BLOCK VI

GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICAL

(2 CREDITS)

385
 BA (Hons) PSYCHOLOGY (BAPCH)

BPCC 114: Counselling Psychology

Guidelines for Practical
(2 Credits)

Discipline of Psychology School of Social Sciences

Indira Gandhi National Open University Maidan Garhi, New Delhi- 110068

387
 CONTENTS BPCC-114 : Counselling
psychology

Sr. No. Details Page No.

1.0 Practical in BPCC 114 (2 Credits) 390
2.0 About Psychological Tests 390
3.0 Practical 1 : Tests on Aptitude or Creativity or Sentence
Completion Test 394
4.0 Practical 2 : Case History, Interviewing and Diagnostic
Formulation 399
5.0 Role of Academic Counsellor 405
6.0 Writing of the Practical Notebook 406
7.0 Evaluation Scheme and Term End Exam (TEE) 406
8.0 Important Points for the Learner 406
Appendices:
Appendix I – Title Page for Practical Notebook 409
Appendix II – Certificate 410
Appendix III – Acknowledgement 411

389
Guidelines For Practical
(2 Credits) 1.0 PRACTICAL IN BPCC 114
As you know, BPCC 114: Counselling Psychology is of 6 credits, out
of which 4 credits are for theory and 2 credits are for practical. Thus, to
complete the course BPCC 114, you must complete both 4 plus 2 credits.
To complete the four credits of theory, you will study all the 17 Units in
this book, prepare and submit Tutor Marked assignment (TMA) related to
these 17 Units at the study centre, and appear for term end examination on
this at examination centre. To complete the two credits of practical, you will
conduct the prescribed practical activities at your study centre (attending
practical classes/Counselling sessions are mandatory), prepare practical
notebook/record and submit at the study centre, and then appear for term
end examination for practical at the study centre. You need to contact your
study centre for details about practical exam.
Practical component of BPCC 114, which is of 2 credits, will be carried
out in the Psychology Laboratory set up as well as field set up. For two
credits practical, there will be two classes at the study centre. The number
of counselling sessions allocated for practical is 02 sessions (01 session is
of 03 Hours duration).
You will get to know the schedule of practical (as well as theory) classes from
the study centre. You may also visit the website of your Regional Centre,
where the schedule of sessions is displayed. Ensure that you do not miss
any practical class. Unlike Counselling sessions for the theory component
of the course, the sessions organized for the practical are mandatory. Thus,
you must attend all the sessions. There is weightage given to attendance in
evaluation also (refer to 7.0 Evaluation scheme).
As part of the practical of BPCC 114, you will carry out the following:
1. Tests on Aptitude or Creativity or Sentence completion test (you
need to do any one only)
2. Case history, Interviewing, and Diagnostic formulation
Thus you need to do one test, either aptitude or creativity or sentence
completion test; and complete one case study by collecting case history,
interviewing the case and arriving at a diagnosis. Let us discuss about each
of these activities. But before this, it will be helpful for you to know about
psychological tests in general.

2.0 ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS

You have already read about psychological tests, their administration and
interpretation in the Practical Guidelines section in BPCC 103 and also in
BPCC 110 in previous semesters. We will briefly recapitulate it here.
Psychological tests are mainly used to assess individual differences in
various human abilities and personality. The most common uses of tests are
classification, diagnosis and treatment planning, self- knowledge, program
evaluation and research. Psychological tests can be used in different settings
like schools, hospitals, organizations and welfare organizations. They can
also be used for research purpose. They are not only used to diagnose
mental disorders, but may also be used to select individuals for different
390
jobs, to determine career choice and grades, etc. Tests are also used to assess BPCC-114 : Counselling
personality and adjustment pattern. psychology

