Psychological counseling: goals and objectives, definition, main areas of assistance

Psychological consultation is one of the branches of psychotherapy, which has appeared in practice relatively recently. It is held in the form of a conversation. The demand for this type of therapy initially appeared in people who did not have psychological disorders, but who wished to consult a competent psychologist to solve personal problems.

Areas in which help is required for the average person affect all aspects of our lives. These are relationships with the opposite sex, parent-child relationships, work with the inner self, the establishment of life guidelines, assistance in communicating with strangers, resolving conflicts within the family and many, many different areas. Borders and clear definitions of topics in this area have not yet been laid. What are the goals, objectives and approaches in psychological counseling?

Definition

The basics of psychological counseling originated in ancient Greece. Already then there were peculiar consultants and reception centers. They were only called differently, often they were astrologers or worshipers. Psychotherapy as a treatment method officially appeared at the end of the 17th century. Doctors first began to try to treat with psychological methods. Already in the 19th century, hypnosis was tested on humans. True, the name of this method was different - treatment with magnetic fluids. Since 1955, development has received professional psychological counseling.

His goal was to solve personal and interpersonal problems. Both an individual and groups of individuals can take part in it. Often a couple or family needs help. The essence of therapy is to solve the problems of the personality, its development and the formation of interests that do not contradict it and the environment. Difficulties in everyday life and the inability to control oneself gave rise to the need to create a separate type of psychological assistance. So the concept of psychological counseling appeared. The purpose of counseling is determined depending on the needs of the applicants.

For whom it is applied

Professional psychologists conduct dialogues with their clients with the intention of creating changes in their condition. The subject, purpose and objectives of psychological counseling are aimed at helping people who do not value themselves, live on unconstructive destructive principles. By talking with a psychologist, the client gets rid of negative attitudes. Each specialist in the field of counseling has his own approach to work. Clients of a psychotherapist are often confused people, those who are unlucky in life, who have experienced losses and grievances. Theoretically, each person can use the services of a psychotherapist-consultant. After all, any of us has some resource areas - those that do not bring satisfaction, but have an impact on the quality of life.

goal

Psychological counseling is designed to help clients comprehend the reality surrounding them. The individual, with the help of a specialist, understands internal problems, sets life guidelines and goals for achievement. The process solves problems of an emotional nature and in relationships with others. Psychological consultation provides an opportunity for an individual to draw his own conclusions about what is happening in his life. The desire to act at one’s own discretion is stimulated. The consultant offers the client models of behavior, and he chooses what is acceptable for himself. The practice of personal conclusions contributes to the development, self-improvement. The individual is immersed in an atmosphere of his own responsibility for development, and the consultant creates the conditions for the client to readily take up work on himself. In this case, personal interaction and full customer support are carried out at all stages of therapy.

The objectives of counseling and psychological assistance are as follows:

1. Elimination of the unstable emotional state of a person.
2. Expansion of consciousness, understanding the role of the individual in his own life.
3. Training the client to independently solve their own problems.
4. Let him feel that he can help other people realize their own abilities based on the knowledge that they received from the therapist.
5. To develop the ability to resist life's turmoil.
6. Give installation in case of subsequent manifestations of the problem.

Principles of psychological counseling

The therapist initially accepts help as an individual with his own needs. Everyone who comes for the support of a psychologist has the right to a worthy attitude and has the value of individuality. Anyone is able to take responsibility for their own lives. Everyone has the right to choose decisions and goals, follow their own understanding of life. Any pressure and decision for the client is prohibited, they prevent the individual from solving his problems in the most favorable way for him.

Tasks

The consultant psychologist has many important tasks, the main of which is to direct the client to independently resolve his own problem.

• The first task of a specialist is to instill in the client the idea of ​​his own responsibility for the result of his life's journey. Opportunities in life for development and full existence exist in different people. But how a person disposes of them, depending on their own experience and subconscious, is an individual decision.
• To convey to the client the importance of a conscious approach to their own life, give them an incentive to achieve goals.
• Help uncover negative experiences in counseling and let go of resentment and life frustration. They interfere with development.
• Find with your client a way to solve his problems. The most favorable and acceptable for him personally.
• Develop flexibility with a situational approach, show alternatives in possible behavior.

The main task of the psychologist-consultant is to teach the client to cope with complex problems on his own, which has something in common with determining the purpose of psychological counseling.

Subject of counseling

What the psychologist and the client work together during the consultation is the fulcrum that is used during the personality crisis. Its potential, growth zone. Those positive qualities of the personality that need to be developed are repelled from them and used in the process of getting rid of the negative in life. The main problem of people who need psychological consultation is a hidden personality. They are afraid to be who they really are. The overwhelming majority of clients of a psychologist-therapist believe that there is no order in their minds, they are "wrong", not like other people. What is the purpose of psychological counseling? It consists in making a person understand his uniqueness, his individual and exclusive role in society.

