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The Effectiveness of Basic Counselling Skills Training

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 The Effectiveness of Basic Counselling Skills Training




Hellya Agustina
Member of Indonesian Psychological Association (HIMPSI) South Kalimantan












Address for Correspondence:
Jl. Cemara Raya No.3 Rt/Rw.036/002 Kel.Sei Miai Kec. B.Masin Utara Kota Banjarmasin
70123
hellya.agustina@yahoo.com


 The Effectiveness of Basic Counselling Skills Training



Hellya Agustina
Member of Indonesian Psychological Association (HIMPSI) South Kalimantan




Abstract. The purpose of this study is to design and describe the effectivity of basic
counselling skills training on family planning counsellor. Participants are from civil
servants, contract workers, religious leaders, and other stakeholders. Design of this
report used one group pre-test and post-test. The reason for using this design is to define
the target behaviour before and after the training. Instruments in taking the data in this
study came from the observation of observer and psychologists (also as trainer)
throughout the training and analysed using visual and qualitative analysis. From two
analyses which conducted in this study is indicated that there is an increasing skill of
family planning counsellor South Kalimantan in their skills. These changes are not only
perceived in the classroom but also when they are on duty in the field. It can be
described following all that counselling is a term used to describe the relief relationship.

Keywords: counselling skills, training, quasi-experimental design

Introduction
Counselling is the vehicle of development, change and life enhancement in

individuals’ life. Therefore, in counselling process, a skilful counsellor can help clients

who want to develop themselves and make changes in their lives. For an effective

counselling process, a skilful counsellor should have some professional skills. These

professional skills include different types of skills such as relationship, helping or

counselling, case conceptualization, diagnosis, strategies, and interventions (Cormier &

Hackney, 2012). These skills are described as competencies ranging from the basic and

simple level to the more advanced and complex, therefore more challenging level and

examined in different ways (Whiston & Coker, 2000). Whinston and Coker

operationalized these skills in the dimensions of (a) technical skills, (b) therapeutic

approaches and interventions, (c) counsellor cognitive skill development. Technical skills
are defined as what a counsellor say and do in counselling process to help his/her

clients. The term technical skills apply to those communication skills, listening

skills/responses, basic interviewing skills, helping or counselling skills. These skills

involve different types of skills such as questions, reflection of feeling, confrontation and

self-disclosure. Cognitive skills refer to the level of cognitive complexity of a counsellor

(Duys & Hedstorm, 2000). Seligman defined these skills as conceptual skills. Conceptual

skills are those that influence how clinicians think about their clients and to identify

effective ways to help their clients. Therapeutic approaches and interventions include

counselling theories and the skills to implement the different strategies, interventions

and techniques of those theories (Seligman, 2006). In summary, it is expected that

effective counsellor should be qualified in each skill dimension and integrate this

competence with his/her work successfully. In this respect, the most important work of

counsellor is to teach these skills to the novice counsellors.

Since 1960’s, numerous systematic and structured counselling skills training programs

have been developed to teach counselling skills to the novice counsellors. The main goal

of counsellor seems to discover the effectiveness of training programs and the best

methods for training. As a matter of fact, varied in their views of learning, approaches to

training and their empirical support, four stand out as most useful to counsellor:

Carkhuff’s Human Relations Training (HRT), Ivey’s Micro-counselling/Micro-training

(MC), Kagan’s Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR), and Hill’s Helping Skills Program (HSP)

(Ladany & Inman, 2008).

As we know that communication becomes a very important initial capital in a

socialization of Family Planning Program for family planning counsellor (PKB) to the
people. The way of counsellor to communicate of course the message submitted to

people, they should have a good message content and of course be persuasive.

Persuasive itself is more like to invite, and this is emphasized by family planning

counsellor and their role sometimes always get some barriers when socialize their

program in district or sub-district. Community insight that is still considered unfamiliar

and less familiar with the National Population and Family Planning program makes a

very big indication in constraints of counsellor to socialize the program.

