Core Values of Counseling

Counseling profession will also challenge the counselor to value the counselee. Here are the core values
of counseling:

1. Respect for human dignity refers to the unconditional positive regard, compassion, non- judgmental
attitude, empathy and trust.

2. Partnership refers to the support on integrated healing, integrity, sensitivity and openness.

3. Autonomy refers to the respect for confidentiality, trust, ensuring a safe environment and no
imposition of advices.

4. Responsible caring refers to respecting the potentials of every human being to change and to
continue learning

5. Personal integrity refers to the reflection of honesty and truthfulness.

6. Social justice refers to being accepting and respectful of the diversity of clients

Roles of Guidance Counselors

 The role of the guidance counselor isto assist the person or persons (dients) in realizing change
in behavior or attitude, to assist them to seek achievement of goals, assist them to find help.
 In some cases, the role of counselors includes teaching social skills, effective communication,
spiritual guidance, decision-making and career choices.
 A counselor's role may sometimes include aiding one in coping with a crisis such as premarital
and and marital problems, (divorce, death or grief and loss (divorce, death amputation),
domestic violence and other types of abuse.Special counseling may include assistance in
situations like terminal illness (death and dying and counseling of emotionally and mentally
disturbed individuals.

Functions of Guidance Counselors

 According to Philippine Republic Act No. 9258 (Section 2 to 3) a guidance counselor is a natural
person who has been professionally registered and licensed by a legitimate state entity and by
virtue of specialized training to perform the functions of guidance and counseling.
 He or she must be a qualified and licensed guidance counselor at master's level. It is a
profession, not a field. This is the only profession whose primary purpose is counseling; wellness
and strength-based approach to treatment; wellness model rather than medical model.

1. helping a client develop potentials to the fullest;

2. helping a client plan to utilize his or her potentials to the fullest,

3. helping a cilent plan his or her future in accordance with his or her abilities, Interests, and needs

4. sharing and applying knowledge related to counseling such as counseling theories, tools and
techniques, and

5. administering a wide range of human development services.

Competencies of Counselors

1. Interpersonal Skills counselors who are competent display ability to listen, communicate;
empathize; be present; aware of nonverbal communication; sensitive to voice quality, responsive to
expressions of emotion, turn taking, structure of time and use of language.

2. Personal beliefs and Attitude- counselors have the capacity to accept others, belief in potential of
change, awareness of ethical and moral choices and sensitive to values held by client and self.

3. Conceptual ability counselors have the ability to understand and assess client's problem; to
anticipate future problems; make sense of immediate process in terms of wider conceptual scheme
to remember information about the client.

4. Personal Soundness counselors must have no irrational beliefs that are destructive to counseling
relationships, self-confidence, capacity to tolerate strong of uncomfortable feelings in relation to the
clients, secure personal boundaries, ability to be a client; must carry no social prejudice,
ethnocentrism and authoritarianism.

5. Mastery of Techniques counselors must have a knowledge of when and how to carry out specific
interventions, ability to assess effectiveness of the interventions, understanding the rationale
behind techniques, possession of wide repertoire of intervention

6. Ability to understand and work within social system - this would be compromise of awareness of
family and work relationships of client the impact of agency on the clients, the capacity to use
support networks and supervision; sensitivity to client from different gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, or age group.

7. Openness to learning and inquiry - counselors must ha the capacity to be curious about client'
backgrounds and problems; being ope to new knowledge.

Things to Remember:

The following are the key skills of a counselor:

1.Attending and listening skills - This refers to active listening which means listening with a purpose
and responding with awareness that the client feels he or she has been both heard and understood.
2. Reflective skills The key skills are restating, paraphrasing and summarizing, capturing what the
client is saying and "playing" it back to them.

3. Probing skills - These skills facilitate going deeper, asking more directed or leading questions that
they move the conversation in a particular direction.

4. Communication skills These include the ability to actively listen, demonstrate understanding, ask
appropriate questions and provide information as needed.

5. Motivational skills This is to influence the client to take action after a helping session or
consultation

6. Problem-solving skills - These include differentiating between the symptoms and the problem
itself.

7. Conflict resolution skills.

Specific Work of Counselors

1. Child development and counseling.Child development and counseling as area of specialization

includes parent education, preschool counseling, early childhood education, elementary school
counseling, child counseling in mental health agencies, and counseling with battered and abused
children and their families.

