Counseling as a profession grew out of the progressive guidance movement of the early
1900s. Its emphasis was on prevention and purposefulness—on helping individuals of all ages
and stages avoid making bad choices in life while finding meaning, direction, and fulfillment
in what they did. Today, professional counselling focuses on wellness, development,
mindfulness, meaningfulness, mattering, and growth, as well as the remediation of mental
disorders for individuals, groups, couples, and families across the lifespan. Counseling
therefore is similar to and different from two important concepts:
Guidance focuses on helping people make important choices that affect their lives, such
as choosing a preferred lifestyle. One distinction between guidance and counseling is that
guidance focuses on assisting individuals to choose what they value most, whereas counseling
helps them make changes. Traditionally, psychotherapy (or therapy) has focused on serious
problems associated with intrapsychic disorders (such as delusions or hallucinations), internal
conflicts, and personality issues (such as dependency or inadequacy in working with others). It
has dealt with the establishment or “recovery of adequacy” (Casey, 1996) in more modern
times, the distinction between psychotherapy and counselling has blurred, and professionals
who provide clinical services often determine whether clients receive counseling or
psychotherapy.
According to the 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling consortium, Counseling
is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to
accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.
In addition to defining counseling in general, the ACA has defined a professional
counseling speciality, which is an area (within counseling) that is “narrowly focused, requiring
advanced knowledge in the field” of counseling.
According to the ACA, becoming a specialist is founded on the premise that “all
professional counselors must first meet the requirements for the general practice of
professional counseling”
The Six Stages of The Counseling Process
Most counseling sessions last approximately 50 minutes (Linder, 1954). A counseling
session is therefore sometimes referred to as “the 50-minute hour.” What takes place in a
session depends on the client’s needs and the counselor’s personal approach to counseling. As
described by Cormier and Hackney (1993), counseling is a five-stage process: relationship
building, assessment, goal setting, interventions, and termination and follow-up. These stages
have been expanded into the following six-stage model of the counseling process:
Stage 1: Relationship Building
The counseling relationship is the heart of the counseling process. It supplies the vitality
and the support necessary for counseling to work, and it is the critical factor associated with
successful outcomes in counseling (Kokotovic & Tracey, 1990; Lambert, 2011). Sexton and
Whiston (1994) commented, “The quality of the counseling relationship has consistently been
found to have the most significant impact on successful client outcome”. Most of the literature
on the counseling relationship has focused on the core conditions for effective counseling and
the social influence model.
Core Conditions-
Rogers (1957) identified what he believed were core conditions for successful
counseling: empathic understanding, unconditional positive regard, and congruence. Rogers
suggested that these core conditions were necessary and sufficient for constructive personality
change to occur and that no other conditions were necessary. Later, Carkhuff (1969, 1971)
expanded the core conditions to include respect, immediacy, confrontation, concreteness, and
self-disclosure.
Empathy: Empathy is considered the most important core condition in terms of
promoting positive outcomes (Orlando & Howard, 1986). Egan (2002) described empathic
understanding as a process that involves listening, understanding, and communicating that
understanding to the client. According to Rogers, it is an active, immediate, and ongoing
process in which the counselor becomes aware of the client’s feelings, experiences those
feelings, and create a mirror through which clients can explore and discover deeper meanings
associated with their feelings
Unconditional Positive Regard: Involves the counselor communicating to clients that
they are of value and worthy as individuals. This concept has been referred to by several other
terms, including non-possessive warmth, acceptance, prizing, respect, and regard.
Congruence: Involves counselors behaving in a manner consistent with how they think
and feel. This condition has also been referred to as genuineness. An example of not functioning
congruently is a counsellor who says, “I’m glad to see you,” when a client arrives for an
appointment, even though the counselor does not like the client.
Respect: Respect is like unconditional positive regard in that it focuses on the positive
attributes of the client. Counselors can communicate respect by making positive statements
about the client and openly and honestly acknowledging, appreciating, and tolerating individual
differences.
Immediacy: Carkhuff (1969, 1971) developed the concept of immediacy, which
involves communication between the counselor and client that focuses on the here and now. It
allows the counselor to directly address issues of importance to the counseling relationship.
For example, if a client does not appear interested in counseling, the counselor might say, “I’m
becoming concerned that you’re not finding our sessions meaningful. How are you feeling
about what is going on in counseling now?”
