Guidance and counseling

Course Outline
 Meaning of guidance and counseling
 Scope and needs of guidance and counseling
 Functions of guidance and counseling
 Areas of guidance and counseling
 Justification of guidance and counseling
 Problems of guidance and counseling
 Role of the Head teacher and teacher in guidance and counselling
 Basic counselling skills in counseling
 Qualities of an effective counselor
 Counselling process
 Counselling Methods
 Developing self-concept
 Counselling Theories
Learning objectives

 By the end of the course student will be able to differentiate between guidance and counselling
 By the end of the course, students will be able to identify the socio psychological, emotional and
decision making challenges people face in society.
 Appreciate the role of counselling in schools.
 Will be in position to apply the counselling skills and techniques in helping learners to attain their
full potential.
 Appreciate the relevance of guidance and counselling to teachers.
Introduction
Psychology: Is a discipline that studies human behavior and mind. Guidance and counselling are
concepts of psychology.
Guidance: This is a kind of advice or help given to individuals especially students on matters like
choosing a course of study, career , work or preparing for vocation from a person who is superior in the
respective field or an expert. Guidance and counseling are often confused to mean the same thing
but they are different. In simple everyday language the word guidance which comes from the
word guide means a lot of things, it means direct, to help, to lead, to challenge etc.

Therefore, in ordinary language a guidance counselor is regarded as someone who guides others
into or away in certain situation or occupation.

Psychologists like Sheitzer and stone 1976 gave what we can regard as a standard definition of
guidance, they defined it as a process of helping an individual understand himself and the world.

1 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

Guidance is a process not a single activity neither does it take a short time.
Guidance involve a series of ….or steps which progressively enable an individual to move to
certain goal.

Guidance is a general assistance given to an individual (student) to become more purposeful and
effective in his or her behavior.
It involves the presentation of knowledge information or advice to individual or groups in a
structured way so as to provide sufficient material upon which they may have choices or
decisions e.g. selection of courses of subject of careers etc.
Guidance results in self-development and helps a person to plan his present and future wisely.
Counseling: It is a talking therapy in which a person {client} discusses freely his/problem and share
feelings with the counsellor.
It aims at discussing those problems which are related to personal or socio psychological issues causing
emotional pain or mental instability that make you uneasy.

Helping relationship where one person helps another to understand and solve their problems.
Helping clients manage problems situations and realize unused potential
Interaction between two persons the client and the counsellor in a private setting with the
purpose of enabling the client change his/her behavior so that a satisfactory resolution of needs is
obtained.

 The counselor listens to the problems of the client with empathy and discusses it in a confidential
environment.
 It is not a one-day process but they are a series of sessions.
 Counseling is not just giving advice or making judgment but helping the client to see clearly the
root of the problem and identify the potential solutions to the issues.
 The counselor changes the view point of the client to help him take the decision or choose a
course of action.
 It also helps the client to remain positive in future.

The difference between guidance and counseling can be summarized as follows;

Guidance Counseling
It is a bigger programme that includes A service under guidance program which
functions and services i.e. it is the body of includes individual and group counseling i.e.
psychotherapy. it is the heart of psychotherapy.

it is knowledge based, it deals in facts It is affective, value oriented, deals in

principles methods and cognition perceptions, motivations needs and feelings.
it is usually structured and more public, less It is interpersonal, private and confidential
personal and less intimate less structured of more personal and intimate.
it is informative usually initiated by the Largely emotional and usually initiated by the
counselor client.

2 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

Scope of guidance and counseling
A survey of our educational institutions; primary, secondary, colleges, and universities will point out that
urgency of instituting a well-organized programme of guidance and counseling. Education is expanding
its frontiers making it very difficult or almost impossible for an individual to make a choice of courses
and careers without informed decision. In the educational institutions today especially at secondary
school today, there is a number of choices to make. Many subjects have been introduced into the
curriculum and others removed to try and address the demands of the job market. Consequently, some
students get internal mental confusion and they may panic because of the fear of making wrong choices.
It is therefore essential to provide guidance services to facilitate the choice making processes of young
people.
Today the job market too is changing rapidly. The velocity of change in the world of work is so fast and
includes changes in entry qualification, in positions, tasks and responsibilities in occupational circles.
There are also changes which affect the occupational structures.
One basic task of the teacher is to shape student’s behavior and to provide them with adequate insight into
their problems and the environment in which they live. The learner in the school is likely to be faced with
many problems which need to be solved to enable him /them to be successful in their learning. The basic
services that would assist the learner to overcome learning difficulties fall under guidance and
counselling. It is a very common phenomena now to find that yesterday’s university graduate who was
considered as highly placed walking the streets as job seekers. It is therefore the responsibility of effective
guidance to take an inventory of some of these changes so as to be in a better position of guiding students
make wise occupational decisions
Guidance and counselling services should be continuous, supplement education and the client should be
willing. The functions of guidance and counselling can be said to include helping students to adjust their
situation such as at school, in class, at home. Etc.
Provide orientation to students to help them cope in new situations. Helping in overall development of
students, i.e. personally, socially and psychologically.
In primary school guidance and counselling services tend to be pastoral i.e looking after students which
requires love and protection from teacher.
In secondary schools these services tend to be multiple including orientation of adaptive services to help
students to fit in society e,g. new students or fresher appraisal /interventions collecting and analyzing
collected data in order to understand students. Provide students with knowledge about education vocation
and social planning placement to enable them get information about general issues such as admission
requirements.

