Counseling is a word of English origin, meaning "counseling". It is a interaction process between two people (a specialized professional and the client), which aims to help the person to make the right choices on a personal or professional level.
O counseling it assumes that each person has within themselves the resources needed to solve problems, and uses techniques to help the person help themselves. This practice emerged in the United States in the 50s, arriving in Europe in the 70s. Thanks to American psychologist Carl Rogers, the counseling focuses attention on the person first, and not on the problem he or she presents, with an appreciation of the human relationship.
the professional of counseling, known as counselor (adviser in Portuguese), aims to clarify options at a time of a client's personal or professional crisis, helping them quickly and punctually, through counseling.
It is quite common to see the term counseling linked to the clinical area, in the medical or psychological field. However, this practice has been increasingly related to areas such as
mentoring and coaching.Two types of counseling: career counseling, focused on professional results; it's the counseling emotional, which is led by a psychotherapist, which reveals once again the connection of the counseling with the field of psychology.
There is also the marriage counseling (marriage counseling), where a couple seeks the help of a counselor to resolve the relationship issues that affect their marriage.
Counseling, mentoring and coaching
These three concepts are intertwined and often aim to provide professional guidance to the client. They represent three styles of help, as follows: o coachingit refers to unlocking existing gifts and abilities; O mentoringit concerns the acquisition of wisdom; it's the counseling it is the support of an individual when facing a personal crisis.
In a session with a client, elements of these three areas may emerge. often the coach or mentor also assumes the role of counselor (adviser), depending on the content of the subject discussed. In these sessions, the application of techniques corresponds to only 20% of the process, with the other 80% consist of social skills, the ability to interact with people and understand their motivations.
These three methodologies have their particularities, but their distinction is often not clear, as in many cases they are interdependent and interconnected. They aim to help people develop, guiding and supporting them in building a life and professional path that is in accordance with their preferences and convictions.