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OUTLINE

Assoc. Prof. Deniz Albayrak-Kaymak

(Revised, 2023)

ISSUE 6:
TYPES OF GUIDANCE-COUNSELING:
INDIVIDUAL AND CRISIS COUNSELING

Individual counseling is the most specialized form of counseling. Counselor training

heavily focuses on this type of service where counselors feel more comfortable and have
more control. Its intense nature (one-to-one dyadic interaction between the client and the
counselor) is intimidating as well as appealing. They are the most popular services among
students but should only be reserved to cases that would not benefit from more
parsimonious resources.

Most common counseling techniques are largely based on verbal modes of interactions, but
counselors are trained to read nonverbal (body) language which constitute majority of
human communication. We have 53 facial muscles and about 640 muscles in total, imagine
all potential combinations among them! Techniques that are based on nonverbal means (like
dramatization, visual or audio art, and movements) are particularly useful in bypassing
defenses and clearing the way to awareness. In everyday life, slips of the tongue, an
unconscious thought, coming to light through the special blunder/gaffe" may bring some
level of awareness about our unconscious. Projective methods in nonformal assessment serve
for similar purposes.

Defense mechanisms keep nasty truths outside of consicous reach of individuals. Anna
Freud (1936) enumerated the ten defense mechanisms that appear in the works of Sigmund
Freud: 1. Repression, 2. Regression, 3. Reaction formation, 4. Isolation, 5. Undoing,
6. Projection, 7. Introjection, 8. Turning against one’s own person, 9. Reversal into the
opposite, 10. Sublimination or displacement. Although they may be originally functional
their repeated and extensive use becomes a barrier to growth of people. They are to be
discovered and worked through in individual psychotherapy.

At schools, however, the most common experience is dealing with resistance of other
referred, involuntary students to counseling services. In dealing with them it is
recommended that to be a sensitive listener, use facilitative responses, not give same kind of
lecture/advice, advocate the student, introduce the counseling game, and explain how you
feel.

There is no particular agreement on how many stages exist in individual counseling.

However, there is always a beginning/initiation, a development (work) and a
closing/ending stage in the process. Before the process starts there is an intake interview
that is designed to collect background information on the client. But since this background
information is already available in schools and there is little, if any, need for intake
interview. Here and Now, as opposed to There and Then is another way of changing the
dynamics of therapeutic relations. Counselors use Here and Now and There and Then to
change the flow of interaction; from an intense, intimate, and personal level of self-disclosure
to safer and comfortable levels. Please see Figure 6.1 for depths/levels of self-exploration.
Question. Read the related segments in your package and compare and contrast Here and
Now with There and then.
Readiness to receive counseling help is challenging, but it is an important first step. Therapy
process is to include Change, Maintenance and Generalization phases, the last two are
largely underscored resulting in limited effectiveness.

Issues in first stages include orientation, rapport (building a working relationship) and
assessment. If the client is self-referred there is much less need to use ice (defense) breakers,
but if the client is other referred (sent) there is more need to use facilitative responses and to
introduce what counseling can (being on the client’s side) and cannot do (helping an
unwilling individual). Counselors follow the lead of the clients and get them to talk by use of
facilitative responses including open questions.

Presented problems are rarely the real problems, so a complete assessment is needed. There
are formal (norm based, standardized) and informal (observations, counselor made simple
ratings) assessment techniques designed. Counseling assessment include these areas: 1.
physical (health, grooming, energy, posture), 2. social (speech, attitude, friends, relations), 3.
cognitive (logic, flow, reality), 4. cultural (values, beliefs, discrimination), 5. history (relevant
past, traumas), 6. future perspective (goals, time dimensions, responsibilities), and 7. the
presenting problem (situational condition, awareness, theme clarity).

Unlike other mental health professionals (psychiatrists and clinical psychologists),

counselors do not have or use diagnostic tools (as DSM-IV-TR, “Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, Text Revision” or ICD-10, “The International
Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision”) but need to
be knowledgeable about them to cooperate with clinically oriented professionals.

Issues in development stages of counseling include exploring, discovery, insight,

identification of alternatives, focusing and setting goals, collecting data and preparing for
interim (doing the actual work, implementing the plan).

And finally, the last stages are about evaluating the progress, closing, ending, and follow-up.
It is important to end with a positive note and not to start new issues, but it is also important
to leave the door open to the client in case of future difficulties. Separation and ending tend
to be difficult, so before ending counseling at a certain time, the client is prepared for it
through changes in frequency of meetings. They are lessened from twice a week to once a
week, from once a week to once in every two weeks, and so on.