3 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

FUNCTIONS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING
Guidance and counselling have three fold functions
1. Adjustment function: There are functions that help the students or person and in making the
best possible adjustment to the current situation in the education institutions, occupational world,
in the home and in the community.
Assistance is given in making immediate and suitable adjustments in the areas of concern. In
brief, adjustment guidance helps an individual to have serenity to accept thing he cannot change,
to have the courage to change things which he can and to have the wisdom to know the
difference.

2. Orientation function: The orientation function of guidance and counseling is to orient students
to what is pertaining in their environment. Students should be oriented in problems of educational
programming, career planning and direction towards long term personal values and aims. The
students should be made aware of the need to plan in the context and the competing claims of
education and the complexity of the world of work. This is an essential prerequisite of going
through education and preparation for after education career.
3. Developmental function: This should begin before problems arise and maladjustments occur.
Guidance is not just needed in crisis situations should be available to normal youngsters coping
with normal developmental problems. Developmental guidance is based on the promise that the
aim of guidance is not merely the amelioration of a trauma or the prevention of a mistake but
rather the maximum development of the individual(Jones,steffler,stewart 1963).In this way
guidance and counseling have a very important developmental function for helping to achieve
self-development and [Link] addition ,it also has to discharge the important function
of furthering the welfare of the society and be important instruments of national development.
AREAS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
The Uganda society, as any 0ther African society is undergoing a lot of changes. The student life is
getting complex day by day. Students have to face many types of difficult situations such as making a
wise curriculum and co-curricular courses, basic study skills for optimum achievement. They have to live
with and share overcrowded places facilities, in boarding schools, with students from varied social and
economic backgrounds. They also have to adjust to their peers, parents, teacher and administrators. In
addition, they have to secure adequate financial aid to carry on with their studies, spend leisure time
properly and adjust to heterosexual relations satisfactorily.
Major guidance and counselling areas.

1. Education: Education problem head the list of student’s problems. Today, curricular offered by
primary and secondary schools and colleges have increased tremendously. Discipline in many
forms have been included in the curriculum of many institutions of leaning. Competitive
examinations for entry into institutions have become a normal phenomenon in Uganda as
elsewhere. Students require help in making wise choices and be successful in competitive
examinations. Students also need help to enable them make proper adjustments in relation to
general academic life in secondary level, college or university to effect maximum intellectual
level, emotional and physical development.

