INTRODUCTION

EXERCISE: GIVE YOUR

EXPERIENCE
 What does counselling mean to you?
 What is your family and cultural background, and how does that affect the person you are?
 How has each new experience or setting changed the way you think?
 Has this led to increasing flexibility and awareness of the many possibilities that are yours?
 Can you listen and learn from those who may differ sharply from you?
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
COUNSELLING SKILLS AND
CONVERSATION - ENACT
Ordinary conversation Counselling skill

Casual, perhaps somewhat inattentive listening, Active listening

Contains a great deal of interaction, anecdotes, Responding in a purposeful, non-judgemental and

sharing thoughts and ideas and changing the often rather serious way, conversation usually has a
subject aimlessly somewhat one-way character
No confidentiality Confidentiality
Sounds natural Unnatural, a lot of clarification, repeating of
statements
No goal Goal
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
COUNSELLING SKILLS AND
COUNSELLING
 Counselling is generally characterized by an explicit agreement between a counsellor and
client to meet in a certain, private setting, at agreed times and under disciplined conditions of
confidentiality, with ethical parameters, protected time and specified aims.
 Usually (although not always) the counsellor will have had a certain level of training
(beyond the level of a certificate in counselling skills, typically a diploma or above), will
belong to a professional body with a published code of ethics, and will receive
confidential supervision for her or his counselling. (coll. Counselor ethics, colleague –
child)
 Counselling skills may be used in all sorts of situations – in the classroom, at a hospital
bedside, in training settings, or at bus stops or parties! In other words they may be used within
professional contexts, in voluntary work, or simply in everyday social and domestic settings,
when someone is trying to listen in a disciplined manner, to be as helpful, constructive or
interested as possible.
DEFINITION &
MEANING OF
COUNSELLING
USER-CENTERED DEFINITION
OF COUNSELLING
 Counselling is a purposeful, private conversation arising from the intention of one person (couple or
family) to reflect on and resolve a problem in living, and the willingness of another person to assist in
that endeavor.

 Counselling is an activity that can only happen if the person seeking help, the client, wants it to happen.
 Counselling is not focused on symptom reduction, but on enabling the person to live their life in a way
that is most meaningful and satisfying to him or her. (eg. Anxiety reduction – holistically done)
 Counselling is fundamentally based on conversation – talk things through
 Counselling depends on the creation of a sufficiently secure relationship between two people.
 The act of seeking counselling is not viewed as an indicator of personal deficiency or pathology. The
Client does have resources which only need to be channeled.
 The person seeking counselling invites another person to provide him or her with time and space
characterized by the presence of a number of features that are not readily available in everyday life:
permission to speak, respect for difference, confidentiality and affirmation.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COUNSELLING AND
PSYCHOTHERAPY
PSYCHOTHERAPY (Psychoanalytic) COUNSELLING
Psychotherapy - lengthy training (three to four years and
sometimes more) which usually includes ongoing
mandatory personal therapy for all trainees, exposing
them to the subtle, unconscious layers of conflicts and
defences they inevitably have
Psychotherapy addresses the deep, unconscious, long-
standing personality and behaviour problems and patterns
of clients
Psychotherapy takes very seriously clients’
psychopathology, or entrenched psychological distress
patterns, usually thought to derive from very early
relationships in childhood and/or from partly innate drives
Psychotherapy requires a substantial time commitment,
sometimes demanding that patients attend several times a
week for several years.
In counselling training, personal/training
therapy has recently become mandatory, with
counselling psychologists and counsellors
having to complete at least 40 hours
Focuses on superficially resolving only their
presenting symptoms.
Counselling does delve into childhood
patterns, however not as deeply as
psychotherapy.
Counselling, by contrast, is often very short-
term and usually once-weekly.
GOALS OF
COUNSELLING
WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF
COUNSELING AND THERAPY?
 What are your goals in life?
 Self-actualization is a challenging concept. What does it mean to you?
