DEFINITIONS OF COUNSELING

Counseling is:
• A profession with a history and set of standards that are distinct from
other related disciplines such as social work, psychology, and
psychiatry.
• An activity that is designed to work primarily with those who are
experiencing developmental or adjustment problems.
• A relationship, whether in a group, family, or individual format, that is
constructed in a way to promote trust, safety, and lasting change.
• Multidimensional, dealing with human feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors, as well as with the past, present, and future.
• The term ‘counseling’ includes work with individuals and with relationships
which may be developmental, crisis support, psychotherapeutic, guiding or
problem solving . . . The task of counselling is to give the ‘client’ an
opportunity to explore, discover and clarify ways of living more satisfyingly
and resourcefully. (BAC 1984)

• Counseling denotes a professional relationship between a trained counsellor

and a client. This relationship is usually person-to-person, although it may
sometimes involve more than two people. It is designed to help clients to
understand and clarify their views of their life space, and to learn to reach
their self-determined goals through meaningful, well-informed choices and
through resolution of problems of an emotional or interpersonal nature.
(Burks and Stefflre 1979: 14)
• A counselor is a professionally trained expert who helps people overcome
their issues after a systematic chain of sessions. The types of counselling
vary, depending on the needs of the clients. 
 
• Counselling is a talking therapy that allows people to discuss their
problems with trained professionals in a peaceful and safe ambiance. The
exact meaning of counselling might vary among individuals. But in
general, it is the process where you talk about your issues in detail either
intending to overcome the same or to explore your thoughts
comprehensively. 
• Counseling is:
• The process that occurs when a client and counsellor set aside
time to explore difficulties which may include the stressful or
emotional feelings of the client.
• The act of helping the client to see things more clearly,
possibly from a different view-point. This can enable the client
to focus on feelings, experiences or behavior, with a goal of
facilitating positive change.
• A relationship of trust. Confidentiality is paramount to
successful counselling. Professional counsellors will usually
explain their policy on confidentiality. They may, however, be
required by law to disclose information if they believe that
there is a risk to life.
 What Counseling is not:
• Giving advice.
• Being judgmental.
• Attempting to sort out the problems of the client.
• Expecting or encouraging a client to behave as the counsellor would
behave if confronted with a similar problem in their own life.
• Getting emotionally involved with the client.
• Looking at a client’s problems from your own perspective, based on
your own value system.
COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
 COUNSELLING AND PSYHCOTHERAPY
• “Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of
talking therapies. They are delivered by trained practitioners who work
with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective
change or enhance their wellbeing.”

• ‘Psychotherapy’ and ‘counselling’ are very similar, but not exactly the
same. Both describe a process of helping someone to come to terms
with and work out solutions to their problems.
APPROACHES TO COUNSELLING
 1. Psychoanalysis/Psychodynamic Theory
• Psychodynamic counselling evolved from the work of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). During his career as a
medical doctor, Freud came across many patients who suffered from medical conditions which appeared to
have no ‘physical cause’.

• This led him to believe that the origin of such illnesses lay in the unconscious mind of the patient.

• Freud therefore started to investigate the unconscious mind, so that he could understand his patients and help
them recover.

• Psychodynamic counselling is based on Freud’s idea that true knowledge of people and their problems is
possible through an understanding of three particular areas of the human mind.
• Freud's main interest and aim was to bring things from the unconscious into the
conscious. This practice is known as psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is used to
encourage the client to examine childhood or early memory trauma to gain a
deeper understanding of events. 

• Psychoanalysis is based upon the assumption that we can only progress

psychologically by becoming aware of earlier dilemmas that have been
repressed into our unconscious because of painful associations.
• These areas are:

