Goals of Counselling

After understanding the meaning and concept of
counselling an attempt is made to discuss what is
achieved through counselling. The counselling has
different goals with different clients. For example, the
counsellor may provide counselling for assisting client
to heal past emotional deprivations, manage current
problems, handle transitions, make decisions, manage
crises and develop specific lifeskills, etc. Sometimes goals
of counselling are divided between remedial goals and
growth or developmental goals. Both the remedial and
developmental goals serve preventive functions. Though
much of counselling is remedial, its main focus is on
the developmental tasks of a vast majority of ordinary
people rather than on the needs of more severely
disturbed minority (Richard Nelson – Jones: 2000). For
the social work professionals counselling goals may be
listed as follows:

i. Counselling for healthy development ofpersonality

Counselling goal can be for the nourishment of a natural
tendency toward psychological maturation which
presumably exists in every individual. According to
psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow,
everyone has a natural tendency towards “selfactualisation”.
The counsellors, through their skills and
by providing a conductive emotional atmosphere, help
the clients to promote this innate positive orientation.

ii. Counselling as providing support and guidance

While working with people as social worker there are
many occasions where individuals seek crisis
intervention and short-term support from the social
worker. A young man frustrated after completing higher
education and not getting suitable employment, a
woman severely depressed after the sudden death of
her husband, a youth confused and finding it difficult
to make choice about career are some of the examples
of this. Anyone under acute stress or depression might
benefit from this kind of temporary assistance.

iii. Counselling as emotional release

Suppression of thoughts, feelings and emotions often
lead to physical or mental problem. The counsellors in
such cases help the client to deal with their unexpressed
feelings and emotions. The client usually benefit from
learning to let them go in a way that is not damaging to
themselves or to others. A person who has just lost a
loved one but is unable to grieve or a person who is
furious with his/her boss but holds it in, for these and
such other cases counselling is given as emotional
release. Venting of emotions can be a great relief to
these persons and freedom for such expressions is
important aspects of social workers.

iv. Counselling for awareness

Carl Rogers has pointed out that self-awareness, selfacceptance
and self-direction are the most important
aspects of personality development. Through counselling,
the client can be helped to become aware and
understand his/her own strengths, potentials,
weaknesses and overall personality. The client can gain
insight into his/her own thinking, feeling and behaviour.
Self awareness helps them to accept themselves and
also work to overcome their weakness.

v. Counselling for value clarification and change

Counselling aims at developing a healthy value system
in the clients’ personality. The socialization process and
internalization of values shape the personality of the
individual. The value system directs ones thinking,
feeling and accordingly the action. Sometimes people
are involved in activities which are anti social and/or
harmful to themselves or to others. In such a situation,
counselling helps as a remedial measure. The counsellor
helps the clients to clarify their values and if needed
bring about appropriate changes in the value system of
the clients.