THEORIES OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING:TED 401 - TOPIC TWO LECTURE NOTES

 

What is a counseling theory?

A theory is a formulation of the underlying principles of certain observed phenomena that have been verified to some extent. A criterion of the power of a theory is the extent to which it generates predictions that are confirmed when relevant empirical data are collected. The more a theory receives confirmation or verification, the more accurate it is. Facts strengthen rather than replace theories
.

Functions of counseling theories

What do counseling and therapy theories do? Why are they useful? Counselors cannot avoid being counseling theorists. Counselors make suppositions about how clients become and stay the way they are and about change.

Three of the main functions of counseling theories are:

·         They provide conceptual frameworks,

·         They serve as languages for communication in counseling, and

·         They are sources of research.

Theories as languages of counseling

Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1961) used to emphasize that, since all clients are different individuals, counselors require a different language for each client. Another function of theories is similar to that provided by languages. Languages are vocabularies and linguistic symbols that allow communication about phenomena. Like the major spoken languages of English, Kiswahili and Arabic, the different theorists develop languages for the phenomena they wish to describe, for instance: cognitive, psychoanalytic or person-centred languages.

Language can encourage communication between people who speak the same language, but discourage communication if they do not. Each theoretical position has concepts described in unique language. However, the uniqueness of the language may mask common elements among theories, for example: the meaning of conditions of worth in person-centred counseling overlaps with that of super-ego in Freud’s psychoanalytic counseling, though you would not know this from the language.!

The counseling process is a series of conversations requiring languages. In any counseling relationship there are at least four kinds of conversations going on, namely:

·         Counselor inner speech

·         Counselor outer speech

·         Client inner speech and

·         Client outer speech.

All counselors who operate out of open counseling theoretical frameworks are likely to talk to themselves about clients in the language of that framework. In varying degrees their counseling practice will match their language. Counselors do not always act according to how they think.

Four key theories of guidance and counseling include:

      i.            Psychoanalytic,

  ii.            Client centered/personal centered/non directive counseling theory, and

iii.            Existentialism theory,

iv.            Rational emotive behavioral theory

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

Psychoanalysis was perhaps the first specific school of psychotherapy, developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1896) and others through the early 1900s. The major objective of Psychoanalytic theory is to help the individual achieve an enduring understanding of his own mechanism of adjustment and thereby to help him resolve his basic problem. Psychodynamic therapies aim to help clients become aware of their vulnerable feelings which have been pushed out of conscious awareness.

The Psychodynamic approach states that, “everyone has an unconscious which holds painful and vulnerable feelings which are too difficult for the person to be consciously aware of.” In order to keep painful feelings, memories, and experiences in the unconscious, people tend to develop defense mechanisms, such as denial, repression, rationalization, and others. According to Psychodynamic theory, these defenses cause more harm once the vulnerable or painful feelings are processed. While defence mechanisms are normal and form the basis for most of our responses when we are anxious, excessive use of defence mechanisms can lead to certain psychological problems. 

Some example on how EGO defense system, which may be distorting reality

      i.            Repression: Blocking unpleasant/unacceptable thoughts by pushing them into the unconscious, e.g. forgetting events of the painful childhood.

  ii.            Regression: Reverting back to a stage that was satisfying, e.g. a teacher showing temper tantrums like a child or acting like a baby.

iii.            Displacement: Redirecting the expression of unwanted desires or impulses to a substitute rather than the actual target, e.g. older student beating younger/weak student when he/she cannot express anger toward the teacher.

iv.            Rationalization: In order to justify one’s behavior, one develops a socially acceptable explanation or reasoning, e.g. cheating in tests saying that everyone is doing the same. A student who gets a D and three F’s may rationalize and say that this was due to the fact that he put too much effort in studying for the D and thus the final result.

   v.            Denial: Refusing to acknowledge or accept anxiety provoking thoughts or impulses e.g. being a heavy smoker but saying ‘I am an occasional smoker’.

vi.            Projection: Attributing unwanted thoughts and impulses to others e.g. a student stealing a book in a library and accuse teachers for not giving them enough notes.

vii.            Sublimation: Converting unwanted impulses into socially approved thoughts, feelings and actions e.g. disliking the class-mate but behaving in a very friendly manner. A lady who is sexually frustrated may take to washing the house, dishes or other household chores.