Thus psychological tests have varied use and they help in gaining better
understanding of different aspects of the individual. However, these tests
are developed following a systematic, scientific method, and should be used
with utmost care as they deal with human beings. Hence it is important that
one is properly trained to administer psychological tests.
Test Administration and Scoring
Test administration can be either individual or group. The administration of a
test should be according to a uniform and specified set of instructions. This
is the first principle of test administration. ‘A test is considered standardized
if the procedures for administering it are uniform from one examiner and
setting to another’ (Gregory 2004: 54). If a test is not administered
according to the specified set of instructions, there will be no uniformity in
the administration of the test. The result of such a test will not be reliable.
Test administration should follow the guidelines given in the manual. Some
important points that the investigator should know before administering a
test are given below:
●● Every psychological testing procedure, as we already said, has a
purpose and rationale. Before using a test, tester should see whether
the test fulfills the purpose at hand. The question that one needs to ask
is, why do I use this test, what is the purpose of using this test? If all the
questions are satisfactorily answered, then one should proceed and
use the particular test. But if the use of the test is not rationalized on
any ground - purpose, population, or context of using the test - the test
should not be used.
●● Before using a test, examiner must be familiar with the materials,
instructions and the procedure to be followed in the test.
●● An examiner should be sensitive to disabilities in the examinees.
Disabilities related to hearing, vision, speech or motor control may
affect test performance. In case of unrecognized disabilities, serious
errors of interpretation may occur.
●● Examiners should allot proper time for the entire testing process: set up,
reading instructions and actual test taking by the examinees. Allowing
too much time for a test is equally erroneous as allowing less time.
●● Instructions should be read out in a clear and loud voice. Examiners
must stop to answer the questions if the instructions are not clear to
examinees.
●● The physical conditions (testing room) should be suitable for the test.
The conditions such as illumination, temperature and humidity should
be taken into consideration before the test. The testing environment
should be pleasant, quiet and well illuminated with proper writing
desk (in case of a test where answer sheet is required to be filled up).
●● Establishing rapport is the first thing that examiners need to do when
giving a test to an individual or a group. ‘Rapport is a comfortable,
relaxed, unconstrained, mutually accepting interaction between
persons’ (Reber and Reber 2001: 597), especially between an examinee
391
Guidelines For Practical and an examiner. It is essential requirement to motivate examinees to
(2 Credits) cooperate during testing. It is more important in individual testing
and particularly when examinees are children. Failure in establishing
rapport may cause anxiety, hostility, and uncooperative behaviour in
examinees/test participants.
●● The scoring of the test should follow the pattern as specified in the
test manual. If scoring is not numerical, the method of interpretation
should also follow the guidelines as given in the test manual.
Thus, a psychological test is a standardized instrument in the sense that it
provides well defined procedure and instructions, the items used in the test
are reliable and valid and the test depicts scores in terms of standardized
scores. In the present times when we have access to computer assisted test
administration and scoring, the accuracy and precision in administration will
require proper training and practice of the examiner both on technical and
human grounds.
Report Writing
After administration of a psychological test, the findings are to be presented
in the form of a report. Report should be written clearly. The report should
be properly divided into sections and subsections and the findings should be
tabulated wherever required.
The report should be written in passive voice. For example, instead of
writing ‘I gave the test booklet to the examinee’, one should write, ‘the
test booklet was given to the examinee’. The report should be written in a
standard format.
Being Qualified and Trained in Psychological Testing
There are two aspects of being trained in psychological testing:
(a) Technical and Theoretical Knowledge
One should have technical and theoretical knowledge of psychological
testing and its applications.
Some basic components of this knowledge are:
i) Knowledge of test construction
Today testing is required in every field: schools, industries, selection
agencies, hospitals, special education centers, rehabilitation centers and
various other organizations. A Counselling psychologist may face the
task of choosing a test from the available tests or developing a test as the
situation demands. In both the situations, knowledge of test construction
is mandatory. If one needs to select a test, one should have the knowledge
of basics of test construction. How the test is developed? Whether it has
proper norms or it is standardized, what is the method of scoring, etc. All this
information requires technical knowledge about the test construction process.
Otherwise, decision of choosing will be fraught with biased assumptions. The
theoretical knowledge pertains not only to the selection of test, but also to
the construction of tests. One might face such a situation when no test is
available, or the available test is outdated, or not suitable culturally. Suppose
you are required to make an index of happiness of people in your country
or your state or city. How to prepare such an index? You come to know that
392 one such procedure is available in some other country. But the definition of
happiness may differ from one country to the other. At one place, it may be BPCC-114 : Counselling
family, which is primary source of happiness to persons, but at the other, psychology
it may be secure future and material prosperity. Thus, one might decide to
prepare a questionnaire to study the level of happiness.
ii) Efficiency in application
Which measure one should choose if one is to find out whether a child has
learning disability or not. One might need a range of procedures – paper
pencil test (e.g., tests of learning and intelligence), observations, interviews
with the child, parents and teachers. Which test one should choose - verbal
or non-verbal, some qualitative approach or quantitative or both, whether
the test is fit for the cultural background. These decisions need not only
theoretical knowledge, but also insight on the part of the investigator, which
comes with knowledge, practice and experience.
iii) Efficiency in scoring and interpretation
Scoring procedures in testing are developed through rigorous statistical
procedures. While using psychological tests, one is required to have sound
knowledge of statistical principles applied in psychological testing. How
the reliability and the validity of the test have been calculated? How the
norms of the test have been developed? Knowledge of these technical
aspects helps both in construction, selection, revision and adaptation of a
test. Interpretation is an essential aspect after scoring which also involves
explaining the significance of the scores, for instance, what does it mean for
a person who gets IQ score of 94? To fulfill all these purposes, an appropriate
explanation is an essential requirement from the part of the investigator.
(b) Developing Skills
One needs to have appropriate skills necessary for the application of
psychological testing, for example communication skills, being a good
observer and empathetic listener, etc.
The work of a psychologist is more like an artist. They need to observe,
listen, feel and be aware of the body language of the test taker. Observation
here is not only a method used to study a specific problem. It should be
developed as a habit. How to see things: people talking to each other in
buses, trains, or offices; youngsters chatting outside a mall, people writing
their views in newspapers and magazines, people behaving with each other-
in families, in offices, in traffic etc. It need not be a deliberate exercise once
it is developed as a habit. ‘A psychologist should be a good writer’, said a
wise man. Psychology is a science in the methods it uses, but it is essentially
an art in its application. This art will develop gradually when you observe
and contemplate and develop the habit of writing things systematically.After
observation, another important skill is communication skills. Psychologists
working as therapists, counsellors, trainers or psychometricians require
communication with others. Communication is a chain of events from the
speaker to the listener. The chain of events involves
Production → Transmission → Reception
(Encoding) (Decoding)

