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Unit 17: Counseling Services: Individual Counseling

is that of play therapy, in which children are supposed to give vent to their unconscious desires, Notes
animosities, and conflicts as they play with “doll families” and other toys. In their behaviour with
these objects they express their attitudes toward the adult or situation which appears to be the cause
of their difficulties.
Effecting Changes: Changing or removing maladjustive elements in the individual’s environment,
of course, is important. More significant, however, are the desirable changes that can be effected in
his own attitudes and patterns of behaviour. This purpose can be served best through a series of
therapeutic interviews conducted by skilled persons.
A ‘case’ should not be closed when the individual has been led to gain insight into his difficulties,
as a result of which he starts on an improved course of action. He needs help during his adjusting
process, and he should continue to have the services of the clinical staff and any others who have
participated in the remedial procedures until his adjustment is satisfactory to himself and his
counselors. Unfortunately, clinical treatment often ceases too soon, leaving an individual who is
still mentally half-sick to continue unaided in his struggle toward complete adjustment.

17.4.2 Interview Procedures
Personal Qualities of the Interviewer
The interviewing phase of counselling for personal adjustment is an art; for it the interviewer must
have certain specific personality qualities, thorough training, and experience under expert guidance.
It is important that, the interviewer possess those desirable personality qualities stressed in this
book as requisite for dealing with people in any guidance situation. No matter what the purpose of
the interview may be, the teacher, the school counselor, the employer, or the staff member of a
guidance clinic should give evidence of being an understanding and personally well-adjusted human
being. In adjustment interviews, especially, possessing these qualities is imperative.
According to practically all state requirements for school counselor certification some teaching
experience is needed. The reason for this is easily understood. Before a person can undertake the
responsibility of counselling an individual pupil wisely, he needs the experience of working with
individuals in classroom groups.
The counselor’s behaviour should be friendly but dignified. He must avoid a sentimental or a ‘kidding’
approach that is supposed to set the counselee at ease. An individual seeking help from a counselor
needs to have sufficient confidence in the latter’s acceptance of him so that thoughts and feelings
can be expressed freely, without fear of recrimination.
At the same time, the individual must respect the counselor’s judgment and be secure in the
knowledge that whatever his problem may be, its serious import to him will be recognized by the
counselor and will receive thoughtful consideration as the two work together toward a satisfactory
solution of it.
For a counselling situation to be effective, good report between the participants is necessary. This
relationship can be achieved as the counselor helps to relive counselee tensions by a friendly smile
or a casual comment in a lighter vein. The display on the part of a counselor of a kind of “hail-
fellow-well-met” attitude is likely to repel rather than to win the confidence of the individual seeking
help.
Initial Interview Procedures: Most counselling within a school setting is, in a sense, initial
interviewing. School counselling is not marked by a long series of weekly or biweekly interviews.
The student visits the counselor, for example, in November for one or two interviews, and they may
not have another conference until spring of the following year.
Although the counselor follows the student’s progress and may have several brief chats in the
corridor or at an athletic event, their next meeting starts the process all over again. Quite likely, the
objectives established for the first interview or interviews will bear no relationship to those established
at a later date. The school counselor, therefore, must be particularly skilled at initial interviewing.
Basic procedures are presented and commented upon.

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