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Difference Between Guidance and Counseling

Guidance and counseling both aim to help individuals with problems, but differ in their approaches. Guidance provides ready-made solutions to issues and is a more comprehensive, preventative approach. Counseling focuses on understanding problems through in-depth, confidential discussions to empower clients to make their own decisions. The key differences are that guidance deals with career and education issues while counseling addresses personal and psychological concerns, and guidance involves less privacy and the guide making decisions rather than the client.

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143 views3 pages

Difference Between Guidance and Counseling

Guidance and counseling both aim to help individuals with problems, but differ in their approaches. Guidance provides ready-made solutions to issues and is a more comprehensive, preventative approach. Counseling focuses on understanding problems through in-depth, confidential discussions to empower clients to make their own decisions. The key differences are that guidance deals with career and education issues while counseling addresses personal and psychological concerns, and guidance involves less privacy and the guide making decisions rather than the client.

Uploaded by

PEARL NOOR
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Difference Between Guidance and Counseling

Last updated on July 15, 2017 by Surbhi S

guidance vs counselingWhile in guidance the focus is made on listening to the problem, on which
ready-made solution is given by the expert. Counseling aims at discussing and understanding the
problem, advising and empowering him to take a decision concerning his/her career or life goals in
one-to-one sessions.

Psychology is a discipline that studies human behaviour and mind. It attempts to ask questions about
the reason behind an individual’s behaviour and thinking. Two important concepts of psychology,
which people do not easily discern are guidance and counseling because both seek to find out the
solutions for problems and works for human development. Learning the differences between
guidance and counseling might help you in choosing the right method for you.

Content: Guidance Vs Counseling

Comparison Chart

Definition

Key Differences

Conclusion

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR COMPARISON GUIDANCE COUNSELING

Meaning Guidance refers to an advice or a relevant piece of information provided by a


superior, to resolve a problem or overcome from difficulty.

Counseling refers to a professional advice given by a counselor to an individual to help him in


overcoming from personal or psychological problems.

Nature Preventive Remedial and Curative

Approach Comprehensive and Extroverted In-depth and Introverted

What it does? It assists the person in choosing the best alternative. It tends to change the
perspective, to help him get the solution by himself or herself.

Deals with Education and career related issues. Personal and socio-psychoological issues.

Provided by Any person superior or expert A person who possesses high level of skill and
professional training.

Privacy Open and less private. Confidential


Mode One to one or one to many One to one

Decision making By guide. By the client.

Definition of Guidance

Guidance is a kind of advice or help given to the individual’s especially students, on matters like
choosing a course of study or career, work or preparing for vocation, from a person who is superior
in the respective field or an expert. It is the process of guiding, supervising or directing a person for a
particular course of action.

The process aims at making students or individuals aware of the rightness or wrongness of their
choices and importance of their decision, on which their future depends. It is a service that assists
students in selecting the most appropriate course for them, to discover and develop their
psychological and educational abilities and ambitions. Guidance results in self-development and
helps a person to plan his present and future wisely.

Definition of Counseling

The term counseling is defined as a talking therapy, in which a person (client) discusses freely his/her
problems and share feelings, with the counselor, who advises or helps the client in dealing with the
problems. It aims at discussing those problems which are related to personal or socio- psychological
issues, causing emotional pain or mental instability that makes you feel uneasy. The counselor
listens the problems of the client with empathy and discusses it, in a confidential environment. It is
not a one day process, but there are many sessions.

Counseling is not just giving advice or making a judgement, but helping the client to see clearly the
root of problems and identify the potential solutions to the issues. The counselor also changes the
viewpoint of the client, to help him take the right decision or choose a course of action. It will also
help the client to remain intuitive and positive in the future.

Key Differences Between Guidance and Counseling

The significant differences between guidance and counseling are given in the following points:

Advice or a relevant piece of information given by a superior, to resolve a problem or overcome


from difficulty, is known as guidance. Counseling refers to a professional advice given by a counselor
to an individual to help him in overcoming from personal or psychological problems.

Guidance is preventive in nature, whereas counseling tends to be healing, curative or remedial.

Guidance assists the person in choosing the best alternative. But counseling, tends to change the
perspective, to help him get the solution by himself or herself.
Guidance is a comprehensive process; that has an external approach. On the other hand, counseling
focuses on the in-depth and inward analysis of the problem, until client understands and overcome
it completely.

Guidance is taken on education and career related issues whereas counseling is taken when the
problem is related to personal and socio-psychological issues.

Guidance is given by a guide who can be any person superior or an expert in a particular field. As
opposed to counseling, which is provided by counselors, who possess a high level of skill and
undergone through professional training.

Guidance can be open and so the level of privacy is less. Unlike counseling, wherein complete
secrecy is maintained.

Guidance can be given to an individual or group of individuals at a time. On the contrary, counseling
is always one to one.

In the guidance, the guide takes the decision for the client. In contrast to counseling, where the
counselor empowers the client to take decisions on his own.

Conclusion

Therefore, after reviewing the above-given points, it is clear that guidance and counseling are two
different terms. The guidance aims at giving solutions while counseling aims at finding problems,
working over it and then resolving it. However, both the process attempts to solve the problems of
the client whereby the participation of both client and the expert should be there.

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