MADRAS SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

(AIDED) DEPARTMENT

BASICS OF COUNSELLING
TAKE HOME ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC: INTERVIEW OF A COUNSELLOR

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

DR.S.RAJA SAMUEL DHIVYA BHARATHI P
(1915772091004)

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Interview a counsellor focussing on the broad areas and give a detailed write-upon the
same with an analysis with the academics.

COUNSELLING:

Counselling is a form of ‘talk therapy’.

 The counselling process is a planned, structured dialogue between a

counsellor and a client.
 It is a cooperative process in which a trained professional helps a person
called the client to identify sources of difficulties or concerns that he or she is
experiencing.
 Together they develop ways to deal with and overcome these problems so that
person has new skills and increased understanding of themselves and others.
 Counselling is a scientific process of assistance extended by an expert in an
individual situation to a needy person.

According to Williamson, “It is a means of helping people to learn how to solve their
own problems.”

According to Carl Rogers (1965), “It is a definitely structured relationship which allows
the client to gain an understanding of himself to a degree which enables him to take
positive steps in the light of his new orientation.”

Counselling aims to assist an individual towards--------

 Self-knowledge
 Self-realization
 Self-development

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Purposes of Counselling:

A - ASSISTANCE
D - DEVELOPMENT
V - VAST INFORMATION
I - INSPIRATION
S - SOLUTION
E – ENCOURAGEMENT

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TYPES OF COUNSELLING:

 Directive Counselling
 Non – Directive Counselling
 Eclectic Counselling

Some Non-Helpful Behaviours.

Most common among them include:

 Advice Giving
 Lecturing
 Excessive Questioning
 Storytelling
 Asking “Why?”
 Asking “How did that make you feel?”

Counselling is not:

 Just giving advice.

 Being judgemental.

 Attempting to sort out the problems of the client.

 Expecting or encouraging a client to behave as the counsellor would behave if

confronted with a similar problem in their own life.

 Getting emotionally involved with the client.

 Looking at a client’s problems from your own perspective, based on your own
value system.

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 INTERVIEW OF A COUNSELLOR

1. Name of the counsellor: Maragadham

Psychology Professor in SIET College, Chennai

2. Address of the counselling Session:

Counselling Centre near Adayar

Contact No: 91- 9841462054

(Counsellor not willing to disclose the address as there was an legal problem and
soon the clinic to be closed)

3. Categories of Clients served by the Center/Counsellor:

The counsellor mainly focusses on
 Marital counselling
 Adolescence counselling
 Geriatric counselling
 Behavioral problems in Children
 Depression

4. Counselling Techniques/ Methods used:

a) The counsellor mostly use Eclectic Counselling for the clients to address their
problems.

Eclectic counselling is a type of counselling which is neither counsellor-centered nor

client centered; but a combination of both. Here the counsellor is neither too active as in
directive counselling nor too passive as in non-directive counselling, but follows a
middle course.

b) The counsellor also focusses on Carl Rogers Model (Humanistic Theory) for
the clients when required.

5. Counselling skills Used:

The counsellor mainly treats geriatric people so they have an warmth and affection
towards the client as they feel family support is more important for the client.

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Apart from the unique skill the counsellors also possess the basic required for the
counselling sessions like,

 Communication
 Rapport
 Empathy
 Self-disclosure
 Active Listening (SOLER)
 Effective questioning skills

Also she concentrate on few personal morale qualities,

 Integrity
 Humility
 Competence and
 Resilience.
 Counsellor also should ensure in body languages such as facial expressions, angle
of our body, proximity of ourselves to another, placement of arms and legs,
raising and lowering of eyebrows, tone of voice, etc.

6. Values and Ethical Principles applied:

Counsellor care more about the professional ethics and values such as,

 Being Trustworthy
 Autonomy
 Justice
 Respecting human rights and dignity
 Alleviating personal distress and suffering.

7. Approaches / Theories used (if any):

Mainly, the counsellor uses eclectic approach according to the need of the client. But
then personally she internalises that majority she uses Carl Rogers theory for marital
counselling, geriatric patients, etc., At times when she work with the behavioural issues
she uses Transactional Analysis technique.

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 She also uses narrative therapy, emotionally focussed couples therapy, Individual
counselling for the marital counselling.

8. Challenges in counselling:

 The main challenge she face is lack of family support for the old age clients, so
they lose their self-confidence and will not show much interest in attending
sessions and they will be reluctant in responding to the solutions.
 In Marital Counselling, both the parties would not disclose the exact scenario
happened and it would be difficult to get the information about them and at
times they even show hatred towards the counsellor thinking that they support
the opposite party.
 Sometimes they may be so nervous and scared about counselling sessions.
 They don’t believe the counsellor or they might expect the counsellor to take
decisions in their life so it might be bit challenging situation for the counsellor.

Analysis:
As per the counsellor interview she focuses on humanistic approach for the clients,
Humanistic theory emphasizes the essential elements of being human-the genuineness,
inherent worth and dignity of human beings and people should explore their potential
for growth and achievement.

Humanistic Counselling depends on the assumptions that:

 Individuals should have the freedom to explore their subjective experience.

 The people should be aware of their inner feelings.
 People have the capacity to solve their own problems.
 Counsellor should be genuine, empathic and warm. 

The humanistic theory suggests a particular Counselling process:

 Relationship building
 Exploration: Counsellor facilitates client to look at the issues that concern him or
her.

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  Understanding: It occurs after the issues have been identified and prioritized for
action.
 Action plan: Counsellor and client have drawn up a plan of action that the client
can implement.

Carl Rogers developed one of the most commonly used humanistic therapies, Client-
Centered Counselling. Client-centered therapy focuses on the belief that the client -
and not the counsellor - is the best expert on their own thoughts, feelings, experiences
and problems. It is therefore the client who is most capable of finding the most
appropriate solutions. The counsellor does not suggest any course of action, make
recommendations, ask probing questions or try to interpret anything the client says.
The responsibility for working out problems rests wholly with the client. When the
counsellor does respond, their aim is to reflect and clarify what the client has been
saying. A trained client-centered counsellor aims to show empathy, warmth and
genuineness, which they believe will enable the client's self-understanding and
psychological growth.

Empathy involves being able to understand the client’s issues from their own
frame of reference. The counsellor should be able to accurately reflect this
understanding back to the client. Warmth is to show the client that they are valued,
regardless of anything that happens during the counselling session. The counsellor must
be non-judgmental, accepting whatever the client says or does, without imposing
evaluations. Genuineness (sometimes termed congruence) refers to the counsellor's
ability to be open and honest and not to act in a superior manner.

STEPS OF ECLECTIC COUNSELLING:

 Establishing rapport
 Diagnosis the problem
 Analyzing the case 
 Preparing a tentative plan for modifying behaviour
 Counselling
 Follow-up
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COUNSELLING ENVIRONMENT:

 Welcoming : Greet clients appropriately

 Comfortable : Have comfortable seats
 A place with few distractions: No telephone
 Somewhere where privacy and confidentiality can be maintained
 Non-threatening : A place where people can feel relaxed

Thus, effective counselling would help the client avoid confusions,

allowing the client to make effective decisions and leading to positive
changes in their attitude, behaviour as well as in their surroundings.