The Discipline of Counseling

CHARACTERISTICS OF COUNSELING:

a. It is a conversation with someone regarding some problem.

b. It allows the counselor to draw out facts from the pupils.
c. It helps the pupil in making selections and following them.
d. It is assistance to the individuals with behavioral problems related to emotions.
e. It involves interactions in which the counselor accepts the responsibility of positive contribution
in the development of other people’s personality.
f. It is a learning-oriented process.
g. It is a face-to-face relationship between a counselor and a client.
h. It lays down a democratic system where the client can behave as s/he wishes.
i. It is a professional service.
j. It is problem-oriented
k. It is based on the appropriateness of the counselor’s prediction.
l. It yields the best result/s when the counselee makes a firm and wise decision.
m. It is possible only in humorous and cooperative environments.
n. It is completely based on self-guidance.

Core Values:

Professional counselors appreciate:

• the potential of every human being to change and to continue learning throughout the lifespan,
in formal and informal settings, and especially in the environment of counseling and
psychological services;

• strong relationships as the primary vehicle in helping others to learn new ways of thinking,
feeling, and behaving, that includes but is not limited to collaboration with various institutions;

• an emphasis on prevention of mental health problems via education, intervention, and outreach
programs;

• training new professional and support for on-going programs of staff; and

• respect for diversity of individuals, their cultures, languages, lifestyles, identities, ideologies,
intellectual capacities, personalities, and capabilities to expand learning opportunities and global
connections.

GOALS:

Like other groups, counseling is composed of goals and must have a purpose. These are the following:

A. Developmental – The client is assisted in meeting or advancing his/her anticipated human

growth.

B. Preventive – The counselor helps the client avoid some undesired outcome/s.

C. Enhancement – If the client possesses special skills and abilities, enhancement means these
can be identified and improved through help.
 D. Remedial – It involves helping the client to treat an undesirable development.

E. Exploratory – Exploration represents goals appropriate to the examining of options, testing of

skills, and trying of new and different activities, environments, relationships, etc.

F. Reinforcement – It is used when clients need help in recognizing that what they are doing,
thinking and/or feeling is okay.

G. Cognitive – It involves acquiring the basic foundations of learning and cognitive skills.

H. Physiological – It involves acquiring the basic understandings and habits for good health.

I. Psychological – It helps in developing good social interaction skills, learning emotional control,
developing a positive self-concept, and so on.

BASIC PRINCIPLES:

A. Principle of Acceptance – Each client must be accepted as an individual and dealt with as such.
The counselor should give due regard to the rights of the client.

B. Principle of Permissiveness – The professional relationship allows optimism to develop. There

is a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior.

C. Principle of Respect for the Individual – All the schools of thought of counseling advocate for
the respect of the individual i.e. respecting an individual’s feelings must be an integral part of
the process.

D. Principle of Thinking with the Individual – Counseling emphasizes thinking with the individual.
It is the role of the counselor to put him/herself in the shoes of the counselee in order to
analyze his/her thoughts.

E. Principle of Learning – All the assumptions of counseling accept the presence of learning-
elements in the entire process.

F. Principle of Consistency with Ideals of Democracy – All the principles are associated with
ideals of democracy. These aim at accepting a person in order to uphold his/her rights.

Types:

A. Supportive – It is most often used with people who have difficulty standing alone amidst their
problems. At frequent intervals, these persons may need sustained guidance. Here, the goal is
not to create a chronic dependency upon the counselor, but to gain strength and the
resources to cope.

B. Confrontational – It seeks to point out to the client his/her actions. The counselor guides the
counselee into seeing what misdeeds were committed and to realize the hurt that might have
been caused to others. The idea is that hiding one’s immoral actions only creates guilt,
frustration, and anxiety. As a Christian, the counselor must help the client to confess, forsake
his sins, and accept the forgiveness of a loving Savior.
C. Educative – It focuses on teaching the client. Undesirable learned behavior may have to be
unlearned. The counselor in this case is a teacher. People may come to the counselor with
questions on social issues, religious issues, or even career problems. Often some clients may
need help in making certain critical decisions.

D. Preventive – It is used to stop problems before they start or to avert things from worsening.
Areas like “How to Keep Healthy”, “How to Prepare for Retirement”, or sessions in premarital
counseling are examples of preventive counseling.

E. Spiritual – It is a great necessity. Christians often seek opportunities to show persons the way
to Christ. Sometimes, there will be persons who want to find spiritual answers. People may be
seeking for a purpose in life. This is a change for the Christian counselor to lead them to the
Bible and to pray with them. Sometimes, through spiritual counseling the counselor may
discover that the client also has some psychological issues that need to be dealt with.

F. Depth – It is a long-term relationship in which deep- seated problems of the counselee are
uncovered and dealt with in detail. The process is extended and demands the skills of a
counseling professional. This type of counseling is not for the layperson. Do not play around
with depth counseling if you are not a professional therapist.

G. Informal – It takes place in a casual setting. Perhaps on a hospital visit, or during an informal
home visit, the counselor may be drawn into a conversation where their help might be asked
for. Or you may meet a friend on the street and ask, “How are you today?” Then you may be
told of a problem that s/he is experiencing. Your time and concern could be of help at that
time. Informal counseling may not seem very important, but it has helped many.