Eps704-guidance And Counselling.docx

KENYATTA UNIVERSITY DIGITAL SCHOOL OF OPEN DISTANCE & e-LEARNING IN COLLABORATION WITH

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

EPS/PG/ 704: GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING

UNIT NOTES MODULE FORMATTING IN PROGRESS

WRITTEN BY: DR.TABITHA WANGERI COURSE NAME EPS/PG/ 704:AUTHOR’S GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLI

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EDITED BY: COURSE AUTHOR’S NAME

COURSE OUTLINE Topic one: Introduction i. Definition of terms; guidance ii.

Basic concepts in counseling

iii.

Key elements in counseling

iv.

Principles of guidance and counseling

v.

Differences between guidance and counseling

Topic two: areas of guidance and counseling i. Educational/academic ii.

Vocational/career guidance

iii.

Avocational/ leisure

iv.

Social guidance

v.

Moral guidance

vi.

Health guidance

vii.

Personal guidance

viii.

Components of guidance and counseling

Topic three: Theories of counseling i. Definition of terms ii.

Functions of theories

iii.

Psychoanalytic theory

iv.



Early childhood trauma



Structure of the mind



Instincts of man



Role of the counselor

Humanistic theory 

Focus of the theory 2

v.

vi.



View of man



Key concepts



Causes of maladjusted behavior



Role of the counselor

Rational emotive theory 

Causes of maladjusted behavior



Role of the counselor

Behavioral theories 

Key concepts



Role of the counselor

Lesson four: guidance and counseling in the African society i. Definition of terms ii.

Customs of the traditional African societies

iii.

Education in the traditional African societies

iv.

Occupational factors of the traditional African societies

v.

Psychological guidance in the traditional African societies

Lesson Five: Home experiences and psychological health i. Love and acceptance ii.

Parenting time

iii.

Personal identifications

iv.

Behavior control

v.

Security of environment

vi.

Emotional climate of the home

vii.

Poor parenting practices 3

Lesson six: school and student adjustment i. Emotional climate of the school ii.

Academic success

iii.

Academic failure

iv.

Success in extra-curriculum activities

v.

Adjustment and maladjustment

vi.

Behavioral manifestation of maladjustment

Lesson seven: counseling relationship i. Initiation of the counseling process ii.

Goals of counseling

iii.

Developmental model of counseling 

Stage one: initiation



Stage two: development and goal setting



Stage three: action and closing

Lesson eight: Qualities of a good counselor i. Personality characteristics ii.

Professional characteristics

iii.

Interpersonal characteristics

iv.

Administrative characteristics

Lesson nine: Individual counseling i. Individual choices ii.

Individual plans

iii.

Individual freedoms 4

iv.

Situations warranting individual counseling

Lesson ten: Group counseling i. Types of groups ii.

Group size and frequency of meetings

iii.

Life of the group

iv.

Structured and unstructured activities

v.

Leadership in group counseling

vi.

The group process

vii.

Therapeutic factors in group counseling

COURSE EVALUATION The course will be evaluated as follows A minimum of two CATs scored out of 30% University examinations scored out of 70% Total score of 100% 70% and above is grade A 60-69% grade B 50-59% grade C 49% and below grade D which constitutes a fail

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LESSON ONE GUIDANCE AND COUNSELLING 1.1 INTRODUCTION

Guidance and counseling are two important services that schools owe to students. Guidance ensures that students are given important directions that help them to navigate the various age specific issues while counseling ensures that students experiencing challenges that hinder their psychological growth are helped to overcome them. It is imperative that the teacher becomes involved in student guidance and counseling in order to steer pupils in the right direction in many aspects of their lives. In guidance and counseling the teacher helps learners to do the following; acquire desirable behavior patterns, study for good results, relate well with people, handle problem situations more effectively, manage resources and manage crises situations. All these issues require the teacher to posses and use very different skills from those he uses in the class room. The pupils may need an understanding person who will listen to problems with a sympathetic ear. In guidance and counseling the teacher helps the pupil to rise above their problems so that they can live more fulfilling lives.

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1.2 LECTURE OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lecture learners should be able to do the following;

i. Define the terms guidance and counseling ii. Outline the basic concepts in guidance and counseling iii. Describe the key elements in guidance and counseling iv. Explain the differences between guidance and counseling v. Describe the areas of school guidance and counseling

1.3.0 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Guidance and counseling are terms that have been used differently and sometimes interchangeably. In this lesson I have defined them differently. Basically, guidance is used more in educational settings while counseling is used when dealing with problems at intrapersonal, interpersonal and group levels.

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1.3.1Definition of guidance

The term guidance is used to imply the following things; advising, directing, helping or steering the individual in the right direction. For this reason guidance refers to broad area of educational activities and services that are aimed at assisting individuals to do the following things; make and carry out adequate plans for their lives, achieve satisfactory adjustment in life, help the person to achieve desired life goals as well as equipping the individual with knowledge and techniques that enable him to identify and find ways of solving problems before they confront him.

Guidance can also be defined as a continuing process, which is concerned with determining and providing for the developmental needs of learners. As such this process begins at home and it involves the parents identifying the developmental needs of children and providing for them consciously. The examples of needs that parents should provide for are physiological and psychological needs. The physiological needs refer to survival related needs like food, clothing, shelter and security. These needs promise physical and physiological health. The psychological needs are those that relate to issues like love and belongingness, behavior control, training in proper language use, responsibility and so on.

The parents always pass the baton to the teachers who are expected to do their part in the molding of children. The teachers are expected to take care of children’s intellectual needs, behavior control, making plans for future living, encourage and train the children in proper grooming, responsibility, and interpersonal relationships and so on. The teachers pass the baton to the community, which must ensure that young people can graduate through the various stages of development with ease; they can get jobs, settle down in marriage and make progress in various careers.

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We can also look at guidance as a lifelong process that involves helping individuals as a group and at a personal level. In this respect guidance seeks to promote self-understanding and understanding of other people. It makes the individuals more effective, more productive, and happier and more fully functioning.

1.3.2 Definition of counseling

I am sure you have had your own views of what counseling is all about. You may have had the erroneous notion that it involves giving advice to someone in a difficult situation by way of giving him or her how solutions to personal problems. As we define counseling I hope you begin to have the correct perception of the term. To begin with I would like you to perceive counseling as a person face to face relationship between two people; the counselor and the counselee. In this relationship the counselor is a person with professional skills and special competencies. He/she provides a learning situation in which the counselee is helped to know himself, his present and possible future situations so that he can make use of his potentialities in a way that is satisfying to him and beneficial to society. The counselee is helped in matters of self-understanding, decision-making and problem solving. Patterson (1973) defines counseling as a process that helps normal individuals to deal with or remove frustrations and obstacles that interfere with their daily lives. Pietrofesa (1978) defines counseling as a professional service provided by trained and competent persons to an individual or group. It is a teaching learning process where the client learns new behaviors and attitudes through cognitive reasoning and behavior modification.

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1.4 Basic concepts in counseling

This section presents the basic concepts in guidance and counseling so as to enable you to understand the concepts better. These concepts are: counselor, client, behavior, feelings, therapy and psychotherapy. The counselor is the person with expertise, who is expected to guide or control the counseling process while the Client/counselee is the person who is seeking help. Behavior refers to observable actions, moods and verbalizations of the individual and feelings are the expressed or observed emotions that a person is going through. Therapy refers to the process of healing, cure or treatment while psychotherapy is the process of healing deep seated personality problems without using drugs or surgery.

1.5 Key elements in counseling

First, we can define counseling as a professional service provided by trained and competent persons to an individuals or group who seek help on problems which they cannot handle. It involves both the counselor and the client. Since the client is the one who has a problem in psychological growth he/she is the one who determines and sets the direction and the goals to be achieved. The counselor uses his training and expertise to help the client accomplish these goals. Counseling is concerned with decision-making skills, acquisition of problem solving skills individually or in a group. Secondly, we can also look at counseling as a teaching-learning process where clients learn new behaviors and attitudes. It involves changes and modification of ways of thinking and doing 10

things. Counseling therefore affects the client’s attitudes beliefs and personal adaptations to the cultural environment in which the client finds himself. Thirdly, we can look at counseling is a dynamic relationship between the counselor and the client where the counselor establishes rapport but maintains psychological distance to avoid emotional involvement. I would like you to learn the purpose of counseling which is to provide effective learning conditions, which facilitate voluntary change of behavior and attitudes on the part of the client. In counseling the client is treated as an independent and responsible individual who is capable of making his own choices under appropriate conditions. It is also important to perceive the client as a person who knows what is good for him and the counselor is a facilitator in the process of growth. Counseling is conducted in private and the discussions are confidential.

1.6.0 Principles of guidance and counseling

Principles are truths or doctrines that are generally accepted as guidelines in developing a sense of professional ethical responsibilities for practitioners there are principles of counseling alone, principles of guidance alone and principles of both guidance and counseling.

1.6.1 Principles of counseling

Counseling helps the client to move towards greater level of self-acceptance and selfunderstanding. This principle indicates that counseling should help the client to become more self-aware and realistically accept his abilities and limitations. This principle encourages the individual to overcome biased self-perceptions, distorted realities and harmful attitudes that are

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self-destructive. Counseling should lead to self-awareness and it should serve as a source of energy. Counseling is client centered. This principle states that the needs of the client should come first. The client should be allowed to set his own goals while the counselor plays a facilitative and supportive role. The client should accept counseling. This principle is based on the belief that if the client accepts counseling he will develop a greater level of harmony towards others and the self. The process of counseling should help him to move towards his ideal self (the self he wishes to become). The client’s self-concept will become more congruent with his experiences. This client will be able to share his repressed tendencies with other people.

1.6.2 Principles of guidance

Guidance is concerned with the systematic personal development of the individual in the areas of academic, social and personal adjustment. Guidance is a lifelong process. It is a continuous and sequential educational process. This process begins at home, continues to the school and into the society in that sequences. For this reason there is need for parents, teachers and the community to be in harmony and cooperate so that they guide individuals to acquire the right behavior and values. Guidance relies on cooperation not compulsion (this is explained below. Guidance is concerned with the worth dignity, equality and freedom of the individuals.

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1.6.3 Principles of both guidance and counseling

Guidance and counseling deal with the personal world of the individual. To understand this world the counselor conducts tests, and interviews. Guidance and counseling rely on cooperation not compulsion. This means that the client should consent either explicitly or imply (suggesting or signifying) that he needs counseling (help). Forced counseling may lead to stubbornness or un-cooperation by the client. Guidance and counseling are based on the recognition of the dignity and worth of the individual as well as their right to choose. This is based on the premise that every individual is important and has dignity. That, human beings are equal and have the right to exercise their freedom and therefore the counselor should regard each client on their own merit and not compare or contrast him with other people. Guidance and counseling are based on the belief that human beings are basically, self-determining creatures. Each one has innate desire for self-direction towards independence and autonomy. Man has the ability to control his destiny and to be fully responsible for his actions.

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1.6.4 Differences between guidance and counseling

Counseling is an occasional process whereas guidance is continuous. In counseling there are problems to solve whereas in guidance there is no problem except for being aware of and providing for the developmental needs of the individual. In counseling a professionally trained person is needed whereas in guidance any adult of good will and with knowledge and expertise can guide. Parents, teachers, religious leaders, community members can give guidance. They do not require professional training.

7.8 Conclusion

In this lesson the terms guidance and counseling have been defined. i. Guidance is defined as directing or steering individuals in a desired direction. It refers to services offered by such adults as teachers and parents all geared to fulfilling the developmental needs of individuals. ii. Guidance starts from the home and the parents have the responsibility of providing for the developmental needs of the child and teach the dos and don’ts. iii. The school is the second social institution that receives the child and plays a major role in directing the child’s development in many areas. iv. The community provides structures and services that further support the home and school in child guidance.

.

v. Counseling on the other hand is a professional service offered to individuals experiencing challenges. It is aimed at helping individuals to unlock their potentials so as to be able to solve with problems confronting them. 14

vi. Principles of guidance and counseling inform that there should be cooperation and compulsion between the counselor and the client and that the dignity of individuals should be safeguarded and the client allowed the right to make choices. vii. Guidance and counseling are different in the sense that counseling is an occasional process implicated when the individual is experiencing challenges that arrest psychological growth while guidance is developmental and continuous. viii. Counseling services are delivered by professional with special skills and competencies while guidance requires mature people with the good will to provide resources, information and training that individuals need to navigate developmental stages.

