Learning resources compiled by S.Rengasamy for the students doing their Bachelor and Master of Social Work Course

1. Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling

2. Nature of Counselling
The branch of psychology that
focuses on personal problems not
classified as serious mental
disorders, such as academic, social,
or vocational difficulties of
students. This is similar to clinical
psychology, except that most of the
issues addressed by counseling
psychologists are less "serious". For
example, a clinical psychologist
would be more likely to deal with
schizophrenia and other "serious"
psychological disorders than a
counseling psychologist
Psychology for Social Workers

3. Counselling - Definition
Direct face-to-face conversation between two people. It is a
scientific process of assistance extended by an expert in an
individual situation to a needy person. Counselling involves
relationship between two persons in which one of them
(counselor) attempts to assists the other (counselee or client) in
so organizing himself as to attain a particular form of happiness,
adjusting to a life situation, or in short ,self actualization
Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling

4. Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling

5. Recovery
Seeking Healing
Correcting Belief System
Establishing Healthy
Thinking & Behaviours
Discovering What
We were created to BE
PAST NOW FUTURE
Counseling
Discipline, Instructing
Coaching
Asking, Guiding
Growth
Choosing Goals, Action Steps
Making Commitments
Going to next Level
Maximizing Potential
Discovering & Pursuing What We
were created to DO
Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling X Coaching

6. • Guidance is broader
comprehensive
• Guidance is more external, helps
A person understand alternative
solutions available to him & makes
him understand his personality &
choose the right solution.
• Guidance is mainly preventive &
developmental
• Intellectual attitudes are the raw
material of guidance
• Decision making is operable at
an intellectual level in guidance
• Guidance is generally education
& career related & may also be for
personal problems
• Counselling is in-depth & narrow
• Counselling helps people
understand themselves & is an
inward analysis.
• Alternative solutions are
proposed to help understand the
problem at hand.
• Counselling is remedial as well as
preventive & developmental
• Emotional rather than pure
intellectual attitude are raw
material of the counselling process.
• Counselling operates at an
emotional level
• Counselling is mostly offered for
personal & social issues.
Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling X Guidance

7. Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling Stages

8. Counseling is Not
 Giving advice.
 Judgmental.
 Attempting to sort out the problems of the client.
 Expecting or encouraging a client to behave in a
way in which the counsellor may have behaved
when confronted with a similar problem in their
own life.
 Getting emotionally involved with the client.
 Looking at a client's problems from counselors
perspective, based on counselors value system.
Psychology for Social Workers
Counselling

9. Counselling & Psychotherapy
Counselling is a helping approach that highlights the emotional and
intellectual experience of a client, how a client is feeling and what they
think about the problem they have sought help for.
Psychotherapy, however, is based in the psychodynamic approach to
counselling - it encourages the client to go back to their earlier
experiences and explore how these experiences effect their current
‘problem’.
A psychotherapist, therefore, helps the client to become conscious of
experiences which they were previously unaware of. Counsellors,
however, are less likely to be concerned with the past experiences of
the client and are generally trained in a humanistic approach, using
techniques from client-centred therapy.
Psychology for Social Workers

10. Areas of Counselling
School and career/work adjustment concerns.
Making decisions about career and work, and dealing with
school‐work‐retirement transitions.
Relationship difficulties‐including marital and family difficulties.
Learning and skill deficits.
Stress management and coping with negative life events.
Organizational problems.
Dealing with and adjusting to physical disabilities, disease or injury.
Personal/social adjustment. The development of one’s identity.
Persistent difficulties with relating to other people in general. Mental disorders.
Psychology for Social Workers
Areas of Counselling

12. Directive Counseling
Directive Counseling (prescriptive counselling) • E.G Williamson is the chief
exponent in this viewpoint • It is Counsellor -centred. the counsellor 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.
Non-directive Counselling
Carl. R.Roger is the chief exponent in this viewpoint • This school of thought
is just reverse to that of directive counseling • It is a client-centred process •
In this, the counselee is the pivot of the whole counselling process • The main
function of the counsellor is to create an atmosphere in which the client can
work out his problem.
Eclectic Counselling
The chief advocate of this type of counselling is ‘Thorne’ • Eclectic counselling
is a type of counselling which is neither counsellor-centred nor client centred;
but a combination of both • Here the counsellor is neither too active as in
directive counselling nor too passive as in non-directive counselling, but
follows a middle course.
Psychology for Social Workers
Types of Counselling

13. Psychology for Social Workers
Types of Counselling

14. Process of Counseling
Step 1: Relationship Building
Step 2: Problem Assessment
Step 3: Goal Setting
Step 4: Intervention
Step 5: Evaluation, follow up,
Termination or Referral
Psychology for Social Workers
Types & Areas of Counselling

15. Qualities of a Counselor
Patience, Good Listening, Observant,
Warm, Knowledgeable,
Having empathy with the patient/client,
Maintaining a therapeutic relationship with a
patient,
Confidentiality,
Personal integrity,
Spiritual maturity
Psychology for Social Workers
Qualities of a Counselor