Topic 6: PROCESS OF COUNSELING

The process of counseling involves the following stages;

1) Exploration stage
2) Understanding stage
3) Action stage
4) Evaluation and termination stage
5) Follow up stage.

1) Exploration stage
- This is the 1st stage in counseling which is sometimes referred to as the current scenario
stage.
- In this stage the client presents and explains what he/she thinks is the problem in his/her
life.
- In this stage the client is helped by the counselor to answer questions like;
 What is my concern?
 What is the real issue that disturbs me?
 What is my dilemma?
 What are my opportunities in this issue?
 What are my limitations in this concern?
- In this stage the counselor helps the client to understand the real problem at hand.

The main purpose /aims of this stage include:-

a) To make both the client and counselor get acquainted with the issues or problems that
they are dealing with.
b) To help the counselor and client build a rapport or a good working relationship.
c) To make the counselor acquire the basic information concerning the client e.g. age,
marital status, nationality, tribe, gender, level of education, religion, ambitions and
motivations.
- At this stage the counselor needs to give the client enough time for him or her to tell
his/her story concerning the issue that is disturbing.
- The counselor therefore has to pay full attention to the client as he/she explains her/his
story and should note carefully, both the verbal and non -verbal communications of the
client.
- At this stage the counselor should use his expertise to find whether the presented problem
is the real problem.
- The counselor should always tell the client to analyse the real issues at hand. So that both
of them can begin to work out the solutions.

2) Understanding stage
It is also referred to as the insight stage or the preferred scenario stage.
- At this stage, the client is helped by the counselor to see the situation he/she would like to
be finally, after the problem is solved.
- The client is helped to reaccess the issue in a deeper level and to reach new perspectives
in his imagination.
- The client is helped to imagine and conceptualize life and picture the new state of affairs
that is more acceptable than the state that he/she is in currently.
- At this stage the client is helped to choose the possibilities that make sense most and how
to make these possibilities / goals be achieved.
- The counselor helps the client to see obstacles that stand in his ways in the process of
attaining his goals.

3) Action stage
- The main goal of this stage is to prepare a plan of action to enable the client to begin
tackling the problem. This happens after the client and counselor are satisfied that
they know and have understood what the problem is.
- At this stage the counselor helps the client to come up with his own goals on how to
solve his problem.
- In this stage the counselor should play the role of a facilitator such that he/she refrains
himself from imposing some goals to the client. The Client should be given a chance
to decide the plan of action in the process of achieving his goals and solving his
problems.
- In this case the counselor has a role of monitoring the progress towards the
achievement of the client goals. In the process of monitoring, the counselor should
acknowledge the progress made by client by noting whether the strategies being
applied are working or not working as expected.
 - During this stage the client is left to apply the strategies suggested by the counselor.
Incase these strategies do not work, the counselee should be given a new formula or
new strategies of modifying the old one until the time when the solution is found.
- At every stage of the action stage the counselor should be there to guide the client,
encourage him/her, and correct him/her where necessary.

4) Evaluation and termination stage

- Although evaluation should be an ongoing activity in every stage, the final evaluation
in the progress of counseling should be done inorder to confirm whether the goals of
the client have being achieved or not.
- After the final evaluation is done the counseling process should be terminated and the
counseling relationship stopped.
- Termination of counseling refers to the finishing up steps which should be handled
carefully by both the client and the counselor.
- Termination may mean concluding the counseling process or referring the case to
another counselor.

Occasions when termination of counseling is necessary

- When the goals of the client have been achieved.
- When the client’s goals have not being achieved.
- When the counselor, client relationship fails to provide warmth, security and trust
upon which the goals of counseling would have achieved.
- When selected strategies, goals or plans of actions fail to work leaving the client
frustrated and discouraged.
- When the client resist the recommended strategies by the counselor.
- When there arise unexpected or uncontrolled problems affecting both the counselor
and the client e.g. financial constraints, transfer of the client to far area, romantic
feelings between the counselor and the client.

5) Follow up stage
There is always a need to follow up the needs of the client even after terminating
counseling e.g. after counseling a truant student on school attendance the counselor
should follow up to know the progress of the students as far as the school attendance is
concerned after the counseling has been terminated.
However many counselors do not include this stage at all.