Lesson 3:

Principles, Roles and Functions of Counseling

Part I. Learning Module Information

Content professionals and practitioners in counseling

Standards
undertake participant observation (e.g., a day in a life of a counselor) to
Performance
adequately document and critique their roles, functions, and
Standards
competencies
discuss roles and functions of counselors
Most Essential identify specific work areas in which counselors work
Learning
Competencies value rights, responsibilities, and accountabilities of counselors
(MELC)
distinguish between ethical and unethical behaviors among counselors

Duration Q1 Week 3

Part II. Learning Explorations

Basic Principles of Counseling

1. Principles of Learning – the presence of the learning elements in the entire

process are accepted and recognized.
2. Principles of Acceptance – the counselors show positive regards and
accepts the client irrespective of who she/he is. The client should be given due
regards= to his/her rights.
3. Principles of Permissiveness- developing optimism through professional
relationship allows freedom of choice and behavior.
4. Principle of Respect for the Individual - This is an attitude, which portrays
the belief that every person is a worthy being that is competent to decide what
he or she really wants, has the potential for growth, and has the abilities to
achieve what he or she really wants from life.
5. Principle of Thinking with the Individual – It is the role of the counselor to
put him/herself in the shoes of the counselee in order to analyze his/her
thoughts.
 Roles and Functions of Counselors

According to Gibson and Mitchell (2003) a helping profession is composed of members “who
are especially trained and licensed to perform a unique and service for fellow human beings”.

Roles / Functions Description

Individual Assessment Seeks to identify the characteristics and potential of every client ;
promotes the client’s self-understanding and assisting
counselors to understand the client better
Individual Counseling Considers as the core activity through which other activities
become meaningful. It is a client –centered process that demand
Confidentiality. Relationship is established between
counselor and client.
Group Counseling and Groups are means of providing organized and planned
Guidance assistance to individuals for an array of needs. Counselor
provides assistance through group counseling and group
guidance.
Career Assistance Counselors are called on to provide career planning and
adjustment assistance to clients.
Placements and Follow -Up A service of school counseling programs with emphasis on
educational placements in course and programs.
Referral It is the practice of helping the clients find needed expert
assistance that the referring counselor cannot provide.
Consultation It is the process of helping a client through a third party or
helping system improve its service to its clientele.
Research It is necessary to advance the profession of counseling; it can
provide empirically based data relevant to the ultimate goal of
implementing effective counseling.
Evaluation and Evaluation is a means of assessing the effectiveness of
Accountability counselor’s activities.
Accountability is an outgrowth of demand that schools and other
tax-supported institutions be held accountable for their actions.
Prevention This includes promotion of mental health through primary
prevention using a social – psychological perspective.

Competencies of Counselors

Seven distinct competence areas of counselors. There might be other areas but we will focus on
the input of McLeod (2003).

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 have the capacity to be curious about
client’s backgrounds and problems; being open to new knowledge

Career Opportunities and Areas of Specialization of Counselors

1. Marriage and Family Counseling – refers to the efforts to establish an encouraging

relationship with couple or family and appreciate the complications in the family system.

2. Child and Adolescent Counseling – is a developing area of expertise in counseling

profession. The counseling strategies focus on helping children and adolescents acquire coping
skills through promotion of resiliency, positive attachment relationship, emotional and intellectual
intelligence, and other qualities that promote optional development.

3. Group Counseling – is the dynamic field in the counseling profession. Group counseling as
a practice can be located in most counseling programs and became the essential part of
counselor’s system. Group counseling offers the following : opportunities to members to learn
from observing other group members ; can functions as helpers and helps ; opportunities to
discover that you others have similar concerns ; members are encouraged to offer help to
others ;opportunities to enhance interpersonal skills; the therapeutic climate created similar as
the client’s family origin.

4. Career Counseling –is an evolving and challenging counseling field. This type of counseling
aids individual on decisions and planning concerning their career. The counseling approach
includes integrating theory and practice. Adopted Savickas (1996 )as cited Nystul ( 20003 )
adopted the model of Wagner ( 1971) on structural analysis of personality to the realm of
vocational psychology. The model consists of vocational career services, occupational
placement, vocational guidance, career counseling, career education, career therapy, and
position coaching.

5. School Counseling- refers to the process of reaching out students with concerns on drugs,
family and peers or gang involvement. The job requires sensitivity to individual differences and
considers diversity in enhancing educational perspective. The job requires skills on consultation,
counseling’s exceptional students and with the ability to handle problems such as drug abuse,
teenage pregnancy, divorced or single parents, dropping out of school.

6. Mental Health Counseling - is manifested in the challenges posed by its clientele with
mental disorders. Mental disorders include serious depression, schizophrenia, and substance
abuse. Mental health counselors have to be inventive, and creative to address these problems.
The job requires patience, humility, kindness and compassion.