7.9 Revision questions

Attempt the following questions on the lesson covered. i. Define the term guidance in a way that brings out its focus on individual development. ii. Explain the roles played by parents in child’s guidance iii. In what ways does the school complement the parental role in child guidance? iv. What are some the of structures of society that play a major role in the guidance of children v. Explain the concept that counseling is a professional service vi. Explain the roles played by the client and counselor in the counseling process. vii. Outline the principles of guidance

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References

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LESSON TWO AREAS OF GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING

2.1 Introduction

Guidance and counseling cover many areas of the individual’s life. Guidance is offered by parents and is meant to assist children to negotiate each stage of life smoothly. The parents are expected to give guidance to the infants’ language development and train the child on expected behaviors. From infancy onwards the child know what the good behavior expected of the is and that the consequences for behaving well while at the same time the child knows that bad behavior is associated with punishment. The parents take the young child to school and here the teachers become co-actors in guiding the child’s development in the widening arena of school. The child learns how to interact with classmates, other children within the school, teachers and other people while learning the expectations for behavior and academic performance. The individual’s guidance and counseling needs increase as one becomes an adolescent and joins high school where one has to think about the future life in terms making important choices such as career, philosophy, attitudes and values. This lesson covers the areas that the guidance and counseling programme should address in order to help individual learners navigate development with optimum psychological health. These areas include; educational, vocational/career guidance, avocational /leisure, social guidance, moral guidance and personal guidance.

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2.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to do the following; i. Explain the role of guidance and counseling in the academic life of a student ii. Discuss you would go about providing vocational/career guidance to your students iii. Describe some of the avocational /leisure issues you would address with your students and why iv. Identify some of the issues needing social guidance among your students v. Discuss why moral guidance is critical for day’s youth vi. Outline why students need personal guidance

2.3 Educational/academic

Education guidance plays the role of helping the individual in planning suitable programs and making progress in the academic performance. It involves helping students to develop; good study habits and note taking skills, habits that lead to adequate preparation for examinations so as to develop confidence to sit for examinations. It also equips students with skills to deal with crisis situations so that they can concentrate in their studies in order to uplift grades. It also involves empowering students in skills in subject choice, examination taking skills, methods of developing realistic goals based on values, ability and interests as well as playing preventive, remedial and developmental roles. The aim of this kind of guidance is to ensure that learners release and realize their academic potential in order to attain the best performance possible and in all subjects.

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The main aim of academic guidance is to ensure that learners are performing well academically which has psychological benefits as it boosts self esteem. Learners who are doing well academically are more motivated to pursue academic excellence than their counterparts who are not doing so well. Good performance has the added benefit of cultivating positive relationships between the learners, their peers, teachers and parents and is responsible for positive emotions among all the people involved. The learner who is performing is more likely to spend more time in acidic pursuits meaning that he/she is unlikely to engage in indiscipline acts. In addition, the students has positive future prospects that promise tertiary education, well paying jobs and a future of psychological adjustment as opposed to students who perform poorly compromising present and future prospects. The teacher’s role in guidance in this area should entail ensuring that the student has the skills to pay attention to the lessons and revise the content as well as the can conduct individual and group study. It should also entail equipping learners with skills to take examinations for best results like reading the examination questions and understanding the main points. Academic counseling would be for those students who underperforming due to deficiencies in various skills or due to interferences by social factors such as problems emanating from home, peers and other interpersonal issues. The counselor would help the affected learners to use their resourcefulness to address the issues for best academic results.

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2.4 Vocational/career guidance

It is of critical importance that students choose careers that are compatible with their academic performance and their personalities. This refers to ensuring a good fit between the person and the intended career as it has a bearing on job satisfaction in future as well as work productivity which has a bearing on lifelong adjustment. Vocational/career guidance is the process of helping students to choose an occupation or profession, prepare to enter into it and progress in it. It involves the following; informing students of the jobs available as well as the duties to be performed. Students are also informed about the working hours and conditions including the qualifications and requirements for entry in various occupations. Important information like the number of applicants taken in each occupational field and how to preparation for entry is also given. Sometimes there are occupations that have gender barrier and students need to know this. Students can be exposed to information through the following channels; reading from library sources or exposure to guests from various career fields can be invited to give speeches about their work. Students can be taken for tours in various firms where they see the different people at work and they can also be shown films or videotapes that show people in different professional fields at work for example, a surgeon at work, an electronics engineer or a pilot at work. Another way of preparing students is by assisting to make choices of an occupation by taking relevant courses and training them how to write application letters as well as how to perform on interviews. They would also greatly benefit if they are informed of the changes taking place in the occupational outlets so that they do not chose fields that are already flooded.

Counseling in this area involves helping the students who have difficulties identifying careers they wish to pursue for their life’s work. Students should be guided to select careers that are realistic given their academic performance and their personalities. This is because students may wish to choose careers without proper information regarding academic requirements and other factors involved.

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2.5 Avocational /leisure

A student’s life involves more that academics as there is that time the student is in class pursuing knowledge of content in the various subject areas and there is also that time when the student is out of class. This time referred to as avocational or leisure is very important and students should be guided in the activities to engage in. Guidance in this area involves providing students with information about what to do during out of class sessions, weekends and holidays. This may involve selection of hobbies and co-curricular activities e.g. games, athletics, cultural and work experiences. The teacher’s role in guidance should involve helping students to make the time out of class a time to develop certain interests. This time is very valuable and should not be wasted. During this time activities should be arranged to promote interpersonal behavior and widen personal outlook. These activities lead to reduced anxiety, doubt, confusion and hopelessness. If this time is used well it results in a well-rounded individual capable of engaging in academics as well other pursuits that promote psychological health. Students who do not know the healthy activities to engage in may find themselves engaging in activities that are destructive like drug use, unprotected sex, and excessive use of electronic gadgets. These activities are likely to compromise not only academic performance but psychological health as well. 21

2.6 Social guidance

This refers to guidance on social behavior and relationships. Sometimes students have problems relating with peers and as a result they do not win peer acceptance. These students need training in social skills so that they learn how to make and keep friends. They should be trained how to communicate their needs, feelings and aspirations as well as how to be sensitive to the needs and feelings of other people. This will make them better functioning and more adaptive in social environments. A student who is having problems with the people in his/her social environment becomes maladjusted and this not only interferes with relationships but also with academic performance thus compromising the student present as well as future opportunities. At times the student has challenges dealing with parents either because of the perception that they are not meeting his/her needs well enough or they are too restrictive or demanding. A student with this kind of challenge needs both guidance and counseling so that he knows how to cultivate good relationships with parents.

Students may also have problems relating with peers and other people in the school due to deficiency in social skills or simply due to faulty learning. These students needs guidance and counseling that empower them with skills to live in harmony with classmates, housemates and other people in the school so as to earn acceptance and nurturance from them.

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2.7 Moral guidance

Moral guidance aims at helping students to practice morality. It helps students to be able to distinguish right from wrong and to make the right moral decisions. Moral guidance will train students the benefits of being truthful so that they avoid telling lies. It will also keep them from anti social behavior so that they observe the set rules and regulations; learn to respect authority as well as conforming to societal norms governing moral behavior. Students with moral standards will not engage in destructive activities while in school, home or community. In addition they will not contravene the expectations of authority figures and there will be less time spent on discipline issues. Schools and homes will run smoothly giving the students opportunities for psychology health and academic success.

2.8 Health guidance

Health guidance should help the students to acquire healthy habits in the following areas. Good feeding habits. Each student should know the benefits of a balanced diet. Students should avoid harmful eating habits for example over-reliance on junk foods, anorexic and bulimic habits, drugs and risk taking sexual behavior. important health enhancing behaviors that students must learn are: exercise and rest, which help to improve the individual’s physique and body strength and they should learn that if they are lazy, they develop flabby weak muscles and weak, bones while the benefits of rest include the fact if the body is constantly exhausted the immunity to infections will be low predisposing the individual to infections. Fatigue interferes with positive emotions in that the person becomes irritable, prone to anger, frustrated and experiences other 23

negative emotions. Inducting students to proper hygiene and sanitation is another dimension of health guidance. This trains the student the benefit of bathing, washing clothes and using the toilets as well as keeping them clean. These habits promote personal and environmental cleanliness, which favors healthy adjustment at home as well as the school. Another important facet of health guidance includes sensitizing students to avoiding risk-taking behavior including behaviors like precocious sexuality, which could have many dire consequences for example, sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, pregnancies, cervical cancer and sterility as well as untimely deaths.

2.9 Personal guidance

In personal guidance, the individual is helped to deal with adjustment problems from various sources, for example family, change of school, learning problems, boy/girl relationships, decision making, problem solving and goal setting. Personal counseling helps the individual to deal with anxieties and stresses, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency and suicidal tendencies.

2.10 Components of guidance and counseling

Guidance and counseling has various components. One of the components includes service which helps the individual to develop in the right direction. There is also the preventive component which helps students to prevent themselves from engaging in self-damaging lifestyles. For example, drug taking, sexual risk taking. Peer counseling is yet another component in which individuals are helped by their own peers in matters of self understanding, decision 24

making and psychological growth. The component of intervention helps students who are already in problems like pregnancy, drug addicts, family crisis and sickness to seek ways of either coping or solving them. Referrals is another component of guidance in which the counselor identifies students problems such as drug addiction, criminal behaviors mental instability and delinquency that he cannot handle alone because they require skills or expertise from other specialists and therefore makes referrals.

2.11 Lesson summary The areas of guidance and counseling include the following: i. Educational guidance and counseling involves equipping students with the skills needed for academic success which include paying attention, note taking, studying, and examination taking. ii. Vocational guidance and counseling entails helping students with self knowledge that enables them to select subject areas that lead to careers that they are likely to succeed in. iii. Leisure time guidance and counseling calls for the guidance and counseling teacher to expose students to possible activities like drama, song and dance athletics, cookery and others that enrich the experiences of students and prevents them from wasting time or engaging in destructive practices. iv. Social guidance and counseling is geared towards helping the youth live in harmony with other people so as to elicit acceptance and nurturance from them thus reducing conflicts. v. Moral guidance and counseling equips the student with the knowledge, skills needed to avoid destructive behavior. It also involves observance and respect for social order which promotes good environments for psychological growth and learning vi. Personal guidance and counseling involves empowering the student to use his or her resourcefulness to deal with the personal challenges and hinder psychological growth. vii. Health guidance and counseling equips the student with knowledge and practice behaviors that promote physical and psychological health. 25

viii. The component of guidance and counseling include service, preventive, peer counseling, intervention and referrals.

2.12 Revision questions i. What is the focus of educational guidance? ii. Why do you think avocational guidance is important to students? iii. Explain the importance of vocational guidance and counseling in the life of a student. iv. Describe some of the leisure time activities various students would engage in and which culminate to wasting of time? v. Explain some of the social issues that affect students’ psychological wellbeing. vi. In what ways do the student you teach need moral guidance and counseling? vii. What are some of the issued needing personal among your students? viii. How would you ensure that your students receive health guidance and counseling?. Ix Discuss the components of guidance and counseling.

2.13 References

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LESSON THREE

THEORIES OF COUNSELING

3.1 Introduction

There are many theories of counseling and since we cannot discuss all of them I have singled psychoanalytic theory, humanistic, rational emotive and behavioral several for discussion in this lecture. Each theory explains the view of man, the view of maladjusted behavior and the role of the counselor.

3.2 LECTURE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the lecture the student should be able to do the following i.

Define the concept theory

ii.

Outline the categories of theories

iii.

Discuss the major concepts of the psychoanalytic theory

iv.

Humanistic theory

v.

Rational emotive theory

vi.

Behavioral theory

3.3 Definition of terms There seems to be a consensus among psychologists that a theory is an integrated set of propositions that can be used to account for, predict and even suggest ways of controlling certain phenomena. According to Mutie and Kyungu (2012) a theory is a formal set of ideas that are intended to explain why certain thing happen or exist. Counseling theories seen from this perspective are those principles and ideas that inform counseling and give it direction thus 27

providing a basis upon which counselors base their practice. Theories provide the counselor with definite structures which helps then to interpret human nature, problems presented by clients and how to approach the counseling process.

3.4 Functions of Theories in Counseling Every theory of counseling is expected to provide a framework on which to base the counseling approach. It is also expected to provide guidelines to predict and evaluate counseling results. Each theory is based on the assumptions which from the basis that helps explain the client’s behavior, feelings and thoughts. In addition, each theory gives suggestions on how clients can be helped to lead more fulfilled lives. From the onset it is important to note that no theory is better than the other. Each theory has a different perspective about the nature of man, the view of man, the cause of maladjusted behavior and the role of counselor. Many times the counselor uses several theories in an eclectic approach to counseling.

The section below discusses some of the counseling theories the school counselors could use to guide their counseling practice. Many counseling theories have been developed over time with the reason that each theorist perceives human nature, the nature of maladjustment and counseling approaches from different vantage points. Some theorists focus on the role played by negative emotions in the development of maladjusted behaviors while others address the behavior s themselves. Other theories consider the role played by the cognitive processes such as thinking and perceiving as the major determinants of maladjusted behavior. It is important to also see the theories developed because of historical events. In this section we have discussed psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive and behavioral theories of counseling.

