Nature and Scope of Guidance and Counselling

• Concept of Guidance and Counselling
• The Phases of the Counselling Process (Assessment, Intervention, and Termination)
• Characteristics of an Effective Counsellor
• Personal challenges as a Counsellor
• Directive & non-directive counselling

Group and Individual Guidance

• Understanding Group Membership and Behaviour in Groups (Group Dynamics)
• Characteristics of Group Guidance
• Advantages of Group Guidance
• Planning Group Counselling Sessions
• Skills of Group Facilitation (including dealing with conflict)
• Characteristics of Individual Guidance
• Advantages of Individual Guidance

Fundamental Counselling Skills

• The Client-Counsellor Relationship
• The Counsellor as a Role Model
• The Counsellor’s Needs
• Counsellor Objectivity/Subjectivity
• Emotional Involvement
• Counsellor Limits in Practice

Basic Counselling Skills

• Observation Skills
• Questioning
• Communication Skills (Listening, Feedback, Non-Verbal)
• Making Notes and Reflections

The Counselling Interview

• History Taking
• Interviewing (Characteristics, Types, Techniques)
• Collecting, Documenting Information

Ethics in Counselling

• Need for Ethical Standards
• Rights of Clients
• Dimensions of Confidentiality
• The Counsellor’s Ethical and Legal Responsibilities

Counselling Areas

• Educational guidance and counselling
• Counselling in Industrial Settings
• Medical and Health Counselling
• Counselling in Community Centres (NGOs)

Approaches to Counselling Therapy

• The Humanistic Approach (Person-Centered Therapy)
• Behaviour Therapy
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• Motivational Enhancement Therapy
• Dialectic Behaviour Therapy
• Stress and Stress Management
• Grief and Bereavement