393
Guidelines For Practical Thus, communication involves a message (information) a code (language)
(2 Credits) and a channel (written-visual, spoken-auditory) through which
information is transmitted. A psychologist should learn to be a good listener
before learning to be a good speaker. S/he should learn where and when to
speak and where not to. Being just a listener is not sufficient; a psychologist
should be an empathetic listener. S/he should feel what others are feeling.
Psychologists should be sensitive to the cultural differences. Various
behaviours have their roots in the cultural milieu of a person. The way
people talk, greet, their eating habits and sometimes their sensitivity to their
surroundings are affected by the environment they live in. If a psychologist is
not sensitive to the cultural and environmental factors, there will be no meaning
of the inferences drawn from observations and testing, and ultimately will be
harmful for the individuals and society at large.
Knowledge of ethical principles during testing is also expected from a
trained psychologist/counsellors. Ethical guidelines for testing are called
ethical principles and code of conduct. Psychologist should comply with
these principles to avoid any mistake in research and testing. In general, we
can phrase principles of ethical treatment as,
• Right to safety
• Right to respectful treatment
• Right to confidentiality
• Right to be informed – technically called informed consent – an
examinee should be informed about the nature of the test, risk involved,
purpose, and use of information of the test beforehand and only if s/he
agrees the examiner should proceed with testing. Examinee should also get
informed about the results of the study and use of the test findings.
All the above rights of examinees should be respected during testing and
research. In a nutshell, a psychologist should take responsibility of working
with human beings very honestly that will serve the purpose well for both
the test administrator and the test taker.
Now let us discuss the specific practical activities to be carried out in BPCC
114.

3.0 PRACTICAL 1: TESTS ON APTITUDE OR

CREATIVITY OR SENTENCE COMPLETION
TEST
In the practical classes, you will learn how to administer psychological
tests in a controlled condition, that is, in a laboratory setup at your Study
Centre. The test will be carried out on a human participant and you will be
the test administrator. While conducting the practical in the classroom set
up amongst your classmates, you may also be the participant for another
learner.
The tests that you will learn in practical are related to various topics that
you have read in psychology. These tests are relevant in the context of
Counselling for various population. The above mentioned tests are only
examples of the use of such psychological tests in Counselling. There are
394
tests related to other aspects/variables also which can be used in the context BPCC-114 : Counselling
of Counselling. psychology

Your academic counselor will take the practical classes and supervise you
while conducting the practical on each other in the classroom set up. You
will learn how to administer a psychological test, score it and interpret
it. You will follow a standard procedure for administration, scoring and
interpretation of the result and findings. You will also learn about ethical
issues in psychological testing. You can clarify all your doubts arising while
pursuing this course from your academic counselor.
The tests will be conducted and written in proper format in the Practical
Record/Notebook.
Below is given a brief description of the tests that you will be learning as
part of your practical. You will be doing only one out of these three tests.
Ensure that you are not repeating the test that you might have done in earlier
semesters.
TESTS ON APTITUDE
Aptitude refers to the potential abilities of an individual in a specific area,
for instance, one can have potential to excel in music; thus proper training
provided to the individual will facilitate it’s manifestation and achieving
excellence in music. Tests of aptitude are especially important in academic
and career guidance and Counselling. It helps recognize the special abilities
in the person and can provide appropriate guidance and Counselling for
making educational and career plans. Aptitude testing can include a
particular ability or a cluster of special abilities required to do a task or a
job. Thus aptitude tests can predict future success in a specific field.
It is important here to know the difference between the terms aptitude,
interest, ability, and achievement. Interest refers to one’s preferences
whereas aptitude indicates the potential in the individual with regard to a
particular thing. For example, a person may like to sing (an interest), but
may not have any musical potential to sing well (aptitude). Ability refers to
what the individual is capable of achieving in the present situation. On the
other hand, achievement refers to what the individual has been able to learn/
achieve. Thus, ability is concerned with the present whereas achievement
depends on past experience and training. Aptitude is concerned with future
performance, what the individual can achieve with necessary training input
given.
Aptitude tests usually consist of a battery of subtests, each assessing a
different aptitude. The most commonly used Aptitude tests are
●● Differential Aptitude Test (DAT)
●● David’s Battery of Differential Aptitude (DBDA)
●● General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB)
For instance, Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) developed by Bennett,
Seashore and Wesman (1984) consists of eight subtests. These are Verbal
Reasoning (VR), Numerical Reasoning (NR), Abstract Reasoning (AR),
Spatial Reasoning (SR), Clerical Speed & Accuracy (CSA), Mechanical
Reasoning (MR), Language Usage (LU), and Spelling and Grammar
395
Guidelines For Practical (S). Depending on the requirement, counselors can administer the whole
(2 Credits) battery or specific subtests. Different occupations may require different
combinations of subtests. Always refer to the test manual to know the
details of the test.
You need to remember that tests provide only information about certain
aspects of the individual based on which we may make certain predictions.
However, for such predictions to be more effective, one needs to collate data
from other sources also. For instance, one’s academic performance, interests,
motivation, personality characteristics, attitude towards various things,
general mental ability, socio economic background, family circumstances
etc. may influence one’s educational and career planning. Hence aptitude
tests scores need to be used in conjunction with other test scores and data to
provide effective guidance and Counselling to the client.
You will carry out any one aptitude test under the guidance of the academic
counselor at the study centre.
TESTS ON CREATIVITY
You have learned about creativity, it’s meaning, theories and assessment
in Unit 10 of BPCC 103. As you know, creativity involves thinking in
new and original ways to find a solution. It is the ability to come up with
novel ideas and possibilities that will be relevant and useful for solving a
problem, making adjustments, reducing conflicts, adapting to a situation
and promoting well-being in individuals. The divergent thinking involved
in creativity helps one in generating divergent ideas and possibilities that
can lead to solution or improve things. ‘Out of the box’ thinking involved
in creativity helps in brain storming the varied alternatives and possible
solutions. Thus it has implications in the context of Counselling.
Tests of creativity focus mainly on the four aspects of creativity namely,
fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration. These refer to the speed with
which one can create new ideas, the different ways in which one can create
ideas (i.e., the number of ideas), newness or uniqueness of ideas generated,
and extent to which one can elaborate or discuss upon an idea. All these
together contribute to creativity consisting of novelty, divergent thinking as
well as practicability and usefulness of the creative idea or product.
There are various creativity tests used to assess creativity:
●● Guilford’s (1967) Divergent Production Test (DPT): It requires the
respondent to provide varied and relevant responses to each test item,
e.g., “List the various ways in which a pencil can be used”.
●● Mednick and Mednick’s (1967) Remote Associates Test (RAT): This
test requires that different items not related with each other, must be
linked together with a single word. For example, suggest a single
word to link the words ‘square root’, ‘coffee’ and ‘kitchen’? This will
require the individual to think in unusual and unique ways to come
up with ideas.
●● Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). It consists of seven
Verbal tests (thinking creatively with words), and three Figural tests
(thinking creatively with pictures). Baqer Mehdi test is an adopted
version of Torrance test of creative thinking. It consists of four
396
 subtests such as Consequences test, Unusual test, Similarity test, and BPCC-114 : Counselling
Product Improvement test. psychology