• The Conscious – things that we are aware of, including feelings or emotions, such as anger,
sadness, grief, delight, surprise, and happiness.
• The Subconscious – these are things that are below our conscious awareness but fairly easily
accessible. They may include, for example, events that we have forgotten, but will easily
remember when asked an appropriate question.
• The Unconscious – this is the area of the mind where memories have been suppressed and is
usually very difficult to access. Such memories may include extremely traumatic events that
have been blocked off and require a highly skilled practitioner to help recover.
FREUD MAINTAINED THAT THE PERSONALITY
CONSISTS OF THREE RELATED ELEMENTS:
i. The Conscious – things that we are aware of,
including feelings or emotions, such as anger,
sadness, grief, delight, surprise, and happiness.
ii. The Subconscious – these are things that are
below our conscious awareness but fairly easily
accessible. They may include, for example, events
that we have forgotten, but will easily remember
when asked an appropriate question.
iii. The Unconscious – this is the area of the mind
where memories have been suppressed and is
usually very difficult to access. Such memories may
include extremely traumatic events that have been
blocked off and require a highly skilled practitioner
to help recover.
• Freud believed that everybody experiences tension and
conflict between the three elements of their personalities.
For example, desire for pleasure (from the Id) is restrained
by the moral sense of right and wrong (from the Superego).
The Ego balances the tension between the Id wanting to be
satisfied and the Superego being over strict.
• Freud's main interest and aim was to bring things from the unconscious into
the conscious. This practice is known as psychoanalysis.

• Psychoanalysis is used to encourage the client to examine childhood or early

memory trauma to gain a deeper understanding of events. This in turn may
help the client to release negativities associated with these earlier events.
Psychoanalysis is based upon the assumption that we can only progress
psychologically by becoming aware of earlier dilemmas that have been
repressed into our unconscious because of painful associations.

• The main goal of psychodynamic counselling, therefore, is to help people

to balance the three elements of their personality so that neither the Id
nor the Superego is dominant.
 2. Humanistic Approach to Counselling/Client-Centered Counselling

• Humanistic counselling recognizes the uniqueness of every individual.

• Humanistic counsellors work with the belief that problems are not caused by life
events themselves, but how we experience them.

• Our experience, in turn, will affect and be affected by how we feel about
ourselves, influencing self-esteem and confidence.
 Humanistic Approach to Counselling/Client-Centered Counselling

• The approach aims for self-acceptance of both negative and positive aspects of
our characters and personalities.

• Humanistic counsellors therefore aim to help clients to explore their own

thoughts and feelings and to work out their own solutions to their problems.

• Humanistic counselors see their role not as one of directing clients in how to
address their problems but, rather, as one of helping clients to discover and
access within themselves the restricted resources they need to solve problems
on their own. 
 3. Behavioural Approach to Counselling

• The behavioral approach to counselling focuses on the assumption that the environment
determines an individual’s behavior.

• How an individual responds to a given situation is the result of past learning, and usually
behavior that has been reinforced in the past. For example, suppose that a child picked up a
spider and took it to their mother. If she was frightened of spiders, she might scream. The child
would then learn that spiders are frightening. Next time, instead of picking up the spider, the
child will probably scream and run to their mother, who may say ‘ooh, I hate spiders, they’re so
creepy’, reinforcing the child’s behaviour. As a result, the child may develop a fear of spiders and
run away screaming (response) at the sight of a spider (stimulus).

• Behaviourists believe that that behaviour is ‘learned’ and can therefore be unlearned.
 Behavioural Approach to Counselling

•  Classicconditioning is one type of behavioral therapy that stems from early theorist Ivan Pavlov’s
research. Pavlov executed a famous study using dogs, which focused on the effects of a learned
response (e.g., a dog salivating when hearing a bell) through a stimulus (e.g., pairing the sound of
a bell with food).
 Behavioural Approach to Counselling

• Behaviour therapy focuses on individual behaviour and aims to help people to modify unwanted
behaviours. Unwanted behaviour is defined as an undesired response to something or someone
in the environment. Using this approach, a counsellor would identify the unwanted behaviour
with a client and together they would work to change or adapt the behaviour.

• Problems which respond well to this type of therapy include phobias, anxiety attacks and eating
disorders.
 4. Cognitive Theory

• In the 1960s, psychotherapist Aaron Beck developed cognitive theory.

