GENDER OF THE COUNSELLEE

2. Fundamentals of
Counselling Psychology

3. The counselee
• Gender of the counselee
• Values of the counselee
• Mental health of the counselee

4. Counseling
Counseling is the application of mental
health, psychological or human development
principles, through cognitive, affective,
behavioral or systemic interventions,
strategies that address wellness, personal
growth, or career development, as well as
pathology.
(ACA)

5. In counselling,
1.Counsellor
2.Counsellee

6. Counsellee
The person one
who is counselled is
counselle.

8. Introduction
• basically “cultural social beings”
• Aware about the influence of cultural
societal discrimination, stereotypes and
role expectations.
• Effective counselling requires special
knowledge and insight that focuses on
particular and common aspects of
sexuality and sexual orientation of people

9. • This attention to unique and shared
experiences of women and men is
the paradoxical challenge of
counselling.
(Lee and Robbins)
• They are “experience different
developmental challenges”.
• Counsellors need in-depth training
and experience in particular areas.

10. Counselling Women
• Primary consumers of counselling
services.(Wastell,1996)
• Needs related to biological differences and
socialization patterns makes different
counselling concerns.
• Women still lacking the degree of freedom,
status, access, and acceptance that men
possesses.
• Social roles and career opportunities

11. • Women have different concerns than
men in many areas
• They differ in their interest and
involvement in fundamental options
such as intimacy ,career options ,and
life development.
• Women grow and develop through
relationships

12. Major concerns are
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Postpartum depression
• Postpartum psychosis
• Posttraumatic stress
• Eating disorders
• Borderline personality
• Mood-related challenges
• Self-harming behaviors

13. • Counselling women is not a simple matter of
picking a counselling theory or approaching
and commencing treatment”
(Hanna, Hanna, Giordano& Tollerud,1998)
• Rather counsellors attitudes values and
knowledge may either facilitate or impede the
potential development of the women clients.

14. • Women are basically relational beings
and counselors approaches should be
geared towards that facts.
• Professional who counsel women should
be “highly empathic, warm,
understanding, and sufficiently well
developed as a person to appreciate the
predicament in which women find

15. • False assumptions ,inaccurate beliefs and
lack of counsellor understanding may all
contribute problems.
• Counsellor should consider socio political
as well as other factors when counselling.
• National commission on women (ACA)
• Div. 35 in APA for psychology of women.

16. • Issue of adequate information about their
lives.
• Theories of the nature and development
of the women
• Women are passive, dependant and
morally inferior to men.
• Healthy adult behaviour is came to be
identified with men.
Concerns in counselling
women

17. • Double standard behaviour.
• Lowered expectations for the
women’s behaviour.
• Set up barriers for against their
advancement in non traditional roles

18. 1st
• Literature about
women’s studies
• Female
psychology
• Older theoretical
views are
generated by
men.

19. 2nd
• Sexism
• Goldman- ‘more deep
rooted than racism’
• Females should be
treated on the basis of
their sex without regard to
other criteria
• Such as interests and
abilities

20. Issues and Theories of
Counselling Women
• Counsellors research knowledge
about women and their response.
• Women are diverse and it is
important for counsellor to react
with uniqueness and similarity.

21. Major areas of knowledge about
psychology of women
• History and sociology of sex related
stereotyping
• Psychophysiology of women and men.
• Theories of personality and sex role
development
• Life span development
• Special populations
• Career development
• Counselling/psychotherapy

22. Effective counsellors of women
Should be skilled in for
areas of counselling,
• Verbal
• Nonverbal
• Process and
• Techniques
• Must be able to apply
appropriate intervention
skills for special
populations of women
• Counsellors must be
aware of personal
difficulties they may have
in dealing with female
clients

23. Major approach to
working with women is
• Feminist theory(Mejia,2005)
• Focused on the development of
females as persons with common
and unique qualities (Okun,1990)
• “In a different voice” (1982) by
Carol Gilligan; increased
integration of feminist theory into
counselling.

24. Encourages individuals
to;
• More aware about socialization
patterns.
• Personal options in altering
traditional gender roles as they
make changes.
• Encouraged to more involved in
social change activities.

25. • It is assertive in
challenging and
questioning attitudes of
traditional counselling
theories.
• i.e. this often advocates
the maintenance of the
status of male
dominated, hierarchical
society.

26. Two main emphases
1.Equality in the helping relationship-
women’s problems are inseparable
from the society;s oppression of
women.(okun,1997)
2.Emphesis on valuing socio political
and economical action as a major
part of the process of treatment.

27. Counselling men
• Fewer counselling procedures are
tailored to men than to women.
• Most counselots lack formal
education on men’s issues.

28. Concerns in counselling men
Socialization
• Men's traditional sex roles are narrowly
defined than women.
• Beginning in child hood there are “sticker
sanctions” against boys adopting feminine
behaviours than exist among girls
adopting those deemed as masculine.

