Counselees enter into counseling with an idea of “what counseling will be like.”
They form an “ideal picture” of the method they want and will respond (Hoch, 1955). Thus, the helping process and its outcome are infl uenced by counselee’s perceptions. All counselors at some point or other in their career have come into contact with counselees who are negatively biased toward the process and hence have made no progress, causing immense frustration. There are other instances where the counselee had come in with very low expectations and a negative attitude, but had started actively participating in the process owing to the skill and knowledge of the counselor.
This is perhaps the fi rst lesson that a student of counseling has to learn. Not all counselees come in with a resolve to change or even accept the process. They may be here due to pressure from others, or as a last resort, or even to prove to others that this is not a good idea. Such counselees have to be dealt with very carefully.
These counselees can be very demanding as well as extremely frustrating for the new counselor. It is important to know how much leeway to give before one starts to confront the counselee regarding his/her attitude and the damage it is doing to the process. Also, it is vital to know that though the counselor can help in changing the attitude of the counselee, there may be times when it cannot be done. At these times, the counselor will do good to not doubt her skills and training. A 100 percent success rate is not only unrealistic, but actually impossible.
Losing patients is a very traumatic experience for a new counselor. Self-doubt immediately emerges causing anxiety, guilt and even depression. If the counselor is satisfi ed that she/he has done his or her best in the situation, and honestly tried to work with the counselee, then she/he must learn to let it go.
The counselees’ perceptions of type of problems that require counseling becomes all important when seeking out counselors. Bachelor (1988) underscored the central importance of counselee perceptions of what therapists think they are offering. His study indicates signifi cant variation between counselees in terms of what is perceived as meaningful therapist empathy. Around 44 percent of counselees specifi cally valued a cognitive type of empathic response, whereby the therapist indicates an understanding of the counselee’s subjective state or motivation. About 30 percent valued an affective-style response, whereby the therapist indicates that they are themselves participating in the same feeling the counselee is expressing. Finally, about one quarter took empathy to be either a sharing of personal information via relevant self-disclosure or the offering of a particularly nurturing or supportive response. The bottom line is that there is no single form of empathy and what is an effective style of empathic response for one counselee may not be empathy at all for another counselee.
Some things that the Counselor can Encourage the Counselee to think, Expect and/or Do
It is important that the counselor encourages the counselee to do the following:
Talk about their expectations and needs. Just like any other relationship, the more one knows and can communicate what they want and need, the better chance they will have of receiving it and speeding the process.
The counselor does not have a crystal ball, neither can she/he mind read.
Thus, they will not know the counselees needs or thoughts without them communicating it. If people feel more comfortable with writing than actually saying aloud they can do so. It is likely that the counselee is entering therapy for the fi rst time and has no idea of what will happen, other than the expectation of feeling better than they currently do. This expressing of feelings, thoughts, hopes and fears the start to can very helpful to the counseling environment if progress is to be made.
Good therapy is not something done to or for the counselee; it is a living process within which both the counselor and counselee play active parts. Counseling works best when it is an honest two-way process of communication, and both have an equal responsibility.
The counselee can also be told that it takes time to establish a trusting relationship, so expect it to take a few sessions before she/he feels comfortable.
The counselee can be reminded that it is important that she/he goes at their own pace and not be pressurized to overwhelm themselves. It cannot be stressed enough to not try to rush things for a quick fi x.
The process of counseling is a journey towards change. Everyone resists change, and the counselee can be warned not to be l surprised if she/he is tempted to quit therapy just before some real changes or breakthroughs are about to happen.
Therapy is very often hard work, and can be emotionally draining at times. Sometimes, therapy can release emotions and memories that have been “locked in time” for many years. After an intense therapy session the counselee can be told to expect to feel exhausted and emotionally drained for a while.
If during therapy you feel that you are unable to get on with your therapist, it is fi rst worth considering that the reason you may feel the way you do might have something to do with the way you relate to others; and the very issues you need to resolve. The therapeutic relationship can often be a refl ection of outside relationships, and the diffi culties you similarly experience in therapy, are then important opportunities that can lead to insight and resolution. It may also be that you are becoming afraid of the
change that is happening. It is wise to talk to your therapist about all these normal feelings; the way your therapist reacts can be very informative.
