Counselling theory and practice

Counseling is a psychological or educational intervention geared toward helping a client maintain or improve their quality of well-being (Smyer & Intrieri, 1990). Dilley (1967) describes the goal of counseling as facilitating solid decision making skills in the client. There are many different theories and opinions on what constitutes the nature of counseling and the therapeutic process. However, most would agree that it is based upon a relationship between the counselor and the client that encourages the client to explore their thought processes and behaviors (Rogers, 1945). The helping relationship allows the client and counselor to work together to achieve therapeutic goals such as problem solving, behavior modification, or the development of personal growth and awareness (Rogers, 1945).

The client can then utilize this insight to determine which steps they want to take to change maladaptive behaviors or thought patterns (Rogers, 1945). In the formal counseling process, the counselor aids clients in the evaluation of themselves rather than providing solutions or offering advice. Counseling often takes on many forms both formal and informal including individual, group, and family therapy, peer counseling and professional approaches. Whether formal or informal, the goal of counseling is to offer analysis and treatment of problems (Mowrer, 1940). According to Smyer and Intrieri (1990), counseling should take into consideration normal developmental processes as well as mental disorders. The counselor should identifies where the client is in the present and work with them to utilize their own resources to identify solutions to their problems (Roger, 1945).

Counseling has been referred to as the helping profession as people often seek services to receive help with their problems. This help can be formal through the use of counselors and psychotherapists with extensive professional training, paraprofessionals who have received training but not necessarily from a professional training program, and voluntary counselors and helpers who may receive training in helping skills (Smyer & Intrieri, 1990). An example of a professional relationship can be one that takes the form of employment, financial or medical counseling (Smyer & Intrieri, 1990). In this example, there is a clear need for the use of counseling skills in order to ensure positive outcomes for the client (Smyer & Intrieri, 1990). For example, giving proper medical counseling may make a difference in a person's quality of life. Formal helping relationships seek the deeper meaning of problems and utilize therapeutic skills to find resolution (Mowrer, 1940). Formal helping relationships are often more intense and longer in duration than informal relationships.

Informal helpers on the other hand may take the form of peers, family members, coworkers, or members of support networks (Dilley, 1967). These helpers often give advice and offer solutions to problems. These informal relationships are concerned with outward manifestations of the problem such as current symptoms or observable behaviors (Mowrer, 1967). Informal helping relationships such as those with family members and friends are often mutually beneficial and involve give and take activities such as advice giving and support. This differs from a formal counseling relationship that emphasizes the counselor as an objective source of support whose goal it is to help the client find resolution to their problem (Dilley, 1967).