COUNSELLING

Hello Readers :) 

"Counselling is all about empathetic listening and facilitating". This article is for someone who wants to become a school counsellor. Here are provided with the basic information that is essential in counselling.

Who is a Counsellor?

A counsellor is someone who lends ears to those who want to vent out and provide psychological support during times of difficulties.
A person who provides psychological support is called a counsellor and the one who receives the support is called a counsellee.
We all come from diverse cultural societies. Counselling offers a safe environment providing confidential space to speak their heart and mind. The counsellor will support and guide them through the time of difficulties to cope and learn to handle the situation more effectively and proficiently.

The counsellors work in a different domain. There are School/Student counsellors, Behavioural counsellors, Marriage and Family counsellors, Psychotherapists and so on.

Expression of Gratitude!

School Counsellor in the school set-up - don't be surprised if you receive a thank you note from a student after the counselling session.

General Information -

1. The school appoints a candidate who has a has studied Psychology or specialized in counselling. 
2. The counsellor will be provided with a private room for counselling
3. The counsellor works in collaboration with a supervisor or other counsellors (if there are any) for planning interventions (if required).
4. The counsellor upholds the confidentiality of the client and shares only what is required with the administrator.
5. All the written client records, collected pieces of information, and referral forms are all documented for future reference.
6. Counsellors take teacher enrichment programs on classroom management, referral forms etc.
7. Most importantly, the counsellor attends parent-teacher meetings, a platform to build a rapport with the parents of the school students.

Psychological counselling at school set-up includes the social, emotional, and behavioural well-being of a child. It also focuses on extending the support for academic challenges of a counselee. Here, counselling aims at reaching out to each individual, listening to their challenges and facilitating them to mould their personality. The counsellor also works in collaboration with parents and teachers on a need basis.

Counselling Sessions -

1. Build a rapport before getting into the problem
2. Use therapeutic techniques to make the client speak about the problem like probing, Art therapy etc
3. Get to the middle phase like how the problem occurred, how did they manage then and if they had any goals etc.
4. Then set a goal in collaboration with your client. The goal must be a SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) goal.
5. Once the goal is achieved terminate the session.
6. Documenting every session and using the excel sheet would be quite useful.

The school counsellor will also take life-skill classes. These classes will aid in building rapport with the students and opens a path for them to approach the counsellor with their problems. 

Ethics -

1. The counsellor promotes a good quality of counselling as the counsellee comes with an expectation of benefits.
2. The counsellor maintains confidentiality throughout the session and always. It is central to developing trust and counsellor-counsellee relationships.
3. The counsellor breaks confidentiality when the counsellee is in danger of self-harm, harming others or any other form of inappropriate behaviour.
4. The counsellor holds the responsibility of encouraging the counsellee to think independently and to come up with their own decisions.
5. The counsellor explains the details of the counselling session like goal-setting, interventions and termination of the session.
6. The counsellor upholds honesty and ensures that the counsellee is aware of everything that takes place during the sessions.

Problems Counsellors might face -

1. There may be no private room for counselling.
2. Other members of the school who are not involved may want to know about a particular student's problems.
3. It is challenging to maintain the confidentiality of a counsellee.
4. There are time constraints for counselling.
5. Non-cooperative parents.
6. Problems arise when there is not sufficient support from the school.

In conclusion, practising counselling is a skill apart from a profession. There are many counsellors around the world just like many doctors and engineers. How many of them are really successful in their field? Everyone cannot be successful in the field of counselling. It is only because of a lack of thinking skills, and knowledge about the therapeutic interventions. It is essential to keep upgrading the skill. A school counsellor must specialise at least in one particular skill like Art therapy, Play therapy, Behaviour therapy and so on. It is so much beneficial during the counselling sessions.

I also suggest brushing up your knowledge by attending workshops or short-term courses. The furnished information is only brief on counselling. To know more about it you may have to read books on counselling or do a course in counselling.

Best Regards,

Sangeetha P

Psychological Counsellor