3.5 The psychoanalytic theory

3.5.1 Focus of the theory

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This is a theory, which is affective in nature. It was developed by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). It traces the origin of maladjusted behavior from several sources; Traumatic childhood experiences, the structure of the mind and the instincts of man.

3.5.2 Early childhood trauma

According to the Freudian theory, early childhood experiences are very important as they are said to have the power to shape adult personality. This theory purports that if early childhood experiences are pleasant they hold the potential of producing a psychologically healthy adult personality. On the other hand traumatic (painful) experiences in early childhood produce a psychologically unhealthy adult personality. Freud saw the roles played by both parents to have significant influences on the development of psychopathology in individuals. The mother’s role, coming early in the child’s life, is very critical as she provides the child with physical and psychological nurturance from the moment of birth. The father is very important since his paternal role nurtures the development of male gender role as well as the super ego. The theory traces development of psychopathology from the way parents handle the developing child during the formative years.

Parents who expose the child to physical and psychological trauma during the formative years predispose the child to the development of psychopathology in later years. Traumatic events of early childhood may be caused by deprivation, physical and sexual abuse. These traumatic events occur at a time when the child is unable to think about them or even handle them. The child then represses the memories in the unconscious mind thus burying them alive as it were. The memories are always seeking to emerge in the conscious mind and be recognized and as such they surface as neurotic disorder such as neurotic anxiety, phobic disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders and conversion disorders which can be cured through psychoanalytic methods.

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3.5.3 The structure of the mind

According to the psychoanalytic theory the mind of man is structured so that it relates to the environment through three levels of consciousness or ego states identified as; the id, ego and super ego.

The ID is the storehouse of all psychic energy. It is unconscious. It is the original system of personality, which is present at birth. It expresses the needs of the person e.g. hunger, thirst, sex, aggression and so on. It calls for immediate satisfaction for the need at hand. For this reason it is said to operate on the pleasure principles, which is hedonistic in nature. It seeks pleasure and avoids pain. The id possesses no power to execute the needs therefore it must rely on the ego. The ego is the second structure of personality to develop. It is conscious and therefore in touch with reality. Its role is to fulfill the demands of the id in line with the practical realities. It is able to delay gratification e.g. it can delay the satisfaction of hunger or thirst or sex until such a time that satisfaction is practically possible. The ego is therefore called the executive arm of personality. The ego however, lacks one thing; morality. It is not concerned with the rightness or wrongness of behavior. Therefore for personality to be complete the super ego develops. The super ego is the last structure of personality to develop. The super ego is unconscious and it is called the moral arm of personality. It operates to regulate the wishes of the id in order to ensure that the ego fulfils them in line with the acceptable code of morality.

This theory purports that maladaptive behavior occurs when there are unresolved conflicts between the id and the ego and also when there is poor development of the super ego. The id could too be strong overcoming the egos attempts of delaying gratification while the super ego is too weak to ensure that the individuals engage in behavior that are in line with morality. Counseling and psychotherapy help to restore balance in the way the three systems operate. Bothe the ego and super ego are strengthened so that they regulate behavior in line with reality and morality. In cases where the ego is too strong and therefore preventing the ego from 30

executing behavior due to excess guilt, the super ego is softened so as to allow for the satisfaction of needs.

3.5.4 The basic instincts of man The psychoanalytic theory also states that human behavior is motivated by hidden forces particularly two major instincts. These are; libido which is the sexual energy as well as the creative power of man and thanatos which is the death energy and the destructive power of man. In this theory the instincts are perceived as the major sources of unacceptable behavior. The unacceptable behaviors are those sanctioned by society and thus eliciting guilt and anxiety in individuals. A person can have high motivation to engage in sexually unacceptable behavior like rape and other forms of sexual abuse while another person may wish to engage in aggressive behavior. Such people experience a lot of anxiety and guilt which may manifest in neurotic anxiety. The victims of aggression and sexual abuse too suffer psychological problems unique to what the psychological problem being experienced currently.

3.5.5 The role of counselor/therapist The psychotherapist who uses this theory engages in history digging in order to identify ways in which early childhood experiences could be related to the psychological problems presently experienced. These are unearthed identified and dealt with at a rational level and hence restoring psychological balance. If the psychotherapist perceives the conflicts among the id, ego and super ego as responsible for the manifesting symptoms he/she focuses therapy towards bringing harmony among the mind structures. This ensures that the ego is strengthened so as to execute its functions as expected and that the super ego is either strengthened or toned down depending on the reason why it malfunctions. The role of the counselor is to help the client to bring out the repressed thoughts and experiences of early childhood so that these are dealt with at a rational level.

3.5.6 Methods used by counselor/psychotherapist Counselors and psychotherapists who use this theory make use of the various methods all geared towards accessing the unconscious mind and bringing out the content to conscious level where it can be handled rationally. The use of free association requires the client to lie comfortably on a 31

couch in the therapist’s clinic where he/she is encouraged to say anything and everything that comes to their mind without censoring the contents. The method’s intention is to help the client bring out the contents of the unconscious mind. The psychotherapist takes notes of everything said and interprets it for the client. In catharsis the client is encouraged to relive the traumatizing experience. The main idea is to bring the experience alive in a non threatening environment and at a mature time so that it ceases to present the same threat as it did at the time it happened. Psychotherapists use dreams analysis and interpretation of the dreams with the idea that dreams are the windows to the unconscious. In this case the client narrates the dreams which the psychotherapist interprets by so doing explains the unconscious fears, wishes and needs of the client. During the time of Freud and other psychotherapists of his hypnosis was used as a way of accessing the unconscious. The method involved putting the client in a hypnotic state which is an altered state of consciousness in which the person is neither asleep nor awake. While in this state clients were able to remember and vocalize content they would otherwise not remember in full consciousness. Many clients remembered traumatic events that had happened to them and this remembering and vocalizing had curative effects. Another method used by psychotherapists is interpretation of slips of the tongue. This is a situation where by someone says something by accident as a consequence of the interference by the unconscious mind. This too is interpreted by the psychotherapist and the unconscious motives unearthed. All the methods used are geared towards making the unconscious conscious thus uncover the underlying motivations for the unwanted behavior. Psychotherapists also aim at helping the client to soften the ego so that selfgratification becomes acceptable as well as promoting self-gratification within bounds of reality and social acceptance.

3.6 The humanistic approaches to counseling

3.6.1 The focus of the theory The humanistic approaches were proposed by Carl Rogers (1902-1987) and Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). The proponents developed what came to be known as the third force psychology which was opposed to the ideas earlier on proposed by psychoanalysts and the behaviorists with regard to the understanding human behavior. The psychoanalytic approach to abnormal behavior like we have observed above was that it was determined by unconscious forces and as such 32

psychotherapy has to use methods that unearth then. This according to humanistic psychologists fails to recognize the subjective experiences that characterize humanness.

3.6.2 View of man According to the humanistic theory human beings are worthy of dignity, are born good, rational, realistic, trustworthy and reliable. Consequently, it is important not only to accord them the dignity and to see them from a positive light acknowledging that they are good. It is important for counselors to know that people have the power to think and make decisions in ways that show that they are in touch with reality and yes indeed human beings can be trusted.

3.6.3 Key concepts The humanistic theory holds the view that every individual has an inherent capacity to deal with his problems constructively and successfully if operating in the right emotional environment. Counselors using this theory belief that human behavior is not merely controlled by physiological drives or instincts but by thinking and making conscious decisions. The counselors approach counseling from the perspective that every individual has innate potential to move away from maladjusted behavior and move towards psychological growth (self actualization). The belief that given the right environment all people can change is central in humanistic counseling.

3.6.4 Causes of maladjusted behavior According to this theory, psychological disorders result when the process of reaching ones potential is blocked. Potential blocks to achievement of goals include specific circumstances like other people like parents, spouses and teachers. A person fails to move in the direction of selfactualization if the needs physiological and psychological are frustrated. The frustration is most likely to manifest in maladjustment which needs counseling to know how to remove the frustrations and enjoy psychological growth.

3.6.5 The role of the counselor The role of the counselor in this theory is to help the client to become more fully the person he or she is capable of becoming. This will happen if the client is helped to be more open to new 33

experiences and challenges. The counselor should help helping the person to increase his awareness of underlying emotions and motives. The client needs to be helped to explore the their thoughts and feelings, and to be able to arrive at his or her own solutions. This includes helping the client to learn to trust and believe in oneself. In addition, the counselor should help the client realize that he or she is the best expert on himself or herself and is capable of working out the solutions to his own problems. So the client should set his or her own goals and standards as well make personal decisions. The counselors’ role is purely facilitative, that is, helping the client to accept oneself and see self as changing and to feel secure to explore present feelings and be in touch with their real selves.

3.6.6 Special helping qualities of a counselor The counselors should posses the qualities of unconditional acceptance or positive regard in which each clients dignity is recognized. The counselor holds a non judgmental stance with the understanding that the individual has the potential for personal growth if obstacles are removed. The counselor shows empathy by trying to get in the personal world of the individual and experiencing it thus getting to understand how the person experiences his/her world thus helping from the perspective of an insider as it were. In addition, the counselor promotes a warm accepting environment in which the client does not feel threatened and which promotes personal growth. Active listening is an important skill that counselors use which includes hearing what the client says as well as what they have not put in words. The counselor observes the gestures and reads into the silent moments as well while refraining from excessive talking. Genuineness is an equally important counselor quality in which he/she presents realness and not pretenses or masks that people often wear.

3.7 Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) 3.7.1 Introduction This is a cognitive theory of counseling. It recognizes the importance of thought processes in determining behavior. Thought processes refer individuals reasoning and the beliefs they hold towards self and other people. Mental processes also include the attitudes of a person towards people, places, events as well as the expectations and interpretation of events.

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3.7.2 The cause of maladaptive behavior

According to this theory, maladaptive behavior is caused by irrational beliefs, attitudes and the interpretation of events. For example, a person may become depressed because of appraising events from a negative, self critical view point. A student may expect to fail in an examination rather than to succeed and as such cultivate a negative attitude towards that subject. At times a person might magnify failures and minimize success in evaluating performance. The mental processes may also include holding irrational beliefs based on rigid and absolute stands. There are people who believe must be loved by everybody. This is an irrational belief in the sense that a person is loved by some people and not everybody and that is the life is. Anyone believing that they must be loved by everybody become depressed when confronted with a situation that does not complement the belief and maladjustment occurs. Holding of a belief that I must succeed in everything I do is also irrational and leads to personal distress when confronted by failure. The natural trend in life is that people succeed sometimes and at other times they fail and they learn to take failure without breaking down while they celebrate success when it comes their way. Believing one must afford all the things I need one needs is irrational because the order of life is that we afford some of the things we need but fail to afford others. Psychological health requires that we accept to live with what we cannot afford. It also requires that we enjoy and feel happy with what we can afford. In a school situation, a student who believes that he/she should be in the top three students in class will suffer psychological ill-health when this does not happen and so will a student who believes he/she must get permission every time they ask for it. When these absolute standards are not met guilt, anger or depression set in making life unpleasant and unbearable. The person experiences displeasure, frustrations and unhappiness and thus needs counseling.

3.7.3 Role of the counselor The role of the counselor is to change the person’s illogical, irrational ideas and beliefs replacing them with logic and reason. The client is helped to acquire thoughts that are in line with reality. He is helped to recognize the distortions in his thinking. The client is also helped to ensure greater control over emotions and behavior. He is helped to think positively and to acquire a 35

sense of mastery or self-efficacy. The client can be exposed to models of behaviors to observe how they cope with certain ideas, attitudes and situations. The counselor can also use verbal persuasion to assure the client that he can handle a difficult situation. The counseling techniques are; role playing, modeling, debating, explaining, challenging and re-interpreting.

3.8.1 Behavioral theories Behavioral theories were developed by people aligned to behaviorism a school of psychological thought that arose from the need to bring scientific procedures to psychology. I am sure that you remember Ivan Pavlov and his classical conditioning, J.B Watson, B.F Skinner and their work in conditioning. The behavioral theories of counseling borrow heavily from the work of these pioneer researchers in the area of learning. The borrowed concepts and ideas are those that you are very familiar with.

Classical conditioning experiments conducted by Ivan Pavlov in Russia and J. B. Watson in America informs us that humans and other organisms learn to associate events that occur together in time and space. In school, if unpleasant events occur together with the school experience then pupils quickly learn those associations. Hence they may learn that a certain subject is associated with failing grades, school is associated with harsh punishment and insulting language. These associations can be a major cause of maladjusted behavior as children may become truant, anxious and fearful. In operant conditioning we are familiar with the principle of reinforcement that states that behavior that is reinforced increases in strength and it is given a chance to occur again and again. In operant conditioning the individual learner must display the desired behavior in order to get the reinforcement.

