Introduction to Counseling: An emerging concept in Clinical Social Work Practice

Counseling is part of every culture, either formal or informal. But new trends have emerged to transform the structure and role of family which has reduced the capacity to serve as the safety net for people who are not capable in handling the stressor for any reasons. Professional counseling is a lot of advanced social aptitudes or abilities in which focus is encourages the client's change in the therapeutic process. It depends on the client's, strength, their qualities, their convictions, their uniqueness with their entitlement to self-assurance. The counseling in social work requires intense training and develop understanding regarding human nature, behavior, and explicit therapeutic potential, ethical and healthy professional boundaries. This type of training incorporates mindfulness, evaluation of social and cultural impacts, advancement, abilities, religion, social character, gender role, socio-economic status, and nationality. Counselors basically value such differences and stay away from discrimination. It includes interacting and intervening with current issues, addresses crises situations, either short term or long-term solutions, depends on the nature of crises. It very well may work with individual, couples, families or groups. Counselors utilize the enhanced capacity and the self effectively in therapeutic environment. In this article, researcher trying to explore counseling i) the meaning and concept of counseling in social work, ii) clinical social work practices , iii) assessment tools, iv) counseling skills, v) related theories, vi) utility of counseling and emerging role and challenges of counseling in contemporary society. Key Concept: Counseling -Clinical Social WorkTherapeutic relationship -interpersonal process of counselingassessment tools & skillscontemporary practices. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/10-12-16 Publication date:June 3


Clinical Social Work:
The social case work is the basic method, which believes, there are many contributing factors involved in a person's problems, primary task is to develop self-direction and independence of client. As Fried Lender explains "Social case work is a method which helps by counseling the individual client to effect better social relationships and a social adjustment that makes it possible for him to lead a satisfying and useful life." Prof Perlman 1957, explained well that, social case work as a process used by certain human welfare agencies to help individual to cope more effectively with their problems in social functioning and the nucleus of the case work is that a person with a problem comes to a place where a professional representative helps them by a given process, thus we find above mentioned elements in the process of case work (Counseling). From a counselor perspective, 4 phases are important i) building relationship with client, ii) exploring the nature of problems, and iii) finding solution selected and accepted by the client and iv) evaluation.
The leading principle of the social work being a profession, clinical social work has following 3 objectives:  analysis and treatment of bio-psycho-social inability, or incapability including mental /emotional disabilities and developmental inabilities;  bio-psycho-social malfunctioning ideal counteractive plan of action; and  support and improvement of biopsychosocial qualities and working capacity (Caddigan & Pozzuto 2010)

Theoretical Foundation:
There are some foundation of theoretical knowledge and practice contributing the specific field of clinical social work like;

Objectives of the Study:
The main objective of the study is that introduce counseling as profession and trying to understand the analogy of counseling its foundation and challenges in contemporary society.

Meaning, Concept and Definition of Counseling:
The basic role of counseling is to make changes in mind-set, dispositions, conduct, contemplations and emotions that have kept the client from getting a charge out of life and understanding his/her potential. Counseling includes sharing delicate, personal, and confidential information that may, now and again, be upsetting. Over the span of counseling, clients frequently experience times of uneasiness or disarray. Counseling is best cultivated when it is a consolidated exertion between the counselor and client. Conversing with a counselor, alone, does not ensure achievement or advancement. The dimension of fulfillment for a specific individual isn't predictable.
Counseling is fulfilling the requirements of profession, because profession is recognized by having: an assortment of information, authorize training programs, an expert association of social worker, credentialing of specialists, for example, licensure, a code of conduct, lawful acknowledgment, and different norms of magnificence. As counseling, in its fundamental structure, formal meeting of a counselor and a client in a private and confidential environment to explore the mental and emotional challenges, and stress, the client might have considering differing individual explicit reasons. (Rowland, 1993).
According to Feltham & Dryden 1993, counseling is a principled relationship characterized by the at least one psychological hypothesis and a perceived communication ability, adjusted by understanding, instinct, and other relational variables, to clients' special concerns, issues or goals.
As indicated by the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy website 2013, Counseling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that a range and scope of talking treatments. They are conveyed through professionals, who are trained and work with individuals over a short or long haul to enable clients to achieve compelling change or upgrade their prosperity.
As Canadian point of view counseling is individuals contact social worker when they are experiencing a troublesome period in their own, family and additionally work lives. Social workers help distinguish the reasons of stress or problem, help individuals to create adapting aptitudes and find powerful answers for their concerns. They offer different types of guiding and treatment and intervene between clashes. (OASW Association of Social Workers 2019) American Counseling Association site 2013, Counseling is an expert relationship that engages various people, families, and groups to achieve psychological well-being, wellbeing, instruction, and profession objectives.
In the light of above definitions of the key pre-assumptions of counseling are following:  Counseling is a movement that can possibly occur if the individual looking for help, the customer, needs it to occur. It happens when a person voluntary sharing his problems with counselor and enter to specific kind of problems, finding ways for possible solutions.  An individual looking for problems in living and has no choices to resolve it. In this situation counselor not only working towards reduce the problems and empowering client to overcome his problems by using his own strength.
 Fundamentally, counseling is based on talking, dialogue, and discussion and figure out new possibilities between two people.  Counseling heavily relies on the making of a connection between two individuals, which is adequately secure to permit the individual looking for assistance to investigate issues that are agonizing and disturbing.  A client who looking for counseling has qualities and skills, that can be utilized in the problem-solving process.  Counselor is grounded in conventional human characteristics, for instance, good listener, empathetic behavior, personal integrity, using his resources and client's strength in resolving issues that arise in client's everyday life.  As a client or a person seeking counseling, he welcomes and accepts another person to answer his questions, sharing his personal things with counselor, and counselor respect the difference, maintained confidentiality and positive affirmation and trust on client's strength.  Counseling practice is based on the distinctive core value, moral values, respect of another person need and strength of a person.  Counseling represents a bunch of support for clients, opportunity of self-reflection and restoration. The counselee and counselor make use of available resources such as discussion/thoughts/theories/assumptions/criticalthinking/underlyingissues/emotions/problem-solving strategies/talks/ technologies/maintaining objectives/to get a solution of the initial issues/ decision making engage in counseling.  There are 3 potential results of counseling are; i) resolution of the problems means understanding/perspective/acceptance/action plan of the issue, ii)learning always starts with engagement in the process of change, new set of skills/coping strategies/confidence that apply these skills in any situation arise ahead in their life and iii)social inclusion is the ultimate goal of counseling and plays an active role in the society.  Counseling is a part of every culture and society, a counselor and a counselee and its always designed by felt needs, cultural context and, organizational requirement of the community. It reflects the economic, cultural, social, and historical factors and consistently responsive to social change.