Presently, many family planning counsellors today is faced the emotional problem

of their clients that they can see daily. The ability to be a good ‘helper’ or counsellor

depends on knowing own feelings and thinking deeply about how you behave. One of the

most important instruments you should work with as a counsellor is yourself as a

person. In preparing for counselling, you will acquire knowledge about the theories of

personality and psychotherapy, learn assessment and intervention techniques, and

discover the dynamics of human behaviour. Such knowledge and skills are essential, but

by themselves they are not sufficient for establishing and maintaining effective

counselling relationships. To every counselling session we bring our human qualities and

the experiences that have influenced us. The human dimension is one of the most

powerful influences on the counselling process.

Because counselling is an intimate form of learning, it demands a practitioner

who is willing to shed stereotypes and be an authentic person in counselling

relationship. It is within the context of such a person-to-person connection that the client

experiences growth. If we hide behind the safety of our professional role, our clients will

likely keep themselves hidden from us. If we become merely technical experts and leave

our own reactions, values, and self out of our work, the result is likely to be sterile
counselling. It is through our own genuineness and our aliveness that we can

significantly touch our clients. If we make life-oriented choices, radiate a joy for life, and

are real in our relationships with our clients, we can motivate them to develop these

same life-enhancing qualities. This does not mean that we are self-actualized persons

who have “made it” or that we are without our problems. Rather, it implies that we are

willing to look at our lives and make the changes we want. Because we affirm that

changing is worth the risk and the effort, we hold out hope to our clients that they can

change and truly like the person they are becoming.

Method

This research is a quasi-experimental research. The design used in the study was

the one-group pre-test and post-test design, which was part of the experimental design

performed on a group of subjects without comparison groups and measured before and

after the experiment. Comparisons are made on the same subject at different times, i.e.

baseline conditions or conditions in which the measurement of behavioural targets is

conducted in the circumstances before any intervention is given, and the intervention

conditions in which an intervention is provided, and the behavioural targets are

measured under those conditions (Shadish, Cook, & Campbell, 2002). The reason for

using the O X O design on the following quasi-experimental research compared to other

designs is to define the behavioural target as an accurately measurable behaviour,

measure and collect data at baseline (O1) conditions repeatedly until the trends and data

levels become Stabilized according to the researcher, provided intervention after stable

baseline data trend, measured and collected data at intervention phase (X) with certain

period of time until data stabilized, and after trend and level of data in phase
intervention (X) stable then measured at phase after Intervention (O2) (Barlow &

Hersen, 1984); (Sunanto, Takeuchi, & Nakata, 2005). The subjects in this study were,

family planning counsellor workers from district or city who participated in counselling

skills training that scheduled by Department of Training and Development at the

National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) South Kalimantan. Methods of

data collection in this study are: observation, depth-interview, and documents in the

form of pre-test and post-test. Besides, data analyses used in this study are: visual and

descriptive analysis.

Result

In this study the researchers used various methods, namely in-depth interviews to

obtain preliminary data on the condition of family planning instructors obtained from

the Department of Training and Development at the National Population and Family

Planning Board (BKKBN) South Kalimantan, observation or behavioural observation

during training, and documentation to get the data. After the researcher get information

through in-depth interviews, researchers will make observations, through observation

researchers get a fairly clear picture of field conditions related to the counselling skill of

family planning counsellor.

Observations are considered important because researchers will find facts in the field

how the actual conditions experienced by the counsellors or workers. The next step is

the researcher doing documentation study in the form of additional information such as

written data obtained from the field/office, the data is not only in the form of

information obtained from the field, but such as pre-test and post-test of skills training
counselling and skills change report Counselling before and after the training that can be

a review material to add information to be gained by researchers.

Family planning counsellor do an approach to the community using several ways such as

routine counselling at posyandu, either at times such as national family days or

counselling conducted once a month. Family planning counsellor also do an extension to

the community is not alone, assisted by some Post or Sub family planning in each city or

village, and Village Midwife, Family Planning Counsellor provide understanding and

input to the community who want and new to enter the fertile age couple. Family

planning counsellor will do a counselling explains every contraception tools which to be

used as a contraceptive, after explained the mothers have the right to choose

contraception tools which will be used to follow family planning program.

