The Global Institute

What is psychological counselling ?

Counselling Psychology is that field of Psychology that involves itself in helping alleviating the emotional problems of a client through Counselling, or “Talk Therapy” . There are three roles central to Counselling Psychology. The are the remedial, the preventive & the developmental roles.

Remedial Counselling :

The remedial role entails working with individuals or groups, to assist them in remedying problems of one kind or other. In remedial work, we take the view that something is awry, something needs to be “fixed” or some problem needs to be solved in the individual, couple or group. Remedial interventions may include personal - social Counselling at individual, couples or group level. Crisis intervention & various Counselling services for students requiring assistance with unresolved life events are additional examples of remedial Counselling.

Preventive Counselling :

The preventive role seeks to “anticipate, circumvent and if possible, to forestall difficulties that may arise in the future”.Preventive Counselling may focus on what are called “Psychoeducational Programmes” aiming to forestall the development of problematic events.

Developmental Counselling :

The developmental role is also called the educative role, which helps the individual to plan, obtain & derive maximum benefits from the kind of experiences that will enable them to discover & develop their potentials. An example is conducting of study skills class for college students aimed at making good students perform even better.

Importance of the Course

Despite an increase in scientific productivity and material success, statistics show that the rate of mental disturbances in terms of Suicide, Alcoholism, Drugs, Marital breakdown and the like are increasing at an alarming rate. It would seem that as the material comforts of life have increased, mental health is deteriorating. Mental health is achieved if man develops into full maturity according to the characteristics and laws of human nature. Mental illness consists in the failure of such development.
According to the National Mental Health Programme document, about 20-30 million Indians are in need of some form of mental health care. Every year, 2,50,000 new cases are reported. But these figures do not include the thousands of others who may be suffering in silence without access to help. With proper care, at least 60 percent of these mentally ill people can recover completely and at least 80 percent can avoid chronic illness and disability. A large number of people can be helped merely by listening, providing care and equipping them with life-skills to cope with the stressful situations in life.
A growing awareness of the shortage of professional guidance and the ineffectiveness of traditional treatment has led to a large number of persons seeking new avenues. In the next five years, India needs at least 50,000 trained Counsellors nationwide. Right now, we don’t have even have 2000 trained Counsellors !

Careers in Counselling

After receiving your Master/Post Graduate Diploma/Diploma, you are eligible to practice Counselling & Psychotherapy depending upon the Course you have undergone.
Generally, you can practice in the following job settings:

Independent Practice

Setting up your own Counselling/Psychotherapy Centres
Counselling Centres connected with Universities/Colleges/Schools
Mental Health Centres
Outpatient Clinics
Training Centres
You may perform various Counselling/Psychotherapy activities as follows:
Personal Adjustment Counselling
Vocational Counselling
Long-Term Psychotherapy
Couple & Family Counselling
Group Counselling
Group Vocational Counselling