Page 331 - DEDU502_GUIDANCE_AND_COUNSELING_ENGLISH

Unit 32 : Problems of Guidance and Counseling in India and their Solutions

pupil to explain how he was going to do this. This helped the pupil to open up to the counselor. Notes
There was some problem at home that bothered him very much but he was unable to do anything
about it except feel unhappy and miserable. Session after session, the counselor met the pupil and
followed upon the situation at home and in the process also helped to make the pupil realize that
there was no reason for his academic work to suffer due to the problems at home. Counseling
helped the pupil to make a self-examination of his situation and to realize that his indifference was
only a reaction to his dissatisfaction with his home life. With such an insight the pupil began working
again at the normal level and quickly regained his lost position in class.
Self Assessment

1. Fill in the blanks
(i) The objective of network Counseling approach is ______, that is creating a social network for
the individual member or family in distress.
(ii) Most problems in family relations have been identified to result from misunderstanding which
is ______ for lack of communication
(iii) ______ is a symptom of emotional immaturity leading to socially unacceptable or reprehensible
behaviour of the youth.
(iv) ______ show open defiance or express their reluctance in more passive ways.

32.4 Marriage Counseling

Marriage counseling is indeed a very wide field and has three important areas, namely, pre-marital
counseling, counseling for better marital harmony and counseling to eliminate or forestall a marriage
from breaking up.
Owing to the traditional nature of Indian society, marital counseling has not gained importance.
Basically marital counseling is not different from individual counseling. In the case of individual
counseling the counsellee is the individual client. In marriage counseling the client is not either of
the married partners but the marriage relationship itself. Counseling helps in the understanding of
this marriage relationship and in putting it in its proper perspective. Marriage counseling is looked
upon as a form of crisis intervention. If the precipitating events are understood, something can be
done to forestall the crisis itself. The preventive aspect should receive attention first, while intervention
can be conveniently dealt with later.
A crisis in marriage relationships could arise from the intrusion of a third party. If this third party
has affective relationships, it could cause an emotional turmoil leading to a crisis. Another factor
that could pose a threat to a marriage is the change in the family structure. A third source of crisis
could be illness in the family. Another source of tension could result from strong likes and dislikes
and a difference in beliefs and life styles of the couple which have recently emerged owing to some
extraneous factor(s). Other causes may be financial upsets and changes in the work situations. Such
precipitating factors could cause much stress and strain in the family.

Marriage is a important event in the life of an individual. It has a number of dimensions and
functions. Most religions, with the exception of Islam, consider marriage as a sacrament and not a
social contract. Oriental societies like the Japanese, Chinese and Indian societies have a highly
conventional and traditional conception of marriage. In these societies it is not merely a matter
concerning two individuals but is looked upon as an event involving families and communities at
large. Therefore, the question of individual choice of a mate or partner is limited. The consent and
approval of the family and acceptance of the new member into the family becomes the desideratum.
This conventional idea of marriage as a sacred bond between two individuals or as an indissoluble
union, becomes quite difficult to accept with the stresses of rapid industrialization and urbanization.
In western societies, perhaps owing to historical reasons, liberal attitudes are current in so far as
marriage is concerned. The enactment of civil laws solemnizing marriages have further made them

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