Confrontation: The core condition of confrontation involves the counselor pointing out
discrepancies in what a client is saying. There can be discrepancies between what the client is
saying and, between statements and nonverbal behavior (Ivey, Ivey, & Zalaquett, 2010), and
between how clients see themselves and how the counselor sees them (Egan, 2002).
Concreteness: refers to the counselor helping clients discuss their concerns in specific
terms. Clients can feel overwhelmed by their problems and have difficulty putting things into
perspective. When this occurs, concreteness can help the counselor create a focus for the client
in the counseling process.
Self-Disclosure: Jourard (1958) developed the concept of self-disclosure, which
involves making the self-known to another. Danish, D’Augelli, and Brock (1976) differentiated
two types of self-disclosure statements: self-disclosing and self-involving. In self-disclosing
statements, counselors disclose information about themselves. In self-involving statements,
counselors describe what they are experiencing about the client in the counseling process.
Stage 2: Assessment and Diagnosis
Assessment and diagnosis contribute to several important aspects of the counseling
process. They can help a counselor develop an in-depth understanding of a client and identify
mental disorders that require attention. This understanding can facilitate goal setting and
suggest types of intervention strategies. Assessment procedures can be divided into
standardized and nonstandardized measures (Kottler, 2004). Diagnosis is a medical term that
means “identification of the disease-causing pathogens responsible for a physical illness”
Rosenhan and Seligman (1995) identified four reasons for making a diagnosis: facilitating
communication shorthand, indicating possible treatment strategies, communicating etiology,
and aiding in scientific investigation.
Stage 3: Formulation of Counseling Goals
Goals serve three functions in the counseling process (Cormier & Hackney, 1993):
motivational, educational, and evaluative. First, goals can have a motivational function,
especially when clients are involved in establishing the goals. Clients appear to work harder on
goals they help create. They may also be more motivated when they have specific, concrete
goals to work toward, which can help clients focus their energy on specific issues. The second
function of a counseling goal is educational. From this perspective, clients can learn new skills
and behaviors that they can use to enhance their functioning. The third function of a counseling
goal is evaluative. Clear goals allow the counselor and client to evaluate progress. Goals can
also be useful in implementing research strategies, and they provide a means to assess
counselor accountability.
Stage 4: Intervention and Problem Solving
Once the counselor and client have formulated a counseling goal, they can determine
what intervention strategy to implement. They may choose from a variety of interventions,
including individual, group, couples, and family counseling. It may be best, to begin with
individual counseling for clients with problems of an intrapersonal nature. As clients become
more secure, they may be able to benefit from the open dialogue that often characterizes group
counseling. Couples or family counseling may be more appropriate for clients with difficulties
of an interpersonal nature, as in a marital or parent-child conflict.
The following guidelines, derived by Cormier and Cormier (1998), encourage client
involvement in selecting the appropriate intervention strategy: The counselor should provide
an overview of the different treatment approaches available, describe the role of the counselor
and client for each procedure, identify possible risks and benefits that may result, and estimate
the time and cost of each procedure. In addition, the counselor needs to be sensitive to client
characteristics, such as values, beliefs, and multicultural issues, when selecting an intervention
strategy (Cormier & Hackney, 1993).
Stage 5: Termination and Follow-Up
The goal in counseling is counselors becoming obsolete or unnecessary to their clients,
which can occur when clients have worked through their concerns and are able to move forward
in their lives without the counselor’s assistance. At this point, counseling can be terminated. It
is usually best for the counselor and client to agree on a termination date, reducing the chance
of premature termination or feelings of ambivalence.
Stage 6: Research and Evaluation
Research and evaluation can occur at any time during the counseling process or after
termination. Some behavioral approaches utilize single-case or small-group research designs
that require counselors to evaluate counseling whenever they implement an intervention
strategy. These research procedures involve face-to-face interaction between the counselor and
the client. Other research procedures, which may or may not involve direct interaction between
counselor and client, are empirical research involving hypothesis testing and alternative
methodologies, such as the discovery approach.
Skills Of Counselling
Counselling micro-skills can be used either in direct response to the needs of the
counselling process or in conjunction with any of the counselling strategies. Counselling micro-
skills can be broadly grouped under the following headings: observation, active listening,
giving feedback, use of questions, challenging, instructions, and the use of humour.