Individual counseling sessions last about 50 minutes in private settings, a class period at
schools. Regardless of its length, however, counselees tend to bring up the most important
issues towards the end of session which indicates an unconscious desire to avoid the painful
counseling material. Therefore, in addition to being accountable against ethical charges,
counselors tend to take notes not to miss properly leading the session.
Question. Do you think length of sessions relates to effectiveness in counseling? How so?

Brief counseling is short-term and focused form of help and is being increasingly demanded
by resource providers due to lack of adequate funding for long-term help. Systematic
problem solving model is an example of brief counseling as guided by 4 “wh” or “trigger”
questions (what is the problem? what have you tried? what else you could do? what’s your
next stage?)

In more contemporary use, Solution focused brief counseling has become a preferd
practice. It is not just a shortened long term therapy, but comes from an entirely different
starting point. It is planned usually around 6 sessions. It is future-focused and aims to build
solutions rather than solve problems. Instead of listening to understand what was wrong,
and trying to get it fixed, therapists listen for clues about what going right would look like.
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Client strengths, resources and coping strategies are identified to initiate the changes. Instead
of discovering the problem and helping someone fix it they discover a preferred future and
help someone reach it.

In Solution Focused Brief Counseling, identification of a specific problem and defining the
solutions or goals to be achieved are aimed. Clear, specific and constant focus is defined by
the first sessions and then they become the index of progress. Symptoms are not seen as
representative of some other deeper problem, but just deals with what the client wants
changed, most motivated to work on and change. Homework is often given at the end of
each session to initiate changes and to promote and expedite changes between sessions to
facilitate the transfer of learning from the counseling session to the client’s daily life.
Although there is some level of agreement on what counseling is and what it is not, there is
less agreement on how it is done. Actually, how to do counseling differs from one approach
to another. However, in time some approaches contributed to how in counseling to such a
degree that their notions became a common denominator of most of the approaches as in
empathic listening.

Counseling approaches provide different lenses to view human conditions. Though

numerous approaches exist, only a few major counseling approaches are briefly introduced
here. Pay attention to the main focus of domain and activity level of the counselor as well as
the techniques used. These approaches are:

• Client-centered counseling. Humanistic foundations include Abraham Maslow’s

views (needs hierarchy), especially regarding the peak goal of self-actualization
which is at the top of the pyramid in Maslow’s model. Self-actualizing person can be
defined as someone who has self respect and respect for others, is creative, talented,
resourceful, is gregarious, friendly, is truthful, logical, real, fair, enjoys ups and
downs of life, has lasting/fulfilling relations, has mutually satifying friendships, is
open with others, gives of herself, unpretentious, is aware of feelings, relates them to
actions, is secure and healthily ambitious, is useful, practical, positive, ornamental,
aesthetic, is uninhibited but not impulsive, can break away from the known and seek
the unexplored, is tolerant of weaknesses of others, is free from immobilizing
(neurotic) conflicts, is courageous, sensitive, trusting, trustworthy and honest AND
CONTINUALLY BECOMING SO.

Carl Ransom Rogers. The Quiet Revolutionary. Founder of a humanistic approach to

counseling. Non-directive, client-centered or person centered approach (PCA) was
reflected into education as student-centered education. Rogers had a much greater
impact in conceptualizing counseling compared to other humanists, however. He
opened the field to nonmedical professionals.

Rogers believed in presence organismic valuing process in people. Emphasized the

importance of following conditions: congruence (authenticity, transparency, realness,
and genuineness), caring (compassionate attitude, respect for worth and dignity,
unconditional positive regard), empathy (deep understanding in as if mode) and
process living (continuous changing, becoming).

The core conditions necessary for change in Rogerian way include: 1. Therapist-
Client Psychological Contact: presence of a distinct and recognizable relationship.
2. Client Incongruence or Vulnerability: fears and anxieties. 3. Therapist
Congruence or Genuineness: investment in the relationship for the purpose of
healing. 4. Therapist Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): supersedes all others
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 through providing a platform of openness and acceptance, where a client can begin to
work on incongruent experiences of being. 5. Therapist Empathic
understanding: genuine empathy, reinforcing the feeling of unconditional love.
6. Client Perception: UPR and complete empathic acceptance and understanding is
perceived by the client.

DOMAIN OF FOCUS: Affect/feeling.

ACTIVITY OF COUNSELOR: Seemingly passive.
TECHNIQUES: Self disclosing talk and reflective listening.

Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (RETB). Albert Ellis is considered to be one of

the originators of the cognitive revolutionary paradigm shift in psychotherapy and
the founder of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT). Ellis identified self-talk or
internal statements that are dysfunctional, as well as illogical indicating mistaken
belief systems that are to be disputed during the therapy process. These are:
awfulizing, should/ought to/must kind, evaluative of human worth, and need to
type of statements.

A, activating event (an external event)

B, belief (where change must take place)
C, consequences (undesirable outcome)
..............................
D, dispute (therapy process to change B)
E, effect (new consequence that is desirable)

DOMAIN OF FOCUS: Cognition, beliefs in particular.

ACTIVITY OF COUNSELOR: rather active and directive.
TECHNIQUES: confrontation, framing ideas, role-playing, humor, homework,
guided imagery, practice activities.

• Behavioral Counseling. Various theorists contributed this approach to counseling:

Pavlov, classical conditioning (experiments with dogs); Watson, (experiments with
animal and people, inducing fear to Little Albert); Skinner, experimental analysis of
behavior and operant conditioning (baby crib for his daughter); Bandura,
vicarious/imitative learning, role modeling, theories of social learning and self
efficacy (Bobo doll experiments, modeling aggression); Wolpe, systematic
desensitization technique; Lazarus, Multimodal therapy (BASIC-IDEAL, Behavior,
Affect, Sensation, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal relations, Drugs/diet, Education,
ALearning).

Problems are defined in observable and measurable terms and manipulated by

principles of learning. Manipulation (therapy technique) means that behavior
(problematic symptom) is controlled by its antecedents or/and consequences:
A, antecedents (setting events)
B, behavior (that needs to be modified)
C, consequences (undesirable outcome)

Rather complex methods of behavioral counseling exist but they are all based on
simple principles which can be illustrated by a 2 by 2 table:

give take away

+ + reinforcement response cost
- punishment - reinforcement

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 People change best through use of positive reinforcement. Punishment can only be
justified after all other positive alternatives are tried out but failed and the natural
consequences of the target behavior are worse than the consequences of the
punishment. Response cost is a more acceptable form of punishment and usually
involves loss of privileges. Punishment in the form of deprivation from basic human
rights is never acceptable. However, reinstitution or correcting one’s wrong doings
has significant educational value.

Negative reinforcement is best understood if conceptualized as escape learning as in

taking Aspirin to avoid headache. Most human learning occurs through negative
reinforcement.
Question. Could you think of behaviors that are gained or maintained because
otherwise one would suffer negative consequence(s)?

Most common examples of behavioral techniques used in schools are token

economies (a group technique) and behavioral contracts (an individual technique).
Systematic desensitization (a feared stimulus is gradually losing its negative impact
through association with a stimulus of positive value) is typically used in clinical
settings to treat phobias.

The biggest challenge in using behavioral techniques is identifying effective

reinforcers. External reinforcers are coupled with internal ones so that they would be
gradually dropped as the new behavior becomes naturally reinforcing. Effectiveness
of behavioral techniques is high, but without a good plan, maintenance and
generalization may not be accomplished as in weight loss programs.

So, in behavioral approach,

DOMAIN OF FOCUS: Behavior.
ACTIVITY OF COUNSELOR: rather active and directive.
TECHNIQUES: contracting, behavioral rehearsal, role playing, systematic
desensitization, homework.

Some other significant approaches to briefly name are:

• William Glasser, Reality Therapy (RT) and choice theory. Focusing on personal
choice, personal responsibility and personal transformation, applications in schools
as classroom meetings (social problem solving) where self-awareness and positive
relations are emphasized.
• Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, use of free association and
dream analysis techniques, discovery of transference as a means of therapy,
redefining sexuality to include its infantile forms, personality structures of id, ego
and super ego, importance of instincts of libido and death, Oedipus Complex, and
defense mechanisms. Psychoanalysis remains influential within psychiatry and
across the humanities, generates extensive debates, including need for its empirical
support and feminist critiques of his core concepts.
• Carl Gustav Jung, founded analytical psychology, concepts of the extraverted and
inroverted personality, archetypes, the collective unconscious, synchronicity,
individuation, made religiousness the focus of his explorations and thus perceieved
as mystic, contemporary contributor to dream anaysis and symbolization.
• Alfred W. Adler, founder of individual psychology, identified the inferiority
complex, exmained impact of sibling order, valued social elements, carried
psychiatry into the community.

