Counselling is often confused with giving advice, however, it is not the same. Counselling is a goal-based process that takes place between a counsellor and a client. It involves exploring the difficulties including emotional and stressful situations that a client faces in their lives.
The steps of counselling are:
(1) Initial Disclosure – Relationship Building
The first step in the process of counselling involves building a relationship between a counsellor and the client. It involves engaging the clients to understand the problems that affect them. The relationship is built on empathy, genuineness and warmth on the part of the counsellor.
(2) In-Depth Exploration – Problem Assessment
As the process of forming a relationship is taking place, the process of problem assessment also begins. In this step, the counsellor collects information about the client’s life, their situation and the reason they are seeking counselling.
(3) Commitment to Action – Goal Setting
This is a very important step that involves setting goals for counselling. The course of action or an outcome of what to achieve through the counselling process is decided upon.
(4) Counselling Intervention
In this step, the counsellor decides upon the type of intervention that is to be used with the client. The counsellors choose from a variety of approaches to help the client with their problems.
(5) Evaluation, Termination or Referral
This is the last step in the process of counselling which involves the decision to end or terminate the counselling relationship. This is a difficult process for most of the counsellors as well as the clients. Usually, after the goals are met, an evaluation is done regarding the progress of the client on the basis of which the decision to terminate takes place. A counselling relationship is also terminated due to other reasons wherein a referral of some other counsellor is made to the client.