Observation. Observation can be extremely useful in contributing to the overall
assessment of a young person’s presentation. It needs to occur continually, as an ongoing
activity, during each counselling session. While acknowledging that our observations of a
young person may only reflect a façade ( a false appearance that hides a person’s true feelings)
concealing their true self, it is essential to engage with that façade as if it were their authentic
identity. By accepting and responding to what they present, we convey a sense of validation
and openness, demonstrating that we acknowledge and respect their chosen expression.
Observation can provide information about the young person with regard to mood,
culture, self-esteem, creativity and social influences. Important attributes of the young person
which need to be observed include:
General appearance: A young person’s general appearance reflects the way in which
they wish to be seen and gives an indication of how they would like to be. It is an outward
expression of the internal attempt to form a personal identity. Counsellors need to be careful
about the way in which they interpret a young person’s general appearance. Unfortunately, as
counsellors, we all have our own personal prejudices and personal stereotypes. Consequently,
a young person’s appearance can seriously influence the way we feel towards and relate with
them.
Behaviour: A young person’s behaviour can give a counsellor useful information about
ways in which to match and join. For example, consider the case of a young client who is really
talkative and has poor boundaries. In this case, it would be inappropriate for a counsellor to
respond by being quiet and withdrawn; instead, the counsellor would need to match the
conversational style of the young person and in this way allow joining to occur with ease. If
the counsellor were to do otherwise, the young person might receive an implied message which
said ‘The way you are behaving is not OK’.
Mood and Affect: When observing young people we need to be clear about the
difference between mood and affect. Mood is the internal feeling or emotion which often
influences behaviour and the individual’s perception of the world. Affect is the external
emotional response (World Health Organization, 1997)
Speech and Language: When observing the speech and language of young people,
counsellors need to attend to: what is said; how it is said; the language used. The content of
what the young person says tells the counsellor what they are thinking and gives an indication
of their beliefs, ideas and general constructs about their world. How the young person talks is
also important. The counsellor needs to note whether the conversation has some logical
sequence or is totally disjointed, with the continual introduction of unrelated ideas. The
language used by the client gives an indication of the client’s ability to be articulate and to be
able to express ideas clearly. This information can be helpful in enabling the counsellor to select
counselling strategies to match the client’s intellectual ability.
Active Listening. When counselling adults, active listening is designed to help the client
to recognize that the counsellor is attending carefully to what is being said, to help the
counsellor join empathically with the client and to encourage the client to continue talking.
Active listening includes: Non-verbal responses (Non-verbal responses include making
appropriate eye contact, acknowledging what has been said by nodding or by using appropriate
facial expressions, and matching the young person’s body posture and movements) ;
Encourages (To signify that the counsellor is listening and to encourage the client to continue
talking, counsellors can use a range of minimal responses or encouragers such as ‘ah-hm’,
‘mm-hm’, ‘yes’, ‘right’, ‘really’ and ‘OK’. It needs to be recognized that these responses not
only indicate that the counsellor is listening attentively, but also carry meaning) ; Accenting
and Amplifying (Accenting and amplifying involve a combination of verbal and non-verbal
messages to feed back and emphasize what the client has said. The counsellor can do this
verbally and also by using gesture, facial expression and voice intensity so that what the client
has said is intensified and made newsworthy) ; Reflection of content and feelings (Reflection
of content and feelings were skills identified by Rogers (1955, 1965) as being important in
counselling. Reflection of content involves reflecting back the content of what the client has
just said. Reflection of feelings involves reflection of the perceived emotional affect of the
client. The reflection may be as a result of things that the client has directly told the counsellor
or may be the result of non-verbal behaviour by the client) ; Summarizing (summarizing was
identified as useful by Rogers (1955, 1965). Summarizing is very similar to reflection. When
summarizing, counsellors feed back, in their own words, a brief and concise summary of what
the client has said).
Giving Feedback. Counseling young people involves several supportive techniques to
foster confidence and personal growth. Compliments provide positive reinforcement, helping
them feel valued, while affirmations reinforce their strengths and achievements. Cheer-leading,
a technique from solution-focused therapy, uses enthusiastic encouragement to promote
positive behavioral changes. Normalizing reassures young people that their emotions and
reactions are typical, reducing unnecessary self-doubt. Reframing helps them see their situation
from a broader, more constructive perspective without invalidating their feelings. Additionally,
the use of supportive statements offers guidance and encouragement, making it easier for them
to navigate challenges and progress toward maturity.