4 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

The students need to be helped make educational plans consistent with their abilities, interests and goals.
In addition, they need to be enabled to select appropriate p courses and co-curricular activities which will
enable them join careers of their own choice. This help would be provided as early as possible when
students have just joined either secondary or other institutions of learning to enable them to set on to
appropriate direction. They also need to be helped in their educational plans, be guided to develop good
study habits, prepare foe examinations adequately and face them with confidence. The students need to be
helped to explore education’s possibilities beyond their resent educational level i.e. higher educational
institutions and if possible abroad. Be made of external courses from within the country and abroad that
can be done by correspondence and on line studies
Vocation: This is another important area in guidance. There are different vocations as there are people
and not all people are suitable for all vocations. Every vocation needs certain educational and professional
background as well as preparations and only those having them can succeed. Hence the need to provide
guidance to the students to enable them make the right decision of vocation. Arrangements should be
made to enable the students have reasonable estimates of their strength and weaknesses. They should also
be helped to strike a balance between their aspirations and those of their parents, between their interests
and availability of opportunities. The students have to be assisted in making decisions and choice
involved in planning a future and building a career. They also need to be assisted in developing an
integrated and realistic picture of themselves and of their role in the word of work.
The occupational world is also changing rapidly. New occupational avenues undreamed of before are
emerging. It therefore becomes essential that students are helped to acquire a clear picture and perspective
of the changes that are taking place in the world of work. This guidance needs to be flexible and should
help students be able to respond to their changing needs as they grow more mature. This is because the
circumstances and experiences of life pose unpredictable problems, requiring new information, fresh
thinking, revised plans, compromise and the acceptance of socio economic conditions and personal
limitations that cannot be changed.
Social: Social relationships constitute a problem area for most of the students. Kasente (1983) found out
that there is a big need for guidance especially social development for girls. However social development
needs are not restricted to girls alone. Students experience problems of social nature of some kind or the
other. The degree of those experiences vary from individual to individual. Students who join secondary
institutions and colleges come from diverse and varied backgrounds. This calls for guidance to live as
socially well-adjusted persons.
Health: Students in schools and other institutions of learning today face varied and diverse health
problems. These range from some that can be treated or controlled i.e. minor infections, allergies,
disabilities (speech and hearing defects) to chronic health problems such as asthma, HIV, etc. In many
schools there is a medical personnel a nurse usually with limited facilities. Consequently, many student’s
health problems go unattended and unchecked. Yet the total health of the student should be the goal of
any education system. So both preventive and restorative measures are needed to ensure the achievement
of the objectives.
Moral: A lot of students face so many awkward situations at home, school or in their peer groups. They
find it difficult to get out of them. They indulge in so many undesirable practices such as telling lies,
pretending to be what they are not and trying to evade responsibilities. Guidance needs to be provided to
keep such students on track and lead noble lives.
Personal: Students are also faced with many personal problems related to themselves, their parents,
family friends and teachers, their educational achievement s and social adjustments. The parents may be

5 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

expecting too much of them which leaves them with feeling of incompetence and insecurity when they
fail to live up to their expectations. Strained and unhappy home relationships at times hamper progress in
study. There may be jealousy among siblings, domination of elders, child abuse, and lack of sense of
being or belonging. All these can disturb the mental equilibrium of young student resulting in low
achievement. Some students may find it difficulty in understanding the material of the lesson and all this
needs help.

Justification of guidance and counseling in schools or (why should there be guidance and
counseling in schools?)
The current education institution system no longer fulfills the intended formal education.
Education is meant to enable the beneficiary to become aware of themselves and their
surroundings or appreciate themselves to enable them to develop their skills and knowledge
influence their attitudes and promote those values that enable them exploit the inner potential in
which ever circumstance, they find themselves.
In short education is intended for your own enrichment but the current education system
produces people who are highly qualified but poses little real understanding of themselves or our
society at large. This is the source of our nation’s problems. With an effective guidance program
in place we will be able to have better people who understand themselves to become greater
achievers to live in abundance and happiness.

The following are the other reasons why there should be guidance programmes in schools.
1. Lack of formal advice of interested adults had some value when the youth also had
many personal direct contacts with many areas which include decisions that had to be
made.
But today with industry, education , and social relations so valid and complex a
person has little direct realistic experience with the environment in which he/she will
endeavor to adjust on as a student and a worker.
2. Heterogeneity of the growing population
Population of different categories is growing in the university it includes, A’level
leavers, diploma holders, mature age entry, nonresidents, married, privately
sponsored, distance learners, weekend students etc. while many will satisfactory
adjust to the environment.
There are those who have physical hand caps emotional disturbances, mental defects
and general and motivating attitudes. These plus individual background bring about
the heterogeneity factor that presents a problem for the individualistic of education
hence the essence of guidance.
3. Mobility of people
The current growing population is not only heterogeneous in nature but also one
which reflects the mobility of people i.e. nationally and internationally. Students
either by direct or indirect contacts are receiving the views of a number of sub-
cultures.

6 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 Mobility has implications for guidance. New dilemmas emerge especially those with
parent child relationships concerning values, attitudes and behaviors.
4. A range of decisions to make and varieties to pick from
A part from the mushrooming education institutions there are many courses and
subjects to choose from. The activities and decisions to make are many in the world.
There is need to help young people to make the right choice.

