to ensure that difficult gains in the interview are not
lost in the ensuing days and months.
• •For the beginning stage of interviewing, one simple method may be helpful:
• •Simply ask the client “What one thing today stands out for you?
• •What specific thing/ action could you take tomorrow or next week to act on
what we discussed?” (Ivey, Ivey and Simek-Downing, 1987).).
•