• Cognitive therapists focus more on their client’s present situation and

distorted thinking than on their past.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has been found in research to

help with a number of mental illnesses including anxiety, personality,
eating, and substance abuse disorders.
Cognitive Theory

• Cognitive ability refers to the mental capacity for processing

information, reasoning, perception, learning, and solving problems. It
encompasses a wide range of mental processes such as attention,
memory, language, problem-solving, and decision-making. Cognitive
ability is often used as a general term to describe intelligence,
Cognitive Theory

• Cognitive counselors work to challenge their clients' faulty thinking

patterns so clients are able to derive solutions that accurately address
the problems they are experiencing. Currently preferred cognitive-
theory-based therapies include cognitive behavior therapy, reality
therapy, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment
therapy.
 GOAL OF COUNSELLING
• Insight. The acquisition of an understanding of the origins and development of emotional
difficulties, leading to an increased capacity to take rational control over feelings and actions
(Freud: ‘where id was, shall ego be’).
• Relating with others. Becoming better able to form and maintain meaningful and satisfying
relationships with other people: for example, within the family or workplace.
• 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.
• Self-acceptance. The 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.
 GOAL OF COUNSELLING

• Self-actualization or individuation. Moving in the direction of fulfilling potential or achieving

an integration of previously conflicting parts of self.
• Enlightenment. Assisting the client to arrive at a higher state of spiritual awakening.
• Problem-solving. Finding a solution to a specific problem that the client had not been able
to resolve alone. Acquiring a general competence in problem-solving.
• Psychological education. Enabling the client to acquire ideas and techniques with which to
understand and control behaviour
 GOAL OF COUNSELLING

• Acquisition of social skills. Learning and mastering social and interpersonal skills such as
maintenance of eye contact, turn-taking in conversations, assertiveness or anger control.
• Cognitive change. The modification or replacement of irrational beliefs or maladaptive
thought patterns associated with self-destructive behavior.
• Behaviour change. The modification or replacement of maladaptive or self-destructive
patterns of behavior.
• Systemic change. Introducing change into the way in that social systems (e.g. families)
operate.
 GOAL OF
COUNSELLING
• Empowerment. Working on skills, awareness and knowledge that will enable the client to
take control of his or her own life.
• Restitution. Helping the client to make amends for previous destructive behavior.
• Generativity and social action. Inspiring in the person a desire and capacity to care for
others and pass on knowledge (generativity) and to contribute to the collective good through
political engagement and community work.
/PROCESS OF COUNSELLING (5-D MODEL OF
COUNSELLING)
Develop the relationship

Define the problem

Determine the goals

Decide plan of action

Do the follow-up
PHASE 1:- Developing the relationship
Attitudes which have to be adopted for counselling process to work:-
1. Respect
2. Genuineness
3. Empathy
4. Equality
5. Listening
6. Confidentiality
PHASE 2:- Defining the Problem(s)
• Examining the problems

• Prioritising the relevant issues

• Focusing on the perspective

PHASE 2:- Defining the Problem(s)
• Examining the problems

• Prioritising the relevant issues

• Focusing on the perspective

• Acceptance of the problem

• Emphasizing on self- responsibility

• Analysing and solving problems

ORGANIZATIONAL APPLICATION OF
COUNSELLING
 Changing behaviour through Counselling
• Behaviour can be described as any overt manifestation of the
individual. It can be related to what is said or done by the individual
behaviour can be further described in terms of behaviour deficit or
behaviour excesses.