●● Passi-Usha Test of Creative Problem Solving (PUTCPS) was

developed by B. K. Passi and Usha Kumar (1996). It is a measure
of creative problem solving in children as well as adults. The test
consists of seven items and is non-verbal in nature (in drawing form).
It assesses the originality and elaboration aspects of creativity.
You will carry out any one creativity test under the guidance of the
academic counselor at the study centre.
SENTENCE COMPLETION TEST
Sentence completion tests (SCTs) can be described as semi-structured
projective techniques. They help to know about the personality of the
individual, especially exploring their inner conflicts, needs, aspirations and
attitudes. Such tests can be useful in the context of Counselling individuals
faced with conflicts, sexual abuse, relationship problems, and adjustment
difficulties. Being projective techniques, SCTs can elicit uncensored
responses from the respondents/clients that can reveal the dynamics of
their inner feelings and conflicts. Since these tests do not involve direct
questioning, the individual is not self-conscious and is less likely to give
socially desirable responses. There is more probability that their responses
will indicate their true nature and attitude when they provide the first
ideas and responses that come to their mind. This will help in providing
appropriate intervention and therapies to the clients.
The first sentence completion test was developed by Hermann Ebbinghaus
in 1897 to assess intellectual and other cognitive abilities such as reasoning
in school children in Germany. In general, sentence completion tests consist
of providing respondents with a series of incomplete sentences that consist
of only the stems or the beginnings of sentences, and they are asked to
complete the sentences in their own words whatever way they wish to. Thus
these are easy and convenient to administer.
Various Sentence Completion Tests are available and can be used in the
practical.
●● Julian Rotter’s Incomplete Sentences Blank (Rotter & Rafferty, 1950),
consisting of 40 items, is a widely used test.
●● Sacks Sentence Completion Test is a 60-item test for adults that
consists of items related to four areas, namely family, sex, interpersonal
relationships, and self-concept.
●● Sentence Completion Test developed by L. N. Dubey and Archana
Dubey is for 14-19 years age group. It consists of 50 items and aims at
assessing three main traits of personality - Sociability, Self Confidence
and Ambitions. Incomplete sentences are given and the respondent
has to complete these as quickly as possible with the first thought that
comes to their mind. There is no time limit but the respondents are
asked to complete the test as quickly as possible. No sentence is to
be left incomplete. All the sentences in the test either reveal positive
or negative aspect of any one given trait. Every sentence can thus be
placed in to three categories: Positive (2 marks awarded), negative
397
Guidelines For Practical (1 mark awarded) and neutral (0 marks awarded). The serial number
(2 Credits) of statements under each of the three dimensions is provided in the
manual along with the interpretation of the raw scores.
You will carry out any one sentence completion test under the guidance of
the academic counselor at the study centre.
Format for Reporting the Test (Practical 1) in Practical Notebook
As mentioned above, you will be administering and conducting one
psychological test either on aptitude or creativity or sentence completion
test. Ensure to conduct the test, which you have not done in any previous
semester so that you would be able to learn about different tests. You will
need to follow a specific format as given below while reporting it in the
practical notebook/record.
The format for reporting the conduction of psychological test is as follows:
●● Title: This heading will mention the ‘title’ or ‘name’ of the practical,
e.g., Sentence Completion Test
●● Aims/ Objectives: This section will consist of the main objectives
or purpose of the practical. For example, if you are performing a test
on ‘Sentence Completion Test’, then the basic objective of the test
will be: ‘To assess the personality of the participant using Sentence
Completion Test’.
●● Introduction: Here, the historical background of the test is
mentioned. The concept is defined and discussed. For example, in
case of Sentence completion test, the historical background of it is
described. The concept of projective technique is explained and the
theories related to it are discussed.
●● Description of the Test: Under this, the details with regard to the
particular Sentence Completion Test are mentioned, like author of the
test, basic purpose of the test, number of items, dimensions/ factors
included in the test, time limit, reliability, validity, and scoring.
●● Material Required: The material required for administration of
the test is mentioned, for example, the test booklet, answer sheet,
scoring key, pencil, eraser etc. as needed in the testing situation.
●● Participant’s Profile: This will consist of all the detailed information
about the participant, like, name of the participant (optional), age,
gender, educational qualification, occupation, marital status, type of
family etc.
●● Procedure and Administration: The following sub headings are
included here;
 Preparation: The material required for conduction of the test
like, test booklet, answer sheet, stopwatch (if required) are kept
ready.
 Rapport: You have to mention that rapport was created with
the participant and that she/he was well informed about the
details of the test.
 Instructions: Instruction as given in the test manual is included
here.
398
  Precautions: Precautions, if any, to be considered while BPCC-114 : Counselling
administration of the test are mentioned under this sub-heading. psychology