Theoretical Assumption

• Human  behavior is determined by unconscious forces( the forces that take place  while you are not aware) which influence human behavior
• Sex drives are principle dominant of human behavior.
• Adult behavior is greatly influenced by early development in childhood especially in early 6 years.

Principles of Psychoanalysis

 1) Psychoanalysis mainly involved with discovering the ways of the mind and the thought processes.

2) Psychoanalysis maintains a specific set of ideas with regard to human behavior.

3) Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy for the treatment of various emotional and psychological disturbances.

Psychoanalysis and Human personality

A successful use of psychoanalysis theory needs to be applied together with the knowledge of the human personality which has three systems/components, i.e, ID, EGO and SUPER EGO.

·         The Id

This is the inherited part of our behaviour and includes biological drives and instincts. These energize all our actions and their aim is the satisfaction of needs or impulses including the need for food, sex and sleep. Biological drives and instincts are inborn and are completely divorced from the outside world. They are completely illogical and amoral. They are not in our conscious control hence the term unconscious.

·         The Ego

The Ego develops from the id and acts as a “go between” the id and reality. It controls the instincts and impulses. It operates on the reality principle which says "take care of a need as soon as an appropriate object is found." It represents reality and reason. It imposes delays in satisfying needs as a result of environmental necessity. It uses logic and reason to evaluate information according to external and internal experiences.

·         The Super ego

This develops from the Ego and it represents the influences of society upon the individual. It incorporates the standards of the society and acts as a regulator for the amoral Id. It, in turn has two components namely Conscience which determines what one cannot do and if one goes against it, they feel guilty, and Ego ideal, that is, which is perfection. The super ego is formed early in childhood as the child identifies with the parents. The parents initially represent the ego ideal and help the child form an internal authority or morality.

Goals of Counseling in Psychoanalysis

·         To  make unconscious behaviors  conscious so that you can deal  with it realistically

·         To strengthen the EGO. Ego operates in the principle of reality it must control  the client  from reasoning, thinking etc  and at the end of this is the modification of the clients’ behavior

·         To modify behavior of the client a counselor is working out for reconstruction of behavior.

Functions of the Counselor

·         To help the client to acquire the freedom, to decide what he/she wants to be.

·         To assist the client in achieving self awareness so that to deal effectively with the anxiety.

·         To establish the working relationship with a client. You must listen well whatever client is saying to detect the gap, the contradictions.

·         To reduce the use of defense mechanisms and face reality.

Techniques of Psychoanalysis Counseling

i)     Free association – A technique which allows patient’s thoughts and feelings to emerge without trying to organize or censor them. Client to talk about each and everything which comes in mind (especially any early trauma/shock) regardless of how is painful or irrelevant.

ii)   Interpretation – A counselor’s response to the clients’ free association. It is intended to help the client gain new insights. Interpretation is grounded on the counselor assessment in the clients’ personality.

iii)  Dream analysis – During the course of analysis the client may report dreams, which often recapture childhood experiences. These dreams help in understanding clients problems. As a counselor you need to learn resistance of the client.

iv)  Transference – This include reactions  of previous relationship with other people in the presence of the counselor.

Contribution of Psychoanalysis in Counseling

• It makes counselor aware of the significance of any childhood behavior in adulthood personality in the whole process of counseling
• Also understanding the past helps the client to understand him, herself

Limitations of the Theory

• It is only work properly with a well trained counselor
• It takes too much time, therefore counseling session takes a lot of time
• Many clients need quick solutions of their problems; therefore this can cause boredom to the client.
• To cure a person is very expensive. (it is doubtful that behavior is determined by a reservoir (pool) of psychic energy
• Too much stress is placed upon early childhood experiences

HUMANISTIC THEORY

Humanistic psychology emerged out of a desire to understand the conscious mind, free will, human dignity, and the capacity for self-reflection and growth. An alternative to psychoanalysis and behaviorism, humanistic psychology became known as “the third force.”