2. Gerontology (the aged). Gerontological counseling (the aged) as area of specialization is

considered the fastest growing field and essentially involves counseling of older citizens. It includes
preretirement preretirem counseling, community centers, counseling, nursing home counseling, and
hospice work.

3. Marital relationship counseling. Marital or relationship counseling includes premarital counseling,

marriage counseling, family counseling, sex education, sexual dysfunction counseling, and divorce
mediation.

4.Health as an area of specialization offers possibility for nutrition counseling, exercise and health
education, nurse- counselor, rehabilitation counseling, stress management counseling, holistic
health counseling, anorexia or bulimia counseling, and genetic counseling.

5. Career/lifestyle College and university. College and university as an area of specialization offer the
following opportunities: college student counseling, student activities, student personnel work,
residential hall or dormitory counselor, and counselor educator.

6. Consultation.Consultation as an area of specialization covers agency and corporate consulting,

organizational development director, industrial psychology specialist, and training manager
7. Business and industry. Business and industry areas of specialization include training and
development personnel, quality and work-life or quality circles manager, employee assistance
programs manager, employee career development officer, affirmative action, or equal opportunity
specialist

8. Other specialties. Other specialties may include phobia counseling, agoraphobia, self-
management, intra- personal management, interpersonal relationships management, and grief
counseling.

Counseling Careers

1. Mental Health Counselor Mental health counselors provide therapeutic support to clients faced
with mental, emotional and behavioral health issues, such as anxiety, depression, stress, low self-
esteem and other concerns.

2. School Counselor Professional-school counselor provides services to students to support their

academic, personal and social development while working with teachers, administrators and
parents

3. Career Counselor Career-counselors help individuals understand themselves and the world of
work to make solid occupational, education and life decisions.

4. Child Counselor Child and adolescent counselors help children and teens with physical, emotional,
or mental roadblocks that impede healthy development.

5. College Counselor College counselors provide college students with a variety of supports in order
to promote overall academic, mental and behavioral wellness.

6. Grief Counselor Grief counselors support client growth from profound loss, death of a loved one,
debilitating injury, terminal illness, divorce or other personal bereavements.

7. Military Counselor Military counselors assist active duty, veterans and their families on mental,
emotional and social concerns related to the military lifestyle and experience.

8. Pastoral Counselor- In pastoral settings, counselors combine therapy with theological training to
offer patients a unique and integrated approach to sessions.

9. Rehabilitation Counselor For individuals with physical, mental, developmental, and or emotional
disabilities, rehabilitation counselors assist them in leading fulfilling and successful independent
lives.

10. Substance Abuse Counselor Substance abuse and addiction counselors work with clients to
support their mental and physical health in order to accurately provide a holistic treatment of
substance abuse
Rights, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors

1. They protect members from practices that may result in public condemnation.

2. They provide a measure of self-regulation, thus giving members a certain freedom and autonomy

3. They provide clients a degree of protection from cheats and the incompetent.

4. They help to protect counselors from the public if they pursued for malpractice

Code of Ethics of Counselors Ethical Behaviors:

1.Incompetence

2. Lack of integrity

3. Violating confidences

4. Exceeding the level of professional competence

5. Imposing values on clients

6. Creating dependence on the part of the clients to meet the counselor's own needs

7.Improper advertising

8.Charging fees for private counseling to those who are entitled to free services through the
counselor's employing institutions and or using one's job to recruit dients for a private practice.

Legal Foundations of Counseling Practice in the Philippines

 Republic Act No. 9258 March 2, 2004 AN ACT PROFESSIONALIZING THE PRACTICE OF GUIDANCE
AND COUNSELING AND CREATING FOR THIS PURPOSE A PROFESSIONAL REGULATORY BOARD
OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
 Republic Act No. 9258, otherwise known as the "Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004"
recognizes the importance of advancing and protecting the guidance and counseling profession
by establishing preventive regulatory mechanisms and standards of practice.
 The law also entails the creation of a Professional Regulatory Board of Guidance and Counseling
who will then be mandated by this very law to formulate the necessary rules and regulations
that will implement the provisions contained within, in coordination with the accredited
professional organization.
  The interim accredited professional organization happens to be the PGCA or the Philippine
Guidance and Counseling Association, Inc.
 For any person desiring accreditation under RA 9258, he or she must be able to live up to the
following qualifications
 Ø Be a citizen of the Philippines, or a foreigner whose country has reciprocity with the
Philippines for the practice of guidance and counseling.
 ØNot have been convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude
 ØBe a holder of either a Bachelor's Degree in Guidance and Counseling or in other allied
disciplines, a Master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from an institution in the Philippines
or abroad, or a Ph.D. or Ed.D in Guidance and Counseling or Counseling Psychology.