5. Current challenges to living

The guidance program if rightly drawn is able to address challenges like the issue of
responsibility to one’s self and society. Respect for an individual, learning and the
dignity of man are all contemporary issues which must be considered.
Apart from the above problems of family, poverty, HIV/AIDS, terrorisms, global
warming and the world is becoming a global village thus the use of electronic
systems. All these give a justification for guidance and counseling.
6. Self-understanding
This self-understanding of students each begin to know, appreciate and utilize their
attitude, interest, values and limitation.
It improves analytical thinking growth and development. Students who understand
themselves are characterized by their ability to make more rational, educative and
vocational plans.
Mc Daniel and Shaftel 1956 maintained that every individual should be helped to
study and understand his/herself … like person and respond to the pressures and
stimuli of the time and place in which he /she lives.
7. To assist individuals with emotional stress and conformity to pressure
8. To assist individuals with emotional stress and conformity to pressure
9. The adolescent child have much energy so should be guided on how positively he
can use it.
10. Students are assisted to cope with educational problems which they may encounter
from time to time
11. Contribute to the development of society.

The role of a teacher in guidance and counseling

The teacher’s responsibility is not only to ensure that the student acquires the academic skills and
knowledge in the curriculum and the syllabus but the teacher also has the responsibility that each
student matures steadily along his own personal line.
This means that teachers are responsible for planning and learning experiences of activities,
attitudes and relationships so that as many as possible of each student’s basic psychological
needs are satisfied through medium of his education.
In addition to the total general guidance offered by the total education process each teacher must
be ready to accept a more direct and personal role on both guidance and counseling using the

7 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

term guidance to cover the activities designed to direct and promote developmental progress in
general way and counseling to cover activities which offer more personal help to individuals and
their parents.

A teacher is a planner and manager of educational experience for his students which will
contribute to the development of knowledge, skills, personal qualities, habits or thoughts and
decision making and attitudes to themselves and to others which is preparation for adulthood.

A teacher is in position of being a trusted confidant to all his students not by invading their
privacy but by his attitude towards their showing that he is ready to listen and help whenever
there is need.

A teacher is someone in a unique position to monitor the development and progress of his
learners and therefore should be the 1st to be aware of students who are showing early signs of
developmental and behavior problems.

A teacher is a communication center who links not only the children but with their parents and
other teachers.
Instructing learners on appropriate methods of applying for jobs, effective study skills, different
subject combination and their relevance, organize talks, film shows, group discussions, and visits
and tours to places of employment.

Role of the head teacher in guidance and counseling

An effective guidance program should be accepted as an essential part of the school by the
school administrators. They must be convinced of its usefulness in promoting the personality
growth of students.
The head teacher should support the guidance program in order to receive support from teachers
and parents.
The head teacher should facilitate the implementation of decisions made during guidance.

Provision of guidance program should be made on the school time table as well as the school
budget. This is needed for carrying out minimum guidance activities such as maintaining
workshops or seminars.

Arrangements should be made to enlist the support of the parents and introduce them to the idea
of guidance. No program can function successful in the school unless patients are convinced of
its utility.
The head teacher continuously interprets the program of the school to the community around
(public relations). This involves publications of selected use of media normally the newspapers,
radio and television.

8 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 Problems of guidance and counseling in schools (Let students discuss this and come
up with any other challenge.)
 Over manipulation of learners by counselors.
 Lack of policy in counseling of some policy makers of heads of institutions are not
drilled in guidance and counseling skills.
 Some parents find it difficult to trust the teachers e.g. they cannot trust their daughters to
male counselors with the fear of defilement.
 The peer groups always opposed to whatever advice given to them and they feel that they
know better.
 Unrealistic expectations from parents e.g. forcing the children to do certain courses when
the child does not possess the necessary ability
 Lack of time as a result of poor educational curriculum which is based on academics
 Ignorance of the use of guidance and counseling, the public is not aware of the use of
counseling
 Lack of facilities in schools.
 Lack of funds to facilitate the authority such as paying the counseling personnel
 The schools background may not allow counseling to go on smoothly
 Not enough professional counselors
 Lack of counseling skills by the teachers carrying out the counseling in schools

COUNSELLING PROCESS:
This is a planned, structured dialogue between a counsellor and a client. It is a cooperative
process in which a trained professional helps a person (client) to identify sources of difficulties
or concerns that he/she is experiencing
The counselling process begins from the moment a client come for the first time until his/her
problem has been solved or a referral is made. This process is made up of a number of stages.
Each stage is made up of a number of sessions. A session is a single meeting with your client.
Different writers call these stages differently.
Stage One: The problem situation
Stage Two: The preferred Scenario
Stage Three: Action

Stage one: The problem situation: This begins from the moment a client reports to
you. You need to know that asking for help is a very a difficult thing for most people,
hence you need to make it easy for them to do so. During this stage one experiences a mixture
of feelings. He may feel insecure, fearful, unsure etc. The decision to ask for help is a risky
decision, one risks to be hurt, ignored taken advantage of or simply ignored. Therefore,
clients need to be helped to ask for help. Their fears need to be allayed. The initial
moments are therefore very crucial in assisting the client to decide whether to open up

9 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

to tell you a different story or simply to go back with their problems. Establishing
rapport is very crucial for the success of counseling. It is in this stage the client tells
his story from the beginning to the end. The recounting of the story may be accompanied by
its corresponding feelings. The client may often cry please let them cry. There is healing
in crying. Crying is one way in which we deal with our feelings. Having listened to the story
help them to work through their feelings and then help them, define the real problem. Once the
problem has been clearly spelt out, then the client has to be left to decide what he or she
wants to happen.