Important concepts in counseling are that behavior adaptive or maladaptive is established and maintained by reinforcing conditions. Another familiar idea, which we have discussed in the conditioning theories, is the principle of extinction, which refers to the disappearance of a learned behavior, which occurs when the reinforcing conditions are removed. This is a concept, which is very core in behavior modification procedures. Under conditions of extinction a maladaptive behavior can be unlearned.

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We are also familiar with the social learning theory, which was developed by Albert Bandura and which emphasizes the significance of observation of people in the social environment and imitating them consciously or unconsciously. According to the theory of observation learning, people can observe and imitate both maladaptive and adaptive behaviors. This theory advocates that people should be exposed to models of adaptive behaviors, be given room to imitate the behavior and to practice it under conditions of reinforcement.

3.8.2 Key concepts of the theory The key concepts of this theory are that maladaptive behaviors are learned through three types of learning association, reinforcement, observation and imitation. Thus maladaptive behaviors can be unlearned if the associations that establish them are discontinued, if the reinforcing conditions are removed and if the models for these behaviors are removed. Adaptive behaviors can be learned through the process of association learning under conditions of reinforcement and the observation of the role models for behavior.

3.8.3 Role of the counselor The counselor’s role is identified as that of helping the client unlearn undesirable behavior and while learning desirable new ones. The counselor is also expected to equip the client with skills to deal with behaviors problems. Methods used by behavior therapists are; relaxation techniques, systematic desertification, modeling, flooding, aversive techniques, role-playing, behaviors rehearsals and teaching.

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3.9 Summary

In this lesson we have discussed some of the counseling theories a school counselor could employ to inform and to ground counseling i. The psychoanalytic theory is a theory that is bases on the tenet that human behavior is motivated by unconscious thoughts, feeling, fears and anxieties that have been repressed and all the time trying to surface in the conscious mind. ii. These unconscious motivations may result from negative emotions caused by childhood trauma and they can also be caused by the conflicts among the id, ego and super ego which are psyche structures that are always in conflict. Anxieties resulting to these cause neurotic disorders such as neurotic anxiety, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders and conversion disorders. Psychotherapy is meant to help the client bring out the unconscious material to consciousness where they are addressed at a rational level. Methods used by counselors are history digging, free association, catharsis, hypnosis. iii. The humanistic theory was based on the belief that human beings are self determining creatures who use the power to think in order to make decisions that guide their lives. Psychopathology results when the paths to goal achievement are blocked by nonsupporting environments. The role of therapy then involves removing the obstacles that arrest psychological growth so that the individual moves in the direction of self actualization. iv. Rational emotive theory focuses on mental processes as the major causes of psychopathology. When people have irrational beliefs, perceptions and when they interpret events in a distorted manner they become depressed. The role of therapy is to help the individual appraise events in a way that is consistent with reality. v. The behavioral theories purport that all behavior adaptive and maladaptive is learned through association, reinforcement and observation and imitation. As such therapy should focus 38

on unlearning of undesirable behaviors through extinction procedures. It also involves learning of adaptive behaviors through various schedules of reinforcement

3.10 Revision questions

i. Explain how early childhood experiences become a cause of psychopathology. ii. What is the unconscious mind? iii. What do you understand by the concept hypnosis? iv. In what way does free association have a curative effect? v. What are some of the obstacles that prevent an individual from psychological growth? vi. What are some of the irrational beliefs students are likely to display vii. In what ways could you apply the behavioral theory in counseling students?

3.11 References

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LESSON FOUR GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING THE AFRICAN SOCIETY

4.1 Introduction

Today it is difficult to really talk about what might be termed as a pure African society because societies are never static but dynamic and hence all the time being influenced by social and technological changes. The social changes have been experienced in Western education and religious beliefs as well as the value systems since colonization. Many African societies were pluralistic as opposed to the individualism inherent in Western cultures. This lesson discusses the customs, education, occupations, psychological factors and gender roles among the African cultures.

4.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to do the following: i. Define the concept African traditional societies ii. Describe some of the customs associated with African traditional societies iii. Explain the educational process in African traditional societies iv. Discuss the pillars of psychological support v. Differentiate the gender roles

4.2 Definition of terms

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A traditional African society is defined as one that has retained traditional customs intact. Colonization of Kenya by the Britain brought with it new religious influences, cultural beliefs and values. Before colonization each ethnic group in Kenya had societal structures that dictated each individual person’s role and place in society. There as few traditional societies in Kenya and Africa at large that have resisted the influence of western education, customs and life style. A good example of such is the Maasai, Dorobo, Turkana, Pokot and the Samburu.

4.3 Customs of the traditional African societies

The ethnic groups that have retained cultural ways of life practice customs that are not in line with the western culture. One such practice is the coming of age rites of passage. These are community specific with some communities circumcising both boys and girls while others circumcise boys only. The communities that do not practice circumcision observe other rites of passage like tattooing, removal of teeth, demonstration of acts of bravery like killing a man or a lion. Since the rites of passage coincide with biological maturity it consequently leads to the conferment of adult status to the initiates as well as marriage.

A family with a marriageable son identifies a family of good repute with a girl who possesses good qualities and who is not barred from being married to the boy’s family due to cultural taboos. The man’s family then sends emissaries who communicate intentions of entering marriage negotiations to the girl’s family. These negotiations are dictated by culture and tradition and involve several visits characterized by festivities and feasting. At the end of the festivities the girl leaves her family and joins the man’s family following cultural observances.

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Another traditional practice is wife inheritance that occurs if a woman’s husband dies. In many African traditional societies a woman is expected to live in the context of a family setting with her husband and children and therefore on the event that a husband dies one of his brothers takes up the responsibilities of the dead brother, raises his children, takes care of his property and takes over the wife. This practice ensured that the family affairs were contained within the family and that every individual in the family had a sense of belonging. With the advent of Western culture and assumption of Christian religion this practice has been criticized and while there are pockets of society that still observe it many people have abandoned it.

There are many aspects of the traditional cultures observed in such things as the dances, the specific foods, dress, songs and dance, curses and taboos and the rites of passage from birth to death (birth, naming, and death) and inheritance practices. It is worth noting that today no society can be considered purely traditional in the sense that all have experienced various degrees of acculturation which has affected the material culture, way of life, education, religious beliefs as well as the incorporation in to the national government.

4.4 Education among the traditional African societies

The role of education is to equip the individual with functional skills to enable one to deal efficiently and effectively with the physical and social environments. Another important goal of education is to pass down knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another through various modes. Education in the traditional African societies prescribed to the same aims and was meant to conserve the cultural heritage of family, clan and tribe to adapt children to their physical environment and teach them how to use it, to explain to them that their own future and that of their own community depended on the perpetuation and understanding of their tribal institution on the laws, language and values they had inherited from the past.

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It is also informative to add that Education in traditional African society is regarded as absolutely essential for the youth’s social development in preparation for diverse roles they will play in their society as adults. Hence according to Kenyatta (1979) Education starts from the time one is born and ends when one dies. Though its curriculum is unwritten there is the strict unfolding of stages of development that a person passes, physically, cognitively and socially. At each stage of the youth’s development, they are taught and allowed to experience education that pertains to that stage with an implication to their future membership in that society. The child is taught the names of his/her family members, relatives and immediate neighbors and how they are related. Children are also taught their genealogy, the family tree. Later in life they are expected to recite the names of their ancestors starting from their parent and going back several generations. The implication of this education is to introduce and instill the society’s philosophy of unity.

The traditional African societies embrace a pluralistic culture where the individual exists in relation to and for the group unlike the Western cultures that emphasize individualism. It is in accordance with this philosophy of the society’s unity that one’s aspirations are shaped and fulfillment within the society. The education of the youth is the responsibility of all the members of the society. At first the education of early infancy and early childhood for both boys and girls is the responsibly of the mother. However, as the children grow during middle and late childhood, the father’s influence is added. At the same time gender specific education is introduced with the mother and other females taking direct responsibility in the education of girls while the father and other male members of the family take up the responsibility of educating boys. The mother and other females in the home teach the young girls skills pertaining to the woman’s role like cooking and how to care for younger siblings. The father and other male members of the family teach the young boys the male role like ability to recognize the family’s cattle and how to tell if an animal is sick and the treatment to give.

As the young people grow they join their age mates who teach them various skills like dancing, hunting, wrestling and fishing or any other community specific activities the youth may engage in. It has long been said it takes a village to raise a child and as such other members of society involve themselves with the education of the youth whenever opportunities arise. The elders are 43

responsible for the youth’s formal education during initiation rites. The education is characterized by the learner’s interaction with the learning materials or situations, which make the education immediately relevant, meaningful and purposeful.

4.5 Occupational Factors of the Traditional African Society

The youth are mainly taught the trade of their parents though active participation in the activities economic activities of the parents from an early age. A boy born in a family where keeping animals is the economic activity, accompanies the father to heard cattle from as early as six years. During this time the boy learns from the father different aspects of caring for cattle like ability to locate good pasture and water for the cattle. He is also taught to recognize different diseases that affect the cattle and how to treat them. A critical aspect of training includes the ability to recognize the individual animals by name and by physical appearance and behavior. Kenyatta (1979) documents how the Kikuyu of Kenya trained young boys to identify their cattle. A young boy would be trained and then tested on the skill of recognizing and counting the numbers of animal owned by the family. This would be done by mixing two or three herds together then asking the young boy to separate his family’s cattle from the others. If he failed to separate some of the cattle from the other herds someone would describe them to him and he asked him to identify them and separate them again. Other trades such as beekeeping, fishing, hunting and blacksmithing are taught to the growing boys at different geographical locations.

Traditional societies were characterized by a sharp division of labor that required the girls to learn the roles exclusively designated to the female gender. This included childcare, general home chores like fetching water and firewood as well cultivation of various food crops. This would include the knowledge of the best firewood, planting and weeding for the crops as well as harvesting, storage and preparation for eating. The girl would learn through participating in all

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the activities older sisters and their mothers engaged in. Trade open to the girls were basketry, weaving or pottery and trading in the excess food items.

Occupational choice is allowed if youth aspire to occupations other than that of their parents. They are apprenticeship to a person in the occupation of their choice for example, one who wishes to be blacksmith while his father is a fisherman he is apprenticed to a blacksmith. A fee is usually paid in form of domestic animals or a measure of food.

4.6 Psychological factors in the traditional African society

Many traditional societies in Kenya practice the extended family system in which people with close family ties live close together in either polygamous or monogamous family set ups. Another major characteristic of the families is the absence of geographical and social mobility in the sense that individuals may be born, grow up and marry, raise children, grow old and die in the same locality. As such, the person lives all his/her life close to kin and kith. The kin refers to relatives such as uncles, aunts, grandparents, brothers and sisters while kith refers to people of the same traditions, language and cultural beliefs. Society is organized in such a way that individual persons’ lives are structured in line with age, gender and status. From very early in life the child is raised with age mates and taught to behave well and take training from and to respect any person older than self. The family either monogamous or polygamous is headed by a man and wives and children living under his authority.

The society is structured in a way that offers children protection, physical and psychological nurturance with various people taking up the role in the guidance and counseling of the youth. All the adults are concerned with the good behavior of the youths and therefore participate in ensuring the young people behave according to the code of conduct. Problems of the youth are 45

detected early and help is sought at an individual or group level. Every elder in the traditional family can be regarded as a counselor. The value system of the traditional African society is clearly defined and measures of guarding it are specified. For example, the morals expected of the youth are guarded by the youth age-group and any youth who violates is heavily punished by his/her age-group. In the past, the Agikuyu would excommunicate a misbehaving peer from participating in group activities like dancing.

The roles for men and women are specified in the traditional family and as such the adolescents are not confused in their search in identity. Adolescents in the traditional family have already decided on their occupation and know what roles they will play when they are admitted into adulthood through initiation ceremonies.

4.7 Lesson Summary

i. Traditional African Society has been defined as that one that has resisted changing in lifestyle, economic activities and cultural practiced. ii. These are ethnic groups that have kept their traditions such as polygamy, initiation rites accompanied by rituals such as circumcision and also engage in practices like wife inheritance where a man takes over the wife, children and property of a deceased brother. iii. The traditional observe characteristic mode of dress, song and dance as well as specific foods. iv. The education in tradition African societies is geared towards enabling the youth to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that enable them to become participative members of the society. Education takes place through participative experiences which are designed to suit age and sex of the youth. v. Occupations the youth learned were determined by the society’s economic activities. Boys and girls learned different things due to different roles. Boys learned their roles close to the

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male members of the family while the girls learned their roles close to the female members of the family. vi. Guidance and counseling services were provided by close family members as well as the community members. The children learned the expected behavior, skills and attitudes at every stage of development. Various methods were used to ensure that the youth complied with the expectations of society.