 Introspective Report: In some test conduction situation,

introspective report is obtained from the participant. That is,
after completion of the test by the participant, an introspective
report is taken, that is, the participant’s feeling and constraints
faced by him/her while undergoing the test is mentioned under
this sub-heading in first person within inverted commas.
●● Scoring and Interpretation: After the participant completes the test,
the answer sheet is to be scored with the help of the scoring key and
the data is to be interpreted with the help of the norms given in the
manual. The scores can then be mentioned and interpreted under this
heading.
●● Discussion: You have to discuss the result based on the interpretation.
It may be further analyzed in the light of the introspective report.
●● Conclusion: Under this heading, you have to conclude the findings
of the test.
●● References
The books, websites and the manual referred to by the learner are mentioned
in American Psychological Association (APA) format. These should
be alphabetically listed. Write the references in the specified format as
mentioned below for books, journal articles, book chapters, and websites.
Refer always to the latest edition of APA for any update (www.apa.org).
Examples of how different sources are cited are given below.
For Books -
Anastasi, A. (1968). Psychological testing. London: MacMillan Company.
For Journal Article -
Dennision, B. (1984). Bringing corporate culture to the bottomline.
Organizational Dynamics, 13, 22-24.
For Book Chapter -
Khan, A.W. (2005). Distance Education for Development. In S. Garg (Ed.)
Open and distance education in global environment: Opportunities for
collaboration. New Delhi: Viva Books.
For Websites -
https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/Counselling (Accessed on 14th
April 2022 at 7.34 p.m.)

4.0 PRACTICAL 2: CASE HISTORY,

INTERVIEWING AND DIAGNOSTIC
FORMULATION
As you know, Counselling is a professional service that requires specific
skills by the Counselling psychologist to be able to provide effective
Counselling to the clients. The first important requirement for a Counselling
psychologist/counselor is to establish rapport with the client. The counselor
then needs to collect initial information from the client related to their
399
Guidelines For Practical history and background, and also about the problem/issue the client is facing.
(2 Credits) These help in understanding the client background and assist in problem
assessment. Thus case history taking and interviewing are two important
Counselling techniques that help in collecting information about the client
and understanding the problem. This helps in formulating a diagnosis
for the client’s problem which further facilitates undertaking appropriate
intervention.
Interviewing is an important skill in Counselling. It helps in collecting case
history or initial information about the client as well as understanding the
problem and providing Counselling to the client in an effective way. As
Kerlinger (1995, p. 441) describes, interview is “a face to face interpersonal
role situation in which one person, the interviewer, asks a person being
interviewed, the respondent, questions designed to obtain answers pertinent
to research problem”. Interviewing is useful not only to create rapport with
the respondent/client before the Counselling process starts but also to obtain
information about various details about the client and also to administer
psychological tests. Effectiveness of Counselling thus depends on the
interviewing skill of the counselor.
CASE HISTORY
It is necessary to take case history of a client so as to understand their
background. Case history covers personal information like name, age,
gender, religion, education, income, socio economic status etc. It further
covers information about family, job if any, medical complaints, medical
or any other treatment or help sought by the individual. Basically, it covers
information related to the following:
a) Personal details
b) Personal history/development
c) History of present illness
d) Medical history
e) Family history
f) Social history
Details of what all are covered in case history, are given in the next section
under interviewing.
INTERVIEWING
Counselling is a process where the counsellor helps the client to help herself/
himself, develop awareness about the self and the situation, and accordingly
make intelligent choices, plans and adjustments. It enables the client to
take appropriate decisions. This requires the counselor to understand the
client, their problems and situation in a proper perspective. Hence correct
identification of the client’s problem is a crucial part of the counselling
process. In order to gain an understanding of the client’s problem, the
counsellor needs to first develop an understanding about the client – their
needs, likes, interests, abilities, personality, values and goals etc. All these
information are collected through an interview which is called History
taking or Initial Interview.

