INTRODUCTION TO

COUNSELING

Mr. Michael A. Mendoza, MAED, RGC, RPm, LPT, CHRA

Instructor
 Meaning and Nature of
Guidance and Counseling
and Psychotherapy
Guidance – Counseling – Psychotherapy:
What’s the difference?

 Guidance is more on giving or offering plan or

information aimed at resolving a problem or
difficulty, especially as given by someone in
authority. Guidance is the process that
includes all of student personnel services for
clients – i.e. including educational
opportunities, vocational choices and learning
how to get along.
 Counseling is helping the clients 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 or
problems of an emotional or interpersonal nature.
(Burks and Steffire, 1979)
 Counseling is more of a therapeutic intervention to
have the counselor work to help the student adjust
from a particular situation and may teach some coping
mechanisms. Counseling is more of an intervention-
process.
 Counseling and Psychotherapy are often
considered to be interchangeable therapies
that overlap in a number of ways. Counseling,
in specific situations, is offered as part of the
psychotherapy process; where a counselor may
work with clients in a psychotherapeutic
manner.
 The key difference between these two
courses of therapeutic communication
treatment lies in the recommended time
required to see benefits. Counseling usually
refers to a brief treatment that centers
around behavior patterns. Psychotherapy
focuses on working with clients for a longer-
term and draws from insight into emotional
problems and difficulties.
 Psychotherapy and Counseling
Both focus on providing relief from psychological distress
and provided by practitioners from a variety of backgrounds
(e.g., clinical psychologists, counseling psychologists, social
workers, nurses, psychiatrists, counselors, therapists). These
backgrounds differ in their level and focus of training and
may have different licensing requirements.
One popular distinction between the two, first suggested by
Carl Rogers, is that counseling focuses on the "everyday"
problems of high-functioning clients, whereas psychotherapy
focuses on more severe and often debilitating symptoms of
lower functioning clients. In service of these goals, both
counseling and psychotherapy may explore current as well
as past issues, manifest symptoms as well as underlying
causes. These differences are more a function of theoretical
orientation than hard and fast distinctions between
counseling and psychotherapy.
 Summary:
Guidance:
 Is more on giving or offering information aimed at resolving a problem
or difficulty, especially as given by someone in authority.
Counseling:
 Helps people identify problems and crises and encourages them to take
positive steps to resolve these issues.
 It is the best course of therapeutic treatment for anyone who already
has an understanding of wellbeing, and who is also able to resolve
problems.
 Counseling is a short-term process that encourages the change of
behavior.
Psychotherapy:
 Helps people with psychological problems that have built up over the
course of a long period of time.
 Psychotherapy is a longer-term process of treatment that identifies
emotional issues and the background to problems and difficulties.
Development of Guidance
and Counseling in the
Philippines
 Dr. Sinforoso Padilla – Dean of Men of the University of
the Philippines started in 1932 a Psychological Clinic
which dealt with student cases of discipline, emotional,
academic and vocational problems.
 S.Y. 1934-1940 – the Division of City Schools, Manila,
selected and appointed “Dean of Boys” and “Dean of
Girls” – they are assigned to look after the general
behavior and conduct of students.
 November 1945 – the first Guidance Institute seminar
was held at the National Teachers College, Manila from
Nov 23 to Dec 13 with the United Army psychologist as
resource person.
 Guidance Association of the Philippines – participants
of the Guidance Institute Seminar organized the
association
 1952 – the Division Superintendent of Schools
recommended the establishment of guidance services
in the public schools
 December 1953 – another organization was organized,
this was the Philippine Association of Guidance
Counselors
 Advisement and Guidance Section was established by
the United States Veterans Administration, setting up
first systematic guidance program in the Philippines
Colleges and Universities started offering courses such
as Counseling Psych, Industrial Psych, Clinical Psych
and Human Service Technology.
 Many national organization concerned with continued
improvement of guidance program and services have
been born since – Philippine Association for Counselor
Education, Research and Supervision (PACERS), Career
Development Association of the Philippines (CDAP).
Smaller organizations have been set up in different
regions and localities.
 The most significant development in recent year came
in the form of RA 9258. The passage of the law in 2004
has made it imperative for all Guidance Counselors and
Psychometricians to secure a license before practicing.
 A Professional Regulatory Board (PRB) for Guidance
and Counseling was constituted in 2007 with Rhodella
L. Gabriel as the 1st Chairperson, and Luzviminda S.
Guzman & Lily as members.
 The Philippine Guidance and Counseling
Association (PGCA), the oldest and biggest
association of guidance counselors,
spearheaded the professionalization of
counselors, pursued the passage of the Law,
worked on the ratification of the implementing
rules and regulations. It thus became the
interim accredited professional organization.
References:
 American School Counselor Association (2005). The ASCA
National Model: A framework for school counseling programs.
Alexandria, VA: Author.
 Education Trust. Retrieved from
http://www.edtrust.org/node/139
 Schmidt, J. J. (2003). Counseling in schools: Essential
services and comprehensive programs, 4th ed. Boston, MA.:
Allyn & Bacon.
 https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-
guiding-counseling-and-psychotherapy
 Villar, Imelda Virginia (2009). Implementing a Comprehensive
Guidance and Counseling Program in the Philippines