Use of Questions. When counseling adults, too many questions can feel like an
interrogation. With young children, they may just say what they think adults want to hear.
Counseling young people is different—they need to stay engaged, and the right questions help.
Closed questions (e.g., “Do you use drugs?”) give short answers, while open questions (e.g.,
“What do you think about taking drugs?”) encourage discussion. Useful open questions include
curious questions (showing interest in their hobbies), awareness questions (helping them notice
feelings), circular questions (asking about others' views), choice questions (showing they have
options), guru questions (imagining giving advice), career questions (thinking about future
choices), and externalizing questions (separating a problem from themselves). Using these well
can help young people open up and feel more in control.
Instructions. When counseling young people, giving instructions should not feel
patronizing or parental, as this may push them away. Counselors use different strategies to help
young people explore their issues, and clear instructions help guide the process. However,
before giving direct instructions, counselors should offer a choice about participation to avoid
making the young person feel powerless. When being directive, instructions should be simple
and clear, such as “Tell me more” or “Imagine you are your teacher” in role-play. Counselors
should also monitor if their instructions are effective and adjust them if needed, even stopping
a strategy if it is not working.
The use of humour. Humour can help lighten conversations with young people and
create a more comfortable atmosphere. Counselors should connect with their inner adolescents
and use humour appropriately. It can also be a tool for change, such as through paradoxical
interventions—a technique from Strategic Family Therapy where exaggerated, humorous
suggestions encourage new ways of thinking. For example, if a student is anxious about
perfection in assignments, the counselor might jokingly suggest reading them 20 times and
asking multiple friends for feedback. However, humour should never be hostile or insensitive.
The key to using it effectively is choosing the right moment and being mindful of the young
person’s feelings.
Ethical Issues In Counselling
“Ethics is generally defined as a philosophical discipline that is concerned with human
conduct and moral decision-making” (Van Hoose & Kottler, 1985). The first counseling code
of ethics was developed by the American Counseling Association (ACA) (then the American
Personnel and Guidance Association, or APGA) based on the original American Psychological
Association code of ethics (Allen, 1986). The initial ACA code was initiated by Donald Super
and approved in 1961. ACA (2014) proposed six main purposes for its code of ethics:
1. to set forth “the ethical obligations of ACA members and [provide] guidance intended
to inform the ethical practice of professional counselors”.
2. to identify “ethical considerations relevant to professional counselors and
counselors-intraining”.
3. to enable the “association to clarify for current and prospective members, and for
those served by members, the nature of the ethical responsibilities held in common by its
members”.
4. to serve as an “ethical guide designed to assist members in constructing a course of
action that best serves those utilizing counseling services” and to establish “expectations of
conduct with a primary emphasis on the role of the professional counselor”;
5. to help “support the mission of ACA”; and
6. to serve “as the basis for processing inquiries and ethics complaints concerning ACA
members.”
The ACA Code of Ethics contains nine topical section headings. Section A deals with
the counseling relationship, including counselors’ professional responsibilities to clients and
their welfare (e.g., roles and relationships with clients). The section also discusses cultural
sensitivity and ways to handle potentially troublesome subjects such as fees, bartering,
boundaries, referrals, and termination. For example, in this section, the ACA clearly states that
sexual or romantic intimacies between counselors and former clients must be examined
carefully before commencing and are prohibited for a period of 5 years following the last
professional contact.
Section B covers confidentiality and privacy in counseling, including the right to
privacy, records, minor or incompetent clients, disclosure, and consultation.
Section C focuses on issues related to professional responsibility, such as professional
competence, advertising and solicitation, professional qualifications, treatment modalities,
non-discrimination, and public responsibility.
Section D covers relationships with colleagues, employers, and employees,
including consultation.
Section E deals with evaluation, assessment, and interpretation. In addition to
general information, it includes material on competence to use and interpret tests, informed
consent, release of information to competent professionals, proper diagnosis of mental
disorders, instrument selection, conditions of assessment administration, multicultural issues
in assessment, forensic evaluation, and test scoring and interpretation.
