Guidance and counseling

Guidance counseling
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Britannica
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Alternative Titles: counseling, guidance
Guidance counseling , byname counseling
and guidance , the process of helping
individuals discover and develop their
educational, vocational, and psychological
potentialities and thereby to achieve an
optimal level of personal happiness and
social usefulness. The concept of
counseling is essentially democratic in that
the assumptions underlying its theory and
practice are, first, that each individual has
the right to shape his own destiny and,
second, that the relatively mature and
experienced members of the community are
responsible for ensuring that each person’s
choice shall serve both his own interests
and those of society. It is implicit in the
philosophy of counseling that these
objectives are complementary rather than
conflicting. The function of those who guide
children and young people is not to effect a
compromise between the requirements of
individuals on the one hand and the
demands of the community on the other. It
is rather to orient the individual toward
those opportunities afforded by his
environment that can best guarantee the
fulfillment of his personal needs and
aspirations.
Guidance, in this sense, is a pervasive
activity in which many persons and
organizations take part. It is afforded to
individuals by their parents, relatives, and
friends and by the community at large
through various educational, industrial,
social, religious, and political agencies and,
particularly, through the press and
broadcasting services. A part of such
guidance may be the giving of information
that enables others to increase the scope
of their exploratory behaviour. The guidance
counselor, for example, may provide
information about a person’s own abilities
and interests as determined by
psychological tests or about educational
opportunities and the requirements of
various occupations. The competent
counselor does not attempt to solve
people’s problems for them, however; the
counselor tries instead to clarify the
person’s own thinking.
Professional counselors and counseling
psychologists are commonly found in
institutional settings such as high schools
and colleges, private industry, community
agencies, prisons, and the military, as well
as in private practice. They are often called
on to help individuals deal with the grief of
unexpected tragedies.
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Assorted References
duties of teacher
(In teaching: The doctrine of in
loco parentis )