400
The counselor needs to be skilled in conducting this initial interview as it BPCC-114 : Counselling
has significance in terms of getting to know the client, making the client feel psychology
accepted and understood and develop confidence in the counselor.
Initial interview helps the counsellor to build rapport with the client. An
informal method should be used to interview the client so that the client
does not feel intimidated. The questions should be such to provide a wide
understanding of the client’s life, his/her interactions and relationships,
emotions and motivations, behavioural problems and adjustments and goals
in life. The process of intake interview or history taking usually starts with
collecting standard information data or identification data such as name,
age, address, education, occupation etc. In addition to collecting various
information through questioning, the counselor needs to pay attention to
the client’s non-verbal behaviour also. The physical appearance, the present
behaviour of the client, the body language of the client convey a lot about
the client which the counselor needs to consider to get a comprehensive
picture about the client. The most important thing before the interview is
the assurance of confidentiality to the client. The client has to be assured of
the security and confidentiality of all the information he will be providing
during the counselling session and that no information will be disclosed
without the client’s consent.
An outline of the initial interview for taking case history is given below:
(1) Identification Data
It consists of personal details. These are mainly for the identification of
the individual and to understand the basic details about the individual. It
consists of the following:
Name (optional):
Address:
Contact No.:
Gender:
Age:
Educational qualification:
Occupation and Income:
Marital status:
Referred by:
Does the patient stay with parents/spouse/any other :
What is the position of the patient in the family: Eldest, middle or
youngest or only child:
(2) Information Related to the Problem
Whatever information client gives about their problem should be recorded
verbatim as it is. The following can be asked to the client:
●● Nature of the problem/issue the client is facing for which counselling
is sought
●● Since when has the problem begun? How frequently does it occur?
●● What is the duration and intensity of the problem/issue?
401
Guidelines For Practical ●● Precipitating factors if any: What pattern of events usually lead to the
(2 Credits) problem? When does it occur? With whom? What happens before and
after the problem occurs?
●● What are the thoughts, feelings and behaviour associated with the
problem?
●● What is the treatment taken earlier?
●● If the client has got well at any time in between, what is the duration
of such period of wellness?
●● Was there any precipitating factor at each relapse?
●● How many relapses have occurred?
●● Any other treatment tried in between? What was the effect?
●● Does the problem interfere with the client’s day-to-day activities? To
what extent?
●● In what ways the illness causes inconvenience? (e.g., has to take leave
from work place / school/ college; cannot carry on even the routine
works; has to depend on others for everything; want to lie down and
take rest; do not want to do anything)
(3)   Client’s Present Life Situation
●● How is a typical day or week in the client’s life?
●● What type of activities related to social, religious, recreational does
the client take up?
●● What is the nature of the client’s present educational and vocational
situation?
●● What is the nature of social interactions of the client, including
behaviour at work or in school or during social gatherings?
(4)   Family Setting
It includes information about parents and siblings, and the nature of
relationships between family members. It also provides inputs on any family
tensions and stresses, family ways of coping, family history of psychiatric
illness (e.g., drug/alcohol abuse, suicide attempts).
●● Age, education and occupation of father, mother and siblings
●● Nature and type of personalities of the father and mother
●● How is the relationship between the father and mother,
relationship of each parent with the client and with other
siblings, relationship of the client with the grandparents etc.
●● Number of siblings, their name, age, sex, birth order, education,
occupation and marital status
●● Is there any history of long physical or mental illness/
disturbances in the family?
●● Family mobility: How many places family has lived in, how
many times parents have changed jobs. This information will
provide insight into the stability of the family and the kind of
socio-cultural exposure the client has had.
●● Any one in the family is suffering/has suffered from any mental
disorder:
402
 ●● Anyone in the family is suffering/has suffered from any physical BPCC-114 : Counselling
disorder: psychology

(5)   Personal History

This can cover various aspects like early development, childhood, school,
adolescence, occupation, menstrual history, sexual history, marital history,
details about children, social network, habits, leisure and forensic history.
●● Educational history: academic progress and achievement
from nursery to high school and post high school. How was
the client in his academic career including his talents, hobbies,
involvements in different activities, peer relationship and
relationship with the teachers.
●● Does the client have any personal or career goals in life? What
are they? 