 What experience and supports have led you to become more yourself, what you really are and
want to be?
 What personal qualities or social supports helped you grow?
 What does this say to your own approach to counseling and psychotherapy?
GOALS OF COUNSELLING
 Support – help to uphold current ego strength and/or coping skills and does not seek to
challenge or uncover. Some may need long-term supportive therapy, while others require
short-term support in crises. Not always necessary to uncover psychopathology.
 Psycho-Educational Guidance - Appropriate information giving, parenting skills,
administering of questionnaires, coaching, mentoring, provision of social skills, lifeskills
training, assertiveness and relaxation training, marriage enrichment programmes, parent
effectiveness training, relapse prevention programmes, stress inoculation training, emotional
intelligence and positive psychology training.
 Adjustment and resource provision - clients may sometimes seek short-term adjustment-
oriented help that may include elements of supportive therapy, problem-solving skills,
assertiveness training, brainstorming solutions, plus the provision of contextual information
(e.g., how an organization works, how to complain about your boss harassing you, internship
information) Vanitha sahayavani
GOALS OF COUNSELLING
 Problem Solving and Decision Making – Sometimes the purpose of entering counselling or
psychotherapy is to examine a life situation or dilemma and come to a (probably quite early)
resolution or decision. How to cope with nuisance neighbours and difficult relationships,
whether to have a termination of pregnancy, moving away from parents are examples.
 Symptom Amelioration - A majority of people who seek or are referred to therapy for the first
time want their symptoms to go away; they wish to return to their normal mode of functioning
and self-image. They may or may not be interested to uncover deep unconscious conflicts.
(Client needs certain techniques to get over his anxiety and his use of weed)
 Insight and Understanding - ‘Why did this happen to me? Why am I like this? Aha! – now I
see where this comes from.’ (Why am I so disconnected from life?)
GOALS OF COUNSELLING
 Crisis Intervention and Management - These terms are used broadly here to include the
intervention and support of professionals in the aftermath of large-scale (e.g., plane crash,
bombing incident), small-group (e.g., bank raid, suicide) or personal disasters (e.g., road
traffic accidents). Crisis intervention is concerned primarily with restoration of the level of
functioning that existed prior to the crisis.
 Discovery of Meaning and Transcendental Experience - Particularly in the wake of the relative
decline of formal religion and loss of spiritual and moral leaders and mentors, it seems that
therapy has become for many an avenue for the exploration of existential, spiritual or
metaphysical meaning and transcendental experience.(Point of living?)
 Self-Actualization - The range of goals subsumed here may include, for example, anything
from ‘I want to be more assertive/risktaking/happy’ to ‘I want to try out everything life has to
offer, I want to overcome all obstacles in my life and find the real me.’ Concepts of
individuation, maturation, finding the real self, being true to oneself and increasing self-
awareness fit here.
COUNSELLING
SETTING:
COUNSELLING SETTINGS
 Embedded counselling - There are also many instances where counselling is offered in the
context of a relationship that is primarily focused on other, non-counselling concerns. For
example, a student may use a teacher as a person with whom it is safe to share worries and
anxieties.
 Life coaching or executive coaching - Promotion of positive effectiveness and achievement,
rather than on the amelioration of problems. (Infinitheism, Landmark)
 Many counselling agencies are funded by, or attached to, organizations that have a primary
task of providing medical and health care - Mental health/psychiatric settings to even such
settings as GP surgeries; specialist counselling directed towards people with particular medical
conditions such as AIDS, cancer and various genetic disorders.
 Counselling agencies to meet the needs of people who experience traumatic or sudden
interruptions to their life development and social roles - areas as marital breakdown, rape and
bereavement. Work of the counsellor in these agencies can very clearly be seen as arising from
social problems – eg., changing roles of male and female in marriage, easy laws to divorce.