29. • Boys are reinforced primarily for none
emotional physical actions.
• Men internalize their emotional
reactions and seek to be autonomous,
aggressive and competitive.
• They are oriented to display fighter
rather than nurturing behaviour.

30. • “perceive themselves as losing power
and status by changing in the direction
of androgyny", especially in young
adulthood.
• Men operate primarily from a cognitive
perspective.
• Insensitivity to the needs of others and
self often develops ,and a denial of
mental and physical problems becomes
lethal in the form of shorter life
spans.(Jourard,1971)

31. • “Men find psychological safety in
independence and fear
closeness”.
(Davenport&
Yurich,1991)
• Counsellors need aware about
many of them will be loners and
reticent to talk.

32. • Incorporate in childhood social taboos.
• Scher (1983):-Guidelines for counsellors
• An emphasis on the difficulty of change
• The constrains imposed by sex role stereo
types.
• The importance of asking for assistance
and dealing with affective issues.
• Need to distinguish between differences of
roles and rules in one’s personal and work
life.

33. • As a group men are more reluctant than
women to seek counselling.(Gertner,1994)
• Most men entering into counselling only in
crisis situations such as in trauma,
• Expected to be self sufficient, deny needs,
and take care of others (Maija,2005)
• Different age and stage levels of men

34. • When working with
men, it is important
to consult
developmental
models and culturally
related research that
underscore
developmental and
culture specific
themes.

35. Issues and Theories in Counselling
Men
• Many myths and realities.
• They usually work hard
• Higher expectations of the process
and want productive sessions.
• Likely to be clear and sincere in the
process and express themselves
directly and honestly

36. • Dominance of cognitive functioning in men
challenges.(Marini,1979)
• Explore with them the feeling tones of their
voices, the inconsistencies of their
behaviours of their behaviours and
feelings and their ambivalence about
control and nurturance.

37. • Importance of owning
feelings.
• Holland’s (1997)model
of Person-
environment
Interaction.
• Cognitive behavioural
approach to establish
rapport and facilitate
Counselling.
• Giles(1983) disagreed

38. • Interpersonal Learning in groups
• To increase personal awareness
about sex role conditioning,practice
new desired behaviors and promote
a life style based on the individual
needs

39. • Male sex
offenders
• Gay men.
• Homeless men.
• Other men are
serve as models
and paradigm for
change.

40. • Counselling with men as with all
groups ,is a complex phenomenon: but
the potential benefits are enormous.
They include helping men develop
productive strategies for dealing with
expectations and changing roles
(Moore& Leafgren,1990)

41. Through counselling men may also develop
new skills applicable to:
• “Marital
Communication,
• Stress related
health problems
• Career and life
Decision Making
• And family
interaction
• Stress related
health problems
• Career and life
desion making
,and family
interaction

42. Counselling and sexual orientation
• Individuals with minority sexual
orientations are often stereotyped and
discriminated against .
• A number of myths and stereotypes have
grown over the years.
• Within aca there is association for LGBT
issues in counseling

43. • Difficulties usually begin for them at
early in life.
• Children who are oriented toward any of
these life styles frequently have trouble
growing up in regard to their identity.
they often have the feelings of isolation
and stigmatization, and trouble with their
peer relationship, as well as family
disruptions. (Marinoble,1998)
• Less accepting.

44. • The majority culture ,which professional
helpers represent, has a predominantly
negative view of persons not have a
heterosexual orientation. when these views
are voice in strong dogmatic ways, they can
have a detrimental impact on the mental
health and well being of gays, lesbians,
bisexuals and transgenders and may
severely disrupt their total development.
• eg: career decision making...

45. Counselling with Gays,
Lesbians,bisexuals And Transgenders.
• Diverse group in their life style and
problems they bring to counselling.
• Isolation,safety and aging.
• children
• lesbian relationships and sexuality,
• Physical and mental health
• Political issues.

46. • Through counseling
relationship ;
• Coming out
• Forming community
organizations
• Following religious
practices
• Coping with HIV/AIDS.

47. • Rehearsing how one
will act and what one
will say prior to such
events can be helpful.
• Gay men need
special help.
• Savage (2005) advocate
that one social
empowerment model be
used with lesbians and
gay men ,rather than
counselling, because it
increases this groups
collective and personal
self advocacy. In such a
model clients come to
know that the origins of
sexual orientation “are
not clearly understood or
completely known.

48. • Working with gays ,lesbians, bisexuals
and transgenders is bound to be an
unpopular activity in many locates but one
that can do much good if conducted
properly .
• it involves not only working with clients
who are in the minority regarding their
sexual orientations ,but also focusing on
transforming the cultural contexts in which
these clients live.

