Difference_Between_Counseling_and_Consultancy,_Employee_Assistance_Programme,_Psychotherapy_Mentoring_and_Coaching

Difference between counseling and consultancy, employee assistance programme, psychotherapy mentoring and coaching COUNSELLING AND CONSULTANCY Consulting is (according to Webster’s) to seek the opinion or advice of another; to take counsel; to deliberate together; to confer. Counseling involves dealing directly with a problem or issue with the person who has the problem or issue. Difference between Counseling and Consultancy 1. Relationship Counseling is always about people. It understands your self reflection or self esteem. It is always with human; the counselor diagnoses your problem and suggests what’s best for you. The focus of a counselor is more on you and then, what's best for you. A consultant is there to improve the performance of an organization or a client company. It works more on improving of 'things', 'issues' or 'conflicts' rather improvising over 'yourself' 2. Goals A counselor discusses your issue(s) and suggests different avenues that might be helpful, depending on situational challenges. Counselors seek to open different ways of seeing an issue on a case by case individual basis to help you resolve your dilemma. It is less cut and dried than a consultant presenting their proven methodologies for success. A consultant's work may end with a set of recommendations regarding how best to solve the problem, or may continue as long as needed to implement those recommendations. A consultant should be able to provide you with up-to-date information on the resources and tools that apply to your specific problem. 3. Method Counseling involves dealing directly with a problem or issue with the person who has the problem or issue. Consultancy involves providing strategies or ideas to a person who will then use (or not) those strategies or ideas to deal with the problem themselves. Say a company is having problems with some employees who are under performing. A counselor might become involved to work directly with the employees to try and assist them with doing a better job. A consultant might meet with the supervisor to suggest strategies or ideas to be used in motivating the employees to do a better job. Consultants are typically hired to consider and solve a specific, somewhat narrowly defined problem. To do so, they bring with them a predefined set of tools and ideas that have worked well for other people in similar situations. 4. Focus A counselor is helping you with something. They are guiding you. They will ask you questions back and forth to see what you want. The idea is that through this interchange you will then yourself be able to decide better what to do. They will suggest things and dig out information. It has a lot to do with psychology. A consultant is usually sought for their expertise on a particular subject that you seek advice. The ideology is a clear set of steps presented to address a specific goal. 5. Expertise Counselors are licensed therapists who are specially trained to help clients resolve emotional issues that have their roots in the past but are affecting the person's ability to function in the present. A licensed therapist is also the only professional who is qualified to diagnose and treat mental-health conditions. A consultant on the other hand is being paid for their knowledge. They should be an expert in their field. You are paying to directly obtain knowledge and help from them not just a counseling service. 6. Liability Counselors are licensed professionals where as consultants do not have to be licensed. Licensed holds someone liable and they must give accurate information whereas a consultant is not held liable. 7. Qualification In order to be certified as a “counselor” you need a master’s degree in psychology, education or, not counseling. Lots of counselors also have a doctorate or are working on one. There are exceptions for some titles, for example “employment counselors” don’t need a master’s degree in order to certify as a career development professional, but they will if they want to certify as a professional member of a counseling association. Counselors have the ability to provide very in depth testing and analysis as well as to provide different types of counseling (i.e. cognitive-behavioral, neuro-linguistic, career and so on). “Consultants” can come from any background and have any kind of training. They generally have a lot of expertise in at least one area, backed up either by formal education and/or a considerable amount of time invested in their field. There are no regulatory requirements for certifying as a consultant, but most of them will belong to professional associations related to their field of expertise (such as engineering, management, human resources, etc.). Those associations will ensure that a certified consultant stays current within their field. EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME Employee Assistance Programs are employee benefit programs offered by many employers. They are intended to help employees deal with personal problems that might adversely impact their work performance, health and well-being. The programme delivers: a) Personal development counseling- This process helps to create an action plan based on awareness, values, and reflection, goal-setting and planning for personal development within the context of a career, education, relationship or for self-improvement. b) Stress management-Stress-management techniques include relaxation techniques, time-management skills, counseling or group therapy, exercise, and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. c) Crisis counseling- This is therapy focused on solving immediate problems involving individuals, groups, or families in crisis. Crisis counseling can help individuals deal with the crisis by offering assistance and support. d) Trauma counseling- Trauma counseling is a short-term intervention, which is appropriate when a person has suffered a traumatic incident. Trauma counseling supports you in identifying and coming to terms with the feelings and emotions you may feel during and after a traumatic experience. These emotions will vary from individual to individual, but the most commonly experienced emotions are anger and fear. e) Dependency addiction counseling-addiction is that of being enslaved to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming to such an extent that cessation results in severe trauma. Dependence, on the other hand, is defined the state of relying on or needing someone or something for aid, support, or the like. When an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed. f) HIV/AIDS testing, counseling and medical services-All testing offers an opportunity for counseling patients. If test results are negative, counseling efforts typically focus on avoiding exposure to HIV through safer sex practices and not sharing needles. If results are positive, counseling typically focuses on preventing transmission of the virus to others and referring the patient to resources for treatment, education, and support.Any person who requests pretest counseling and anyone defined as at increased risk for HIV should be offered or referred for pretest counseling. If the provider determines the individual is at high risk for HIV infection, counseling should be based on assessment of the individual client as outlined below. All individuals tested for HIV should also be offered an opportunity to receive post-test counseling.It is delivered through: * 24 hour telephone counseling- A counselor is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays. You