Stage two: The preferred situation/scenario: This stage represents what the client
would like to happen. This stage has to be transferred into a goal that the client
would like to reach. Help the client translate his /her preferred scenario into a specified
goal. A good goal should be specific, measurable and having a time frame in which it has
to be achieved. Help the client generate as many options for reaching the goal as she can. This
process may involve research, consultation, homework, brain storming and information sharing.
After generating these alternative strategies the client has to be helped to choose the
option. This may be done by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Stage three: Action: The first task of this stage is to draw a plan of action. This plan details
out the specific steps that will have to be taken to reach the goal. This plan will be
drawn taking into account the resources available to the client. These resources may be
physical psychological, spiritual, financial or social. Having a good plan is one thing, carrying
out the plan is another? Nothing will happen to the client’s problem until she/he begins to
do
about it. Your client will need encouragement and support as she/he goes about
implementing the plan of action. Some clients will feel like giving up after the first
disappointment, frustrations and self-doubt.

The implementation of the plan is then followed by evaluation of the client needs to
be helped to determine the effectiveness of his / her plans. He/she has to determine the
extent to which the plans work, what went wrong and what needs improvement.
This process may need to redefine the plan, termination or referral. Termination occurs
when the client feels that the problem is beyond the training and ability of the
counsellor. The counsellor then has to refer this to other professionals who can
better handle the problem.

Handicaps in the counselling process:

Sometimes difficulties arise between the client and the counselor making it difficult for the
counselling process to proceed smoothly. These difficulties include the following:

10 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

Transference: This is a situation in which the client develops emotional feelings towards the
counselor. The feelings are usually sexual in nature and tend to occur when the counsellor and
the client are of opposite sex.
Counter transference: This is the reverse of the above the counselor develops feelings towards
the client in the situation. As already mentioned the feelings are usually sexual in nature and tend
to occur when the counselor and client are opposite sex.

BASIC COUNSELLING SKILLS IN COUNSELLING

These are skills we need to be equipped with in our day to day lives as we interact with our
leaners.
1. Attending skills

Attending can be defined as the ways in which a counsellor can be with a client both
physically and psychologically. For effective helping to take place a certain intensity of
presence is necessary. This presence tells clients that you are with him /her and it also puts
the counsellor in position for effective listening.

Attending skills when effectively communicated offer clues to the client about your level of
acceptance, approval, agreement or rejection. As the client experiences the counsellor’s
acceptance, understanding and commitment his/her feelings of vulnerability, uncertainty,
caution, and lack of trust begin to dissipate. In short the intensity of the counsellor’s
presence encourages the client to open up and explore significant dimensions of his/her
problem.

Attentiveness can be communicated to the client through three primary channels. These are
the facial expressions, the bodily positions and movements and verbal responses.

R. Try to be relatively relaxed

O adopt an Open posture, you should not have your legs crossed

L leans forward towards the client

E maintain eye contact

S sit upright and faces the client squarely by adopting an open posture

2. Listening: the ability of the counsellor to capture and understand the message the
client communicates. These messages may be transmitted verbally or none verbally.
Listening involves more than passive reception of these. For listening to be complete
four things have to happen. These are

 Observing and reading the clients nonverbal behavior

11 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

  Listening the client’s verbal messages
 Listening to the whole person in the context of the social setting s of life
 Tough minded listening

3. Probing skills:
Prompts and probes are to help clients name take note of, explore, clarify or further
define issues in the interest of moving forward in the process of constructive change. Probes
can take different forms e.g. statements, requests, questions, single words or phrases or
nonverbal prompts.
Goals of probing:
 To encourage the client to open up and disclose more.
 To help the client be more specific or concrete e.g in case of general or vague statements
To help the counsellor reach a clearer understanding of the client’s situation in cases of clients’
omission of bits of information, hence making the story difficult to understand
4. Empathy skill
This has been defined as the ability to share and accept another person’s feelings while
respecting their dignity and refraining from value judgments. Empathy involves two
primary steps, listening and understanding and communicating this understanding to the
client.
Empathy serves many functions in the helping process. It plays an important part in
establishing and building a relationship with a client. It also stimulates the client to explore
him/her and his problem situation. It is a way of providing support to the client. It also
encourages and facilitates dialogue between the counsellor and the client. It also paves the
way for the stronger interventions later in the counseling process.