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 • Eric Berne, creator of Transactional Analysis (TA), mapped interpersonal
relationships to three ego-states of the individuals involved: the Parent,
Adult, and Child, investigated transactions among them, labeled their repeated patterns
as Games People Play. Thomas A. Harris further developed TA in his book, titled I am
OK You’re OK.

• Friedrich Salomon (Fritz) Perls, developer of Gestalt Therapy, emphasized

awareness of sensation, perception, bodily feelings, emotion and behavior, in the
present moment. Introduced the empty chair technique.

• Jacob Levy Moreno, founder of psychodrama and a wide range of techniques based
on role-plays, these were for therapeutical as well as sociometric purposes as in
sociograms and social network analyses.
• Viktor Emil Frankl, Holocaust survivor, founder of Logotherapy, a form of
existential analysis, finding meaning in all forms of existence, even the most sordid
ones.
• Rollo Reece May, both humanistic psychology and existentialist, analyzing the
structure of human existence with the aim of understanding the reality underlying all
situations of humans in crises.
• All these indicate that there are different therapeutic routes available. They provide
different glasses to see reality. Many counselors do not necessarily follow a single
approach but develop their own personal theories (called “eclectic”).
…

Crisis counseling is conducted as a focused and brief kind of service to restore an urgent
situation. Examples of these situations may include but not limited to war, global warming,
natural disasters (earthquake, flood, fire, hurricane, and drought), hunger, immigration,
unemployment, bankruptcy, terrorism, violence (assaults, fights, robbery, rape, abuse),
accidents, injury, illness, death, separation, moving, starting a new career/job, retirement,
marriage, betrayal, divorce, rejection, unwanted pregnancy, birth, academic failure, being
fired, and graduation. Impact of some traumatic crises may extend over time as in post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and require psychiatric treatment.

Although counselors do not want to allocate their resources to crisis services, crisis as a part
of life will always take up a significant amount of time and effort from helping professionals.
The very nature of crisis (that it may be sudden, unexpected, unprepared for, acute and
causing severe discomfort requiring mobilization of as much resources as possible) makes it
necessary to prepare teachers and other adults who are responsible for large groups of
students at least minimally to have the right attitude and skills to save the current situation.

Crisis is a difficult situation and one’s regular problem solving repertoire is not likely to be
sufficient for its solution. So, people facing crisis may be stunned to inaction, use unusual
mechanisms or show unusual reactions (which are actually normal since the situation is
abnormal) and may experience major disorganization, detachment or apathy. Although it
may not be possible to make crisis disappear, there is a lot one can do to prepare for them.

Questions. What crisis situations can you think that would require a teacher intervene
regardless of whether a trained professional is available? What would you do in such
situations? What kind of preparation/skill you would need to better deal with the situation?

Compared to other forms of counseling, crisis counseling tends to be action oriented,

directive, limited in scope, and briefer in duration. See Sandoval (1985) (your Reading  6) to
understand the generic principles and developmental differences in crisis counseling. See its

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brief review of prevention of crisis (educational workshops, anticipatory guidance,
screening, consultation, and research). Think what you can do to prepare for fire, for
example. Please note that not all crises are external or sudden as in maturational experiences
(conflicts with parents) and not all would lead to negative outcomes, but instead may lead to
growth (those that do not kill me make me stronger).

Crises are better met in teams, so that people share resources and take time to recover. It is
important to conduct debriefing after a crisis based on communication among member with
a leader’s facilitation. In debriefing people who shared the experience can thus share their
different perspectives to see how it all went and how it can be improved.

In dealing with suicidal threat always take it seriously and refer to a specialist as soon as
you can, but in dealing with the current situation always remember these tips:
• DO NOT try to cheer up, ask for abandonment (but for a delay) of the plan, attempt
to change personality/life of the individual.
• DO stay calm and stable (contagious feelings), allow him/her to speak, ask object-
oriented questions, refer to immediate situations and activate local resources.

It is important to remember
• Providing accurate information (acknowledgement, media coverage),
• Not glorifying the negative, and
• Supporting supporters.

Mastery Questions
1. What cases seem to warrant individual counseling at schools?
2. When would behavioral and cognitive approaches be more appropriate to use?
3. What particular strengths and weaknesses client-centered approach could have at
schools?
4. How can a school counselor deal with the resistance of a referred student?
5. What are the uses of “here and now” and “there and then” in counseling?
6. Think of a crisis that you experienced and try to identify how you would handle it
differently if you were given adequate support.
7. What kind of crisis situations should be a school counselor prepared to handle? What
would those preparations entail?
…