Rights and Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors

Code of ethics help counselors to remind them of their rights, responsibilities and
accountabilities in the counseling profession. The rights, responsibilities and accountabilities of
the counselors are based on the counselors associations of Code of Conduct.

The code of ethics of the counselors is divided into seven sections, namely, (a) counseling
relationship, (b) confidentiality (c) professional responsibility (d) relationships with other
professionals, (e) evaluation, assessment, and interpretation, (f) teaching,training and
supervision (g) research and publication.(Gladding , 2000 ). We shall only present in details
three of the seven areas, namely, counseling relationships, confidentiality, and professional
responsibility. The following three tables below provide a sample code of ethics of the
American Counseling Association.

Areas Description
The
Counseling
Relationships
Counselor’s primary responsibility is to respect the dignity and
promote the welfare of clients. They are also expected to
1. Client welfare encourage client’s growth. Counselors and clients are expected to
work together in crafting individual counseling plans consistent
with the client’s circumstances.
Counselors do not engage in discrimination based on age, color,
culture, disability, ethnic group, gender, race, religion, sexual
2. Respecting Diversity orientation, marital status and socio-economic status. Counselors
shall respect differences and understand the diverse cultural
backgrounds of their clients.
Counselors shall disclose the purposes, goals, techniques,
procedures, limitations, potential risks, benefits of the services to
3. Client Rights be performed and other pertinent information to the client
throughout the counseling process. Counselors offer clients the
freedom to choose whether to enter into a counseling relationship
 and determine which professional will provide counseling, except
when the client is unable to give consent.
In cases where the client is receiving services from another
4. Clients Served by
mental health professional, with client’s consent, inform the
others
professional person already involved to develop an agreement.
Maintain the clients and avoid actions that seek to meet their
personal needs at the expense of the clients. Counselors shall be
5. Personal Needs and
aware of their values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior and how
values
these apply in a diverse society and avoid imposing their values
on clients.
Counselors are aware of their influential position over their clients
avoid the exploiting the trust and dependency of the clients.
6. Dual Relationships
Counselors should not accept as superiors or subordinates
‘clients.
Counselors should not have any type of sexual intimacies with
7. Sexual Intimacies with clients and do not counsel persons with whom they have sexual
Clients relationship. Counselors should not also engage with sexual
intimacies with their former clients within a minimum of two years.
In cases where counselors agree to provide counseling services
to two or more persons who have a relationship, counselors clarify
8. Multiple Clients
at the outset which person or persons are clients and the nature of
relationship they will have with each other involved person.
Counselors screen prospective group counseling / therapy
participants to determine those with compatible needs. In group
9. Group Work
setting, counselors take reasonable precautions to protect clients
from physical or psychological trauma.
Prior to entering the counseling relationship, the counselors
10. Fees clearly explain the clients all financial arrangements related to
professional fees.

Areas
Confidentiality
 Counselors respect a client’s right to privacy and avoid illegal
and unwarranted disclosures of unwarranted information.
 The right to privacy may be waived by the clients or their
legally recognized representative.
 The general requirement that the counselors keep the
information confidential does not apply when disclosure is
required to prevent clear and imminent danger to the client or
others or when legal requirements demand that confidential
information is be revealed.
[Link] to Privacy
 Counselors who received information confirming that a client
has a disease known to be communicable and fatal is justified
in disclosing information to an identifiable third party, who by
his/her relationship with the client is at high risk of contracting
the disease.
 When court orders the counselors to release confidential
information without client’s permit, counselors request to the
court that the disclosure should not be required due to
potential harm to client or counseling relationship.
 In group work, counselors clearly define confidentiality and
2. Group and Families parameters for the specific group being entered, explain its
 importance, and discuss difficulties related to confidentiality
involved in group work.
 In family counseling, information about one family cannot
be disclosed to another member without permission.
 When counseling clients who are minors or individuals who are
3. Minor Incompetent unable to give voluntary, informed consent, parents or
client guardians may be included in the counseling process as
appropriate.
 Counselors maintain necessary records for rendering
professional services to their clients and as required by laws,
regulations, or agency or institution procedures.
 Counselors are responsible for securing safety and
confidentiality of any counseling record they create, maintain,
transfer, or destroy whether the records are written, taped,
computerized, or stored in any other medium.
4. Records  Counselors recognized that counseling records are kept for the
benefits of the clients therefore provide access to record and
copies of record when requested by competent clients unless it
contains information that may be misleading or detrimental to
the clients.
 Counselors obtain written permission from clients to disclose
or transfer records to legitimate third parties unless exception
to confidentiality exists.
 Use of data derived from counseling relationships for purposes
of training, research, or publication is confined to content that
5. Research and is disguised to ensure the anonymity of the individuals
Training involved. Identification of the client involved is permissible only
when the client has reviewed the material and has agreed to
its presentation or publication.
 Information obtained in consulting relationship is discussed for
professional purposes only with persons clearly concerned
with the case. Before sharing information, counselors make
6. Consultation
efforts to ensure that there defined policies that effectively
protect the confidentiality of information with other agencies
serving the counselors clients.

