IN THE RING OF LIFE: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT COUNSELLING? PART 1

Counselling is an allied health profession and support service which involves a helping relationship facilitated by a trained professional known as Counsellor and a person in need who is known as Client. The term “counsellor” is one that has diverse definitions. However, for one to be considered as a counsellor, he or she must meet certain criteria and be certified by the relevant authority for such practice. Some studies have shown that counselling and allied fields such as psychotherapy and guidance are still evolving in the Ghanaian context. Thus, many people still lack the requisite knowledge and information about the service offering. In fact, there is evidence pointing to the fact that quite often, what most people subscribe to is seeking advice which they loosely term as counselling.

In this three-part series, we first offer some insight into the various definitions of counselling and its related fields. We will then discuss the role of a counsellor and the need to seek professional counselling services as we navigate the unpredictable yet often eventful path of life. Finally, we will address some myths about the counselling practice and reasons why we need to debunk them. I hope you have a good read on this enlightening series and let’s hear from you.

Pepinsky and Pepinsky (1954) defined Counselling as “that interaction which occurs between two individuals called counsellor and client, takes place in a professional setting and is initiated and maintained to facilitate changes in the behaviour of a client to meet satisfactory resolution of his needs”. According to Halm and Mchean (1955), Counselling is “a one to one relationship between an individual troubled by problems with which he/she cannot cope alone and a professional worker whose training and experience help others reach solutions to various types of personal difficulties”. Rogers (1961) also conceives counselling as one “in which at least one of the parties has the intent of promoting the growth, the development, maturity, improved functioning, and improved coping with life of the other”.

In a similar perspective, Feltharn and Dryden (1993) also looked at counselling as a principled relationship characterised by the application of one or more psychological theories and a recognised set of communication skills, modified by experience, intuition and other interpersonal factors, to clients’ intimate concerns, problems or aspirations. Its predominant ethos is one of facilitation rather than of advice-giving or coercion. It may be of very brief or long duration, take place in an organisational or private practice setting and may or may not overlap with practical, medical and other matters of personal welfare.

In addition, The American Counselling Association Conference (2010) gives a consensus definition of counselling as “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.” To the American Psychological Association Dictionary of Psychology (1998), a counsellor is an individual professionally trained in counseling, psychology, social work, or nursing who specializes in one or more counselling areas, such as vocational, rehabilitation, educational, substance abuse, marriage, relationship, or family counseling. A counsellor, therefore, provides professional evaluations, information, and suggestions designed to enhance the client’s ability to solve problems, make decisions, and effect desired changes in attitude and behaviour.

Based on the above definitions and several others, counselling can be considered broadly as a professional or voluntary and helping relationship (one-to-one) between a trained counsellor and a client. This relationship involves a systematic personalized process of growth, interaction, motivation, warmth and acceptance geared towards assisting a distressed client to feel safe to disclose, explore and find workable solutions to resolve their concerns through behaviour change and modification in an environment of maturity, mutual trust and respect.

Counselling is a managed activity where a client often voluntarily contracts with a counsellor to determine the date and time of sessions, number of sessions and the cost involved (if it is a paid service) within a highly confidential ethical framework. As a profession, counselling is regulated by ethical considerations, policies and procedures, laws and legislation, supervision and continued professional development requirements. Counselling can be in the form of Preventive, Facilitative, Developmental or Crisis intervention. Some common types of Counselling Services include Mental Health Counselling, Career Counselling, Rehabilitation Counselling, Relationship Counselling and Pastoral Care and Counselling.

Related areas of Counselling include Psychotherapy and Guidance services. Psychotherapy involves a long-term curative centred treatment and consultation with a psychiatrist (who has a basic medical background) and a patient with problems of an emotional and psychological nature. This service is useful when a person experiences emotional disturbance or persistent distress for a long period with emerging patterns which start to affect their behaviour resulting in some kind of a mental illness. Guidance services include a more comprehensive process of many other services apart from counselling. It involves a one-way exchange where a guidance coordinator uses processes such as education, influence, instruction, motivation and encouragement to cause logical and positive transformation in the social, personal and emotional problems of the individual. It focuses on preventive and developmental interventions for educational, vocational and occupational problems. Counselling is one of the services of guidance and may be considered as the most specialized and important service in the whole guidance programme.

Like other professions, counselling is theory based and counsellors draw from a number of theoretical approaches, including those that are cognitive, affective, behavioural, systemic and may apply them to individuals, groups, and families. Although counsellors focus mainly on developmental or situational concerns that require help through adjustment or remediation occasionally, treatment may be extended to encompass disorders included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (a global manual on classification of mental disorders by the American Psychiatric Association). Counselling may, therefore, be classified as a short-term mental health treatment which deals with emotional distress arising from the here and now situation. Counsellors may or may not have any medical background but require extensive training in the field of psychology to practice.

With regard to the kind of clients involved, counselling is conducted with persons who are considered to be functioning well and may be introduced alongside psychiatric treatment for those who may have more serious problems. However, counselling focuses generally on a normal person facing some difficulties of emotional, social, psychological, academic adjustment or developmental problems.

In conclusion, it is worthy to note that counselling meets the needs of a wide spectrum of people through a facilitative relationship which involves both choice and change. This enables clients to reach self-understanding by a learning process leading to a more adjusted and satisfying life. Counselling is a unique and somewhat life-long profession where the counsellor believes that the client has answers within him or her to solve problems; the counsellor, therefore, supports the client to find the answers. Coercion and giving advice are strictly prohibited in Counselling. TO BE CONTINUED…

References

American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 Task Force. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical       

manual of mental disorders: DSM-5™ (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

American Psychological Association (1998). Dictionary of Psychology. APA.

Feltharn, C. & Dryden, W. (1993). Dictionary of Counselling. Whurr.

Hahn, M. E. & Maclean, M. S. (1955). Counseling psychology (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Pepinsky, H. B. & Pepinsky, P. N. (1954). Counseling theory and practice. Ronald Press           Company. https://doi.org/10.1037/10631-000

Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Houghton Mifflin.

The American Counselling Association Conference (2010). American Counselling Association. https://archive.counseling.org/conference/past-conferences