Counseling Procedure

In a client’s state, only his feelings matter for a psychologist; actions are not discussed. The goals and objectives of psychological counseling are to stabilize the internal state of the individual. How should a professional psychotherapist consult?

1. Identify customer problem. What he addressed, what excites him, what causes negative emotions.
2. Find out the atmosphere in which the client is located. How much the situation around promotes healing or, conversely, exacerbates the problem and will interfere with the process of psychological assistance.
3. Recognize customer features. His ability to obtain a positive result, his willingness to change attitudes and relationships with the outside world. How much is he able to get help from psychological consultation.
4. Providing a consultant with all professional opportunities to alleviate a person’s condition. Professional work with personal characteristics of the client.

Where is psychological counseling applied?

Widespread use of this method implies many uses. When working with children, psychological counseling is most often used. Its effectiveness in working with adolescents has been proven repeatedly. It is noted that when working with children, the goals and objectives of age-psychological counseling are revealed most fully and appropriately. Work is carried out not only with the child, but also, without fail, with his parents. The method is also used when working with student groups. Persons undergoing psychological counseling in this age group are encouraged to develop and undergo adaptation in groups. Studying students' behavior and motivation has a positive effect on curriculum design. From an economic point of view, the result of the introduction of psychological counseling in this group helps to solve problems associated with disinterest and detachment of students.

For older people created psychological assistance services. Often classes are held in groups or with couples. Social services offer help to those in need in the form of free psychological counseling. In most cases, this assistance is provided to people who have suffered from their own problems with adaptation to the outside world. This method of psychotherapy is also used in production. Now the management of large companies prefers to have their own psychologist on staff. Conversations with him are called upon to change psychological attitudes among the employees of the company, which impede the application of their knowledge in the most favorable way. Studies have shown that not the organization of production, but social life in the collective for the individual has a dominant role.

The goals and objectives of psychological counseling at work are reduced to ensuring the moral state of employees and harmony within the team. The military used this method very little, given some conservatism in this area. An individual approach to military activity, as a rule, is not used. Although, it is obvious that psychological counseling would help to adapt the recruits and solve the problems in establishing a moral climate within the military group. Often, individuals serving in the troops included in the special danger category (pilots, paratroopers, etc.) experience extreme stress and panic attacks. This condition contributes to the loss of the educational process. The same applies to the demobilized, who have to re-get used to the usual civilian life, return to loved ones and build public relations.

Effective methods

In modern psychotherapy, these methods are used together and allow you to cope with the client’s problem in the fastest and most favorable way:

• Catharsis. Or confession. An open conversation with a consultant gives the individual the opportunity to open up problems. A psychologist is required at this moment to participate and understand. Catharsis reveals to the specialist hidden problems of the client. In the process of applying this method, role-playing games, drawing are used.
• Persuasion and recommendations. This method puts a huge responsibility on the consultant. After all, it is impossible to determine what advice an individual will help to cope with his problem. The seemingly obvious resolution of the crisis situation may subsequently turn out to be incorrect, since the consultant did not fully listen to the client and did not understand his internal motives. The disadvantage of this method is the bias of some specialists.
• Integrated Interpretation. This method allows you to gain insight into the client’s problem. The consultant from the position of the client analyzes the situation in his life. For example, a client spoke about his problem, in response, the consultant begins the phrase with the words: “And you felt ...”. That is, he gets used to the role of the client and explains his emotions from the perspective of psychoanalysis.

A modern approach to psychological counseling

The purpose and objectives of the modern method is to help a person psychologically grow to a state where he can independently cope with problems, both existing and subsequent ones. Therapy is as follows:

1. The psychologist does not work for the client and does not manipulate his consciousness. He works with a client. The task of a specialist is to free him from personal problems so that he can independently develop and successfully pass his life's path.
2. Emotions in the new approach are given more attention. Knowledge of the problem does not give a result in its solution. The emotions that the individual experiences at the time of the crisis are important, it is they that determine his behavior.
3. Work is being done with the present, and not with the past of the individual. The past is important in terms of building the chain that led to the development of the problem. An interesting fact is that if the client’s past is not considered in therapy, then personality development is faster and more efficient.
4. The process of psychological consultation already carries the experience for the client. The experience of responsibility for their own actions and the result of them in his life.

The main areas of consultation

These include:

• The goal is the customer’s problem. Studying a crisis situation and its external manifestations, finding a way to resolve it.
• The goal is the identity of the client. Analysis of the causes of the individual’s problem, the search for destructive life scenarios, and the prevention of their repetition in the future.
• The goal is to fix customer problems. A concrete search for solutions and variants of behavioral models to destroy a problematic situation in an individual’s life.

Finally

Briefly, the goals and objectives of psychological counseling can be interpreted as stimulating the individual's personal growth. The task of the counseling psychologist is to convince the client that he is a full-fledged person, by direct evidence, to motivate him to continue his successful life.