Emerged in reaction to the perceived limitations of psychodynamic theories, where psychologists like, Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow strongly felt that the approaches prevalent at that time could not adequately address issues like the meaning of behavior, and the nature of healthy.

The humanistic approach includes a number of other theories with the same or similar orientation e.g., ‘existential’ and ‘phenomenological’ psychology.

Assumptions of the Humanistic Approach

• In order to understand behavior we must consider the subjective experience of the person.
• Neither past experience nor current circumstances constrain the behavior of the person.

Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

One of the founders of the humanistic approach, Rogers was one of the most influential therapists in the 20th century. Born in 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, he underwent a strict upbringing as a child who later turned out to be rather isolated, independent, and self-disciplined.

Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970)

American psychologist and leading exponent of humanistic approach. He founded a comprehensive theory of motivation.

Maslow and the Theory of Motivation

Psychology and the psychologist should look at the positive side of the human beings. People’s needs are not low level and base. We have positive needs that may become neutral in the worst cases, but will not turn negative or base.

Human behavior does respond to needs but we will be wrong in saying that all our needs are only physiological in nature. Needs motivate human action; such needs are very few in number.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

This is basically a stage theory.  The needs at one level have to be met in order for one to move on to higher order. The needs at the lowest/primary/base level are the physiological needs, whereas the highest order needs are the self-actualization needs.

Rogers and the person-centered approach

Rogers founded the person-centered approach since the ‘person’ was the main figure of importance. He believed that the most powerful human drive is the one to become “fully functioning”.  Fully functioning means, a person becomes all that he or she is capable of.

The success of person-centred counseling is based on three core conditions: genuineness, empathy and unconditional positive regard:

              i.        Congruent or genuineness on the part of the counselor means that he/she is transparent about his/her feelings and thoughts. The counselor expresses feelings and that he/she actually experiences rather than those he/she thinks will help the client open up. In this regard, the counselor may, sometimes, share his/her personal experiences with the client. This make client become comfortable and fully express him/herself.

            ii.        The counselor must also be empathetic towards the person/client. This empathy must be genuine, accurate and well-directed in terms of response. Empathy is the ability to position the subjective world of the client and how he/she feels.

           iii.        Unconditional positive regards means that the counselor respect and accept the person/client. He/she should show care and appreciation towards the client regardless of the client’s attitude or behavior.

Focus of the person-centred approach

It focuses on the subjective view of human experience. Rogers also placed the responsibility of the client in counseling and explains the positive relationship between the client and the counselor. If the outcome of the counseling is positive the relationship will also be positive and vice-versa.

Basic assumptions of the person-centred approach

• People have potentials for understanding and to solve their problems.
• People are capable of self directive quality and quality for relationship.
• A person can grow or experience new thing without anxiety. Anxiety is not necessary for the people to grow. It is the only different between existentialism theory and personal centered theory.
• People are trust worthy, capable of self directed goals involve in therapeutically relationship, i.e. we don’t look for answers to help people but they have answers on themselves.

The six necessary conditions for constructive personality change

In person-centered counseling, treatment is the relationship between the counselor and the client. If that relationship is characterized by the following six “necessary and sufficient” conditions, then constructive personality change will take place (Rogers, 1957):

      i.            Two persons (counselor and client) are in psychological contact.

  ii.            The client is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable or anxious.

iii.            The counselor/therapist is congruent or integrated in the relationship.

iv.            The counselor/therapist experiences unconditional positive regard for the client.

   v.            The counselor/therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the client’s internal frame of reference and tries to communicate this experience back to the client.

vi.            The communication to the client of the therapist’s empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved.