4.8 Revision questions

i. Define and name the African traditional societies that live in Kenya today. ii. What are some of the rites of passage practiced by these societies? iii. Discuss the gender roles observed by these societies and critique them iv. Compare and contrast the education given by the traditional African societies and the modern education. v. Discuss the psychological support systems of the traditional African societies against the societies that have yielded to modernism. vi. In your opinion are there things that would still be valuable if borrowed from these societies to ensure psychological health of the youth?

3.9 References

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LESSON FIVE HOME EXPERIENCES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH

5.1 Introduction

People responsible for the school guidance and counseling program should be conversant the issues that may cause students psychological health or ill health. These are issues emanating from home and they relate to how parents interact with their children and the way they meet their physical and psychological needs. The school counselor who is aware of the role home experiences may cause psychopathology among students may be better equipped to handle the issues children bring to school. In this section I have discussed the role played by various home experiences in the student’s adjustment. These are: love and acceptance, time spent at home, personal identifications, methods of behavior control, security of the home environment and the emotional climate of the home

5.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson you should be able to do the following; 49

i. Explain the role played by love and acceptance in the development of psychological health or psychopathology. ii. Explain how time spent at home by parents and their children impacts psychological health. iii. Describe the various identifications and their role in the child’s development iv. Outline the various methods of behavior control and their consequences on psychological health v. Bring out the significance of the security of the home environment and some of the problems experienced in school. vi. Explain what is meant by the concept emotional climate of the home and its relationship to psychological health vii. Outline some of the negative parenting practices

5.3 Definition of terms

i. Home experiences refer to the human and physical interactions the child encounters from birth onwards. ii. Love and acceptance refers to the child’s perception positive feelings of warmth and bonding with parents. iii. Parenting time refers to the amount of time the parents and children spend together at home interacting with each other. iv. Parent as a role model to the child’s desire to become like the parent thus imitating the parent’s behavior, mannerisms and attitudes. v. Security of environment is the extent to which the child perceives the home as a safe place free of threats to physical and psychological well being. vi. Emotional climate of the home is the emotions that pervade the home. Some homes have a culture of having positive emotions while others are clouded by negative emotions. 50

5.4 Role played by love and acceptance in students’ adjustment

We all grew up in homes and we have perceptions whether we thought the significant people at home extended warmth and acceptance towards us or not. The same is true for our students and we should know that their perceptions of being loved or not are related to self esteem and adjustment to the situations they find themselves in. The home is the first social environment that the child encounters and as such it provides the child with the earliest social experiences as he interacts with mother, father siblings and other people. These people normally referred to as significant others in the child’s life lay down the foundations of trust or mistrust. During infancy and early childhood, the individual learns to trust the mother, then the self and the world. For this to occur, the child needs to experience a stable loving, acceptable and warm social environment. Parental love and acceptance are so critical to psychological development that it sows the seeds of trust and feelings of security in the child. These become the foundation upon which psychological health is built upon. Consequently, children who fail to experience love and acceptance risk developing psychological illnesses which may manifest in various maladjustments which the school counselors should know about.

Children who suffer rejection because of one reason or another have issues with self esteem and may be self rejecting and they also generalize the problem by mistrusting other people. When students engage in various aspects of maladjusted behavior such as, academic underachieve, misconduct, truancy and others they are communicating that all is not well. Should such a student seek counseling the teacher counselor should try to identify if the underlying cause has to do with perceptions of rejection by significant others. Such children develop a deep mistrust towards the mother, the self and the world. They feel insecure and their psychological development starts on a troubled note. It is therefore extremely important for teacher counselor to ensure that they can unearth the challenges emanating from child rejection. 51

5.5 Parenting time

Parents are very busy people who struggle to provide food, shelter, clothes, other material needs and school fees for their children and for the family at large. Looking for money may take away most of the parents’ time thus compromising the amount of time parents spend with their children. Parenting time refers to the amount of time parents and their children spend together interacting in various activities such as meals, prayer, catching up with each other in many ways. This time is very important and has a bearing on the psychological well-being of the children of all ages.

The critical issue and one which many parents may be oblivious about is the fact that family influences on psychological health are greater when a major part of a child’s life is spent in the home with family members. The major issue of concern is opportunities that parents create to spend time with their children. Parents should realize that the amount of time spent with a child is an important determinant of the amount of influence the parent has on the child. It is important to dispel the myth that if all the bills, food, clothes, fees and other necessities are paid for then all is well. The parent overlooks the importance of personal presence as a critical factor determining the child’s sense of worth and self esteem. Time spent with children presents many opportunities for influencing the child’s attitudes, values and behavior thus promoting psychological well-being for both parent and child.

The fore going has implications for parenting time in the Kenyan situation. Whether or not parents in Kenya make conscious effort to spend time with their children is an issue of concern. It is true that parents must look for money an activity that occupies a lot of the parent’s time but when the opportunities to bond with children are lost they can never be recovered. It is also true 52

that a child who has all the material needs provided for but has not touched base with his or her parents run the risk of developing psychological maladjustment. This calls for a revisiting of time management by all parents, mothers and fathers, as each parent has unique contributions to child rearing such as guiding behaviors, attitudes, expectations, gender role development from male and female perspectives for both girls and boys. Parents who leave their children to be raised by house workers and electronic gadgets risk all their lifetimes work as children may be damaged by other influences around them.

5.6 Personal identifications

Identification is a Freudian concept. It refers to the child’s wish to become like the father for the boys or to become like the mother for girls. If the boy becomes like the father, he assumes the male gender role while the girl assumes the female gender role if she becomes like the mother. Mostly a child will identify with family members he respects and loves. He /she consciously or unconsciously imitate that person. The big question here is whether the father makes time to be at home to give the boy the model for identification and if the mother is at home to give the girl the model for female gender roles.

We are concerned about parental absences from the home because each parent has specific contributions towards rearing children, which nobody else can deputize. The mother’s role is very specific. She should be there to provide nurturance as well as female role modeling. Fathers too have very specific roles should provide discipline as well as the male role model. The absence or non-participation of one parent in the child’s life leaves deficits or gaps, which could be easily filled by, many negative influences. When we complain that our children are using indecent language, are lacking in respect, and are lazy and dressing indecently which raises concerns about the kind of influences they are exposed to as a result of parental absences or nonparticipation in their lives. 53

5.7 Methods of behavior control

The methods used by parents to control the child’s behavior are very important. These refer to the incentives the parents put in place to induce good behavior, the frustrations and punishments they mete out to discourage unacceptable behavior. Many times some parents leave children’s discipline to chance hoping that the children will pick up the desirable behavior as they grow.

These parents are usually shocked when they witness negative outcomes in their children. Children may become aggressive, over-demanding, lazy, arrogant and substance dependent. Other parents are conscious of their role in instilling discipline in their children but they do all the wrong things in this endeavor. When they beat their children they do it with a vengeance that leaves children physically and psychologically damaged. When they deprive children favors, they deny them food and other basic requirements leaving the children hungry unloved and damaged. Parents should know that even when they must discipline children it should be loveoriented discipline. The child should never feel unloved or rejected during the formative years. Child discipline should be accompanied by love acceptance, unconditional positive regard.

5.8 Security of environment

Physical and psychological safety is desired by all people. Since children are in a state of dependence it means that parents are responsible for the provision of security. This can be done 54

by providing children with a home provides warmth, love and belongingness. The child should enjoy the presence of both parents and must enjoy timely provision of needs as well as guidance in behavior, attitudes and values. The child should be made to feel competent while dealing with people and the physical environment. A child who has been to school and made friends or performed well in school should be able to share the joys with the parent. If a child has had a difficult day in school like quarrels with friends or poor performance he/she should find parents at home to share the challenges and give support. The home should provide the child with firm ground that gives him anchorage which promotes the feeling of security as well as psychological growth. If the child is not well anchored his development in the direction of self-actualization is compromised thus. The home that does not guarantee security for children becomes the breeding ground for psychopathology.

5.9 Emotional climate of the home

The emotional climate refers to the emotions pervading the home. Parents who display positive emotions like joy, love, happiness and respect set the emotional climate that favor psychological health among its members. Children need a healthy emotional climate which is aided by empathy, communication, and respect for each other, togetherness and appropriate methods of coping with disagreements. These conditions are conducive to the development of psychological health in children. However in many homes these conditions are utopian and unattainable as the order of the day in many homes is the lack of feelings for one another, lack of communication disrespect and inappropriate methods of coping with disagreement. Many children are treated to rude shocks by quarreling parents offer free for all entertainment in the neighborhood as they hurl verbal barrage of insults mixed with some physical actions of flying kicks and fists at each

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other. The unfavorable frictional home climate affects children negatively. The children from such homes develop hostility, antagonism and they grow to resist authority.

5.10 Poor parenting practices

Poor parenting practices are characterized by various behaviors that include favoritism, inadequacy, authoritarian control and child overprotection. Favoritism refers to the condition where the parents prefer other children openly in their words and actions. Parents are known to openly talk about children they like and those they dislike and extend favors to the “good” children while the ‘bad’ ones don’t get to visit places nor have nice things bought for them. The “favored” child gets new things bought for them while the “bad” children on gets nothing or they get second hand items. This practice promotes sibling rivalry, which could at one time cause dire consequences leading to death or injury. It causes insecurity and inferiority.

A parent may feel inadequate for their role possible due to lack of skills or resources or may be because they have misused or mishandled resources. Such parents may not accept their shortcomings and may use defense mechanisms. They may become too harsh and blame the other parent or children to the point that no one will dare approach them for anything. A woman or man who comes home and starts finding fault in everything around him fortifies herself/himself against any questions.

At times parents may cheat about things; about some suspicious past and they may also cheat about resources. Many times parents cheat about extra marital affairs, jobs, other children they may have had outside the current marriage while others may have medical conditions that they 56

keep secrete. Such parents use a lot of psychological energy to cover up the things they want to keep hidden. They also use resources and they institute some unexplained restrictions. Such parents become difficult and complicated and sometimes fearful and put unexplained restrictions like not wanting a spouse to interact with the larger family. They go places alone and won’t entertain questions. This causes a lot of problems that affect the psychological health of all family members.

There are parents who are known to rule the family with an iron fist. The child is supposed to be seen and not to be heard, to obey every command without questioning. A child raised in this kind of family background never learns to be resourceful and neither does he learn to be autonomous. Parents are therefore requested to be authoritative and not authoritarian. Being authoritative means allowing children room to ask questions and reason out while at the same time being firm and loving while dealing with discipline issues.

Marital maladjustment refers to the situation where the married couples discover that the marriage is not working yet they still share a roof amid fights, insults, separate lives and public dramatic scenes or pretences. In many cases where there is marital maladjustment the child suffers a great deal. There are instances where the parents decide to use the child as a weapon to fight the other partner. In other cases a partner can gang up with the child against the other partner or the child could go through a great deal of suffering torn in between the two parents. It is noteworthy to point out that if one or two aspects of the home are psychologically unfavorable they may not cause personality development problems. No home can pride itself to be ideal-each home has its shortcomings and challenges therefore the one critical factor in determining psychological health is the experience and the feelings of security. As long as the home can make the child feel secure it is alright. Child over protection refers to cases where parents insist on prolonging a child’s infancy or childhood. They feed and dress a child who should have outgrown being fed. The parent over restricts the child’s activities-he should play with other children or do anything that can cause him injury. The over protected child develops feelings of insecurity jealousy, nervousness, submissiveness and even enuresis. When the parents demand more than the child is capable of 57

achieving one child may become submissive and work hard to attain parental standards. In the process of pushing oneself hard to achieve what the parents demand this child could develop neurotic symptoms. When another child is driven too hard he may result to cheating to give the parents the false belief that he is achieving. A third child may become out rightly rebellious and refuse to be driven.

5.11 Lesson summary

In this lesson we have discussed home experiences and how they impact children’s psychological health. i. We have noted that children who experience parental love and acceptance develop psychological health while those who experience rejection suffer maladjustment. This is a need fulfilled by significant other people in the home and primarily the parents. ii. Parenting time has been discussed as a critical factor that may have psychological benefits particularly if the parents spend time with children and influencing their behaviors, attitudes and values. Children with parents who do not spend time risk developing psychopathology. iii. In order to develop psychological health children need to identify with their parents and develop gender roles, the boys with their fathers, the girls with their mothers. iv. Parents should never leave their children’s discipline to chance but should plan the methods of behavior control so that the child still feels loved. v. The importance of ensuring that the child feels secure at home has been discussed. Parents are advised to ensure that the homes provide children with anchorage.

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vi. Homes that set healthy emotional climate characterized by positive emotions set provide children with the opportunity of developing psychological health. iv. Parents who engage in poor parenting practices characterized by favoritism, parental inadequacies, cheating, authoritarian control and child over-protection predispose children to development of maladjustment.

5.12 Revision questions

i. Explain the role played by love and acceptance towards the development of child’s psychological health. ii. Explain reasons why parents may not spend quality time with their children iii. What are the benefits of personal identifications for boys and girls? iv. What are some of causes of insecurity among children? v. Describe how parents set the emotional climate of the home. vi. Describe some of parenting behaviors with negative consequences on the psychological wellbeing of children.

