GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

INTRODUCTION

Counseling is the service offered to the individual who is undergoing a problem and needs professional help to overcome it. The problem keeps him disturbed high strung and under tension and unless solved his development is hampered or stunted. Counseling therefore is a more specialized service requiring training in personality development and handling exceptional groups of individuals.

Counselling
Counselling is a process of assistance extended by an expert in an individual situation to needy person. According to Carl Rogers counselling is a series of direct contact with the individual which aims to offer him assistance in changing the attitudes and behaviour.

According to Willey and Andrew Counseling involves two individuals one seeking help and other a professionally trained person helped solved problems to orient and direct him to words a goals. Which needs to his maximum development and growth?

Counseling services are therefore required for individuals having developmental problems because of the handicap they suffer in any area of emotional either because of hereditary factors or environment conditions.

Generally such cases are only about five to seven percent in a population and therefore counseling is required only for such a small number. As compared to guidance which is for percent of individuals. Counseling involves a lot of time for the client to unfold the problem, gain an insight in to the complex situation.

Counseling techniques involve active listening, emphatic understanding releasing the pent up feelings confronting the client and so on counseling therefore is offered to only those individuals who are under serious problem and need professional help to overcome it.

 

IMPORTANT OF COUNSELLING

Counselling can provide you with useful techniques and skills that you can use now. It might help you think about your current behaviours and feelings in a different way. It might stop stress and triggers before they affect your whole life.

Counseling is a process by which individuals or groups are helped to improve in their social behavior through an improve knowledge of self and significant others.

          The main objective is to dispose them to react in a manner that is in conflict with him and other people’s interest.

·        Counseling helps individuals to deal with threats or situation that expose them to react in a manner that is in contrast with himself and other people’s interest.

·        It helps individual to make decisions that will be beneficial to himself and the society at large.

·        Counseling teaches problem solving.

·        It helps people to learn to cope better and develop more.

·        Counseling help people build stronger relationship.

People typically enter counselling because they are hurting, frustrated, or feeling overwhelmed by a problem. In most cases, difficult circumstances drive the felt need for counselling. In my experience, most of these circumstances are based in wounded relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children. And, of course, one or more persons in these relationships may be experiencing intrapersonal difficulties, including mood disorders like depression and anxiety, addictions, or situational stressors like work or school.

As we become more informed about integrative care for the body, mind, and spirit, and how each part of us affects our total health, I believe mental health counselling will only increase.

Each person who enters therapy has his or her own story. In my case, I was 20-years-old with a decade-long bout with panic disorder and depression. My private life was riddled with inner pain, but I worked hard publicly to make the right impressions. I can still recall my surrender. It took my physical body succumbing to a serious bout with mononucleosis before my resistance broke. At this point, I was no longer in denial; I was ready to receive help.

Another importance of counselling are:

• Counselling teaches problem solving skills, such as how to overcome negative beliefs, assumptions or expectations that are the hallmark of depressed or anxious thinking.

• Counselling helps people learn to cope better and develop a more optimistic perspective through taking actions that enable them to feel self-empowered, such as becoming more assertive or taking steps towards life goals in spite of feeling fearful or pessimistic.  As depressed or anxious people take action in spite of their difficulties, and start to achieve some positive results, they begin to feel genuinely better about themselves as people, which enhances their psychological well being in the long run.

• Counselling focuses on helping people build stronger support systems and relationships that will strengthen and protect them psychologically.

• Counselling teaches people how to calm their autonomic nervous system, which is the foundation for stress management and anxiety reduction.

• Counselling, in combination with positive lifestyle changes, including healthy diet and regular vigorous exercise, has been demonstrated to produce lasting anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects.

CONCLUSION
The ability to counsel is an important skill for managers and caring co-workers. Organisations that have people trained in counselling will be better able to handle their people issues than those that do not. Staffs who are feeling anxious, stressed, or unhappy will not be able to perform very well on the job despite their background and experience. If they have had an opportunity to talk through their problems with a trained counsellor, they will be able to be much more productive. This will save the organisation time and money.

REFERENCES

1. Cole. G.A. (2002). Personnel and human resource management. 5th edition. London: Continuum, p.291.

2. Brammer L. M. and Shostrom, E. L. (1977).  Therapeutic psychology:          fundamentals of counseling and psychotherapy. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

3. Makinde, (1983). Fundamentals of guidance and counselling. London:           MacMillan, 1983.