Guidance and counselling services have gained significant attention in recent years. Counselling is a complex helping process in which the counsellor set up a trusting and confidential working relationship, where the focal point is on problem-solving, decision-making, and discovering personal meaning related to learning and development.
Guidance and counselling are imperative needs for children, and educational institution has a massive role in bringing out the best in children. Through counselling, children are given advice on how to manage and deal with emotional conflict and personal problems. Counselling service will incorporate valuable lessons and assist them to find a better solution of problems in their daily life.
In educational institutions, guidance and counselling can be beneficial in the following ways:
- To identify problem area of students in different domains. The aim of guidance is to give assistance by identifying a problem in various domains which are an integral part of holistic development. These are behavioural, emotional, cognitive and social domain.
- To identify the student potential by psychological testing. Psychological testing helps the student to recognise their own capability or potential and accordingly it help students to choose their field in academics and also give a chance to improve in the area where students are lacking.
- It helps the student to act autonomously in a mature and responsible manner. Counselling helps the student to act independently by gaining self-direction, self-motivation and self-understanding. It leads students to have freedom of choice.
- It assists the student to realise them as a fully functional person. Students actualise their tendency by counselling and become a productive human being for delivering their service and become a fruitful person.
- It also provides resiliency among students. Guidance and counselling help to strengthen resiliency. Students in today’s era confront with a multiplicity of a problem that is continuously dynamic. The service of guidance and counselling help students could deal with the conflict and get solution for the problem so that students could be able to adjust in a various changing situation
- It improves student self-esteem. Counselling can help students to explore the way they feel and change your view of yourself and others. Students often want a counsellor to help them boost their lack of self-esteem and explore with them how to build their confidence. It builds the core of personality.
- It also helps students to elevate their awareness regarding the social situation where students are in need of assertive behaviour. Assertive behaviour is an important value that students should have.
- It aims to make students flexible enough to make a behavioural change or cultivate openness for change. Life is full of changes so students need to have a flexible personality so they effectively approach the challenges of life.
- It also assists students to enhance their decision-making ability and trust their own decision. We always have to make decisions in our lives. Sometimes we may not get it right but through guidance and counselling, we can reflect upon our mistakes and improve them in the future.
- It deals to improve personal effectiveness like time management and anger management. If we don’t find the right approach to managing our time effectively, this can upset us and make us angry. Guidance and counselling can help us better process these emotional difficulties.
- It makes students adapt adjustment in various areas like home and university, as well as socially and emotionally. Different environments pose different challenges to different people. Counsellors can help us be mindful of how to effectively approach these situations.
Guidance is the process of a dynamic interpersonal relationship that is prepared to influence the person’s attitude and follow-up behaviour. Guidance and counselling are the integral components in the field of the education system.
It helps the students to know their skills, interests, personality that will help students in further career selection. The advent of technology and innovation has given comfort but at the same time, it has remitted multiple stressors in life. Thus, guidance and counselling services have become a very important need to build a clear vision of what to pursue.
Manisha Dhami is a PhD student at Punjab Agricultural University. She carries out research in human development.