●● Work experience: has the client held part time/full time
jobs, nature and duration of jobs, any significant experience/
achievement during work, relationship with the coworkers etc.
●● Medical history: any major illness/injury/surgery since
childhood to present. The details of medical treatment that the
individual has undergone or is undergoing has to be noted down.
●● Marital history: relationship with the opposite sex/partner/
spouse, any present or previous emotional involvements,
reasons for previous relationships breaking down.
●● Is the client currently using drugs/alcohol or has used in the
past; to what extent?
●● Is there any previous experience with counselling?
(6)   Description of the Client during the Interview
It is very crucial to note down the client’s appearance and behaviour during
the counselling interview.
●● Temperament: warm and friendly, energetic, lethargic, active
etc.
●● Behaviours/mannerisms: fidgeting, nail biting, disruptive/
hyperactive behaviour, aloofness etc.
●● Body language, facial expressions, postures and gestures, eye
contact etc.
●● Language: fluency, coherence, logical, tone of voice etc.
●● Observation and noting down of each and every aspect of client’s
behaviour and personality is crucial. How open was the client,
degree of motivation and interest shown during counselling,
the self concept of the client, client’s strengths, weaknesses and
competencies all should be noted and recorded.
(7) Interview with Family Members
●● Their view point in regard to all of the above.
●● In what ways the illness causes them inconvenience? All the above
things need to be recorded in detail as told by the patient/family
members.

403
Guidelines For Practical (8)   Summary
(2 Credits)
At the end of the interview the counselor needs to analyze all the information
obtained and see how the different information provided by the client may
be linked to the problem that the client has presented in the beginning. This
helps the counselor put the problem in a proper perspective. This will also
help in deciding what type of counselling approach/strategy will be helpful
for the client. The counselor must also take into account the social and
cultural background of the client to understand the problem and provide
appropriate and effective counselling.
DIAGNOSTIC FORMULATION
Based on all the information collected through intake interview, the
counselor formulates a diagnosis for the problem/issue faced by the client.
This helps in designing appropriate interventions to deal with the problem or
adapt to situations and promote client well-being. However, as Counselling
progresses, further in-depth interviewing helps the counselor and client
to explore and understand the problem further, and apply intervention
measures and therapies accordingly. Thus Counselling process is dynamic
and evolving in nature through interviewing of the client.
As part of your practical 2, you will need to carry out the following:
a) Learn about case history and intake interview
b) Practice the interviewing skill by role playing in the class
c) Collect case history and do the intake interview of one particular
case (you can take the case of any age group and from any setting,
e.g., school, workplace, neighbour, family, relatives, organizations,
clinics etc.). The case can be self referral or referred by other
individuals/clinics/institutions.
d) Formulate a diagnosis based on the case history and intake interview
Format for Reporting the Counselling Case (Practical 2) in Practical
Notebook
Reporting of the Counselling case can be under the following headings:
a) About the case: write down how did you find the case
b) Case history: write down the information collected as per the format/
outline of the initial interview for taking case history described above
c) Interview process: write down how was the interview conducted,
place, duration, how did you establish rapport, any difficulty faced
etc.
d) Diagnostic formulation: analyze the information/data collected and
formulate the diagnosis for the case.

5.0 ROLE OF ACADEMIC COUNSELLOR

Academic counselor will take the practical sessions/classes at the study
centre. There will be a total of two classes (each of three hours duration)
for the 2 credits practical component of BPCC 114.

404
The role of academic counselor in taking the practical sessions can be BPCC-114 : Counselling
described as follows: psychology

1) Go though the manual of the test thoroughly.

2) Explain the test in detail to the learners in the class.
3) Introduce the test in terms of:
●● History of the Test
●● Author
●● Development of the test
●● Features of the test (e.g. age group, number of items, dimensions,
reliability, validity, norms)
●● Administration
●● Scoring
●● Interpretation
●● Uses of the test
4) After the introduction of the test, demonstrate to the learners how to
administer the test.
5) The demonstration of administration will include the following:
a) Preparation for the test, for instance, keeping the test material
(test booklet, answer sheet, stopwatch etc.) ready.
b) Establishing rapport with the participant, making him/her feel
comfortable
c) Explaining the test (procedure, time limit, precautions)
d) Taking informed consent for undergoing the test and informing
the participant that the test findings will remain confidential.
e) Taking permission to record the session, wherever applicable.
f) Reading the instructions for test administration from the
manual and showing it to learners as to from where they have
to read the instructions.
g) Clearing all doubts in the mind of the test taker/participant
about the test administration.
h) The participant takes the test.
i) Taking the answer sheet from the participant after completion
of the test.
6) Explain the scoring procedure (as given in the manual) to the learners.
7) Explain how to interpret the data.
8) Ask learners to administer the test on each other in pairs and monitor
the same.
9) The learners will then administer the test on their own, score and
interpret the results.
10) The learners will have to write a report of the test in the practicum
notebook/record.
11) The practical record will be evaluated by the academic counselor
following the evaluation scheme given in Section 7.0
405
Guidelines For Practical
(2 Credits) 6.0 WRITING OF THE PRACTICAL NOTEBOOK
The practical notebook should be handwritten in a neat and organized
manner. You need to keep a photocopy of the practical notebook before
submitting it to the study centre so that it will help you prepare for the
practical examination.
The Practical Notebook should include a Title page (format given in
Appendix I) and a Certificate (Appendix II). Acknowledgement (Appendix
III) can also be taken while submitting the practical notebook at the study
centre. This notebook is to be assessed by the concerned academic counselor
who has taken your class.
Your practical notebook will contain the following:
●● Title Page
●● Table of Contents
●● Report on the psychological test conducted
●● Report on the case taken
●● Your reflection on the practical activities conducted
The psychological test conduction and the case taken need to be written in
the specified format. Reflection on the practical activities should include
your experiences while doing the activities, what you learned in the process,
how did you perceive your strengths and limitations in doing these activities,
in what ways you can improve your skills further in these activities.
Ensure that you have written the Practical notebook containing all the above
before you submit it to your study centre.