Characteristics of the Clientele and Audiences of Counseling

1. As school guidance and counselors, these professionals provide the need for personal guidance by
helping students seek more options and find better and more appropriate ones/ in dealing with
situations of stress or simply decision-making.

2. As job-hunting coaches, counselors provide avenues for people to find necessary information and get
employment that is suitable to them. The services offered may include technical aspects of how to
prepare a curriculum vitae (CV) or a resume, how to speak to employers, and how to present/ and
conduct oneself before employers.

3. As conflict management providers, these professionals provide the need for principles and theory-
based approaches to deal with conflict and deescalate it, if not revolve it positively

4. As human resources personnel, these professionals provide the need's common to all workplaces and
they are employed in almost all workplaces to deal with various/ employee needs that cover aspects of
remunerations, social services, compensations, conflict resolution, and discipline.

5. As marriage counselors, these professionals provide the need for conflict resolution skills to parties,
couples, and children to deal with various stresses and issues that threaten their unity or peaceful
coexistence. Sometimes, their work is to reconcile couples, while at other times, they work to help them
part ways in the best way possible through available legal instruments such as separation, divorce, or
annulment

6. As drug abuse and rehabilitation counselors, these professionals meet the need to help people
overcome their problemsor mitigate some of the most negative effects of drug abuse. Their goal isto
facilitate dient rehabilitation.

7. As bereavement counselors, these professionals respond to the need to be helped to go through loss,
such as death in the family, in a way that will help prevent depression and other unhealthy ways of
dealing/ or coping with loss such as committing suicide or giving Lup up on life.
8. As abused children caretakers and rehabilitation in government and NGO settings, counselors meet
the need to facilitate processing and restoration of abused children through recognition and
implementation of existing laws and recovery procedures in coordination with relevant

Needs of Various Types of Clientele and Audiences of Counseling

Audiences in Counseling

 The Individual as Client of Counseling- The individual who needs to be helped to manage well a
life-changing situation or personal problem or crisis and other support needs may undergo
counseling as an individual.
 Individual counseling is a personal opportunity to receive support and experience growth during
challenging times in life. Such kind of counseling facilitates one deal with a variety of life topics
such as anger, depression, anxiety, relationship challenges, substance abuse, parenting
problems, school difficulties and career changes.
 Otherwise known as talk therapy, this type of counseling is done in a confidential environment
where dientele work one-on-one with a trained professional, example, in school a guidance
counselor. This counseling activity tivity allows allows individuals to exploret explore their
feelings, beliefs and behaviors, work through challenging or influential memories, identify
aspects of their lives that they would like to change, better understand themselves and others,
set personal goals and work toward desired change.
 It is focused on the individual's immediate or near future concerns. It is facilitated to talk to
through mental health concerns and help clients heal, grow and move toward more productive
lives. It is usually lasts between 45 and 50 minutes.

The Group and Organizatio n as Client of Counseling

 Group counseling consists of four to ten clients and one or two experienced group
therapists. During this period, the members of the group talk about issues concerning/ them
and offer each other/ support and feedback
 This type of counseling may be useful for students who are having difficulties in their
relationships or who want to learn about themselves and their connections to other people.

The Group and Organization as Client of Counseling

 ORGANIZATION Counseling and therapy aren't just for individuals, couples and groups
Organization can also benefit from the same techniques to help reduce workplace anxiety,
improve communication, enhance performance and support employees more thoroughly.
This type of counseling is used to provide deeply effective coaching to teams who lack
direction, stress, burnout or anxiety.

The Community as Client of Counseling-

  Community counseling is geared towards increasing coordination between community
members and all the services that address all types of discrimination.
 This type of counseling applies both counseling and social work in the community setting.
Productive community counseling involves facilitating clients work through their mental
health concerns. It recognizes diversity as it must pay attention to the diverse systems
noting that a community consists of individuals with varied personalities and perspectives.
 Components of community counseling indude providing advice and consultation to a
community's caregivers to increase accessto mental health care, identifying high-risk
populations, reducing the incidence of mental disorders at an individual level, developing
preventive measures to reduce relapses, recognizing the value of the community and its
ability to develop effective programs and services.

-by:founder of shintoism "seed"