Counselling psychology in schools : Why schools need counsellors
- Part 1 -

Nguljathang Haokip *

An Admission Counselling for admission at Ram Lal Paul Higher Secondary School, Imphal in June 2012 :: Pix - MSAD

Introduction: Psychology and Counselling

The study of Psychology in a comprehensive fashion is absent in our context. The subject only finds expression in some courses here and there tailored for specific needs. Regrettably, our educational institutions do not offer students the provision to pursue the subject. For that matter, even the distance modes of education available to us, for instance Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), has no department of Psychology owing perhaps to the absence of faculty for it.

Hence, it is not surprising to see that Counselling and Psychotherapy, subfields of Psychology, are very little known, if not totally unheard of, concepts too. Today, there are over a thousand schools (different approaches, emphases and methods) of Psychology. Psychology also has many subfields of which Counselling Psychology is one and has in itself different techniques and approaches to the practise of counselling.

Even among those who are familiar with the term, counselling is generally misunderstood and its usage restricted. At best, we might have heard the term counselling? used in connection with career?; and from my own Christian background, in the church set-up concerning the practise of „marriage counselling?, „salvation counselling ? or baptism counselling?.

However, our churches? understanding and practice is far from „true? counselling in that it resembles more of an interrogation cell (or a sermon at best) whereby the minister puts forth question after questions (mostly rhetorical) to ascertain that a child is treading the right path in his spiritual journey. In its extremity, I have witnessed many youth express their dread for the church?s counselling sessions whereby they have even come out of such sessions detesting the minister. The simple reason: Their needs are seldom met and their questions left unanswered owing largely to the minister?s incompetency in counselling skills.

Understanding Counselling

Counselling, nevertheless, is something that can be witnessed in day-to-day social and inter-personal interactions. For instance, the very act of a woman holding a neighbourly conversation with another about a problem in her marriage, whereby the latter sympathizes and offers suggestions, constitutes in itself elements of counselling.

Dr. B.J Prashantham, an imminent Indian psychologist and psychotherapist under whose expert supervision I had the privilege to undergo training at Christian Counselling Centre, Vellore, defines counselling as "a relationship between the counsellor and counselee characterized by trust and openness, in a one-to-one or small group relationship, whereby the counselee is helped to work through his interpersonal problems and crises". Dr. Prashantham?s approach to counselling is construed from various schools of Psychology and from the available approaches and techniques of counselling applied as and when appropriate depending upon the demand of the situation.

Prior to my training, I assumed counselling as giving advice, a thing I am pretty good at; and I believe we all are experts at that – advising. However, my whole understanding of counselling underwent a complete overhaul. I was made to realize (I am saying „made to? because it?s not an easy manoeuvre to shrug off the inhibited impulse of advising others which comes so naturally to all of us; it requires much exertion and professional help to shed off this inclination) that counselling is not advice-giving or a one-way, directive affair. Rather, it is a two-way, non-directive business with lots of patience at listening, empathizing and understanding.

Fundamental to counselling is to acknowledge that every person possesses the essential potentials and life-skills to live a fulfilling life and that every individual is inherently capable of overcoming their problems. In other words, it recognizes every person as worthwhile and capable but momentarily lost amidst life?s issues. As a counsellor, my job is not to show the way to the person through advising, but instead to help that person discover the way himself by enabling him to draw from the potentials which he already has within him all the time. The principle behind this is not to make the person dependent on others, including the counsellor, but to enable the person live a self-fulfilling life.

Being human entails being faced with problems. The severity and degree of intensity of the problem may differ from person to person, but the fact is undeniable that every human being struggle with issues of life. The issue could be a personal one such as trying to quit an unhealthy habit. It could be an inter-personal conflict of marriage at home or not being able to see eye to eye with a colleague at work. More so, it could even be on a wider social scale where the community in a specific locality faces some sort of ill treatment from the authority in power.

The aim of counselling is to help the person or people-group find effective and amicable ways of overcoming life issues and thereby living out a rewarding life. Counselling facilitates changes in an individual?s as well as corporate life; although of course, that depends invariably upon the counsellor?s efficacy. Effective counselling also rests upon the degree of openness exhibited by the counselee as dishonesty of the slightest measure would render the counselling altogether ineffective.