 Private Practice
COUNSELLING SETTINGS
 Counselling activity in the area of addictions - There exists a range of counselling approaches
developed to help people with problems related to drug and alcohol abuse, food addiction and
smoking cessation. (CADABAMS)
 Voluntary Agencies and Third Sector Settings - Provision of local women’s therapy centres, rape
crisis centres, HIV/AIDS agencies, and family-oriented drug- and alcohol-related services is
widespread. Many of these rely on a mixture of statutory funding, voluntary fundraising and
donations. Counsellors and psychotherapists are taken in a mixture of voluntary and paid
positions. Services are sometimes free or on a donation or sliding scale of fees basis. Typically,
services will now offer a mixture of online, telephone and face-to-face individual or group
support.
 Educational Settings - Issues of career uncertainty, susceptibility to emotional, interpersonal and
sexual problems, drugs and alcohol, homesickness, and educational and financial pressures
require sensitive help. Student counsellors may have relatively high caseloads, and so turnover
is pretty high.
 Employee Counselling in the Workplace - Prevention of absenteeism is a motive behind
employee counselling services. Therapy provided is typically short term and time-limited.
Employers’ concerns include drug and alcohol abuse, stress at work, employee relations,
management of change, redundancy, accidents in the workplace, etc. Some organisations
provide In-house counselling and coaching provision, some refer out to individual counsellors
or group practices; many contract the services of external employee assistance programme
(EAP) providers.
THE SOCIAL AND
HISTORICAL
ORIGINS OF
COUNSELLING AND
PSYCHOTHERAPY
PRE - INDUSTRIALIZATION
 Prior to the eighteenth century, society was primarily based on small rural communities, who
lived according to religious principles.
 In Europe, the Industrial Revolution brought about a fundamental shift, from traditional to
modern ways of living and thinking. Increasingly, people moved to cities, worked in factories,
and were influenced by scientific rather than religious belief systems.
 This shift was accompanied by major changes in the way that society responded to the needs of
people who had problems in their lives.
 Before this, the problems in living that people encountered were primarily dealt with from a
religious perspective, implemented at the level of the local community.
 Anyone who was seriously disturbed or insane was essentially tolerated as part of the
community. Less extreme forms of emotional or interpersonal problems were dealt with by the
local priest: for example, through the Catholic confessional which took place in public, and was
often accompanied by communal admonishment, prayer and even excommunication.
EXERCISE : THE SELF-COMPASSION PAUSE
 Clients who are high in self-compassion treat themselves with kindness and concern when
they experience negative events (Batts Allen & Leary, 2010). Further, practicing self-
compassion may allow clients to access positive emotions more easily and improve measures
of life satisfaction, social connectedness, and subjective wellbeing (Leary, Tate, Adam, Allen,
& Hancock, 2007).

 Instructions
Invite clients to pause for a moment and focus on their breathing as they inhale and exhale.
Next, clients should place their hands on their body – reminding themselves that while this is a
difficult moment, suffering is a part of life. It can be beneficial for clients to create soothing
phrases that are personal and meaningful to them, such as “I accept myself as I am” or “May I
forgive myself for this mistake just as I would forgive others.”
EXERCISE: IMPORTANT, ENJOYABLE &
MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES
 Instructions
In this exercise, clients are invited to complete three important, enjoyable, and meaningful
activities in a single day and write about them in detail. These acts should include:
 A pleasurable activity carried out alone (for example, reading or listening to music)
 A pleasurable activity completed with others (for example, playing cards or meeting for lunch)
 A meaningful or important act (for example, visiting an isolated relative).
CAPITALISM
 Capitalism required the development of a high level of rationality accompanied by repression
and control of pleasure seeking. (Eg. College 20 yrs ago/ less desires, goals)
 Hard work was encouraged, increase in personal autonomy and independence.. to achieve
long range goals
 In traditional cultures, people live in relatively small communities in which everyone knows
everyone else, and behaviour is monitored and controlled by others – direct observation, direct
action through exclusion and scorn, shame is induced. (Pregnancy cases)
 In urban, industrial societies - life is anonymous, social control must be implemented through
internalized norms and regulations, which result in guilt if defied.