5.13 References

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LESSON SIX THE SCHOOL AND STUDENT ADJUSTMENT 6.1 Introduction

Educational institutions play a significant role in determining student adjustment or maladjustment. In deed schools rank second to the home in the determination of psychological health among children. The reason for this is that their influence comes early in the life of a child when the self-concept is being formed. In fact once children join school they spend more time there than in any other place outside the home. Schools present children with different influences and challenges on the child. The school environment is totally new and thus requiring the child to develop behaviors to cope with it. The people in the school are many more than those at home and the child should learn how to interact with them. Unlike in the home the schools have a routine that requires the child to be at particular places at specific times and the child must learn to comply. There is also pressure to perform in the various subject areas and to be involved in the various school activities. If the child is not equipped with skills to navigate these challenges he/she may be at the risk of developing maladjustment. This lesson covers the school issues that may be challenging to students among them the emotional climate of the school, academic success and the role played by extra curriculum activities in students’ adjustment. It also covers behaviors that are manifestations of maladjustment and which include lying, aggression, absenteeism and truancy.

6.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson you should be able to do the following; Explain the relationship between emotional climate of the school and adjustment. Discuss the role played by academic success in the students’ wellbeing. 61

Describe some of the extra curriculum activities students engage in. Explain the characteristics of a well adjustment student. Discuss ways in which maladjustment affect the life of a student Describe some of behaviors that maladjusted students engage in.

6.3 Emotional climate of the school and learner adjustment

The emotional climate of the school refers to the affective behaviors of the people in the school. These include the range of emotions pervading in the school and which get to impact the learner. The emotional experiences are determined by the teachers depending on the experiences they organize for the students. Teachers are responsible for setting the emotional climate. They do so by deliberately planning for the experience of positive emotions by showing love and acceptance to learners unconditionally. The teacher’s influence on students psychological health is second only to that of the parents and indeed the teacher is accorded that role of the local parent. All the students look up to the teacher for love, acceptance and fair play.

There are specific teacher behaviors that set the emotional climate of the school. Practicing fair play and treating all children equally while avoiding favoritism helps in setting a healthy emotional climate. A teacher who is keen on children and who focuses on their wellbeing sets a favorable emotional climate. The teacher should always remember that children are very sensitive all the time wanting to be assured of love, acceptance and unconditional positive regard. Most important for the teacher to take note is the fact that the quality of the emotional climate one sets determines children’s adjustment or maladjustment to school. The teacher who is cognizant of the enormous powers he/she possesses uses them to put children on the right footing in the direction of psychological health; the direction towards self-actualization.

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6.4 Academic success and students adjustment

Students attend school in order to pursue academics among other things. Thus their performance in the various subject areas is critical to adjustment. The degree of academic success that the child achieves affects levels of adjustment. A student who scores good grades in schoolwork also enjoys inner satisfaction which boosts his ego. Good grades not only lead to praise and commendation from teachers and parents, they also attract envy from peers. They also promise a good future as well as continued adjustment to school. A student who is performing well will most likely steer away from any disciplinary problems. If asked what he/she wants to become when he grows up, he has a clear vision of it with realistic expectations and choose careers based on their ability and personality characteristics. It is important for teachers to ensure that all learners are performing well releasing and realizing their academic potential for maximum psychological health and adjustment.

6.5 Academic Failure

If a child is getting poor grades in school work he losses self- efficacy which deflates is ego. This child is likely to engage in negative practices like cheating, absenteeism, truancy, aggression and so on. It also becomes very difficult for this child to focus and plan for the future. Due to the many discipline problems this child may have, he may also experience hostile responses from the teachers. He may be punished most of the time. In extreme cases the child may drop out of school all together. 63

It is important that such students are identified early and the challenges that hinder their academic performance identified and effective interventions put in place. A teacher with the students’ welfare at heart gives learners tasks in line with their ability level. Addressing individual differences and ensuring that all learners benefit from each lesson is an important factor. Identifying factors that exist in the life of the student out of the class and which interfere with the students’ attention, revision and taking examinations and addressing them becomes important. 6.6 Success in extra curriculum activities

Some children may not show excellent performance in class but when they are in the field they hold their own places very well. Some run for the school at district or national levels. Others are on the school teams; football, volleyball, basketball, rugby, tennis, netball among others. There are those who have talent in leadership while others shine in drama, choir, or dance. These activities influence the amount of peer acceptance the student enjoys. They also boost the ego and are good recipes for positive psychological development. Students who are given opportunity to be involved benefit in many ways. They learn to work with others in teams or leadership positions and this promotes their social development. If activities involve physical exercises they promote physical and physiological development thus enhancing total heath. The wellbeing that emanates from positive engagements also influences academic achievement, discipline and adjustment.

Students who do not engage in extra curriculum activities run the risk of maladjustment as they may become withdrawn and possibly self rejecting. Others may engage in anti-social behaviors like bullying, stealing, giving in to negative peer influence and underperforming academically. It is therefore important that teachers identify these students early in order to prevent

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maladjustment before it manifests fully. All students should be given the opportunity to participate in the various activities in order to maximize opportunities of psychological health.

6.7 Adjustment and maladjustment among students

The ultimate goal of education is to have individuals who are adjusted and who have the skills to manage their daily lives as well as ability and skills to participate fully in nation building. The guidance and counseling teacher therefore should know what constitutes students adjustment and how to promote it thus preventing maladjustment. Experiences at home and within the school are important determinants of. Children who are exposed to pleasant experiences from home and school more likely to develop capacity for adjustment and psychological health while those who are exposed to unpleasant or traumatic experiences are likely to develop tendencies towards maladjustment. Adjustment is the term used to refer to the process by means of which the individual seeks to maintain physiological and psychological equilibrium. It refers to the adequacy of behavior patterns the individual uses to satisfy his needs. A person is adjusted if he satisfies his needs within the framework of the expectations and constraints of the social order. The person must satisfy his needs in ways that are consistent with social expectations for age, sex and status. To be well adjusted a person must have adequate coping skills.

Thus the characteristics of a well-adjusted student include efficiency in dealing with situational demands. This means that he adapts well and deals with challenges competently. In a school situation this refers to ability to give oneself to academic pursuit, to adhere to school rules and regulations, to form health interpersonal relationships with people in ones psychological environment and be have skills of making plans for the future. Such a student accepts his strengths and weaknesses and goes about life confidently displaying social sensitivity and conforms to social standards. This student does not violate school, home or societal rules.

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Adjustment gives the student happiness because the adjusted person lives in harmony with his world and is oriented towards self-actualization.

6.8 Student maladjustment Student maladjustment refers to inability to met needs in a manner that is acceptable for ones age, sex and status. The maladjusted student lacks adequate behavior patterns to solve the problems of daily living. In a school situation a pupil is maladjusted if he has challenges with interpersonal relationships which prevent him/her from making and keeping friends. Such a student may have inadequate skills to communicate his needs and feelings to other people and may engage in discipline problems with the school. The behaviors that may manifest could be aggression, non-completion of assignments, rudeness, disobedience and stealing among others. Some maladjusted students may not display behavior that harms others and may be withdrawn thus not revealing themselves to other people so that their feelings, needs or fears are kept secret.

Chances that a student will be maladjusted are higher if they experience problems that are too severe, and the solution not forthcoming. When student are unable to meet important needs continually they become frustrated which leads to desperation, queer atypical behavior as manifestations of maladjustment.

The student displays inability to interact appropriately with the physical and social environment, is unable to satisfy ones needs and is most likely to be underachieving. It is not uncommon for such a student to suffer from anxiety motivated affiliation needs as well as self concept of inferiority and guilt coupled by a breakdown of efficiency under stress.

Such a student

withdraws from participation and can easily disrupt group work and may result to unhealthy reliance on defense mechanisms like excessive aggression and destructiveness instead of solving the problems at hand. Teacher counselors may note students who engage in repeated transgressions despite punishment and those who have lost constructiveness and withdraw from school or social activities. Maladjusted students may worry excessively and are likely to fall into depression and pessimism.

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In addition to the fore going the teacher counselor should be aware of the fact that psychological maladjustment has negative effects on learning. The maladjusted student fails to focus on improving his learning grades and consequently fails. A failing student may actually sink deeper into maladjusted behavior which may result in engage in behaviors like aggression, absenteeism and truancy. Eventually, if the problem is still not arrested, this pupil gets into trouble with the school authority all the time, is punished all the time and may finally drop out of school. The problems of the maladjusted pupil are many as he may also get into trouble with the parents who may also punish him a situation that may lead to running away from home.

6.9 Behavioral manifestations of maladjustment among students

The teacher counselor should be conversant with some of the behavioral manifestations of maladjustment among students. The knowledge would assist in early identification and intervention. An important behavior to observe is absenteeism. Students can engage in either physical absence from class in which case the student is bodily away from class many times with faked reasons of sickness or other problems. A student can also engage in psychological absence mans that the pupil is bodily present in class but mentally he is far away. This can be observed if the pupil is looking outside the window, passing notes to others in the class, staring vacantly, fidgeting or day dreaming. Misconduct is another manifestation of maladjustment in which the problematic child is likely to be involved in misbehavior, for example noise making, aggression, defiance, use of profane language and basically acting tough. Another student may engage in stealing. Pupils will engage in stealing for various reasons. Sometimes they want to get revenge and at other times wishing to vent hostile feelings towards parents. Stealing may be due to lack of respect for other people’s property and times there are those students who steal without an apparent good reason. This may

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be occasioned by the student having problems that are psychological in nature. In this case a child will steal in order to fill a psychological deficit with material things.

Students tell lies when they twist or falsify information for selfish motives. Students tell lies for various reasons some of which may include escaping the consequences of punishment. They can also cheat in order to get attention or reduce anxiety as well as to get something they want. Student also engage in cheating which they are likely to do if the task is too difficult and particularly when parents and teachers have set standards that the child cannot attain. Avoidance of failure will also make some students to cheat in order to avoid failure. The cheating child may also be the one who feels both inadequate and inferior.

Truancy is yet another manifestation of student maladjustment in which students keep away from school without knowledge of the parents. Such a student may go fishing, movie watching or just any other activity that keeps him away from school. The teacher counselor should know that student is likely to play truant if school is threatening and in particular if one is being bullied or is performing poorly in school. Also the pupil who has neither found love at home nor at school will develop a strong dislike for school and can turn to truancy.

6.10 Lesson summary The lesson covers the role played by educational institutions in determining students’ adjustment informing the teacher counselor for the things to look out for. i. If the emotional climate of the school is hostile to students they develop maladjustment which manifest in various ways ii. Students’ academic success has a bearing on adjustment as it nurtures self esteem and psychological growth iii. Poor academic performance by students is related to development of maladjusted behaviors iv. Success in extra curricula activities boosts peer acceptance, promotes physical and psychological wellbeing. v. Adjusted students possess adequate skills to pursue academics, interpersonal relationships and they are able to navigate the daily challenges of living. 68

vi. Student maladjustment is associated with inadequate behavior patterns and manifest in academic failure, frictional interactions with peers, school authorities and with parents. vii. Maladjusted students engage in absenteeism, telling lies, cheating and truancy among other negative behaviors. 6.11 Revision questions i. Explain the role played by the school in promoting student adjustment. ii. Explain how you would ensure a healthy emotional climate in your class. iii. What methods would you employ to enhance academic performance among learners? iv. Some students are not gifted in academic tasks but are happy undertaking other valuable activities, discuss. v. Schools are usually ready to mete out punishment to maladjusted students, explain how you would change this trend in your school

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LESSON SEVEN

THE COUNSELING RELATIONSHIP

7.1 Introduction

Students encountering challenges that arrest their psychological growth in any areas discussed require the services of the school counselor. This lesson discusses the nature of the counseling relationship and the developmental stages in counseling. The lesson intends to shed light on the nature of the counseling relationship bringing out what the counselor does and what the client does during counseling process from initiation to termination. It discusses the skills the counselor employs at each stage. It is critically important that the counselor initiate a healthy counseling relationship from the initial meeting with the client. The counselor, as facilitator of the process should remember that the counseling relationship is a delicate requiring sensitivity and that for it to work both counselor and the client must be committed.

7.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson you must be able to do the following i. Explain how counseling is initiated. ii. Discuss what the relationship means to the client. iii. Describe the goals of counseling. iv. Describe the developmental model of counseling. v. Explain what happens during stage one of the counseling process. vi. Describe the counseling skills needed during the second stage. vii. explain the procedures used during termination.