Areas Description
Professional
Responsibility
 Counselors have a responsibility to read, understand,
1. Standards Knowledge
and follow the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
 Counselors practice only within the boundaries of their
competence based on their education, training,
supervised experience, state and national professional
credentials and appropriate professional experience.
Counselors will demonstrate a commitment to gain
2. Professional Competence knowledge, personal awareness, sensitivity, and skills
pertinent to working with diverse client population.
 Counselors practice specialty areas new with to them
only after appropriate education, training, and
supervised experience. While developing skills in new
specialty area, counselors take step to ensure the
 competence of their work and to protect other from
possible harm.
 Counselors accept employment only for positions
which they are qualified by education, training,
supervise experience, state and national professional
credentials, and appropriate professional experience.
 Counselors continually monitor their effectiveness as
professionals and take steps to improve their skills and
knowledge.
 Counselors refrain from offering or accepting
professional services when their physical, mental, or
emotional problems are like to harm clients or others.

What did you learn?

1. What is the importance of counseling?

Counselors are trained in helping others to work through the problems. They help people to
determine the root cause of e.g. addiction or behavioral issues and focus on healing. They can
guide and direct people through a variety of situations and help them to focus on what really
matters.
2. If you give a chance to become a counselor are you going to grab it? Why or
Why not?
- If I have a chance to become a counselor I will grab it being a counselor is a
noble profession because you are expected to provide guidance and clarity to
your clients.  Majority of the people think that the counselor is the key to their
problems, that he provides the solution to everything.  However, it is not the
case a counselor is more than a problem solver, because he provides pieces of
advice and a great depth of understanding and compassion to his clients.  He
does not judge, but is pure in words.

Part III. Assessment Tasks

Task 1: Reboot your Memory

Directions: These are the things counselors should not do. On the other box, write down
the things a counselor must do.

X The counselor shares confidential The process that occurs when a

client and counselor set aside time
personal information with another
in order to explore difficulties which
family members when there is no may include the stressful or
compelling reason to do so. emotional feeling of the client.

The act of helping the clients to see

X The counselor attempts to solve the things more clearly, possibly from
problem, instead of cooperating with different view-point.
the client to find solutions and
healing.
 Getting emotionally involved with the
X The counselors form a too-close client.
relationship with a client.
 X The counselor labels the client. Looking at a client’s problems
from your own perspective

Task 2: Count me in, count me out: Will I give up my job or not?

have any type of sexual intimacieswith clients and do not counsel persons with whom they have sexual relationship. Counselors

What if you are counselor and you have fallen in love with your client and the client has
also fallen in love with you. Since, it is unethical to pursue the relationship; you will quit
your job. Your job is also important to you. Now, what will be your decision?
- I will pursue my job, because there are a lot of people out there and also they
understand that it is very unethical to have a relationship with a client that’s why you
need to pursue your passion first before having a relationship.

Directions: Read the words or group of word inside the box which describes the roles and
functions of counselors. Then, put a check (/) on the box provided if you agree with it.

Kind and
Approachable

Gives advice to provides

stduents in need of help cousneling to students

Counselors

Licensed and
A coach
professional

Assist stduents
in career planning
 Task 2: Check your Progress

Directions: Read the statement carefully. Draw if the statement is True. Write is
the statement is False.

T 1. Teachers are not counselors, but counselors can be teachers.

T 2. Individual student inventory is very important for needs assessment and
problem identification and assessment.
T 3. Referral is done when an expert assistance is needed that the counselor
cannot provide.
T 4. Test Anxiety is an example of prevention services.
T 5. Counselors are trained professionals whom everyone could seek help in times of
personal and mental health crisis.
F 6. Individual and group counseling are conducted depending on the need and
problem of the client.
_F 7. Counselors can make or break a person.
T 8. Counselors’ evaluation is not essential in the establishment of a solid guidance
programs and services.
T_9. Job and career placement is one of the functions of a counselor.
T 10. A counselor is a disciplinarian by nature.

Part IV. Internet Links

Dizon, P. (2003). General Pyschology: A textbook for College Students Manila: Rex Book Store
Gladding, 2000

Arcinas,PhD. M.M. (2016). Disciplines and Ideas in the Applied Social Sciences.
Quezon, Philippines: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
Dela Cruz A.R.; Fernandez C.; Melegrito M.L. Valdez Discipline and Ideas in
Applied Social Sciences Phoenix Publishing House

-[Link]/4776684/Basic_Counselling_Principles_and_Skills