Counselling in Education - Coursework Example

Counselling in Education Psychological theories underpinning counselling practice Counselling practice is greatly related to psychology since psychology, actually, is the foundation of contemporary counselling. Therefore, no matter, in which counselling field a person works, one must be aware of psychological theories standing behind the successful counselling practices, since in any case successful practice is impossible without theory – if a person doesn’t know why one is applying certain practical methods, one cannot be sure that he\she is applying them properly and correctly. Besides, counselling involves constant working and communicating with people. This fact, in its turn, requires a counsellor to be aware of the peculiarities of human’s mind in order to be able to effectively influence an individual, to find proper ways of helping and guiding. Theoretical approaches to counselling, such as, for example, psychoanalytic, behaviouristic or humanistic ones, are based on theories developed by psychologists, and only later transferred into the field of counselling. So, in order to be able to help others a counsellor should know the psychological theories that support practical methods to be applied. 2. Self-awareness Another thing a good counsellor should have is self-awareness: understanding oneself is the first step toward understanding others. If a person is not able to understand own feelings, experiences and emotions, one is unlikely to be able to successfully understand those of others. Besides, according to Chen (1998), self-awareness is a basis for self-confidence and self-respect, which are inevitable features of a successful counsellor’s personality, and help to improve one’s interpersonal communication and interaction skills. In addition, providing a person with some specific knowledge about oneself, self-awareness is to help one to define own strong and weak sides to be developed and improved correspondingly. Therefore, self-awareness is needed for not only better understanding of self and others, but for enhancing one’s professional skills as well. 3. Benefits of counselling skills: verbal and non-verbal Counselling is impossible without communication (verbal and non-verbal) since communication is the basic skill in the given profession. Verbal communication about own perceptions, beliefs or emotions, along with active listening, helps to improve our interpersonal relations with others. In general, communication in any form is the tool for getting mutual understanding and interconnection between a counsellor and a counselled one. Consequently, individual communication skills are the basis for effective dialogue. Non-verbal communication, in its turn, not only helps to express oneself, but enhances verbal communication results by means of bodily, voice, and eye behaviour, facial expression, etc. It allows to reinforce the effect of spoken words, and enhances a working alliance with the client. In addition, non-verbal communication can be viewed as a reliable indicator of real feelings of an interlocutor, and observed and paid attention to, can, consequently, help a counsellor to understand the person better. 4. Expressing unconscious feelings and motivations Just the non-verbal communication is a mean of expressing unconscious feelings and motivations – what a person does not realize, and does not communicate verbally, can be seen via observing the non-verbal communication signs. Another ways of observing unconscious feelings and emotions is art, or any creative work that allows an individual to express oneself. Freud used free association and analyzing dreams for discovering the unconscious (Arehart-Treichel, 2006). Besides, the unconscious is always reflected in our thoughts, behaviour and expressed emotions, though sometimes we either don’t want to admit it, or just don’t realize the fact. Transference – viewing and perception of somebody as a person form the past – also comes from the unconscious. Besides, unconscious inner conflicts can be reflected in bodily symptoms such as digestive problems and headaches (Arehart-Treichel, 2006). 5. A sense of self – public, private, hidden aspects, self-actualising A sense of self, or a sense of personal identity, is a mix of our ideas about our key roles, behaviours, attributes. In other words – the terms in which we explain who we are, what we associate ourselves with. Such associations can include occupations, abilities, relationships, spirituality, etc. A public aspect of sense of self would be reflected in one’s being of a specific profession, in certain social relationships (husband, colleague, class-mate), of a quasi-occupation or avocation (volunteer, musician), supporting certain affiliation (football fan) – belonging to some group in general. The private aspect involves self-knowledge and emotional awareness, that are not ever expressed to others – that is how a person sees oneself in one’s private or inner life. The hidden aspect, in its turn, involves everything an individual refuses to acknowledge about oneself (Jung 1968, 284). This may include specific character traits or habits one not only doesn’t want to show to others, but doesn’t even want to accept their presence it for oneself. Therefore, in order to become really self-aware and self-conscious one should explore and understand the hidden aspect of self and, in such a way, achieve self-actualisation – the understanding and reaching the full potential of oneself. 6. Influence of the sense of self on life events As a result, our sense of self influences our choices in life – we choose what we think is closer to or more appropriate for us. This is related to, for example, choosing clothes, friends, or careers: having assigned oneself to a certain social group, identified specific personal traits or abilities, we choose correspondingly to those criteria. Besides, the attitudes, values and beliefs which we consider to be our self, determine our perception of the life events, and of the world around. In the same way the sense of self influences our attitude toward transitions and losses. 7. Influences of family and systems On the other hand, our self is formed and may be constantly changed under the influence of family and systems surrounding us. Every day we get new information to comprehend and shape our minds as a result, we experience certain feelings and emotions, live through specific events that may change our attitude toward both ourselves and the surrounding world. Finally, our selves change correspondingly. During the first years of life it is the family what influences an individual most of all, since one spends the majority to time with the family members. The situation changes as an individual becomes older, and starts to communicate with representatives of other social systems, who also make their impact into formation and development of a young personality. So, while the self influences the way we accept and understand the world, outer events and systems influence the self. References Chen, C. (1998). The Self-Awareness-Training Program in Counselor-Education. Relating in a Global Community. Proceedings of the International Conference on Counseling in the 21st Century (7th, Sydney, Australia, December 29-31, 1998). Arehart-Treichel, J. (2006). Freuds Influence Has Waned But Many Ideas Hold Sway. Psychiatr News. 41(16), 9. Jung, C.G. (1968) Collected Works. Number 9, Part 1 .The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, 2nd ed, Princeton University Press, London. Read More