Reviewer in Counseling

• Counseling was first originated in Western Countries
• Relationship of counseling and social work


  Complex and interactive
• Counseling and social work theory have shared a developmental pathway, drawing from the psychological and sociological theories that inform interpersonal work
• Professionals who qualified in the 1960s and 70s were grounded in casework principles based on psychodynamic theoretical underpinnings. Since those times social work training has moved in other directions adopting social learning (behavioral) theories, ecological and systems theories and a range of derivative practice methods
• There is some confusion around the differences and similarities between social work and counseling
• Counseling and social work have a common history and share many values, skills and areas of knowledge, they are quite distinctive professions
• The historical interaction between counseling and social work is analyzed by Brearley (1991) who traces the ways the two activities intertwined and influenced each other in terms of skills, knowledge and values and how the two disciplines have also developed distinct identities and training pathways
• Logical categorization of the counseling dimensions of social work (Brearley)

  • Counseling skills underpinning the whole range of social work
  • Counseling as a significant component of the work, carried out in conjunction with other approaches
  • Counseling as a major explicit part of the job description
• Counseling


  Takes place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose
• Counselling is always at the request of the client as no one can properly be 'sent' for counselling
• Role of counsellor


  By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective
• Purpose of counselling


  A way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion
• Counsellors do not give advice or direct a client to take a particular course of action
• Counsellors do not judge or exploit their clients in any way
• Role of social work is not to manipulate the client
• Areas of difference between counselling and social work

  • Counselling takes place in a private and confidential setting, social work is not always the case
  • Counselling is always at the request of the client, social work is not always the case
  • Counselling does not involve giving advice or directing a client, social work may have a responsibility to direct at times
• Generally speaking, counsellors are employed only to provide counselling. Social workers, on the other hand, engage in a greater range of tasks, from finding resources to taking legal action, sometimes in relation to the same person
• Social workers have different qualifying education and training, and practice under a different set of professional standards
• Common areas in counseling and social work

  • They have in common a considerable body of knowledge, values and skills
  • Both deal with personal difficulties, distress and dissatisfaction
  • Both involve listening attentively (empathic) and patiently and both involve seeing things from the client's point of view and helping them to see things more clearly
  • Both aim to enable choice, positive change and reduction of confusion
  • They share principles of being non-judgemental and non-exploitative
• Counseling is a collaborative effort between the counselor and client
• Counseling


  Face to face communication in which one person (counselor) helps another (counselee) make decisions based on a consideration of their alternatives, and acts
• The client has an issue or problem that they cannot deal with alone
• Counseling relationship


  Goal oriented
• Interview


  Essential tool in counseling
• Process of interviewing


  • Gathering of information
  • Providing information and instructions
  • Assisting clients
• Approaches in counseling


  • Directive or Counselor-centered
  • Non-Directive/Permissive Counseling
  • Eclectic Counseling
• Directive or Counselor-centered approach


  Focus is more on the problem rather than the person / client, process of discovering, diagnosing, and providing solutions to the problem, done by informing, explaining, interpreting, providing alternatives and deciding
• Non-Directive/Permissive Counseling


  Focus is more on the client, the client simply expresses while the counselor directs, guides, and decides, uses unconditional positive regard, active listening, empathy, acceptance, genuineness
• Eclectic Counseling


  Counselor and counselee jointly work to solve the problem, counselor uses "mixed-method" approach
• Counseling principles


  • Acceptance
  • Individualization
  • Confidentiality
  • Self-determination
  • Controlled emotional involvement
  • Non-judgemental attitude
• Two important factors for counselors are attitudes toward one's work and toward one's client
• Two main activities of social work

  • Social Work Counseling
  • Social Care Planning
• Characteristics of effective counselors

  • Enthusiastic
  • Positive thinkers
  • Focusing, and choosing to see the good in any given situation
• Counseling skills


  • Attending skills
  • Reflecting and Paraphrasing
  • Clarifying and use of questions
  • Focusing
  • Building Rapport
  • Summarizing
  • Immediacy
• The difference between social work counseling and counseling by a counselor is that social work counseling focuses more on providing services in a wide scope of population and offers only basic counseling, while counselors can work in private settings and have more specialized skills for better intervention
• Counseling as an integral part of social work helping process

  • Key interventions in social work
  • Intertwined and interconnected with distinct identities
  • Counseling done by a counselor
  • Counseling done by a social worker
• Counseling dimensions in social work (Selden, 2005)

  • Counseling skills underpinning the whole range of social work
  • Significant component of the work carried out in conjunction with other approaches
  • Major explicit part of the job description
  • Counseling and social work are two different professions
• Misconceptions about counseling include that all direct work with clients in social work agencies are labeled counseling, and that some social workers regard counseling as entirely a matter for specialist referral
• Counseling is a goal oriented helping relationship
• Purpose of counseling


  • Meaningful awareness and understanding of self and environment
  • Improve planning and decision making
  • Formulating new ways of behaving, feeling and thinking for problems resolution and/or development growth