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EC1- discuss roles and functions of counselors.

Margaret is teenager perceived by her teachers and classmates as a problem student. She often breaks the rules and performs poorly in her academics. Her class adviser suggested that she visit the school counselor Meg was adamant, defensive and thought, she was reluctant ti do so at first. After all, how could a complete stranger help resolve her issues, anyway? However, due ti her teachers’ and friends’ persistence, she grudgingly visited the school counselor.

She was surprised to find that the counselor was exact opposite of what she expected She thought that the counselor would tell her that everything is her fault. Instead, the counselor about her concerns at home and at school and together they explored possibilities on how to deal with them. She was also taught how to relax when she get stressed. Meg felt better after every session and was able to realize that seeing the counselor helped her view things in a different light.

Is your perception of a counselor similar to that of Meg? Why? What do you know about the roles, functions and competencies of a counselor? Have you met other counselors working in other settings besides the school?

Counselors: Who are they?

Counselors are professionally trained individuals who help clients experiencing difficulties by engaging in the counseling process. In the Philippines, counselors or guidance counselors, as they are popularly known, are professionals who use an integrated approach ti the development of a a well-functioning individual primarily by helping him/her maximize hi/her potentials to the fullest and plan his/her future in accordance with his/her abilities and needs.

Roles of Counselors

Counselors’ roles and functions vary depending on the settings where they work and the clients they serve. Some counselors take on generalist functions while others take on specialist functions. According to Shertzer and Stone (1974), there are nine counselor roles

1. Quasi-administrator – counselors assume the role of administrators when the school heads are not around.

2. Generalist – counselors coordinate and administer services and resources. They also maintain relationships among the stakeholders of an institution.

3. Specialist – counselors give their counseling duties priority over other activities.

4. Agent of change – counselors initiate change within the clients by helping them arrive at possibilities and options and by catalyzing change (e.g. providing feedback regarding programs, clarifying the role of the institution) within the settings where they practice their profession.

5. Specialist in psychological education – counselors provide experiences and implement activities and programs for facilitating self-development. These activities focus on promoting personal, emotional, moral and social growth.

6. Applied behavioral scientist – counselors provide experiences and conditions which are based on theories and researches on behavioral sciences that aims to foster learning among clients. Counselors simulate activities which can help clients learn more about themselves, others and their environment.

7. Contingency manager – counselors arrange consequences for behavior if clients fail or succeed in carrying out an action plan which was agreed upon by both counselors and client. This is usually in the form of rewards, tokens, or absence thereof.

8. Consultant – counselors confer with teachers, administrators, parents and others to help identified clients.

9. Helping professional – as helping professionals, counselors assist their clients achieve their optimal development.

Functions of Counselors

Gibson and Mitchell (2008) cite the traditional functions of counselors which are observable across different work settings. A brief description of the functions follows:

a. Counseling – this is considered to be the core function of counselors. As discussed in the previous lesson, counseling focuses on the clients’ growth, adjustment, problem-solving, and decision-making needs.

b. Assessment – this is the process of systematically gathering information, both test and non-test data, about the clients. Counselors administer standardized test (e.g. personality tests, IQ tests, career inventory tests, etc.) and interpret the results to the clients.

c. Career assistance – this is one unique function of counselors which helps clients explore their career options. Counselors help clients determine which career best suits them by implementing a career development program that is holistic and integrated, and by providing career education and counseling.

d. Placement and follow-up – counselors work with the students in different types of placement personal-social (clubs or organizations that clients may be interested in joining), academic (sections where students can be placed, electives that may be taken or courses to be taken in college) and vocational-occupational (industries or offices where clients can work). Follow-up, on the other hand, is done by counselors to determine the effectiveness of the delivery of services (e.g. counseling, test interpretation, group guidance, group counseling, placement, etc).

e. Referral is usually done when counselors need to find and transfer their client’s or other experts or counselors with social expertise who may be able to help the clients more.

f. Consultation- is the process where by counselors confer with a third party to help clients in addressing their needs.

g. Evaluation and accountability – are also salient functions that counselors should consistently and consciously think about while implementing the guidance and counseling program. Evaluating is assessing the effectiveness of the activities and intervention s and the efficiency of the personnel involved while accountability is ensuring the programs and personnel are responsive, appropriated, and relevant.

h. Prevention – Beyond the curative dimension of counseling, counseling should be preventive as well. It prevents problems by empowering students with knowledge and awareness so that healthy attitudes and habits are promoted, and early signs of problems are detected.

EC2- identify specific work areas in which counselors work.

Counselors competencies can be categorized in the following knowledge, skill, and attitudes.

1. Knowledge – counselors undergo academic preparation and trainings to build on their knowledge of counseling techniques and theories. It is imperative for counselors to have a mastery of theories to be able to use appropriate scientific and behavioral theories and practices in addressing different client needs.