 The sense that people had of who they were and how they related to others, were gradually
transformed
CHANGE IN STRUCTURE OF WORK - CHOICES
 Before the eighteenth century, limited range of occupations, and access to these occupations
was largely determined by social class, religion and geographical location.
 No longer possible to select job candidates on the basis of personal acquaintance. In addition,
jobs required specialist training.
 Thus people stayed in school longer (childhood period increased), more attended colleges and
universities.
 No longer was a personal future mapped out for a person by their family and community.
 Within a period of one or two generations, a vast array of personal choices came into being, in
respect of the capacity, and pressure, to construct a personal identity and career trajectory.
(Gender identity)
 Inevitably, the existence of these choices were associated with a growth in anxiety (‘am I
making the right decision?’ ‘can I cope with this role?’) and depression (‘I have failed’, ‘I am
not achieving as much as other people’).
EMERGENCE OF
PSYCHOTHERAPY
 These large-scale economic and social changes had profound implications for all
disadvantaged or handicapped members of society.
 Previously there had been the slow pace of rural life, the availability of family members
working at home and the existence of tasks that could be performed by even the least able.
 Now there was the discipline of the machine, long hours in the factory and the fragmentation
of the communities and family networks that had taken care of the old, sick, poor and insane.
 There very quickly grew up, from necessity, a system of state provision for these non-
productive members of the population, known as the work- house system.
 The development of ‘asylums’ marked the first systematic involvement of the state in the care
and control of the insane in European society – moral treatment (Quakers), appalling
conditions, treated like animals (Bethlem)
 The medical profession then realized there was money to be made from asylums, and thus
influenced Acts of Parliament – and thus science replaced religion
INFLUENCE OF THE MEDICAL
PROFESSION
 Different types of physical treatment were experimented with, such as hypodermic injections
of morphine, the administration of bromides, amyl nitrate, the application of electricity, and
the use of Turkish baths.
 An important theme throughout this era was the use of the asylum to oppress women,
who constituted the majority of inmates.
 Reasons for psychological illnesses moved from demonology, witchery to more scientific and
medical reasons.
 However, there was a public outcry that care in institutions was worse than care in the
community. There was skepticism regarding medical approaches as well.
BIRTH OF PSYCHIATRIC PROFESSION
LEAD TO:
 Emotional and behavioural ‘problems in living’ became medicalized. (Modern day
psychiatrists dealing with depression)
 There emerged a ‘trade in lunacy’, an involvement of market forces in the development of
services.
 There was an increased amount of rejection/ isolation and cruelty in the way the insane were
treated, and much greater social control.
 The services that were available were controlled by men and used to oppress women.
 Science replaced religion as the main framework for understanding madness.
 THE EARLIEST FORMS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY: HYPNOSIS AND
PSYCHOANALYSIS

 Originally discovered by Johann Joseph Gassner (1727–79) and Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–
1815), hypnotism came to be widely used as an anesthetic in surgical operations before the
invention of chemical anesthetics.
 French psychiatrists Charcot and Janet began to experiment with hypnosis as a means of
treating ‘hysterical’ patients – importance of rapport between client and therapist, delving into
the unconscious.
 The key figure in the process of transition from hypnosis to psychotherapy was, of course,
Sigmund Freud.
 In America, the psychologists such as Carl Rogers, Eric Berne, Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck and
Abraham Maslow reinterpreted Freud’s theories to suit the American clientele. (Freud – Jew –
faced persecution)
 The impact of World War II on the USA resulted in a substantial number of soldiers returning
home with psychological injuries – and Roger’s client centered therapy was most credible, and
therapists were easily trainable, was less time-consuming, more egalitarian in its philosophy,
and more optimistic.
