DIASS LESSON 2: What is Counseling

Special Goals Of Counseling (McLeod, 2003)

Rosete (2019) created a mnemonics of the specific goals of counseling for it to be remembered easily. "GRABE C SSSSIR PEP" G-enerativity and social action R-elating with others A-cquisition of social skills B-ehavior change E-mpowerment C-ognitive change S-ystematic change S-elf awareness S-elf-acceptance S-elf-actualization or individualization I-nsight R-estitution P-roblem-solving E-nlightenment P-sychological education

Self-acceptance

The development of a positive attitude toward self, marked by an ability to acknowledge areas of experience that had been the subject of self-criticism and rejection.

Cognitive Change

The modification or replacement of irrational beliefs or maladaptive thoughts patterns or self-destructive behavior.

Behavior Change

The modification or replacement of maladaptive self-destructive patterns of behavior.

Insight

Understanding of the origins and development of emotional difficulties, leading to an increased capacity to take rational control over feelings and actions.

Empowerment

Working on skills, awareness, and knowledge that will enable the client to take control of his or her own life.

Counseling As an Art

- A flexible and creative process where the counselor adjusts the approach to the unique and emerging needs of the clients (Nystul, 1999). - An act of giving oneself. - Subjective realm.

Counseling As a Process

- A learning process on which individuals learn about themeselves and their interpersonal relationships, and enact behaviors to advance their personal development (Shertez & Stone, 1981) - Includes a sequence of steps or actions which are geared towards a particular end. - The number of sessions between counselors and clients vary. It may take one session or it may take several.

Counseling As a Relationship

- A professional relationship between a trained counselor and a client. - Usually a perosn-to-person, although it may sometimes involve more than two person. - Must be egalitarian in nature, meaning the power between the counselor and client should be consciously shared by the two parties. - Must be built on trust and confidentiality.

Counseling As an Emerging Profession

- A service sought by people in distress or in some degree of confusion who wish to discuss and resolve these in a relationship which is more disciplined and confidential than friendship, and perhaps, less stigmatizing than helping relationships offered in traditional or psychiatric setting (Felthsn and Dyren). - Opportunity to assist their clients in making choices and solving their problems in various settings, such as schools, communities, offices, and clinical setting.

Facilitating Client Potential and Development

- Aims to maximize client's potentials and ensure client's growth. Counseling helps clients discover what they are capable of doing and helps them actualize thei goals. - For intance, a junior highschool student who is intelligent but is not performing well in class may undergo counseling to help him determine reasons of his low performance and discover ways of overcoming perceived obstacles.

Promoting the Decision-Making Process

- Assists clients in exploring the different aspects of the self (namely physical, social, emotional, mental, moral and spiritual) which can influence decision-making. - Clients are also guided in identifying options and their respective consequences to help them make informed decisions. - A high school student from a poor family, for example, may consult with a counselor to explore the possibility of supporting his family without having to drop out of a school.

Facilitating Behavior Change

- Foster behavior change on the part of the client. This change in behavior aims to have clients "live more productive and satisfying life". - For example, a teenage boy who spends most of his time playing video games and surfing the internet may undergo counseling to help him learn how to manage his time better and improve his study habits.

Enhancing the Client's Effectiveness and Ability to Cope

- Help them learn how to cope and adapt to change. - For example, a transfer student who finds adjusting to a new environment difficult with its new set of rules, teachers, and classmates may seek the help of a school counselor.

Improving the Client's Ability To Establish and Maintain Relationships

- Helps clients overcome difficulties in their interpersonal relationships and improve how they relate with people around them. - For instance, an eleven year-old girl who feels isolated and has trouble expressing herself to others may seek a counselor to help her to be confident in dealing with people.

Counseling As a Science

- Utilizing scientific method such as formulating objective observations and inferences, testing hypothesis, building theories, make use of psychological tests and other research methods. - Addresses client's needs through careful study of the client's different life aspects such as physical, emotional, phychological, social, economic, and spiritual.

Major Roals of Counseling (George and Cristiani, 1986)

1. Facilitating behavior change 2. Improving the client's ability to establish and maintain relarionships 3. Enhancing the client's effectiveness and ability to cope 4. Promoting the decision-making process 5. Facilitating client potential and development

Enlightenment

Assisting the client to arrive at a higher state of spiritual awakening.

Relating With Others

Becoming better able to form and maintain meaningful and satisfying relationship with other people.

Self-awareness

Becoming more aware of thoughts and feeling that had been blocked off or denied or developing a more accurate sense of how self is perceived by others.

Psychological Education

Enabling client to acquire ideas and techniques with which to understand and control behavior.

Goals of Counseling

It is very important in counseling. Establishing clear goals means that a positive outcome is expected after counseling relationship is terminated.

Problem-solving

Finding a solution to specific problem that the client had not been able to resolve alone and acquiring a general competence in problem solving.

Restitution

Helping client to make amends for previous destructive behavior.

Generativity

Inspiring in the person a desire and capacity to care for others and pass on knowledge and to contribute to the collective good through political engagement and community work.

Systemic Change

Introducing change into the way in that social systems operate.

Goal Setting in Counseling

It is shared responsibility of both counselors and clients. This way, clients can stake ownership on their counseling goals and would not feel that the counselor themselves decided on what the goals should be.

Acquisition of Social Skills

Learning and mastering social and interpersonal skills such as maintenance of eye contact, turn taking in conversations, assertiveness or anger control.

Self-actualization or individualization

Moving in the direction of fulfilling potential or achieving an interogation of previously conflicting parts of self.

Criteria of Goals in Counseling

a. It must be a goal shared by the client b. The counselor must be willing to help the client achieve the goal c. It must be possible to assess the extent to which the client achieves the goal