Concepts of

Guidance and
Counseling: Meaning
and their differences
GUIDANCE
• Process of helping people make important choices that affect
their lives, such as choosing a preferred life-style.
• to direct‘, ‗to point out‘, to show the path‘
• showing or pointing the way to be followed
• the process of assisting the individual to choose, to prepare, to
enter upon and progress in course of action pertaining to the
educational, vocational, recreational and community services.
• a process of helping individuals through their own efforts to
discover and develop their potentialities both for personal
happiness and social usefulness.
 GUIDANCE is the process of helping an
individual to gain self-understanding, self
direction, and to adjust maximally to the
environment (Biswalo, 1996).
This help is designed to assist people in
deciding where they want to go, what
they want to do, how to get to their
destination, and how to solve problems
arising in their life
Guidance as a concept as well as a
process
• As a concept guidance is concerned with the optimal
development of the individual.

• As a process guidance helps the individual in self

understanding and in self-direction .
PSYCHOTHERAPY
 traditionally focuses on serious problems associated with
intrapsychic, internal and personal issues and conflicts.
 it emphasize the following issues:
The past more than the present
Insight more than change
The detachment of the therapist
The therapist’s role as an expert
COUNSELING
Counseling is a mutual relationship between a counselor
who is a professionally trained , and a client who is a
consumer of counselling services.
Counseling is a professional relationship between a
counselor who is professionally trained and a client
(counselee) who is seeking help to resolve a problem.
(Okech and Ngumba 1991)
 Counselling is a face-face relationship between a client
and a counsellor in a confidential setting.
 Counseling is a dynamic and
purposeful relationship between two
people who approach a mutually
defined problem, with mutual
consideration of each other to the
end that the younger or less mature
or more troubled of the two is aided
to a self determined resolution to his
problem
Counselling constitutes three activities like:

I - Informing

A- Advising

C - Counseling
 Informing Advising Counseling

The counselor suggests The counselor helps the

Here the role of the appropriate courses of students to clarify his
counselor is to give action. Here the counselor needs, feelings or
appropriate and correct offers motivations so
information to the several options and that he can make the
clients. recommends one appropriate decision for
according to your aim or himself.
interest
 Initial structure
Develop rapport
established

Exploration of self, Problem

perceptual field identification
and behaviors

Possible assessment and Problem solving

acquisition of
environmental input, such
as information assimilation

Decision making
Plan of action

Follow up and possible

development of additional termination
strategies
CHARACTERISTICS OF
COUNSELLING
Counseling takes place in the confidential environment
Counseling is a two way process.
 Counseling is the private relationship
o There is a mutual relationship between the two individuals. mutual respect
between the two

 Counseling is a professional relationship i.e. one of the two

must be trained to assist the other
 Counseling does not involve giving advice
 Counseling is non-hierarchical relationship
 PSYCHOTHERAPY COUNSELING

Long term relationship Short term relationship

Inpatient and outpatient Outpatient setting

Deep seated issue Mild issues

Basic Principles of
Guidance and
Counselling
Principles of Guidance
Holistic
development
of individual
Recognition
of individual
differences
and dignity
Guidance is
Concerned
With
Individual
Behavioral
Processes
Guidance Relies
on Cooperation,
Not on
Compulsion
(Force).
Guidance is a
Continuous
and a
Sequential
Educational
Process
Principles of Counseling
Human
Beings are
Basically
Self-
Determining
Creatures
A Client Should Move
Towards a Greater
Level of Self-
Acceptance and Self
Understanding
A Client
Should
Develop a
Greater Level
of Honesty in
Respect to
Himself
Objectives
Should be
Based on
the Client’s
Need and
Not the
Counselor’s
 Similarities of Guidance and Counselling

Both are helping services

Both aim at solving problems
Both are principled activities
Differences between Guidance and
Counselling
 Guidance Counseling
It is a continuous Process (a life- Not necessarily continuous process
long process) from cradle to death
through early childhood,
adolescence, adulthood, and
even in old age. Guidance begins
at home goes on to school and
into the society. (Parents →
Teachers → Community)

Involves giving advice and Don’t involve advice and direction

direction

Can be done in public or Done in confidential settings

confidential settings

Voluntary or Involuntary Process Voluntary Process. Relies on

Cooperation, Not on Compulsion
(Force)
Guidance Counseling
It is both generalized and specialized Specialized service
service. Generalized service
because everyone- teachers, tutors,
advisers, deans, parents- play part in
the programme. A service meant for
everyone.

It is a specialized service because

qualified personnel such as
counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists
join hands to help the individual to
get out of his/her problem

Have ready-made solutions. No ready-made solutions. The client

knows what is best for him and the
counselor is the catalyst in the
process of growth
Guidance Counseling
It is broader than Counseling. It is a It is a specified service.
generic term which embraces
counselling, information services,
appraisal services etc
Guidance is a proactive service or Counseling is a reactive service. It
preventive services assumes that the problems already
exist
It is unethical to reveal client’s
information except in certain
situations where the counselor
can be forced to breach
confidentiality.
Circumstances that dictate the counselor to
breach confidential information about the
client may include:

On the client’s consent

• When the client’s intention may cause/result harm to self or others

When the client’s intention may endanger the life of the society

• When the client needs hospitalization

When the law requires doing so. When the client has committed
crime e.g. raping, or when the client under 16 years presenting to
you a case of rape (because it is illegal action).
Pioneers of Counselling
 Their work was built on the idea of moral instruction,
(on being good and doing right) as well as dealing
intrapersonal and interpersonal relations

Frank Parsons

Jesse B. Davis teachers and

social reformer

Clifford Beers
focus was on helping children and young adults to
learn about themselves and others, and
the world of work
 highly recognized individual in “the father of Guidance
vocational counselling.

career decision making and counselling is

widely accepted

FRANK PARSONS (1854-1908)

introduced the term vocational guidance

broad scholar, a persuasive writer, a tireless activist

and a great intellectual
 Frank Parsons’ Steps for Choosing a
Career
1. The person should have a clear understanding of
his or her aptitudes, abilities, interests
and limitations (Self-Assessment).

2. The person should be aware of available job

opportunities, the requirements and demands
of the work, the compensations given and prospects
of the job (Study of Options)

3. To match or establish the relationship between

these two bodies of information i.e. the
abilities of the person and characteristics of the job
(Careful Reasoning)
personal traits such as job characteristics such as wages, requirements,
abilities and personality prospects, etc.

“ Trait-Factor Theory“
 instituted
high school guidance
principal programme in
high school

Guidance and counselling services were introduced

in America during the industrial revolution,
a period of rapid industrial growth, social protests,
social reforms and utopian idealism
 basic guidance and counselling
services
information
placement

orientation/ mentoring
research

career
development counselling

appraisal
educational guidance and responsive
 NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF GUIDANCE
 To help students know themselves better
 To give students information that will help them to
succeed in life
 To assist students in planning for educational and
vocational choices
 To help students so that they can solve their problems
 To encourage students develop special abilities and
right attitudes
 To establish mutual understanding between teachers
and students
Guidance is needed wherever there are
problems
Self understanding and self direction: Guidance helps in
understanding one‘s strength, limitations and other
resources. Guidance helps individual to develop ability to
solve problems and take decisions.
Optimum development of individual
Solving different problem of the
individual
Academic growth and development
Vocational maturity, vocational choices and
vocational adjustments Social personal
adjustment
Better family life
Good citizenship
For conservation and proper utilization
of human resources
For national development