In communicating empathy there are two ways of doing so. This however depends on what the
counsellor intends to focus on, the emotions or the behavior. Before this is done however the
counsellor has captured the client’s experiences, behavior and feelings.
The response that focuses on the emotions takes the form of:
‘’You feel……………. because of……………..’’
The response that focuses on behaviour takes the form of: ‘’Because of ………..you
feel………’’
You feel………..is then followed by the correct form of emotions and the correct intensity.
They because ………..’’In formula is followed by an indication of the experiences and behaviors
that underlies the client’s feelings.

12 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

When the experiences, behaviors and feelings of the client are reflected back to the client then
empathic responding has been achieved. When this reflection is correct perception then we
refer to this as accurate empathy.

5. Reflection/paraphrasing
Reflection is simply a restatement of what the client has just said.

Paraphrasing also reflect what the client has just said but do so in a more personalized way.
The counsellor restates the message in her own words, rewording what the client says. Respond
to the client without being a parrot.
Paraphrasing and reflecting allow the client to re-hear a statement and thus verify that the
counsellor did in fact listen to him.
Allow the client to correct any misperceptions on the part of the counsellor, deal with
misunderstandings before they have a chance to derail the train of thought. Good reflections
and paraphrasing take the total messages that the client is sending. They include verbal and
non-verbal aspects, thoughts, feelings and behavior. At the same time, they focus on
exclusively on the client, they do not include the counsellor’s reactions to what has been said.
The counselor’s feelings, thoughts and interpretation etc may be appropriate responses but
they are not reflections or paraphrases.

6. Confrontation skill:

This refers to the skill of encouraging clients to confront their own behaviour, attitudes or
beliefs. It should always be done with sensitivity and should certainly not be rushed. Immediacy,
counsellor self-disclosure, information giving and the identification of patterns and themes, are
all forms of confrontation skill in counselling.
Immediacy: The term immediacy is described as the process of discussing what is actually taking
place right now in the counselling situation.

7. Questioning skill:
These takes two forms open ended and closed ended questions.
Open ended should be more used in counseling than ended questions.
Ask questions that get client to talk about specific experiences, behavior, feelings.
These are questions that clients cannot easily answer with yes /no or one or two words e.g

 Tell me about your family when you were growing up.

 Why is that important to you?
 How did you feel when that happened?
 What makes you say that?

13 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

Closed ended questions include questions like,

 Are you going to have a test done?

 Did you think before getting in the car?
 Do you often drink?
 Do you like your job?
 Do you exercise?
We often use such question when we want specific information, to identify parameters of
a problem issue or to narrow the topic for discussion

8. Summarizing skills
A summary can serve a variety of purposes in counseling. It may be used to help to warm up
the client in the early part of the interview or to close the discussion of a particular theme
or issue. Summarizing what has been said can allow to check your understanding of the
progress of the interview or it can encourage the client to explore an idea more completely
and thus enhance his own understanding. It can assure the client that the session is going on
well or it can be used to focus thoughts and feelings when you feel stuck or confused.

9. Self-disclosure: This is sharing some of your own experiences, behavior and feelings with
Clients. You can use yourself for help i.e. an experience you have gone through yourself or
you can use an experience of another client. This gives the client some hope. However, be
careful when disclosing sometime we make a mistake and we are too first to
disclose.

10. Information giving:

Some of our problems in life are a result of lack of information or simply having incorrect
information. Many times our problems are as a result of wrong information providing accurate
information to our clients helps them to make informed decisions. Again, don’t use information
giving as an excuse to preach to your clients or force values and decisions on them. Just provide
the facts and let your client choose whether to use the information and how.

Information giving responses involve verbal communication by the counselor to the client
concerning data, facts about people, activities, resources, alternatives, outcomes and procedures.
Timing of information giving is very critical. It must match the client’s needs, goals and must be
provided at a point when the client is most receptive. You must involve the use of the basic

14 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

attending skills, eye contact, body language, verbal/nonverbal behavior (voice, tone, good
focusing:

- To see client’s needs/reaction to the information

- Facilities client’s expression of emotions and attitudes and maximizes the client’s ability
to integrate and use information.

You must be precise, direct, clear, and specific and concert.