Section F focuses on issues related to supervision, training, and teaching, including
counselor supervision competence, supervisory relationships and responsibilities, supervisee
responsibilities, responsibilities of counselor educators and counseling students, and
multicultural/diversity issues in counselor education programs.
Section G deals with research and publications and delineates research
responsibilities, rights of research participants, reporting of research results, and publications
and presentations.
Section H, which is new to this edition of the code, examines ethical issues in distance
counseling, technology, and social media. It includes topics dealing with knowledge and legal
considerations, informed consent and security, client verification, distance counseling
relationships, records and Web maintenance, and social media.
Finally, Section I addresses resolving ethical issues, including standards and the law,
handling suspected ethics violations, and cooperation with ethics committees.
Burkhart (2019) examined the impact of a brief lay counseling microskills workshop
for rural Christian congregations. Researchers analyzed transcripts from 12 participants before
and after training, using Hill’s Helping Skills System. They also measured how much
participants spoke during mock counseling sessions to assess active listening. The training was
more effective in reducing less-helpful skills (e.g., direct guidance, self-disclosure) than in
increasing helpful skills (e.g., open questions, reflection of feelings) or reducing talking time.
Levitt (2008) emphasized active listening over the other microskills. It was
hypothesized that beginning counselors will feel more efficacious and better able to hear
clients, thus performing better in skill areas. In this pilot study with five Master's-level
counselor trainees in their first counseling practicum, an emphasis on active listening in
instruction and individual supervision resulted in increases in active listening and self-efficacy
ratings, as well as performance in three skill areas (reflection of feelings, challenging, and
immediacy). These results suggest the importance of attending to counselors' strengths and
reducing anxiety in the first counseling experience.
Bakkar (2012) examined the impact of a 60-hour counseling microskills course on
Omani career counselors' communication skills. Sixty participants were divided into
experimental and control groups. The experimental group received training covering non-
verbal behaviors, listening responses, and influencing responses. Results indicated significant
improvements in the experimental group's communication skills, highlighting the course's
effectiveness.
Anvari (2019) examined how different therapist micro-skills influence client emotional
expression in psychodynamic psychotherapy. Data from 36 clients and 22 therapists were
analyzed, focusing on paraphrases (restatements and reflections of feelings) and open-ended
questions (about thoughts or feelings). Therapists used more paraphrases when clients
expressed more emotions and more open-ended questions when clients expressed fewer
emotions. Emotional expression was highest when therapists used open-ended questions about
feelings, while reflections of feelings and open-ended questions about thoughts led to moderate
expression. Restatements resulted in the lowest emotional expression for clients with low
attachment avoidance but had a similar effect to other skills for those with high attachment
avoidance.
Rautalinko (2007), investigated how different durations of training impact the
acquisition of reflective listening skills, including paraphrasing and reflection, among
counseling trainees. Participants were divided into groups receiving varying lengths of training
sessions. The study assessed their proficiency in reflective listening and examined how the
social skills of evaluators influenced the assessment outcomes. Findings indicated that
extended training periods significantly enhanced trainees' reflective listening abilities.
Additionally, the social skills of evaluators played a role in the assessment process, suggesting
that both training duration and evaluator characteristics are important factors in developing and
assessing counseling microskills.
Rationale
This study focuses on assessing the use and effectiveness of core micro-skills in
counseling sessions, with a primary emphasis on open-ended questioning,
paraphrasing/reflection, and active listening. These micro-skills are essential for fostering
meaningful client engagement, encouraging self-expression, and ensuring that the counselor
accurately understands and responds to the client’s concerns. Open-ended questions help
clients explore their thoughts and emotions in depth, leading to richer discussions. Paraphrasing
and reflection allow counselors to validate client feelings, clarify meanings, and demonstrate
empathy, which strengthens the therapeutic relationship. Active listening ensures that
counselors are fully present, capturing both verbal and non-verbal cues to enhance
understanding and support. By systematically evaluating these skills in real counseling
sessions, this study aims to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Observing their
impact on client engagement and session effectiveness provides valuable insights into how
these fundamental techniques shape the counseling process. This research bridges the gap
between theory and practice, helping future counselors refine their skills and develop greater
competence in delivering effective support.
Objectives
To identify and label the micro skills (reflection/ paraphrasing, active listening, open-
ended question) used in sessions with the client.
To reflect on the usage of these micro skills and understand how this can be improved.