Goals of counseling of the client-centred approach

• To help client towards a great degree of independence and integration of him/her self
• Not only to solve the problem but it goes further to assist the client in growth process that can the client  cope with present and future problems
• To provide a climate conducive for the client to become a fully functioning person. A fully functioning person has the following characteristics:

                              i.            openness to an experience

                          ii.            trust for him/her self

                       iii.            to become rational source of evaluation, ability, to evaluate yourself

                        iv.            willingness to continue growth

Important counseling techniques in client-centred approach

a)    Listening    

b)    Acceptance

c)    Respecting

d)    Understanding

e)    Responding

Contribution of the theory

• To empower the client to have the sense of worth living through counseling
• It created a lot of research on counseling
• It has beneficial to people of any culture

Limitations of the theory

      i.            It only focuses on techniques of attending or reflecting without explaining the clients’ problem.

  ii.            It is very easy that anybody can do it looks human being as very simple and we human being are not easy like things.

iii.            It does not believe in diagnosing; yet the counselor is committed to using medical, psychological, and vocational evaluations.

iv.            It is relatively unconcerned with the external environment; yet the rehabilitation counselor is in constant interaction with the real world and spends considerable time coordinating community resources and delivering concrete services to the client.

EXISTENTIALISM THEORY

The proponents of this theory were Rollo May (1909-1994) and Victor Frankel (1905-1997). This theory is a philosophy and deals with the meaning of life.

Existentialism views the world as meaningless and that human beings are here by chance. So people must find meaning in this chaotic world. Existentialists believe that psychology and psychiatry should be directed towards growth and potentialities of human rather than mental illness and cure (a matured person does not need cure rather needs a sense of calm enough to face struggles and problems and strong enough to find a center of strength within the self.

Person is a being in existence/reality and not a being in essence/spirit, he/she is totally free and responsible for acts and actions, he/she is dynamic process or is changing, he/she is searching, thinking and feeling, he/she is growing and is choosing goals.

As a psychology it objects to the concepts of causality (the cause and effect). For human being there is nothing like cause and effect, instead there is motivation which controls human being (e.g wind forces window to close but human being are motivated to close the window). They deny that there is the force behind the phenomenon. They object treating human being like a thing or an object, they argue that if you treat human being like an object you’re dehumanizing him or her.

Philosophical Assumptions

• The existential approach characterizes human beings as creatures of continual change and transformation, living essentially finite lives in a context of personal strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and limitations created by their environment.
• Existential counseling maintains that disturbance is an inevitable experience for virtually everyone; the question is not so much how to avoid it as it is how to face it with openness and a willingness to engage with life rather than a tendency to retreat, withdraw or refrain from this responsibility

• Human being existence depends on the number of choices her/she has. Then to them if you don’t have choices you’re like a thing
• External forces make it difficult for you to make choice
• The choices are sometimes ambiguous they are not clear
• Making no choice means  you are making choice therefore you can’t avoid to make choice
• If choices are outside your life are not yours ( if you want to come for lecture and you are at town if you don’t have money you can decide to  come on foot)

Five propositions of the existentialism

• Human beings have capacity for awareness especially self awareness. To them counseling is done to help client to be aware and make choices on what to do and what to be
• Human being has got freedom and responsibility. They are free to decide what to do Freud sad that human being are controlled by sexual drives or forces.
• Individual strive for identity and relationship with others. People are always concern with perceiving their uniqueness and at the same time go outside to learn from others or have connection   with others. the function of the counselor is to help people to make social ties with others
• Searching for meaning. As distinctive of human being is to struggle for meaning, purpose and significance. One can ask these questions, who am I? Why am I here? The role of the counselor produces a lot of questions about the client such as are pleased with this life, what do you want to be etc.
• Anxiety and fear are conditions for living. They see anxiety and fear as potentials source of growth because it is an appropriate response to an event to be faced. Counselor has a duty to help client to grow by going through anxiety

Counselors’ Functions

• The counselor’s basic task is to enter the client’s World and participate in its realities
• To understand the subjective world of the client in order to help the client into new options
• To employ different methods of counseling. They don’t have specific method for counseling
• To establish effective relationship with the client. The I/Thou relationship (Bubber, 1972). I and You or counselor and client relationship.