THE KEY CULTURAL THEMES THAT HAVE STIMULATED
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PSYCHOTHERAPY IN
WESTERN SOCIETIES ARE:

● for individuals, a sense of fragmentation in their sense of self;

● pressure on individuals to act rationally and control their emotions;
● in a postmodern world, individuals are reflexively aware of choices open to them around
identity – psychotherapy is one way of constructing an identity;
● the replacement of spiritual/religious systems of making sense of life, by scientific models;
● an increasing emphasis on medical solutions to social and personal problems;
● the growth of consumerism as a source of meaning and identity, in response to capitalist
economic pressures for expanding markets.
● the increase in individualism within modern societies, accompanied by an erosion of
collective/communal ways of life;
INFLUENCE OF FREUD
 The cultural significance of Freudian ideas can be seen to lie in the implicit assumption that
we are all neurotic, that behind the facade of even the most apparently rational and successful
person there lie inner conflicts and instinctual drives.
 The message of Freud was that psychiatry is relevant not just for the mad man or woman in
the asylum, but for everyone.
INFLUENCE OF CARL ROGERS
 One of the distinctive contributions of Rogers was to invent systematic methods of carrying
out research into the processes and outcomes of therapy. (First to record sessions)
 The effect of this innovation was to reinforce the legitimacy of therapy as a socially acceptable
enterprise by giving it the respectability and status of an applied science.
EMERGENCE OF COUNSELLING: INVOLVEMENT IN
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND THE ROLE OF THE
VOLUNTARY SECTOR
 America: Parsons came to be particularly interested in the issue of helping young people to be
matched with jobs that were right for them - ‘Vocation Bureau’ in an immigrant district of
Boston, where young people were interviewed and assessed, provided with information about
possible career choices, and provided with opportunities to explore their feelings around the
work they would like to do (which is the basis of counselling)
 Britain: Counselling had strong roots in the voluntary sector. For example, the largest single
counselling agency in Britain, the National Marriage Guidance Council dates back to 1938,
when a clergyman, Dr Herbert Gray, mobilized the efforts of people who were concerned
about the threat to marriage caused by modern life (Tyndall 1985). The additional threat to
married life introduced by World War II led to the formal establishment of the Marriage
Guidance Council in 1942.
EXERCISE: DESIGN A BEAUTIFUL DAY

 What do they love to do? What do they enjoy that they haven’t had a chance to do recently?
What have they always wanted to do but have never tried?
 Planning the perfect day in your head makes you actually go through positive feelings, the feel
of actually living through the day.
CURRENT STATUS
 We live in a fragmented society, in which there are many people who lack
emotional and social support systems that might assist them in coping with stressful
problems in living – counselling fulfils a vital role in society, as a means of
assisting individuals effectively to negotiate transition points in their lives.
 Counselling agencies are generally located within the communities of those whom
they serve, and are networked with other caring organizations – members of the
public usually know about the counselling that is available in their community, and
do not feel stigmatized in making use of it. (Even older adults are open to
counselling, house help)
 Counselling regularly receives publicity in the media, most of which is positive.
The media image of counselling is low-key and reassuring, in contrast to, for
example, the cartoon representation of the psychoanalyst.
 The legitimacy of counselling has never relied on research evidence or government
policy initiatives, but instead is based on word-of-mouth recommendation from
users.
CURRENT STATUS
 Caring and ‘people’ professions, such as nursing, medicine, teaching and social work, which had
previously performed a quasi-counselling role, were financially and managerially squeezed during the
1970s and 1980s. Members of these professions no longer have time to listen to their clients. Many of
them have sought training as counsellors, and have created specialist counselling roles within their
organizations, as a way of preserving the quality of contact with clients. (MONTFORT
CERTIFICATE course)
 Many thousands of people who work in caring professions have received training in counselling skills,
as part of their basic professional education, and use these skills within an ‘embedded counselling’
role. There are also a large number of part-time volunteer counsellors, who combine some counselling
work alongside other occupational and family responsibilities. All this creates an enormous reservoir
of awareness within society of counselling methods (such as empathic listening) and values (such as
non-judgemental acceptance); (COVID Times)
 There is an entrepreneurial spirit in many counsellors, who will actively sell their services to new
groups of consumers. For example, any human resource or occupational health director of a large
company will have a filing cabinet full of brochures from counsellors and counselling agencies eager
to provide employee counselling services. (whatsapp fwds)
 Counselling is a highly diverse activity, which is delivered in a broad range of contexts
(voluntary/not-for-profit, statutory, private practice, social care, health, education); this diversity has
allowed counselling to continue to expand at times when funding pressures might have resulted in
cuts in provision in any one sector.