2. Skills – counselors, aside from having mastery of theories and techniques, should also possess several abilities or skills ti effectively help their clients. There are several competence areas which McLeod (2003) identified.

a. Interpersonal skills – refers to the capacity and proficiency of counselors to communicate or articulate well, listen effectively, and observe nonverbal behaviors such as mannerism, body language, facial expressions, voice quality and use of language.

b. Conceptual ability – refers to the capacity of counselors to remember clients’ information, to understand and assess clients’ problems, to think of possible consequences of actions and to see and connect present problem to a larger picture.

c. Ability to understand and work within social systems – refers to the counselors’ knowledge if the clients’ relationships with family members, co-workers, friends, and others in their social circles and how these relationships affect clients.

3. Attitudes – counselors are expected to facilitate the establishment of a working alliance between them and their clients. Gladding (2009) cited the list of Foster (1996) and Guy (1987) when it comes to personal qualities of counselors:

· Curiosity and inquisitiveness – natural concern for people and to know details about them

· Ability ti listen – actively listening to people

· Comfort with conversation – at ease in conversing with people

· Empathy and understanding – the ability to put one’s self in another’s shoes even if clients’ circumstance are different from that of the counselor’s

· Emotional insightfulness – comfort in dealing with a wide range of feelings

· Introspection – the ability to look with in the self and reflect

· Capacity for self-denial – the ability to put aside personal concerns and feelings ti address clients’ needs ti exhibit certain qualities and attitudes

· Tolerance of intimacy – the ability to establish and maintain emotional closeness

· Comfort and power – ability to hold power and maintain detachment

· Ability to laugh – the capability to inject humor when things go wrong

EC3- Value rights, responsibilities, and accountabilities of counselors.

Ethical Principles for Counselors

Counseling is a very complex profession because counselors deal with human beings with varying concerns and needs. To guide them in the practice of their profession and in dealing with their various clients are the ethical principles of counseling – autonomy, beneficence, fidelity, justice and non-maleficence

1. Autonomy – refers to respecting freedom of choice and self-determination. Counselors acknowledge clients’ right to decide for themselves and their freedom to do what they want as long as actions do not harm the clients themselves and others. Counselors are not of impose their values, view, or certain actions or decisions to clients as these violate this principle. Lately, counselors should make sure that before clients agree to undergo counseling, the process, risks, and effects should properly explained to them and they should agree to undergo such activity.

2. Beneficence – is defined as doing good and preventing harm. Counselors should think and act for the best interests of their clients. They should know when an action or intervention is urgently needed and not postpone.

3. Fidelity – refers to faithfulness or honoring commitments. Breach in confidentiality violates this principle because the trust during counseling sessions is dishonored when counselors disclose pertinent and sensitive information about clients.

4. Justice – is defined as fairness. Counselors are to give and render counseling services to all clients regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethno-linguistic group and socio-economic class.

5. Non-maleficence is not inflicting harm. Counselors have to make sure that techniques and strategies used during sessions will not bring harm to clients. Counselors have ti ensure that deliberate studying, thorough planning and careful implementing should be taken into account during sessions. Counselors should practice within their level of competence and area of expertise.

EC4 - distinguish between ethical and unethical behaviors among counselors.

Unethical Behaviors in counseling

· Violation of confidentiality

· Exceeding one’s level of professional competence when a counselor practices outside of his/her area of specification

· Neglect practice

· Claiming expertise one does not possess

· Imposing one’s values on a client

· Sexual activity with the client

· Dual relationships (role of counselors in combined with another relationship-professional , personal)

· Questionable financial arrangements (e.g. excessive fees)

· Improper advertising

· Plagiarism when doing research

The Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 (RA 9258) Section 27 stipulates that individuals who engage in the practice of guidance and counseling:

a. Should have a valid certificate pf registration and a valid Professional identification Card or a special permit.

b. Should make representations to the public as licensed guidance counselor when his/her license has been revoked or suspended

c. Should no allow anybody to use his/her license as guidance counselor. This provision is to protect the profession and clients from possible unscrupulous individuals who might take advantage of innocent people.

As mentioned in the introduction, the rest of the lesson is focus on three representative fields under applied social sciences counseling, social work, and communication. The selection of these three is appropriate considering that they are all disciplinary and deals with the practical application of theories. Counseling, social work, and communication’s roots straddle the various disciplines of psychology, sociology, anthropology, even political science and linguistics. All three fields focus on the improvement and empowerment of an individual, a group, even and institution. Further, these three also seek to put the various theories from social sciences into practice. However, each area is also aware that general theorizations may not be enough to explain a certain phenomenon, and they will not try to, but instead, will adjust, modify, and re conceptualize existing knowledge in order to meet the needs of their disciplines.