Some of the things done in the extension activities, including introduction of

contraceptives to couples of childbearing ages, control of contraceptives for participants

family planning remains and some activities such as counselling. If counselling is in a

group, counselling is more of an interpersonal communication. Many of the few mothers

or couples of childbearing ages are very reluctant to find out information about

contraceptives in public forums such as counselling because they rate family planning is

personal.

The counselling process is an important part of providing information, support, and

providing an opportunity for acceptors to choose their own problem solving from what

they experience. Can be concluded that the existence of a family planning counsellor is

very important in the success of family planning program, but sometimes the nature of

some people who think that family planning program including "haram or forbidden"

often give a big enough effect to the community. People will be afraid of what they
choose because they join the family planning program. Plus, the issue of family planning

is often raised by some religious leaders who do not support the family planning

program, so it takes the skills of family planning instructors to convince and change the

mind-set that has been there in the community, especially in South Kalimantan. A

significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results proves that effective

counselling skills training is applied to family planning counsellor in below:

Figure 1. Visual Analysis on Evaluation of Participants’ Knowledge

In this result we can see that as a family planning counsellor should be able to provide a

good and accurate understanding to the communicant (which means the acceptor),

throughout counselling process. It is closely related to when a person does something

must be affected by factors in himself or environmental factors.

Discussion

Family Planning Counsellor (PKB) acts as the person in charge of managing the

implementation of activities related to the role of a family planning counsellor himself.

The counselling is conducted to provide an understanding of the importance of attending

family planning program, counsellor is usually done once a month following Posyandu

schedule, but family planning service is not only done at Posyandu schedule, generally in

cooperation with Department of Training and Development at National Population and

Family Planning Board (BKKBN) South Kalimantan, and sometimes family planning

counsellor and workers will perform services according to work program. Obviously, the

barriers to counselling must be considered, when a counsellor finds obstacles in

communication to his/her client then there will be a lack of understanding of the

message delivered. The message given will not be clearly understood so that the

communicant or acceptor will be difficult to digest the message given by the counsellor.

Such problems are often faced by family planning counsellor in conducting some

counselling activities in the field.

Many of the few communities living in districts or municipalities in South Kalimantan are

still lacking the mastery of formal languages or common languages such as Bahasa

Indonesia. Many of its citizens still use their own local languages. The location of the

problem is not only in the communicant or acceptors of course, but as family planning

counsellors should have the skills in implementing the counselling process, a counsellor

should make adjustments in counselling the community. Accordingly, of that a counsellor

should immediately take action to improve counselling ability. After the training of

family planning skills increased so that when they are in obligation he/she as a

counsellor can play an active role and use their skills effectively in activities organized by

the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) South Kalimantan.

Conclusion

This study involved family planning counsellor from civil servants, contract workers,

non-governmental organizations, religious leaders, traditional leaders, and other several

stakeholders, with divided into several batch as subjects.

It was found that counselling skills training is one of the effective programs implemented

as an effort to improve the skills of family planning counsellor in conducting counselling

to the community. In this way the counsellors are trained to improve their counselling

skills. From the indicator of counselling skills training, it is illustrated that their skills

have improved in their application so that when they are on the field their skills when

faced with clients / acceptors can help them to understand the information provided

about the contraceptives, support the decisions made by clients, and provide

opportunities for clients to choose your own problem solving.

Counselling skills of family planning counsellors have been shown to increase through

counselling skills training conducted by Psychologists. This is evidenced from the pre-

test and post-test data provided to the trainees. Illustrated from the average scores

obtained by each trainee. In addition, the other positive things gained during counselling

skills training is that the trainers' skills are increasing in terms of communicating and

counselling with clients or acceptors. Thus, counselling skills training on family planning

instructors means that this training can be one of sustainable and continuous work

programs with other work programs for Department of Training and Development at

National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN) South Kalimantan.

Acknowledgement

“This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-

for-profit sectors.”

Declaration of Interest

“The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.”

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