COUNSELLING IN INDIA
 In India, elders especially parents and teachers thought that imparting counseling in the form of
advice and guidance was one of their fundamental, and sacred duty. The often repeated adage,
“Mata, Pita, Guru, Deivam” (Mother, Father, Teacher, God) reminded the youngsters not only
of the agents of counseling but also of the priority as to who should impart counseling at
various stages of life.
 Elders were only too ready to take up the role of counselors and youngsters sought counseling
with prompt compliance. Many such incidents could be explained away as mere acts of ‘giving
advice’.
 But in most of those ancient transactions it is not difficult to see the scientific practice and
ethics of modern counseling techniques. The most widely acknowledged counseling situation in
the epics is that of the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
 Man should act in accordance with the demands of his situation and his duties in life. Self
realisation understood in the context of Gita is not the same as what we understand by Rogerian
or Existential sense. Man has to realise his inner nature (self actualization), that is, his
spirituality which reveals oneness with the ultimate. (Why Arjuna has to fight his cousins)
 Varnasharamas – each stage gives you duties to perform. Purpose in life was explained.
ORIGIN OF COUNSELLING
MOVEMENT IN INDIA
 It was at the Mysore University in south India that the first Chair in psychology was endowed -
1924
 Perhaps less than a year or so before this, the Calcutta University started a department of
psychology with a lecturer as the in charge Head of the Department.
 The applied psychology section of the Calcutta University was established in 1938 and the
department of psychological services at Patna University in 1945.
 However, counseling psychology or its forerunner, vocational guidance did not figure as an
important service at universities where psychology was offered.
 First in Calcutta and later in Bombay, voluntary private agencies came to be established to provide
guidance on a modest scale. In Calcutta the guidance movement became associated with David
Hare training college. In Bombay, Batliboy and Mukherjee started, in 1941, a private agency
known as Batliboy Vocational Guidance Bureau.
 Counseling was recognised as an important service in India as early as 1938 when Acharya
Narendra Dev committee underlined the importance of counseling and guidance in education.
(Socialist – Congress party – importance of values in education)
PRESENT SCENARIO
 Counseling was also identified an essential service by the national framework curriculum in
2005 by the NCERT ((National Council for Educational Research and Training).
 The strongest attention for counseling has arisen from the school sector. During its 2001
National conference, the CBSE resolved that it would be mandatory for all its schools to have
trained school counselors.
 The nature and scope of counseling itself remains poorly articulated. At present there is no
licensing system for counselors as anyone can become a counselor and there is no system to
monitor the skills in a systematic manner.
 A recent evaluation of the cultural sensitivity of existing curricula revealed that very little has
emerged in terms of Indian models of counseling (Arulmani, 2007).
 The attempt seems to have been to adopt western concepts with little or no consideration for
“discovering” new approaches and validating them for the Indian situation
 A survey by Arulmani & Nag, 2006, conducted in 12 different Indian regions revealed that
less than 10% of this sample has access to any form of counseling. There is also a lack of
clarity regarding the role of a counselor.
 Referrals to counselors cover the entire gamut of mental needs, ranging from severe psychotic
problems to issues such as parenting concerns, childhood disorders, adolescent difficulties and
reproductive health (including HIV/AIDS issues).
 Marital discord, interpersonal problems, scholastic and educational difficulties, stress mediated
disorders, substance abuse, counseling for career development, and questions about sexual
orientation are other kinds of referrals a counselor might receive.