Scope of Counseling:
Counseling addresses a wide range of services for those who are in need social/mental/financial relationship/interpersonal issues/environmental and mental disorders through a professional way that includes: -Depression -Anxiety -Stress Management -Grief and Loss -Anger issues -Alcohol and Drug abuse -Addictive Behaviors (food, sex, drug, alcohol, work) -Self-Defeating Behaviors -Child Abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) -Trauma/sexual abuse/ accidents -Low Self-Esteem -Career Transition -Social Anxiety -Sexual Orientation and identification / Transition -Guilt -Lack of Assertiveness -Relationship Concerns and Conflict -Effective Communication issues -Eating disoder / Body Image Issues -Gender Identity Concerns -Trust / Intimacy Issues -Separation / Divorce -Infidelity -Sexual behavioral (low sexual desire, sexual addictions, performance problems)

Counseling Assessment tools:
The assessment is the process of collecting information in a systematic manner to evaluate the nature and density of the problem that a client brings to counseling sessions. These are the major technical tools for the assessment of clients need and understanding of client's problems.
-Initial assessment &establishing rapport with client (intake) - Counseling helps to understand the different learning styles and diverse needs of the clients. Effective counseling is should be creative and responsive in nature, addresses the unique needs of the client with the understanding of cultural competency. Following are the positive outcomes of counseling:  It gives the insight about the cause and effects of emotional and learning abilities/limitation as well as an increase positive self-control.  It improves overall relationship with other people such as personal or professional.  It gives a chance to be self-aware of thoughts/feeling/hindrances in the situation which creates blockage.  It gives a self-acceptance and acknowledgement of own thoughts/feeling/experiences/self-criticism.  It gives a self-actualization, how to move on in the situation according to the goals and achieving a combination of conflicting parts of self.  It provides insight and spiritual awakening of self and environment.  It provides to practice problem solving approach towards problems in life.  It enables the client to learn new ideas/ skills/strategies to understand and control their own behavior.  It enhances the scope of learning in terms of social/interpersonal skills/assertiveness/anger control/maintaining healthy boundaries.  It modifies the irrational concepts/maladaptive practices through social experiences.  It modifies the maladaptive patterns of behavior.
There are some moral concerns in health services from counselors to clients are around issues like informed assent, privacy, looking after records, fitness, honesty, human welfare, irreconcilable circumstance, and states of work (Daniels, 2001)

Conclusion:
In this article, researcher tried to provide the meaning and concept of counseling with current practices and perspectives of client and counselor.it is a safe space of talking with specific goal and time frame but flexible process of helping clients, enables them to explore problem solving strategies, with due respect of diversity and cultural competency. It understands the client's perspectives of the problems and giving them a chance to improve their situation by utilizing their own strength. Now facts and figures show that professional counseling community is growing and is accessible in a wide scope of community settings around the globe.