Counseling involves the mutual exploration of ideas, attitudes, and feelings between a counselor and client to address misperceptions, emotional overlays affecting self-concept, and disparities between thoughts and feelings. Effective counseling distinguishes between guidance, counseling, and psychotherapy. A counselor should rarely solve problems for the client but instead guide them to their own solutions, trust intuition, and provide direction while protecting feelings and allowing the client to progress at their own pace. Counseling from trained professionals can profoundly impact individuals, families and communities by helping people navigate difficult life situations.

1. Principles
Significance

3.  Counseling is the
mutual exploration and
exchange of ideas,
attitudes, and feelings
between a counselor
and a client…
specifically including
 a client’s
misperceptions about
the disorder
 a client’s
misperceptions that
create emotional
overlays affecting self-
concept, and
 a disparity between a
client’s thoughts &
feelings Cooper (1983)

5.  Made clear distinction between:
 Guidance: to provide information
 Counseling: to help solve problems & adjustment
issues and
 Psychotherapy: to change personality

7.  Rarely be a problem solver; help
guide the client to coming up with
own solutions
 Trust your intuition
 Provide a sense of direction for the
client

8.  Take care of your client; protect
his/her feelings; help him/her
move at own pace
 Have a sense of humor
 Incorporate self-disclosure as an
important part of counseling; show
that you are willing to share as well.

9.  Be open-minded
 Believe that clients are doing the
best that they can
 mutual agreement on expectations
for therapy between you and your
client is essential
 Ask client for feedback
Blood (1995)

11.  Counseling provided
by trained
professionals can make
a profound impact on
the lives of individuals,
families and
communities. This
service helps people
navigate difficult life
situations, such as the
death of a loved one,
divorce, natural
disasters, school stress
and the loss of a job.

12. EMPLOYEE COUNSELING
EDUCATIONAL
COUNSELING