CHANGING INDIA AND ROLE OF THE COUNSELOR
 A decade of economic reforms has pushed India towards becoming one of world’s fastest
growing economies. This in turn has given counseling a new look.
 Economically empowered women for instance, no longer need to silently accept abuse and
disregard. Age old values are being questioned.
 The belief that marriage is a lifetime commitment, for better or for worse is no longer
unshakable as it was before. The marital discord is on the increase, as are divorce rates.
 The Indian middle class student is typically required to put in almost 16 hours of study a day
to bear the competition and win a seat in the course leading to a degree in engineering or
medicine.
 Counselors are repeatedly presented with young people who are forced to choose careers that
are popular and “in demand” but who soon discovered that their real interests and talents lay
elsewhere. Increasing number of young workers show wavering motivation and want a career
shift within the first year of working.
 Aggression and violence being fed by resentment are increasingly obtained in the Indian
society. These are all complexities a counselor practicing in India is seeing and facing these
days.
COUNSELING IN INDIA: ITS
RELEVANCE AND SUITABILITY
 The methods of counseling that emerged in the west were created by members of a particular
culture in response to needs expressed from within this culture.
 The approaches in effect were developed by a people and for a people with certain cultural
orientations.
 One of the reasons for the success of these approaches could be that both the creators of the
service and the consumers of the service had been culturally prepared in a very similar manner
to offer and partake of the service.
 They share a similar vocabulary of values and cherish a particular approach to life. (Why
Indians are reaching out to offshore counselling)
 A counseling approach that is empirical and individualistic in its orientation, for example, may
not find resonance amongst Indians, whose culture has prepared them from over the ages to
approach their existence in an intuitive, experimental and community oriented manner.
 To flourish in the contemporary globalised context, counseling cannot be viewed only solely
or even primarily as a western specialty.
IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING
CULTURAL PREPAREDNESS -
RELIGION

AND SPIRITUALITY:
The first step for which the Indian culturally is to seek, in times of distress, the emotional ties
offered through religion and representatives of religion.
 The implications of this aspect of cultural preparedness are profound for the development of a
relevant counseling strategy.
 The common western understanding that these traditional approaches are primitive and
unscientific reflects a suspicion of methods that are culturally alien. The loyalty of the masses
to these methods has been routinely attributed to ignorance and lack of knowledge. (MIL duty
towards son)
 Some scholars, have however, attempted to draw a balance and argue that it is the scientists
who are not able to transcend boundaries of their education to examine these alternate methods
with equanimity. (Kumar)
 Others have pointed that these are ancient practices filtered over hundreds of years from the
collective experience of the community, that in fact have a high degree of efficacy at the
practical and everyday level (Kakar, 2003).
IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING CULTURAL
PREPAREDNESS - HOLISTIC CONCEPTION OF
LIFE:
 Traditional Indian approaches of healing focus on the person as a whole.
 This would include the physical being as well as the individual’s mind, emotions, beliefs,
spiritual inclinations, occupational status and all other aspects of his or her existence.
 It would also include the nature of the individual’s linkages with society and the relationship
to which he or she is bound.
 Ayurveda, the ancient traditional Indian medicine provides detailed descriptions of how
emotions are linked to physical illnesses and how health is the function of maintaining the
correct balance between the individuals self and the aspects of his or her social interactions
(Das, 1974).
 In the Indian context, an approach to counseling that separates mind from body and individual
from family would most likely fail to address the felt need.
IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING CULTURAL
PREPAREDNESS - DETERMINISM:
 The philosophic constructs of Karma and Samsara (cycle of birth and death) are often
described as fatalistic approach to life.
 The proposition is that the present is determined by past actions could evoke a sense of
inevitability. The concept of Karma and Samsara do not negate the concept of free will.
 The exercise of effort in the present is linked to the future gain and development.
 Accordingly, the quality of future life could be influenced and shaped by the manner in which
one lives one’s present life.
 This emphasis on personal responsibility offers a valuable pointer to counseling techniques
that draw on the client’s cultural preparedness