If a client requests for information, it is important to give that information. It must benefit the
client and that information needs to be organized. Avoid overloading the client with information
he or she will be unable to use.

Check out with a response to see if the client has received the right information by repeating the
information, acting on it and engage in a discussion.

Check for client’s statements for particular perspectives that reflect confusion, distortion or
reflection of the information.

In conclusion, information giving may involve you giving instructions and direction, presenting
feedback, providing the client with knowledge relevant to his or her concern and to be able to do
this. A counselor needs to have a sound knowledge base and well-developed communication.

Giving information to clients to clarify the myths, help clients make informed decisions

11. Homework skill: In counseling homework is for informative work done outside s the
session. It extends to the length of the session and increase progress. Homework is given for and
of reasons:

i) To reinforce that positive change is hard work.

ii) To help clients become more self-aware.
iii) To decrease the amount of talk.
iv) To educate them and provide them with tools of becoming practical in day to day living

15 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 The counselling relationship: (Qualities or characteristics of an effective
helper/counselor)

Activity:
All our friends can be categorized into two categories. There are those friends we go to
when we have problems, then they are those we have never taken our problems to.
1. Let one part of the class come up with those qualities of those friends that we
tend to approach when we have problems.
2. Another discuss the characteristics of friends we never go to when we have
problems.
3. Allow them to share their findings
4. How do these characteristics relate to those of a good counselor?
5. Compare with those presented below.

To be a helpful counsellor you need to bear certain qualities. These qualities are important in
building a healing relationship. This is a relationship that allows for help to be given and
received. Not all relationship can lead to healing. For effective helping to take place the
client and counsellor have to establish a trusting and caring relationship.

Genuineness: to be genuine or congruent implies that the counselor has to be him or herself.
You have to reflect what you are internally as long as doing so does not hurt the client, you
are not someone playing the role of a counselor in the game of helping, but you are yourself

Empathy: The ability of putting yourself in the shoes of your client, seeing the world as the
client sees it without imposing your values. Empathy involves accurate perception of what
the client is experiencing and communicating to the counselor. Without this communication
there is no empathy, it is your ability to understand what your clients are going through and
being able to communicate this understanding to them.

Warmth and Respect: respect or warmth is sometimes referred to as unconditional positive

regard. This is the ability to esteem others while at the same time refusing to accept their
unsatisfactory thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It is the unconditional positive regard for
your client. For a Christian it is seeing this person in the image of God. It refers to your
ability to regard your clients as very important and worthwhile people, worthy of your time,
effort and energy. To achieve this initially the counselor needs to selectively pay attention to

16 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 the positive qualities of the client. The other words used to describe this quality are caring,
prizing and valuing. Your client need to feel as someone worthwhile, important and
respected.

Confidentiality: This is the ability to keep in confidence what the client reveals to you.
Clients should be assured of confidentiality at the start and the conditions under which it may be
broken.

Compassion: This may be regarded as a sincere interest in the welfare of others. This is the
willingness to help another person for the sake of that person. It is the willingness to assist
another person without expecting any rewards or benefits from that person. Without this attitude
we risk turning people that need our help into objects of charity. They become means for us to
show off our goodness and moral superiority. This state of affair reduces people from their
position as Gods image into objects for manipulation.

Activity:
1. Ask the class to share an experience in their life when they wanted or lacked
something for which they had no courage to ask, then someone offered this before
they asked
2. How did they feel?

COUNSELING METHODS:
Individual, Group, and peer counselling
In counselling, students/clients can be using individualized or group counseling methods
and techniques. The skills and procedures have already been mentioned.

Individual counselling:
This is where by any individual student/client interacts with a counselor. It is sometimes
referred as one to one correspondence. This type of student is suitable for a student/client
who has personal problems. It involves a process whereby a troubled person (client) is
helped to feel and behave in a more personally satisfying manner through interaction with
the counselor. It also involves direct communication through talking and listening as well
as gestures, nods, glances, shakes of the head and other nonverbal gestures. This enables
meanings to be translated from one person to another.
The interaction should be confidential, private and unobserved. This will enable a client
to feel free to discuss herself/himself in an intimate fashion.

Group counseling:

17 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 This is a process in which a counselor is involved in a counselling relationship with a
number of clients at the same time from the onset. From the onset the purpose of the
specific and its composition should be decided. The counselor should work out this early
for himself, taking into account the size of the group, the suitability of each member and
the nature of the problems to be handled. A reasonable number is from six to twelve
members. If the counselor is inexperienced then he should start with a low number. His
makes observation and constructive intervention easier. However, this should not mean
that with a small group the intervention is less complex. It means the counselor has more
opportunity of understanding the meaning of what is happening.
Similarity of problems in the members has advantages. This is because it eases the work
of the counselor in devising role playing, problem solving, and simulation techniques.
Question: Find out the advantages and disadvantages of each group over the other.

