COUNSELEE CHARACTERISTICS & CONCERNS

• Expectancies


  The anticipations held, or the inferences made about counseling
• Expectancies for counseling are diverse, often contradictory, and sometimes impossible
• Expectancies

  • Derived from experience
  • Stem from need
  • Nurtured by hope among those who seek assistance and those who provide it
• Expectations of counselees


  • Expect counseling to produce personal solutions for them
  • Anticipate that counseling will bring relief in stressful situations
  • Expect counseling to result in a choice when vacillating over a decision
  • Expect counseling to lead to their being popular if they perceive themselves as personally unpopular
  • Expect solace and the discovery of ways to interact meaningfully with others if they are lonely
  • View counseling as guaranteeing them admission, scholarship, or financial aid if they want to go to college
  • Expect failure to turn to success as a result of counseling if they are about to fail, either in school or in other ventures
  • Expect quick placement, job satisfaction, and easy promotion if they seek employment
• Acceptable counseling expectations

  • Assessment
  • Problem resolution
• Assessment

  1. Clarifying the problem

  2. Examining what solutions have already been attempted

  3. Gathering information about past, personal style, relationship patterns, intellectual and emotional functioning

  4. Determining which counseling strategies might be most helpful

  5. Formulating realistic, achievable counseling goals
• Problem resolution


  1. Learning new problem-solving or coping skills

  2. Increasing self-understanding

  3. Exploring life patterns

  4. Gaining a better sense of how influenced by relationships and surroundings

  5. Identifying and implementing the most effective solutions based on unique circumstances
• Unacceptable counseling expectations

  • Parent expectations
  • Teacher expectations
  • School administrators
  • Government agencies
• Counseling goals


  • Behavioral change
  • Positive mental health
  • Problem resolution
  • Personal effectiveness
  • Decision making
• Classification of counseling goals

  • Ultimate goal
  • Intermediate goal
  • Immediate goals
• Types of counselor goals


  • Expressive goals
  • Instrumental goals
• Unacceptable counseling goals


  • Counselor solution of counselee's problems
  • Counselee happiness or satisfaction
  • Making society happy and satisfied with the counselee
  • Persuading the counselee to make decisions and choices that are "right"