Modes and

methods of counsellingPRESENTER:

Deepti KothariAd. No.-2013HS1MDeptt. of Extension Education and Communication Management,I.C. College of Home Science, CCSHAU, Hisar

Approaches Approaches to to

counsellingcounselling

i) Cognitive Approaches

In the cognitive approaches, the process of counselling is the curing of unreason by reason; i.e., to help clients eliminate most emotional disturbances by learning to think rationally, to help them get rid of illogical, irrational ideas and attitudes and substitute logical, rational ideas and attitudes.

It is believed that this process helps the client to attain rational behaviour, happiness, and self-actualization.

Directive teaching is the core in all the cognitive approaches. e.g. Transactional analysis

ii) Affective Approaches

As the term suggests the affective approaches in counselling focus their attention to what is going on inside the individual, and particularly what the individual is experiencing at a given time.

Client-centered counselling of Rogers is perhaps the

most well-defined technique in the affective approaches.

It also highlights an issue in counselling; namely, how much responsibility can be placed on the client for his/her own problem solving?

Cntd… Rogers believed that when the individual perceived himself

as behaving in a manner consistent with his 'picture' of himself, he generally experiences feelings of adequacy, security, and worth. If on the other hand, he acts in a manner different from the way he defines himself, he experiences what is known as "threat" and feels insecure, inadequate, or worthless.

Under pressure and with no other alternative, he may then defend himself against this threat using one or more of the commonly described "defense mechanisms".

The way to understand individuals is to infer the 'phenomenological field' from their behaviour or the 'internal frame of reference' of the client is used in counselling with the implication that counsellors must attempt to perceive client's perceptual worlds as closely as they can. This is known as the empathic skill of the counsellor.

This school of counselling gives importance to the internal world of the individual.

The key concept here is awareness. It is believed that the counsellors help the clients work toward a total awareness of his experiences.

iii) Behavioural Approaches

The behavioural counsellors concentrate on objective study of client behaviour and the learning process.

As the emphasis is primarily on overt behaviour, the first emphasis is to discover how the behaviour was acquired and how it can be changed.

The second emphasis, which is a later addition, is on precondition for behaviour change.

This approach is characterized by (1) a focus on unconcealed and specified behaviour; (2) a precise and well spelt out target behaviours

called goals; (3) a formulation of a specific and objective treatment

procedure to the problem at hand; and (4) an objective assessment of the outcome of

counselling in terms of the degree of approximation to the target behaviour.

Counselling goals are of central importance. Counsellor-counselee relationship is of primary importance. Facilitate greater understanding of the client's view of the

problem. Formulate a more successful behavioural plan for bringing

about change in the client's maladaptive behaviour to adaptive (target behaviour).

The theories of learning are base of its understanding, It use very specific techniques like behaviour contracts,

social modelling, systematic desensitization and assertive training.

COUNSELLING METHODS

i) Psychoanalysis

This method attempts to have people recall, interpret, and work through childhood experiences.

Childhood experiences dramatically influence adult life. Emotional wounds (especially parental abuse) may influence many areas of the adult life. Also, false doctrines and concepts learned in childhood may cause inner conflicts in adulthood.

Just recalling a negative childhood experiences does not bring emotional healing.

One is made to accept the false and realities of the world.

ii) Non-directive Counselling

This method emphasizes the importance of getting the individual to share his problems.

The individual may need to unload and air his problems, and it is important the counsellor affirms the worth of the client by listening.

However, just sharing doesn't bring resolution to the problems.

It is also important to allow the individual come to a correct conclusion.

Furthermore, if the individual had the answer within himself he wouldn't really need a counsellor.

iii) Existential Counselling

It attempts to relate the unfulfilled "needs" and "potential" to issues and to aid the individual to redirect their energy to best fulfill their needs and reach their potential. Every person "needs" to have certain needs met.

Counsellors are supposed to expose his own inner reality and at the same time be human.

It enables clients to become aware of similar conditions and qualities in themselves.

It is pointed out that through this process clients come to recognize their potentialities and achieve self-growth.

In a nut shell, it can be said that making the client accept responsibility for himself is its aim.

iv) Transactional Analysis

Transactional analysis emphasizes the proper playing of roles (child, parent, adult). This is a favoured approach in communications in the business world.

Transactional Analysis (TA) aims at the internal dialogues of individuals, which occurs between the various ego states and the struggles between the real parts of their behaviour (whether the same is productive or counterproductive) and the behaviour of others by identifying which ego state is in power at any given time.

TA thus gives the clients information about the various types of transactions that occur among individuals and to help them identify the kinds of behaviour in which they are involved.

Cntd… The goal of TA is to help clients review their past

decisions and make new decisions about their present behaviour.

It is assumed that this would change their life direction into developing an autonomous life style characterized by awareness, spontaneity.

Thus, it is believed that; eliminate a life style characterized by manipulative game – playing self-defeating neurotic tendencies.

v) Behavioural Counselling

According to this method we are simply a product of our environment; therefore, we need to be reconditioned through the proper training.

It is true that society (especially the home environment) exerts pressure on people to behave in a certain way.

Behavioural counselling often pits reward against punishment.

The preferred approach in behavioural counselling is reward because it generally gets better results.

vi) Reality Therapy

Reality therapy approaches counselling from a challenging perspective.

The counsellor confronts the individual with the facts of life, expecting him to face up to the issues.

Often people run from the issues because they don't see any solution for their issues; therefore the counsellor must also offer true solutions to issues.

People coin out different coping mechanism to overcome these situations.

Cntd… In RET the counsellor takes up an active teaching role to

educate clients. The success if the counsellor lies in bringing illogical thinking

forcefully to the client’s attention. He must also show to the counselee how these thoughts are

maintaining his unhappiness and how a rethinking and maintenance of logically and rationality make him happy and contented.

In reality therapy, the meaning of reality and the necessity to act responsibly are taught by the counsellor.

vii) Biblical Counselling:

Biblical counselling aspires to the truth that God has an answer for every issue and actively intervenes in the lives of individuals.

The answers are found in the Word of God and revealed by the Holy Spirit.

When an individual responds correctly in faith to the Word of God, God will bring solutions to his problems, peace of mind, and fulfilment.