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7.3 Initiation of the counseling process

The counseling relationship starts with the initial encounter between the client and counselor. The class teacher, school matron, deputy principal and so on may refer the client to the counselor or the client may also seek counseling on his own due to a felt inner need. In some cases the counselor can also initiate the counseling relationship if he perceives the clients unspoken need. The counseling relationship is delicate at times meaning talking to a stranger about personal matters that may be frightening, intimidating or prohibitive. For example rape, pregnancy, divorce of parents or death of a key provider. It is important that the counselor ensures that the relationship starts well. A good start is aided by establishing of rapport. Rapport may be enhanced by various things that include being non-judgmental and showing the client unconditional acceptance. This means that the client does not feel judged which is achieved if the counselor is able to overcome negative attitudes, stereotypes and biases. In addition, the counselor should extend warm regard towards the client. This means providing a healthy and warm climate and helping the client feel at home with the counselor. It is of utmost importance that the counselor promises the client trustworthiness. Many clients are afraid that their secrets, fears and concerns might be shared with other people. The counselor should reassure the client of confidentiality of any information shared.

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7.4 The goals of counseling

In the African context counseling is perceived as advice giving where a person discloses personal problems to another one and is given suggestions as to what to do to solve the problem. This approach is close to guidance as it in that someone is showing the other one how to solve a problem. Counseling is different from guidance in that it does not entail advice giving and it not a problem solving exercise but a process of empowering the student to use his/her resourcefulness and solve their own problems. The client does not come to the counselor to receive ready-made answers to all his problems. The counseling process is meant to help the client to realize and release his potential so that he can solve his own problems himself. Counseling should help the client to overcome his worst obstacles, which are; fear and poor selfimage, to gain confidence in oneself and to cultivate a healthy self image. In a school situation co counseling should help the students to open and become more knowledgeable about himself, about his abilities, and about the world around him. Counseling should equip the youth with the ability to solve problems for themselves, ability to appraise self and to think independently. Thus the main goal of counseling is to help the client to adjust by doing something about his problems, whatever the problems, personal adjustment should be the solution.

7.4 Developmental model of counseling

The developmental model of counseling takes place in stages. The stages help both the client and the counselor to evaluate the progress made and the direction they should take in the counseling 72

process. The stages of the developmental model include initiation or problem clarification, development or goal setting and action and closing. During each stage, sessions of between 30 minutes and one hour are held. The number of sessions is determined by the nature of the problem and the client’s personality. There are clients who will need longer as well as more sessions whereas other clients will need shorter session and shorter duration of counseling.

The counselor should remember to establish rapport by extending a positive atmosphere and communicating genuine concern to the client. This means being a friend first by extending warmth, which will make the client feel at home with you. In addition the counselor should be attentive to what the client is saying and doing during the process thus focusing all his interest should on the client. It is important that the client perceives your undivided attention. The counselor should communicate his understanding of the client’s problems from the client’s frame of reference. Encouraging the client and providing support particularly when the client is trying out various alternatives of dealing with the problem is very important. Sometimes the client can have a problem that involves other people, if this is the case the counselor agree with the client if it will be necessary to bring them in at some stage during the counseling process. This should be done with the consent of the client. Additionally, when the counselor uses the questioning and probing skills it should be done with care and great sensitivity. The client should never imagine the counselor is only curious. The intention of questioning and probing should be to help the client explore his problem situation better. If the problem attaches a lot of emotion, it will be less threatening if the counselor asks for factual information, which will help the client to relax.

7.5 The stages of the counseling process

7.5.1 Stage I - Initiation or problem clarification

The purpose of this stage is for the client to clarify the problems. The client should be able to pinpoint what the actual problem is. During the initial stage the client is not sure whether to trust 73

the counselor. He may fear being rejected, or being judged or condemned by the counselor. At this stage some clients will project their anger and frustration on the counselor. This is referred to as transference. On his own part the counselor should make the client to feel accepted and received with positive regard. There should be mutual respect. During this stage the counselor needs to use the following skill of attending. Attending refers to paying attention to the client. The counselor should face the client and move to a comfortable safer distance. The conference arrangement is preferable. Active listening is the second skill and refers to paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal messages. The counselor should listen to the client’s story even if the story is told in a confused fashion. At this level the counselor tries to ask himself what the client is saying about his experiences, feelings or behavior. A third skill the counselor uses during this stage is observation which involves paying attention to what the client is doing including whether the client fidgeting (engaging hands and fingers in unnecessary movements) or if he is demonstrating unwillingness to share information. Responding is the fourth skills the counselor and does so by using verbal and non-verbal responses. The responses should be geared towards encouraging the client to be more specific in his problem statement. Questioning and probing are other important skills the counselor uses during this stage. The questions the counselor uses should be directed towards ensuring that the problem situation is completely clear. For example asking the client to restate what he has said or asking him a question like, “do you want to say, mean or imply that ………………..”. The skill of obtaining information is also used and requires the counselor to obtain strict facts such as history. The counselor, also checks out the manner of telling the story, for example, does the client stay on focus? Is he focusing on the central issues and feelings? Does he introduce side issues? Is the story consistent? What does this story reveal about the clients feelings, nature of clients relationship with other people? Is the client anxious in the counseling situation?

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7.5.2 Stage two Development or goal setting

The counseling process moves to stage two if the client has developed confidence in the counselor’s trustworthiness and support. At this stage the problem situation has been fully understood by both the client and counselor. The goal of this stage is for the client to develop a more objective perspective or point of view of the problem situation and be in a position to set goals for or make plans for a changed lifestyle. The goals should be defined in behavioral terms. The goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant and also time bound (SMART). During this stage the client should be able to show what he/she will do to solve the problem. Whatever is done should be quantifiable like if the problem involves underachieving caused by poor time management and poor study skills, the students should say exactly how he/she will manage time as well as the study methods to engage. The projected improvement in grades should be specified.

The skills the counselor employs during this stage are data integration which involves bringing all the information gathered during the counseling process together. Integration helps to identify the themes associated with the client’s problem situation. This should lead to the client’s selfunderstanding as well as establishing the background of the problem as well as how the problem has affected the client leading to the present situation. This forms the basis for planning what the client needs to do to solve the problem and to plan for the future. At this stage too the counselor can help the client to attack areas that have been over looked. Mostly, these will be areas where the client has been defensive and failing to accept or acknowledge his own personal weaknesses or contribution towards the problem situation. The client is helped to become more realistic and more objective in his approach. During this stage the client needs to be helped to be helped to be able to make more concrete, specific and measurable goals. For example, I will do a, b, c to solve

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my problem. The client should be able to fix a time frame within which he will be coping with the problem situation. The counselor’s support and encouragement should be promised.

7.5.3 Stage 3 - Action and closing (termination)

When the client has worked through the emotions tied up with the problem situation and established their goals for future behavior or lifestyle, the process enters the third stage. At this stage the counselor should ensure that the client is following through on tasks to be done. The counselor has to be firm with the client so that action is followed through to the end. Excuses or failure should not be accepted. However, new plans and actions can be tried. During this stage the counselor should give a lot of support to ensure that the client continues to manage his problem situation. The termination process refers to the end of the counseling process and it must be carefully planned. For best results the counseling process should not be terminated abruptly. If the counselor was meeting the client once a week he can schedule to meet him once in two weeks, then once a month and then end the sessions. These lengthened intervals between visits allow the client to test independence. Complete termination takes place when the client is maintaining the necessary changes in behavior, is coping adequately and can plan for day-to-day functioning. During the termination, a support system must be ensured. The client should be helped to implement his goals for future behavior as well as learning to be independent where possible. Care should be taken to ensure that dependence does not occur. The client should not be encouraged to develop an emotional relationship with the counselor. He should be trained to develop independence. The counselor too should not develop emotional dependence or attachment with the client. If there is a possibility of dependence developing, the client should be referred to another counselor.

The skills the counselor employs during this stage include program development skills. Programs are the means chosen to implement the goals. The client is helped to go through all the 76

stages of the program. The counselor discusses, possible difficulties, provides challenge and support during the closing phase. This can be achieved through reinforcement and confrontation at the various steps of program implementation.

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7.6 Conclusion of the lesson

i. The lesson has discussed how counseling is initiated noting that the student can seek counseling due to a felt need. Other people who can suggest that the student need counseling help are the class teacher, the school matron or the discipline master. ii. Things that the teacher counselor must take into consideration as counseling is initiated are establishing rapport, promising the student of confidentiality and according him/her positive regard. iii. Since counseling does not involve giving students readymade answers to their problems, the counselor uses his/her competencies to empower the student to solve the problems. iv. During the first stage the problem situation is introduced and clarified so that both counselor and client know what they are dealing with. The counselor uses the skills of questioning and probing, active listening and observation. v. The second stage involves goal setting and the client comes up with the programs that detail what he/she will do in order to manage the problem situation. The counselor uses the skill of data integration and ensures that the goals set by the client are specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic as well as time bound. vi. Counseling is terminated during the third stage when the client is implementing the program. It is a healthy practice to termination counseling gradually and to ensure that neither the client nor the counselor develop dependency.

7.7 Revision questions

i. Why should the counselor promise the client of confidentiality? ii. Explain the importance of establishing rapport. 78

iii. Why do we say that counseling is not an exercise in advice giving? iv. Explain why the client would be anxious about the prospect of seeing the counselor. v. Explain what happens during stage one of the counseling process. vi. Describe the counseling skills needed during the second stage. vii. Explain the procedures used during termination.

7.8 References

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LESSON EIGHT QUALITIES OF A GOOD COUNSELOR

8.1 Introduction

The effectiveness of a school counselor is determined by several things. The counselor has personal characteristics that enable him/her to be congruent so as to be comfortable with self and other people. There is also need to have professional competencies that ensure effectiveness in counseling. this section we are going to describe the qualities of a good teacher counselor. For the counselor to be effective he should be perceived as safe, accepting and trusting. As counseling is initiated he should be consciously aware of his very important role as a facilitator of the counseling process. If he sends the wrong signals from the initiation the whole process suffers.

8.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to do the following things; Outline the personality characteristics of a good teacher counselor Describe the professional characteristics of a good teacher counselor Explain the interpersonal characteristics of a good teacher counselor Discuss the administrative characteristics of a good teacher counselor

There is one important thing that the counselor should always remember. That is: when a client comes for counseling he/she has disturbing feelings and thoughts.

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This client needs sympathy and empathy so that he can have the courage to express himself.

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As we have seen from the developmental model of counseling, the counselor should be a good listener, who tries to understand the client’s problem. The counselor tries to understand the whole picture of both inside and outside events. He tries to refrain from excessive talk so that he gives the client room to speak out.

Now let us understand other qualities that a good counselor should possess.

A good counselor should be a good teacher. A good teacher possesses the following personality traits; he or she displays maturity of character. He approaches people with warmth; he should be, understanding, dependable, and cheerful and should have the ability to deal with people intelligently. A good counselor is diligent. This means that he is hard-working and he demonstrates a genuine interest is his clients. He has faith in people and his approach is sincere and businesslike. A good counselor is even tempered. To deal effectively with people experiencing problems one cannot afford to be ill tempered. With a good temper the counselor is able to approach the main problem without difficulty. When the counselor is good tempered he will be able to ask the right questions. A good counselor is aware of his strengths and limitations. This means that he is aware of what he can handle competently. If there is a problem that he cannot handle he does not pretend to be knowledgeable about it, instead he refers the client to another counselor who has the information or the competencies needed. A good counselor is a person who relates well with colleagues students, the school administration, the parent and the community. For him to be effective, he cannot afford conflict or frictional interaction with any of these parties. If there is poor relationship the counseling relationship will be harmed. For any problem to be solved adequately a lot of understanding and cooperation is required from every involved party. The counselor is the mediator between the client and other parties and must ensure a smooth relationship with all. A good counselor is a person who is well informed and up to date with developments in educational, psychological and social aspects of his work. He reads widely, attends workshops 81

and conferences, and keeps in step with prevailing social attitudes. He follows the research trends and findings as well as emerging theories of counseling. A good counselor is a good administrator. He keeps records properly; he is not a gossip and is capable of confidentiality. He should be able to detect the real and deep-seated problem, unearth it, and separate it from the symptoms so that it can be addressed.

LESSON NINE INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING Individual counseling has its roots in psychoanalysis where the belief was that the psychological problems are individualistic hence intra-psychic.It is also based in the belief that if an individual is helped, the social system within which he lives will be changed. Individual counseling is also an influence by the person-centered theory/therapy, which emphasizes: -

Individual choices

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Individual plans

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Individual freedom

The cognitive behavioral theory implies the role played in behaviors by “individualistic perceptions of people and situations. Therefore, individual counseling is a one to one relationship.

The counselor enters into a contractual/counseling relationship with a counselee. 1. In the contracting phase the following issues are addressed. -

Informed consent counseling

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Goals of counseling

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Process

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Expected outcome of counseling

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UPR is explained 82

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Confidentiality is explained

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Payments

2. The process of counseling helps the individual discover inner strength and resources that he/she uses to solve his own problems and make responsible choices. Issues of self-concept and esteem are explored in a journey of self-awareness, which provides psychological growth and development.