Counseling Techniques and Procedures

Be creative i.e. you change from session to session. However the counseling can be done in Three Phases:

                              i.            To assist the client to clarify and identify the assumption about the world because most of the   problems are caused by misconception. Many people do not know the role they play in their own problems they tend to blame others

                          ii.            To help the client to have deeper understanding of inner forces\insights on their value and attitudes

                       iii.            To help the client to put into action what he has learned in the session

Contribution of the Theory

• It emphasizes human quality relationship  i.e people has got the ability to change
• The approach will appeal to clients who are interested in the search for meaning and in deeply personal philosophical investigations counseling.

Counseling will probably find less value to Clients who are less inclined to examine and explore their personal assumptions and ideals, or who would like to achieve immediate relief of specific psychological symptoms as well as those who would like advice or diagnosis from their counselors.

RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIORAL THEORY OF COUNSELING (REBT)

The founder of this theory was Albert Ellis (1913-2007), who was a clinical psychologist. REBT views human beings as 'responsibly hedonistic' in the sense that they strive to remain alive and to achieve some degree of happiness.

Theoretical assumptions of the REBT

·         Events do not force people to have emotional behavioral reactions. It is rather interpretation about events that precipitate emotion and behavior. Therefore the target for change in psychotherapy is those thoughts, attitudes, believes and meaning that create emotional behavioral disturbance.

·         Human have capacity to interpret reality in a clear, logical and objective fashion and avoid unnecessary emotional behavioral distress or sadness, but also says that humans are predisposed to irrational interpretations.

·         Human are born with both potentials of rational and irrational thinking. When he/she thinks rationally, we experience all good things such as love, happiness, communication growth. When she/he thinks irrational we expect bad things and need for the counseling, e.g self blame or personal destructions.

Goal of Counseling in REBT

·         To help client minimize their emotional disturbances.

·         To help client reduce the tendency of blaming him/her self or others on what is going wrong in life and learn ways to reduce the future difficulties.

·         The counselor should work with client towards client specific goals i.e self interest, social interest, self direction, tolerance, flexibility, acceptance uncertainty, commitment, scientific thinking, risk taking, self responsibility for disturbance.

Functions of Counseling in REBT

·         Encouraging client to discover a few basic irrational ideas that motivate much for disturbed behavior.

·         Challenging the client to validate their ideas.

·         Demonstrating to the client the illogical nature of their thinking.

·         Using logical analysis to minimize the irrational believes of the client

·         Showing how beliefs are in operative and how they lead to future and emotional behavior disturbances.

·         Explaining to the client how the irrational ideas can be replaced with ideas that are empirically grounded.

·         Using several cognitive, emotional and behavioral methods to help client work directly on their feeling and to act against their disturbances

·         Helping client avoid self-condemnation always try to show the client that his/her ideas are wrong.

Stages of Counseling in REBT

·         Focus is on building rapport. This will encourage client to talk freely once the relationship has been established.

·         Identify the problem and goals setting. You must know what the client wants to e at the end of counseling, e.g, stop smoking.

·         Client identifies beliefs, feelings or attitudes that are to be acquired or increased.

·         The client is then oriented in basic principle and practices for the approach. Home work is careful designed and agreed upon aimed at getting client to carry out positive actions and reduce negative attitudes and actions

·         Towards the  end of counseling client reviews his/her progress, make plans and identifies strategies to deal with continue or potential projects

REFERENCES

Achieng, A. A (2007). Guidance and Counselling: An Introduction. Nairobi: Exact Concepts Publishers.

Mutie, E.K. & Kyungu, S.P.M. (2011). Guidanceand Counseling for Schools and Colleges.Nairobi: Oxford University Press.

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21, 93–103.

Sima, R (2010). Educational Guidance and Counseling. In I.M. Omari. Educational Psychology for Teachers. Dar es Salaam: Oxford Press.

Tan, E. (2004). Counselling in Schools: Theories, Processes and Techniques. McGraw-Hill Education (Asia).