• Behaviour deficit indicates absence or lack of something, where as

behaviour excesses indicates certain behaviour that is not under
control and is excessive.
 Changing behaviour through Counselling
• For example, in a work set up, if an employee is not been able to
adequately interact with others which has resulted in lowering of
team productivity and performance then it can be said that there is
behaviour deficit. On the other hand is an employee has been very
aggressive, which has resulted in damage to the organisational
property then this can be termed as behaviour excessive. Such
behaviours can cause problem and need modification.
 Changing behaviour through Counselling
• Behaviour modification involves encouragement of desirable
behaviour and removal or minimisation of behaviour that is
undesirable. This can also be done with the help of reinforcement,
which can be positive or negative. Behaviour modification thus
involves techniques that are scientifically tested and can be used to
reduce certain behaviours that are maladaptive in nature and
increase behaviours that are healthy or adaptive.
Changing behaviour through Counselling- Process
• 1) Setting of the goal: The main goal of behavior modifications is
bringing about a change in behavior, as discussed before, this change
can be in terms of a behavior that is newly developed like learning a
new skill or further strengthening of a behavior, for example, a person
may have leadership skills but they can be further enhanced. It can
also include maintenance of a particular behavior like safety related
behavior and last but not the least, decreasing or eliminating the
unwanted behavior, aggressive behavior, for example, can be
completely eliminated.
Changing behaviour through Counselling- Process
• 2) Behavioural Assessment: As discussed above, before the behaviour
modification process is started, the goal has to be whether behaviour
is to be strengthened or reduce or a new behavior is to be developed
or a particular behavior is to be maintained is to be decided. This can
be decided based on the behavioral assessment. A behavioral
assessment will help understand the problem in a better manner. This
assessment includes the following:
Changing behaviour through Counselling- Process
• Frequency: How frequent is the behavior. For example, if a person has been
aggressive just once, we can say that it was due to the situation and the
person may not be as such aggressive by nature. But if the person has been
aggressive a number of times then this is a matter of concern.
• Duration: For how long the behavior has been persistent is also important to
be noted. For example, the duration that the employee has been aloof or
upset or displaying lack of interest in job related activities.
• Intensity: This has to do with the severity of the behavior. For example, how
extreme was the aggressiveness displayed by the employee.
Changing behaviour through Counselling- Process
• The behavior is further analysed with the help of functional analysis,
that can be done using ABC, A, that stands for Antecedent, that is,
what happened before the behavior B, stands for Behavior, the
behavior of the employee C, stands for consequences. What
happened after the behavior.
Changing behaviour through Counselling- Process
• 3) The intervention or techniques that could be used are specified: To suggest
or specify a particular intervention or technique it is necessary that – the
antecedent factors are mentioned and described, – the consequences are also
noted down, – the goals of behavior modification are specified and, – target
response that requires to be changed is noted. Once this is done then suitable
technique for behavior modification can be used.

• 4) Evaluation and follow-up: Evaluation and follow up are carried out to see if
any change in the behavior has taken place or not. If there are no changes in
the behavior after use of a particular intervention or technique, the same can
be changed or modified.
 Why- Changing behaviour through Counselling
• • Improve employee productivity
• • Promote discipline amongst the employees
• • Ensure and enhance the safety related behavior of the employees.
• • Development of training programs
• • Employee self management
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
The earliest stage of change is precontemplation. 1 During
the precontemplation stage, people are not considering a
change. People in this stage are often described as "in
denial," because they claim that their behavior is not a
problem. In some cases, people in this stage do not
understand that their behavior is damaging, or they are
under-informed about the consequences of their actions.

If you are in this stage, begin by asking yourself some

questions. Have you ever tried to change this behavior in
the past? How do you recognize that you have a problem?
What would have to happen for you to consider your
behavior a problem?
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
During this stage, people become more and more aware
of the potential benefits of making a change, but the costs
tend to stand out even more. This conflict creates a strong
sense of ambivalence about changing. Because of this
uncertainty, the contemplation stage of change can last
months or even years
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
During this stage, people become more and more aware
of the potential benefits of making a change, but the costs
tend to stand out even more. This conflict creates a strong
sense of ambivalence about changing. Because of this
uncertainty, the contemplation stage of change can last
months or even years
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
During the preparation stage, you might begin making
small changes to prepare for a larger life change. For
example, if losing weight is your goal, you might switch
to lower-fat foods.3 If your goal is to quit smoking, you
might switch brands or smoke less each day. You might
also take some sort of direct action such as consulting a
therapist, joining a health club, or reading self-help books.
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
During the fourth stage of change, people begin taking
direct action to accomplish their goals.1 Oftentimes,
resolutions fail because the previous steps have not been
given enough thought or time.

For example, many people make a New Year's resolution

to lose weight and immediately start a new exercise
regimen, embark on a healthier diet, and cut back on
snacks. These definitive steps are vital to success, but
these efforts are often abandoned in a matter of weeks
because the previous steps have been overlooked.
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
The maintenance phase of the stages of change model
involves successfully avoiding former behaviors and
keeping up new behaviors.3 If you are trying to maintain a
new behavior, look for ways to avoid temptation. Try
replacing old habits with more positive actions. Reward
yourself when you are able to successfully avoid a
relapse.
STAGES OF BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
In any behavior change, relapses are a common
occurrence.4 When you go through a relapse, you might
experience feelings of failure, disappointment, and
frustration.