Professionalism in Counselling

Counselling goes far beyond mere sympathizing or advice-giving. In its complete sense, counselling involves certain measures of professionalism. Professional counselling differs greatly from spontaneous advising or instructing which is commonly witnessed in everyday life. It is an intentional interaction between the counsellor and counselee (or client) within the framework of an appointed location and time. It involves the counselee?s desire to address certain problems he/she is facing and thus seeking the expertise of the counsellor for helping resolve the same. Time is an important factor in counselling. Depending on the severity of the client?s problem, counselling duration may go on for days, weeks or months. Sessions may be extensive in the case of serious issues.

Confidentiality is another key aspect in counselling. It warrants no place for gossips. A professional counsellor is under obligation to keep secret the client?s story whatsoever, because only in doing so can clients be completely honest about their lives. Professional counselling also involves finance. In places where counselling is widely practised, counsellors charge fees to clients. Rapport building, contract making, goal-setting, feedbacks and follow-ups are other facets of professional counselling.

Counselling Psychology in Schools

School and educational psychology aims primarily at assisting students? improvement in their learning. It identifies the obstacles including students? behavioural and emotional difficulties which deter learning. School counsellors work in close proximity with teachers and parents to correct those difficulties and thereby improve efficiency in learning and academic performance.

The psychology of motivation plays a dominant role in an individual?s behaviour. The basic question psychologists ask is, "Why do you do what you do?"

In seeking to correct a child's particular behaviour, a counsellor tries to identify what motivates such behaviour; and once the underlying cause is detected then the process of rectifying such behaviour takes place. For most of it, the motivational causes behind behaviours escape the notice of many concerned parents, teachers, and even the child itself. Perhaps, a child engaging in a destructive behaviour may not understand why he/she is doing that. For that reason, it becomes necessary to address the underlying causes rather than merely dealing with the exhibited action.

Counselling also takes into account the influences of a person's environment and heredity, two major factors that shapes a person's behaviour. A counsellor therefore considers probe into a child?s cultural environment and family background in dealing with problems that obstructs learning and academic progress. As such, the tendency to treat all children alike with no respect for their individual history will prove ineffective in the attempt to help them improve.

Developmental Psychology has a fundamental role in dealing with school children's problems. This aspect of Psychology deals with the various tasks and challenges identified at each of the stages in a human lifespan from infancy to old age. School life covers a person's development from early childhood till the attainment of adolescent stage which is the most important stage for the formation of one's identity as an individual. Therefore, this call for much caution, sensitivity and obligation towards the well-being of school children with the aim of helping them grow up into worthwhile men and women.

In dealing with students' problems, the counselling approach as opposed to conventional method is to not belittle the struggles that they face but to recognize the fact that these struggles are part of their developmental phases. Often parents and teachers would try to correct students' problems with chastisements and warnings without confronting them in an open and free discussion. There may even be the tendency to ridicule students whose behaviour and opinion seem irrational.

Counselling, however, would invite the person to enter into a conversation. The heart of counselling is to acknowledge every human being as worthwhile and therefore bestow due respect to every thought and behaviour however unreasonable they may appear. With that, counselling seeks to work together with the person to address issues and struggles that hampers the person from living a fulfilling life.

A skilled counsellor is professionally trained to identify and handle deeper issues which may not be visible to others. A skilled counsellor is also one who is educated in the field of Psychology and Psychotherapy. Hence, for instance, where a teacher may only observe a student's poor grades in tests and warn against strict action if otherwise not improved, a counsellor may see that the student's unresolved grief over the loss of a loved one in the family is affecting his performance in school. On the same note, a teacher would see a bully in school and reprimand him, whereas a counsellor would discover that the student's action is caused by attention deficit at home.

Likewise, there could be many cases in schools of unobserved causes behind behavioural defects in students; and they require professional hand to deal with them. There are some children with abnormal traits and therefore need special attention. In the absence of a skilled counsellor, the school and family may never notice the abnormal behaviour; or even if they do so, they may be clueless regarding handling them.

To be continued....