The Counseling Process

COUNSELLING PROCESS
For example students in a college or
university may be anxious about how to
study in university, lack of clarity on
educational or career direction, have
difficulty living with a room-mate of
another race or religion, have concerns
with self-esteem, feelings with being
“stressed out”, difficulties in relationships
and so forth
 Stages
Stage One: Relationship
building

Stage six : Research and Stage Two: Assessment

evaluation and diagnosis

Stage Three:
Stage five
Formulation of
Termination and followup
counseling goals

Stage Four: problem solving

 Stage One
Relationship Building
Tasks here include…

*Laying foundations for trust

*Establishing the structure and form the
relationship will take
*Informed consent process
 Stage Two
Assessment and Diagnosis
Gathering information to promote understanding
of client’s
situation and perspective….

Completion of intake/of psychosocial

Standardized (e.g. psychological tests) and

Non standardized (e.g. clinical interview)

tools
 Stage Three
Formulation of Client Goals
The client articulates where they want their counseling journey to
take them

*Client role as one of driving the bus

*Enhances sense of ownership and motivation – factors important in
the change process

Well identified goals help create a roadmap and means to evaluate

Goals may change, evolve as therapy progresses

 Four Categories
Counseling Goals
1. To change an unwanted or unwelcome behavior

2. To better cope

3. To make and implement decisions

4. To enhance relationships
 Stage Four
Problem solving
Characteristics of a good treatment plan…
*goals are clearly defined and
reachable
*plan able to be adapted with time
*positive and action-oriented focus

Essential to an effective plan…is client’s

motivation and willingness to follow it
 Types of Counseling

 •Directive Counseling

 •Non – Directive Counseling

 Directive Counseling
(prescriptive counseling)

 • Counselor centered: the counselor direct

the client to take steps in order to resolve
his conflicts.
 • It is based on assumption that the client
cannot solve his own problems for lack of
information.
 Cont…

 Five Steps of Directive Counseling:

 •Analysis
 •Synthesis
 •Diagnosis
 •Prognosis
 •Counseling
 Cont…

 ‐ Analysis – to understand the client‐information collected is analyzed.


 ‐ Synthesis – data collected is summarized and organized to understand
 client’s strengths, weaknesses, adjustment, etc.

 ‐ Diagnosis – drawing conclusions about the nature and causes of
 client’s problem.
 ‐ Prognosis – predicting the future development of the client’s problem.
 ‐ Counseling – brings about adjustment or readjustment in the client.
 ‐ Follow‐up ‐ after counseling is over, the counselor helps the client to
 readjust the old problem reoccurs.
 Non-directive Counseling
 It is a client-centered process.
 • In this, the counselee is the pivot of the whole
counseling process.
 • The main function of the counselor is to create
an atmosphere in which the client can work out
his problem.
 • In this type of counseling, emotional elements
rather than intellectual element are stressed.