The ways counselors go about their duties are as varied as the counselors themselves. By and large, however, they make use of certain standard approaches and techniques.
Current Approaches to Counseling
There are a dozen different approaches or primary practice orientations that counseling programs might have. An eclectic orientation, in which a counselor does not express a preference for one approach over another, allowing the conditions of the particular case to determine the approach, is the most common. Other common approaches include client centered, behavioral, and cognitive. These four orientations account for about 80 percent of all approaches. Other orientations include existential/humanistic, interpersonal relationship, psychoanalytical, rational/emotive, Gestalt, social learning, systems oriented, and transactional analysis.
Client-centered Counseling
Client-centered or person-centered counseling derives from the work of Carl Rogers. Its importance is understood most easily in light of the situation that prevailed in the 1940s when Rogers first began to publish. At that time, guidance was closely associated with testing. Rogers, whose theories derive in part from the experience of psychotherapists (he was one), stressed that the client, rather than the test, should be at the center of counseling. A client-centered approach sees the warm, trusting relationship between counselor and client as crucial to the success of the counseling. To establish such a relationship, the counselor must accept the client's perception of a situation rather than rely on outside measures, such as tests. In philosophy, the idea that a person's perceptions are the only reality is a basic thesis of phenomenology; thus, this approach is sometimes called phenomenological.
Behavioral Counseling
Behavioral counseling derives from the work of psychologists such as B. F. Skinner. The client decides on the change in behavior sought, but the counselor determines the techniques and procedures to be used. The counselor can even be seen as manipulating the client. Behavioral therapy has been very successful in dealing with some problems, such as stress, in which relief of symptoms is sufficient.
Psychoanalytical Approaches
Psychoanalytical approaches to counseling derive from Sigmund Freud's theories of human nature. According to Freud, people have psychological problems when their ego (conscious self) fails to balance their id (internal/basic drives and needs) against their superego (morality of higher thought/action).
Existentialism
Existentialism can refer to the somewhat different philosophies of various writers, including Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, and Soren Kierkegaard. In counseling, an existential approach aims at the clients accepting responsibility for their own actions.
Rational-Emotive Approaches
Rational-emotive or cognitive approaches share with existentialism an emphasis on the individual's responsibility for self-development. Its particular emphasis is that the individual takes control through reason. Among its proponents is Albert Ellis.
Classifications such as those used here always carry the danger that they will be applied too rigidly. An eclectic approach is often most successful. Less important than the philosophical basis of the counselor are the basic principles of guidance—the recognition of the dignity and worth of the individual and the acceptance of the individual's right to choose his or her own future.
Interviewing and Group Counseling
Besides a concern with theory, counselor trainees should be aware of the techniques used by counselors. Interviews and group sessions are the tools most often used.
Examples of well-conducted interviews appear frequently in counseling journals. The principles are easily summarized. Counselors must prepare in advance by reviewing the client's records or consulting with others. The counselor should put the client at ease. The reason for the client's presence should then be established, but the counselor must be aware that the stated reason is not always the real reason. The counselor must let the client take the lead in the interview; this is accomplished by asking open questions and by reflecting on what the client says rather than the counselor introducing his or her own ideas. As the interview progresses, the counselor encourages the client to consider the next step to be taken—a test, an action, a review of the problem. The client then may summarize what has been accomplished in the interview.
Group counseling has many advantages. It enables the counselor to work with more people in less time, establishes peer relationships among the counselees, and sometimes leads them to accept suggestions from each other that they would not entertain from the counselor. Groups work well for individuals who can talk about their concerns, need the reactions of others, and find the support of their peers helpful. They also benefit those who need to develop social skills or get in touch with other people. The determination of who can benefit from group sessions is one of the most difficult for a counselor to make.
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