Ultimately however, therapy is your responsibility, and if you really are unhappy with your therapist or the style you must consider looking for something new.
v Summary v
This chapter has dealt with the essential characteristics of the professional counselor proceeding from the knowledge that the characteristics of the ideal counselor must match the roles, responsibilities, and identity of the counseling profession. The chapter elucidates the characteristics of the professional counselor, with specifi c reference to communication skills, empathy, cognitive abilities, professional knowledge base, values, ethics, and a social-cultural understanding.
Counseling involves working with a variety of individuals and their everyday problems in individual, family, or group settings. Counseling psychologists typically work helping clients with a variety of problems, which are not usually severe disturbances. Counseling psychologists would assist their clients in the healing process.
Characteristics of the professional counselor include the belief that clients are unique individuals of signifi cant value, the belief that clients are capable of change, the knowledge and skills necessary to help individuals overcome functional limitations, the willingness to become involved in this interpersonal process, the willingness to become involved in this interpersonal process and The knowledge of oneself and one’s own skills and limitations.
Personal characteristics of the counselor are as important to the counseling process as their professional ones. They include the following: They focus on human potentials and think deeply in terms of ethical and human values.
Work quite intensely with those close to them they have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another’s emotions or intentions—good or evil—even before that person is conscious of them. Counselors are both kind and positive in their handling of others; they are great listeners and seem naturally interested in helping people with their problems. They understand and use human systems creatively, and are adept at consulting and cooperating with others.
When the counselor’s value system is causing the client diffi culty, the counseling is clearly value dominated. Again, the counselor must remember that the overall goal of the process is to help the client help herself.
Therefore, the counselor needs to help the client discuss her values in the client’s own environ ment, and help the client resolve the diffi culty or cope with the situa tion in a more effective way. It is important not to impose the counselor’s values on to the client.
Certain personality variables are associated with, or are the cause of, the different degrees of counselor competence. It has been shown that some students of counseling appear to be readily adapt to the role of counseling, whereas others struggle, are confused and in confl ict, and generally ill- suited to the counseling education.
Whatever the type of counseling being carried on, whatever the setting in which the counselor works, many of the important decisions which may decide the eventual success or failure in helping the counselee depend on the characteristics of the counselor as well as the characteristics of the counselee.
The client expectations and perceptions of counseling as well as the counselor determine the diffi culty value of the counseling process. The counselor needs to be aware of them and tailor his or her counseling approach, skills and techniques to the specifi c individual client.
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Counselor Database
Chapter Overview
Role of communication in the process of counseling Stages in the counseling process
Evaluation of the process
An indigenous model of counseling
C
ounseling as a professional fi eld is just emerging in India. Students attend counseling for allotment of courses, a talk show host with no training at all counsels her guests, and a manager in the industry counsels his subordinate.The functions of a counselor are not very well defi ned. Only of late, the family courts, educational institutions, and industrial organizations are realizing the importance of counselors and the counseling profession. The aim of counseling and psychotherapy is to assist one’s increasing awareness by mastering confl icts and patterns that have previously determined one’s thoughts, feelings, actions, and decision-making skills.
Helping clients become more effective, fully functional, and more independent is the ultimate goal of any counseling process and is implicit in all counseling approaches (Doyle, Robert E, 1992). They all describe how a person functions effectively or ineffectively in one or more of the following dimensions of life:
satisfaction of needs, stress and the coping processes, developmental task attainment, social contact, and interpersonal relationship skills, other personal or characteristic attributes, and discusses the major problems that can impede the effective functioning of individuals. They illustrate at length that individuals who are functioning effectively usually (1) satisfy their needs in appropriate ways, (2) deal with pressure effi ciently, (3) handle their emotions as well as emotional reactions effectively, (4) learn tasks that are appropriate to their developmental stage, (5) have meaningful social interactions and interpersonal relationships, and (6) display other positive attributes.