49. • one way to do is to attend workshops that
focus on learning how to help affirm the
life styles of gay men and lesbians and
other sexuality oriented minorities.

50. values

51. Values of the client
• Values are the fundamental consideration
in counselling the value of the counselee
are the basic content of the counselling.
• values are considered as the multifactor
spiral or behavioural biases, which mould
and dominate the decision making power
of a particular individual.

52. Smith offers five functions of an individuals value
system;
• It supplies the individual with a sense o f
purpose and direction.
• It supplies the basis of individual action and
of unified collective action
• It serve as the basis of judging the behaviour
of individuals.
• It enables the individual to know that to
expect of others as well as how to conduct
himself.
• It establishes a sense of right and wrong.

53. Respect for Autonomy.
• Autonomy is the “personal rule of the self
that is free from both controlling interferences
by others and from personal limitations that
prevent meaningful choice.”
• Autonomous individuals act intentionally,
with understanding, and without controlling
influences.
• The counselee has to come to the counsellor
to assistance and deserves to be treated as a
person of worth and value.

54. • there is good in each , and the individual
needs to feel appreciated and valued.
• counsellor there for have a responsibility
to assist counselee's to feel good about
themselves and to increase the
counselees’ sense of worth.
• It is not respectful to impose personal
values upon clients.

55. • the meeting between counselors and their
clients does not merely involve two
individuals, but also two social worlds
engaging with each other.
• It therefore requires those two sets of
expectations, assumptions, values, norms,
manners and ways to do.
• As stated by Sue and Sue, in practice,
counsellors often fail to understand their
clients’ values of cultures, possibly having
a negative impact on counselling
outcomes.

56. • This opinion has been supported by Bell, who
argues that it is significant for a counselor to
be aware of client’s values and to look at how
psychological problems are treated within
other cultures.
• In this regard, Propost argues that
counsellors’ sensitivity to clients’ values can
be decisive to the success of the therapy,
since the counselors' competence in
communicating within the clients’ value
framework influences the outcome for the
clients

57. • Conflict of values frequently arises
because of the inevitable difference in
value standards between two people from
different backgrounds, religious or
cultures.
• A certain value that is considered normal
and highly valuable in one culture may be
considered as very irrational in the other.

58. • Another solution for conflicts between
counsellor and clients is to ensure that
both the counsellor and to clients should
come from the same background and
culture and adhere to the same values.

59. • As stated by Hays, the extent to which
counselors can acknowledge alternative
styles, views and behaviours depends on
the flexibility of the counselor's viewpoint
regarding lifestyles.

60. • Counsellors with values differing greatly
from the client are less effective, and are
less likely to earn the client’s respect and
trust.
• it is important for counsellors to not
impose their values on the client, or
attempt to indoctrinate the client with their
own ideas.

61. • Instead, counsellors should base ideas of
rational and irrational thoughts on the
client’s own values.
• If there is a great deal of discrepancy
between the values of counsellor and
client the counsellor should explicitly state
this difference so the client can have an
informed choice.

62. According to Pine(1968);
• It is the client’s searching and processing
of values which is the essence of the
client’s movement in counselling.
• The client’s discovery of his values and
the ensuring process of these values into
a hierarchy of importance determines his
mode of behaviour in the process of
existence.

64. Adults
• Confused thinking
• Prolonged depression
(sadness or irritability)
• Feelings of extreme
highs and lows
• Excessive fears,
worries and anxiety.
• Social withdrawal
• Dramatic changes in
eating or sleeping
habits
• Strong feelings of
anger.
• Delusions or
hallucinations
• Growing inability to
cope with daily
problems and activities
• Decline in work or
school performance or
poor attendance.

65. • Feelings of extreme
highs and lows.
• Having too much
energy.
• Exaggerated feelings
of self.
• Excessive worries
and anxieties Social
withdrawal.
• Loss of interest in
personal hygiene.-
• Suicidal thoughts
• Denial of obvious
problems
• Numerous
unexplained physical
ailments
• Substance abuse

66. Adolescents & Young Adults
• Substance abuse
• Inability to cope with
problems and daily activities
• Changes in sleeping and/or
eating habits
• Excessive complaints of
physical ailments
• Defiance of authority, truancy,
theft, and/or vandalism
• Intense fear of weight gain
• Prolonged negative mood,
often accompanied by poor
appetite or thoughts of death
• Frequent outbursts of anger
Younger Children & Pre-
Adolescents
• Changes in school
performance
• Poor grades despite
strong efforts
• Excessive worry or
anxiety (i.e. refusing to go
to bed or school)
• Hyperactivity
• Persistent nightmares
• Persistent disobedience
or aggression
• Frequent temper
tantrums

67. • Positive sense of
well-being, or the
capacity to enjoy life
and deal with the
challenges we face.