Individual and group counselling similarities and differences.

Similarities:
1. The overall objective in individual and group counseling are quite similar. Both seek
to help the client achieve self-direction, integration, and self-responsibility. In both
approaches, an individual is helped towards self-acceptance and understanding of
their motives.
2. In both individual and group counseling an accepting, permissive climate must be
maintained. If the participants are to experience less need for maintaining their
defenses. In both the individuals feel free to examine their feelings and experiences
because respect has been accorded them. Both approaches drive to engage confidence
in the client’s ability to be responsible for the choices that they themselves make.
3. In both the counselors techniques are important. Clarification of feeling, reflection of
feeling, restatement of content, structuring, acceptance and the like are privately and
appropriately used. In both approaches, the counselor’s skills are used to draw out the
client so that they are aware of their feelings and attitudes and can examine and
clarify them.
4. The recipients of individual and group counseling are students experiencing normal
development problems. Both approaches deal with the common needs, interests
concerns and experiences of the generality of students.
5. Both approaches, individuals need privacy and confidential relationship in order to
develop and make use of their personal interests.

Differences:
1. The group situation provides immediate opportunities to try out ways of relating
to individuals and is an excellent way of providing the experience of intimacy
with others. The physical proximity of the members to each other brings
emotional satisfactions. Clients/Students may get their peers reactions and
suggestions concerning alternate ways of behaving with others.

18 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 2. In group counseling, the client not only receive help, but also help others .The
more stable and cohesive the group, the more the members tend to help each
other. The cooperative sharing relationship that is established promotes giving as
well as receiving. A good relationship assists the members to feel closer to others,
to understand and accept them. The interaction nurtures members and facilitates
mutual expression of feelings and interpretation of meanings. It also influences
each member’s behavior.
3. Counselors task are more complicated in group counseling. They have to
understand the speaker’s feelings as well as help the speaker become aware of
them. They must also observe how the speakers comment influences the other
group members. Counselors must not only be aware of the discussion but they
must also be perceptive of the interplay of relationships ships among the
members.
Group Guidance:
The term group guidance is not often used to refer to any part of the guidance
programme that is conducted with groups of students. As opposed to an
interaction between an individual student and a counsellor .It is a process which
can be very exciting and may include innovation.
Group guidance provides information to facilitate healthy attitudes and behavior.
It is also preventive in approach and it’s mostly directly concerned with:
i. Acquiring information
ii. Gaining orientation to new problems
iii. Planning and implementing students activities
iv. And collecting data for personal ,educational vocational decisions

The following areas can be presented and discussed in group guidance namely:
i) How to study,
ii) How to find and use the scarce reading materials,
iii) How to take examinations,
iv) How to make your own note,
v) How to use school facilities,
vi) How to use leisure time,,
vii) How to keep physically fit,
viii) How to interact with the others,

Peer counselling:
It is a system of counselling whereby selected students are included as resource persons
to enhance the counselling services. Peer counseling’s helps to improve the quality of
interpersonal relationships of all those involved .This includes the modification of teacher
–student relationship and also change in student relationship.

19 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406

 Advantages of peer counselling:
Peer counseling has advantages over individualized and group counselling because it
provides students with opportunity to serve the school and fellow students in a way which
enhances their own self-respect and identity. It also attempts to formalize and use a
situation which already exits .Students usually value the opinions of their friends and
those slightly older than themselves than comments and ideas of teachers.
In peer counselling too ,the counselor is not seen as being contaminated by authority or
separated by age and social position .Therefore the barriers which impede counselling
with some students do not exist.

How peer counselling can be introduced and developed in school?

Peer counselling can be introduced and developed by:
1. Identifying those students who have passed through critical periods and incidents.
Those peer counsellors should be those students near in age and who have just
passed through the situation in which the counselling is focused. The peer
counselor should not be restricted to those who have been extremely successful.
Those students who had difficulties and are still struggling with them make good
counselors. The help themselves by helping others.
2. Using peer counselors during those periods when the influence of peers is
strongest and those of teachers and school weakest. Such periods will come in the
second and third forms where they pull towards effort and affliction are not very
strong, this is because the ordinary level examinations are still distant and the
student has begun to opt out of school because he is leaving. Many students need
peer support during the last year when they are not taking examinations.

20 Anne Asiimwe 0772457406/701457406