Situations that may warrant for individual counseling 1. People with neuroses and acute personality disorders e.g. depression, phobia and anxiety and fear for group interactions. 2. Where an individual needs a confidential environment free of external threat. Such an individualistic atmosphere allows clients to freely express themselves without fear. Reference from Carl Rogers (1945) (as reported by Mutungi Elory Kambenje K.U msters class of Guidance and Counseling August 2004 – class assignment). “The Counselor’s role becomes one of structuring and reflecting feelings, creating an atmosphere of security in which the client is free to talk about his problems; -

in his own way

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at his own pace

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for his own purpose”

3. An individual may have a unique behavior problem that he/she would not want to discuss in a group. -

Sexuality dysfunctions (discuss)

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Suicidal tendencies

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Value and personal beliefs etc

4. Individuals who have compulsive need for attention and recognition. (Ref. Sr. Keino Josephen K.U masters class on Guidance and Counseling August 2004). 83

Discuss any other situation that may warrant individual counseling.

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LESSON TEN GROUP COUNSELING 10.1 Introduction

There are times when counseling focuses on groups rather than individuals. This makes it necessary to come up with means of facilitating this needed service in the most appropriate way. This lesson covers types of groups, meeting in group counseling, group duration and confidentiality in group counseling. Co-leadership, group process and therapeutic factors in group counseling are also discussed.

10.2 Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson you should be able to following things; i. Describe types of groups in group counseling. ii. Discuss group size and length of meetings. iii. Discuss the life of the group (duration) in group counseling. iv. Discuss the structured and unstructured group activities. v. Describe the role of co- leadership in group counseling. vi. Describe the Group process in group counseling. vii. Explain the therapeutic factors in group counseling.

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10.3 TYPES OF GROUPS

There are many types of groups some open while others are closed. In open groups individuals can join and leave as they wish which has the advantage that if the group was dull the new members can bring new stimulation and they may also bring new ideas. New members may come to with lives broadening our social experience. The disadvantage may be that group cohesiveness (ability of group to stay together as a unit) is affected and group members worry about trust, whether it is sufficient as new members join the groups. In closed groups membership is restricted and new members not invited once a group is started. Closed groups have the advantage of encouraging cohesiveness of the group is manifested and continuity is possible. The disadvantages are that if members leave there’s likelihood of the group dying off and also the perspective of the gender may be lost.

Another type of group is voluntary versus involuntary. In the voluntary groups it is the members who make a personal decision to be in the group. These members have a clear understanding of the purpose of the group and they have a commitment to the group. The advantage of such a group is that members are committed to the group process and they work hard to achieve the objective set by the group. The involuntary groups consist of members who are not there by choice. Such groups are common in institutions for example school, prisons, approved schools among others and normally the members are no keen in participating in the group. This calls for the group, leader to explore the members’ resistance and reservations and ensure that he/she understands why they don’t want to participate and then sell to them the ideas of how they may benefit. When the group members have been persuaded of the benefits of the group they participate in the activities as required. 86

We also have homogenous versus heterogeneous groups. It is important to decide if the group will be homogenous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous groups will include people who are similar in various characteristics like age where we could have a group of children alone, another one for the adolescents, and one for young adults for and for the elderly. A group can be constituted on the basis of common interest or problem for example we can have a group with weight problem, drug addicts, orphans and people affected by a similar health condition. The advantages of having a homogeneous group are that the issues affecting group members are discussed in depth because of their common nature. Also, interaction is deeper because of the homogeneity of the group and the similarity of the issues gives the group a personal touch among group. The disadvantage is that the group members lose perspective of the other gender. The heterogeneous groups are composed of members with different characteristics like different in gender, interests, ages and issues. Having such a group is advantageous in that the participants get the opportunity to experiment with new behavior development, social skills and get feedback from many diverse sources. The group has a stimulating effect due to the range of ages, backgrounds and interests and concerns. Heterogeneous groups also allow a number of issues to be brought up, where as in homogenous groups issues discussed are of the same nature.

10.4 Group size and frequency of meetings

Each individual in the group must participate in the group discussions and thus benefit from the interactions. For this reason the group should not be so large that the individual is lost in it and hence the optimum size of a group should be 12-15 with 12 members considered ideal. Small groups tend to facilitate a higher level of interaction because group members are not pressed for time. They also provide for a wider range of experiences to be shared unlike for where the variety of experience discussed is minimal. Desirable size depends on factors like age of members, the type of group, experience of counselors, and type of problem to be explored.

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Generally group should have enough people to afford ample interaction, so that it does not drag yet small enough to give everyone a chance to participate frequently without losing the sense of group.

A group discussing a certain issue that is affecting its members meet should meet twice a week or once in a fortnight. This should be agreed upon between the group leader and the members during the inception of the group. The length of the meetings should be at least between half an hour to two hours so that meaningful ground can be covered and for the members. The members should know in advance how long the meetings will be at any one time in order to allow for individual planning.

10.5 Group duration, meeting place and leadership

Groups have a lifespan or a duration which may last between 30 to 50 weeks. However, in a school, college setting a month or a term is usually depending on the nature of the group. During group formation members should discuss the duration of the group. Another issue to be agreed upon is the group meeting place in terms of the location and the type of room s that will hold the meetings. Leaders should ensure that the meetings are in a convenient place where the members can access a favorable environment. The meeting place should have as little distraction from the outside as possible. The place should ensure privacy, and should present a certain degree of attractiveness and it should also be a place that allows for face to face interaction. The time for the meeting should also be agreed upon so that members know if they will be meeting in the morning, lunchtime or evening. The group leader should ensure that the place provides enough safety where confidentiality is also considered as a matter of priority.

Group counseling needs to be run by two people, the main counselor and a helper. The helpers should be a counselor who has the same theoretical orientations so as to minimize conflicts of 88

approach and ideas. This is because theoretical orientation has implications on the choice of techniques used in the group process. During the group process members get to learn things about themselves which they would not have otherwise learned. Climate creation is an important fact aspect of leadership as it makes all group members comfortable and secure enough to engage in the interactions. A good climate encourages relationship building which is very important for the group process. Another important aspect the leader needs to consider is the sitting arrangement. Ideally members should sit in a circle so as to allow for eye contact bringing a sense of unity and togetherness and equality. The group interactions should also take the format of the rounds where it is easy to both focus on the individual and remove focus from the individual with ease. It can be used to shift subject from the members and members from the subjects and it gives chance for all members to participate in the group. It is used as a democratic tool that gives everybody a chance to make contribution and it also eliminates the possibility of some members dominating in the discussion.

10.6 Unstructured and structured group activities

Group activities can take either the form of unstructured or unstructured. In the unstructured format there are no particular themes previously prepared. The group could embark on an already running theme or ask members to come up with the theme for the day. The facilitator could also bring out various themes and ask members what they would like to focus on for the session. The leader can also ask members if they have something to share. The leader has to be very creative and know when to intervene and when to keep out of the way if the session is going on well. The structured group activity is one that has been identified and methods of tackling it determined. Clear instructions or the design of how to go about the task are given and at the end of the activity, members discuss the lessons they have learnt from it.

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10.7 Group process The group process refers to the stages of the life of the group. There are three stages that run from group formation to its termination these are the beginning, middle and ending.

10.7.1 Stage one: Introduction

During the first stage rapport is created so as to establish trust and safety among group members. The activity of breaking the ice Break ice is important in establishing rapport trust is not well done in beginning share it may affect the flow to the next stage. During this stage introductions are done and the purpose of the group outlined. Also outlined are the personal and group expectation specifying what group members want done in that group. At the same time group norms are spelt out and it is the members who come up with them. During this time too members deal with their anxieties and the fears. The group counselor ensures that the members come up with the themes for discussion and emphasizing the importance of confidentiality. A warming up exercise is important during this stage as it helps group members to loosen up and get ready for the task ahead. Once trust is established the members set the agenda that they want to work on. Thus the beginning phase is characterized by a creation of a conducive atmosphere/ safe atmosphere in the session. If it is an old group members report to the others what has been happening to them in between. Once you are through with the 1st stage there’s rapport and members know each other’s names the process moves to the second stage.

10.7.2 Stage two

Stage two is the middle stage also referred to as the working stage. The stage comes out clearly in groups that are educational / or training groups. This stage is associated with personal growth 90

especially in counseling groups. At this stage people have gained some insights and they are being given an opportunity to work on their insights. Members share personal material, begin to challenge each other and explore all kinds of things about themselves without a lot of sensory. They are also capable of giving feedback to the facilitator. Members have the freedom to share and the leader should ensure that none of them experience intimidation in terms of attitude, prejudice or biases. If any of these attitudes are felt the leader should challenge them. Members get opportunities to share and clarify issues for themselves and they get to spell out what they really need from the group. The group counselor should be in a position to detect that the group has reached the working stage when members begin to share their deep personal experience. There is no clear cut time that is taken between each stage and some groups may take many weeks other one-week depending on the group dynamics. In the middle phase members begin to work to accomplish the purpose for which the group has been formed and more personal issue are shared. This stage ends when the members know how to help themselves with what they have learnt from the group.

Depth refers to the level of interaction individual group members engage in. We look at how our members are interacting whether they are open and willing to in tract at deep levels or are they sharing at phony surface. The more you interact and deeper you share the more effective the group is. The deeper the level of sharing the more therapeutic the exercise is. Allow members to begin broadly and go deeper to personal matters. Some books talk in terms of levels e.g. 1 –1 10 where 10 is the deepest. At one time the leader can challenge those who seem to be sharing at phony levels. Funneling down occurs when the issues became every personal and individual group members have stopped talking about broad issues start doing in-depth exercises that will help people deal with deep seated issues and even the unfinished businesses at other times as the group shares you, realize that there are issues coming up and you focus on particular issues and spend time on these issues.

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10.7.3 Stage three

Stage three is the termination or ending stage and during this stage the teacher helps the members to draw lessons from experiences from the group. Leaders help the members focus on the major changes that have occurred for example the difference in life, the changes in experiences thinking and feeling. Also the leader helps them to reflect upon the changes that have occurred in them and what they think about them. There could be some sort of a transition stage between the second stage and this stage when any anxieties members could still be having are addressed so as to enable them to transit smoothly to the termination During this phase the leader draws the group to a close by reminding them the issue they have discussed in the sessions so that they can put them in practice – crystallize what has been achieved and hope that members will be able to transfer learning to other ends put in practice in real life. Very depressing moments and negative feelings should be avoided. Members should give one positive thing and focus on what they have learnt and are taking home for themselves. In other groups we give homework or just highlight those major points that were learnt in the day.

10.8Therapeutic factors in group The benefits of group counseling are observed in several aspects. In groups individuals feel accepted which facilitates their experience of self-acceptance which is very critical to psychological healing. Members are also able to express their feelings even those long represses and this cathartic experience has curative effect.

The Vicarious learning that results from

individual group members’ ability to learn from the experiences of others and the shared experiences within the group are very beneficial. The individual members acquire the ability to deal with their personal challenges. Members learn from what has been shared and by so doing

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experience attitude or behavior changed they also learn by initiation and transfer that learning to their situations.

Joining a group has another curative effect in the sense that members get to recognize the universality A feeling / realization that this problem is common to all of us. People feel better when they realize they are not alone/ there’s always someone with a bigger problem even when we think ours is too big. 1. Interpersonal skills learning  People learn to relate with others. 2. Altruism (helping others)  Communicating the point that group members have shared and you feel important in the lives of others through sharing 3. Cohesiveness (emotional bond and unity)  Feeling together, a feeling of oneness, emotional bond, unity in a group determines the life of a group “ we ness” a sense of belonging. 4. Guidance  Members advice each other on how to deal with their day-to-day dealings – information giving. 5. Instillation of Hope  Other members make you feel better, experience more hope and continue living.  One becomes more optimistic, e.g. HIV, Battered women, Cancer e.t.c 6. Existential factors.  Coming to understand what life is about.  The ebb and flow of self – disclosure, cognitive restructuring, benefiting from feedback.  Living when members share their experiences. 7. Self – understanding.  Gaining personal insights. 8. Freedom to experiment.  Empathy and caring. 93

 Intimacy.  Commitment to change.

Lesson summary Describe types of groups in group counselling Discuss the frequency and length of meetings Discuss the life of the group (duration) in group counselling Explain the concept of confidentiality in group counseling Describe the role of co- leadership in group counselling Describe the Group process in group counseling Explain the therapeutic factors in group group counseling

Revision questions Describe types of groups in group counselling Discuss the frequency and length of meetings Discuss the life of the group (duration) in group counselling Explain the concept of confidentiality in group counseling Describe the role of co- leadership in group counselling Describe the Group process in group counseling Explain the therapeutic factors in group group counseling Gladding, S.T. ( 2004).Counseling: A Comprehensive Profession (5th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. P 6-7.

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