7.0 EVALUATION SCHEME AND TERM END

EXAMINATION (TEE)
The evaluation of practical component (2 credits) consists of both internal
and external evaluation. Total marks for practical component is 100 (Internal
assessment is 50 marks and External assessment is 50 Marks). However,
the weightage for internal evaluation is 70%, whereas external evaluation
carries 30% weightage. The distribution of marks is as follows:
INTERNAL Marks EXTERNAL Marks
Attendance 05 Conduction 20
Conduction of test 30 Evaluation of 10
and doing the case answer script
history and intake
interview
Practical Notebook 15 Viva-Voce 20
TOTAL 50 TOTAL 50
Internal evaluation is carried out by the academic counselor after the
practical classes are completed, whereas external evaluation is done by the
external examiner during the term end examination. Internal assessment
refers to actual conduction of practical in the classroom at the study centre
and reporting them in the practical notebook in the prescribed format. You
406
will then submit practical notebook to the academic counsellor and get it BPCC-114 : Counselling
corrected before the Practicum Term End Examination. There is also marks psychology
for attending the practical classes. External assessment refers to conduction/
administration of a test on the exam day (TEE) and appearing for viva- voce
based on the test conduction.
Term End Examination (TEE) for the practical will be organized at the
study center. You will have to deposit separate exam fee for the TEE of
practical component. The exam fee is Rs.150 (it is subject to revision).
Kindly check the latest fee amount applicable from www.ignou.ac.in
You will bring the practical notebook at the time of examination. The
duration of the examination will be of 3 hours. During the examination, you
will conduct the test you have learned. You need to bring one participant
on the day of exam, on whom the test will be conducted. Once you finish
conducting the practical, write the findings in the answer sheet. This will be
followed by viva-voce. The participants may leave after the conduction of
practical is over.
The practical answer sheets will be corrected by the external examiner and
the viva-voce will also be conducted by the external examiner based on the
conduction of the test and also the case you have written in the practical
notebook.
Minimum passing marks in the Practical component is 35. There is no re-
evaluation in TEE of Practical.
Date Range for Term End Examination of Practical in BPCC 114
TEE Date Range for TEE
June TEE 1st July to 14th August
December TEE 1st January to 15th February
Note: The dates for TEE of Practical of BPCC 114 will not appear in
the date sheet provided by SED, IGNOU. For this, please contact your
respective study centres.

8.0 IMPORTANT POINTS FOR THE LEARNER

●● There will be two practical Counselling sessions/classes for practical
at the study centre.
●● Full attendance in practical classes is mandatory.
●● You need to follow the format as given in the Guidelines while writing
the practical notebook.
●● There is evaluation component for attendance in the evaluation
scheme for practical.
●● Your academic counselor who conducted the practical classes will
check your practical notebook and provide the internal marks.
●● You need to fill up the exam form and pay the exam fee for appearing
in the term end exam for practical.
●● You need to conduct a test in the term end exam (you will bring one
participant for this) and appear for viva by the external examiner.
●● Passing marks for Practical is 35. There is no re-evaluation in TEE of
Practical.
407
 APPENDIX – I

TITLE PAGE FOR PRACTICAL NOTEBOOK

Programme Code: BA (Hons) Psychology

Course Code and Title: BPCC 114 (Counselling Psychology)

Name of the Learner:

Enrolment:

Address:

Phone No.:

Email:

Study Centre Name/Code/Address:

Regional Centre:

Date:
Signature of the Learner

408
 APPENDIX-II

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ms/ Mr.___________________________________________ of BA (Hons)

Psychology, Semester VI, has conducted and successfully completed the 2 credits of Practical in
BPCC 114: Counselling Psychology.

Signature of the Learner Signature of Academic Counsellor

Name: Name:

Enrolment No.: Designation:

Name of the Study Centre: Place:

Regional Centre: Date:

Place:

Date:

409
 APPENDIX-III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This is to acknowledge that Ms./Mr. .................................................................... Enrollment No. .....

................................ of BA (Hons) Psychology (Semester VI) has submitted the Practical Notebook
for BPCC 114: Counselling Psychology at the study centre ................................................, Regional
Centre ........................................................

Date:

Signature (with stamp)

(Coordinator, Study Centre)

410