can call us when you want, at your convenience, in the privacy of your dorm room, apartment, or home. * Face-to-face counseling-Counseling takes place when a counselor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. * Group Counseling-Group Counseling mainly involves a small group of members, who come together forming their own specific goals, share their problems, provide empathy and support to the others and also in turn try and change their self defeating behaviors. The group members are also assisted in developing their existing skills in dealing with interpersonal problems. It is delivered to: * Employees * Spouse and children * Customers and Identified IndividualsIt is delivered by: * Chartered Counselor PSYCHOTHERAPYPsychotherapy is a general term referring to therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client, patient, family, couple, or group. The problems addressed are psychological in nature and of no specific kind or degree, but rather depend on the specialty of the practitioner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy). It aims at increasing an individual’s wellbeing. The techniques used by psychotherapists are: * Experimental relationship building * Dialogue * Communication * Behavior change designed to improve the mental health of a client or patient, or improve group relationships e.g. familyOther fields that practice psychotherapy include: psychiatry, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, clinical or psychiatric social work, mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, rehabilitation counseling, school counseling, play therapy, music therapy, art therapy, drama therapy, dance/movement therapy, occupational therapy, psychiatric nursing, psychoanalysis etc.Difference between counseling and psychotherapy Counseling is that which provides advice, or is conducted in such a manner that one is actually taught or given information in a didactic way. The term counseling is commonly used in conjunction with other professions, such as legal counselor, or financial counselor, or spiritual counselor. Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is a term that, generally speaking, refers to the “treatment of mental and emotional disorders through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insights into problems, with the goal being personality growth and behavior modification” (American Heritage Dictionary).MENTORING AND COACHINGCoaching is a process that enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. (Eric Parsloe, The Manager as Coach and Mentor (1999) page 8)Coaching is used when there is a well-defined goal that is based on improving skills and performance. (Mentoring Works Articles Vol 1: Do I Need A Mentor or Coach')Mentoring is off-line help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking. Mentoring is valuable for career development, providing general guidance, setting and achieving goals, making decisions or facilitating problem solving. (Mentoring Works Articles Vol 1: Do I Need A Mentor or Coach'Clutterbuck, D & Megginson, D, Mentoring Executives and Directors (1999) page 3) * Coaching is about performance, mentoring is personal.In both coaching and mentoring;- * Development activities are designed to suit client’s personal needs (whether aspiration or performance related) and learning styles. * Fine tunes and develops skills. * Focus is on interpersonal skills, which cannot be readily or effectively transferred in a traditional training environment. * Provides client with contacts and networks to assist with furthering their career or life aspirations. * Performed in the ‘live’ environment or off-line. * Highly effective when used as a means of supporting training initiatives to ensure that key skills are transferred to the ‘live’ environment. * Coaches and mentors transfer the skills to the client rather than doing the job for them.Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring;- * Have a safe place to offload * Develop skills you already have * Learn new skills * Gain insight into yourself and the people you work with * Get unbiased, confidential support * Gain fresh perspectives on your issues * Get advice, suggestions and optionsGood coaches and mentors should: * Maintain confidentiality * Have excellent listening and responding skills * Be non-judgmental * Have objective outlook * Always advises rather than tells * Always have the 'mentee's' best interests at heartDifference between counseling, mentoring and coachingMentoring:• Fundamental activity is "advising."• Typical focus is advice and guidance about the organization, the profession, the industry, the role or in some cases the mentee place on career path.• Mentor shares own experiences and perspective with mentee to help the mentee to learn and progress in career and life.• Focus of the conversation is on the future and present, but both may draw from past experiences of both people as well.• Conversation generally addresses challenges and questions related to professional life and career progression.• Mentor gives advice and direct guidance and may express own opinion; mentor guides and teaches.• Mentor asks questions and so does mentee.• Contract between mentor and mentee is usually informal and topics of discussion vary from session to session.• Mentoring relationship could have duration of one meeting or many meetings over many years.• Meeting may be structured or ad hoc.• Mentee generates the agenda and focus for the session.• Conversation is private and is expected to be confidential.Coaching:• Fundamental activity evoking and reframing.• Coach presumes that client has own answers and uses open-ended questions to bring the Coach generally helps client draw from his own experiences and wisdom rather than sharing own experiences.• Focus of the conversation is on the future and present.• Coach helps client develop greater self-awareness so as to create shifts in awareness and new possibilities.• Structured engagements. Contract between coach and client is formal and well defined. (objective for the coaching is identified and certain number of sessions during a defined period of time at regular intervals, etc.)• Duration could be one session to several years, but typical engagements are 3-6 months.• Client generates the focus for the session.• Coach uses coaching frameworks and distinctions to support the conversation and client's progress.• Conversation is private and is expected to be confidential Counseling:• Typical focuses include: resolving persistent and unhealthy emotional patterns and/or external behaviors; emphasis is on healing.• Counselor uses questions and questionnaires to learn client's history and perspective.• Conversation generally focuses on the past to a greater degree than mentoring and coaching conversations.• Counselor generally does not share own history and personal experiences.• Counselor uses training in psychology to structure his listening and the conversational process.• Contract between counselor and client is formal and well-defined.• Duration could be single session to many years, but generally at least 6 sessions.• Conversation is confidential and protected by law (www.spokzpeople.org.ukaching_mentoring_skills_training_development/freegate) | REFERENCES * American Heritage Dictionary * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotherapy * www.pamrobertson.com * www.wiki.answers.com * www.webanswers.com * www.italki.com * www.tmg.com/Mckileydouglas * Counseling and Therapy Techniques by Augustine Meier * Eric Parsloe, The Manager as Coach and Mentor (1999) page 8. * Mentoring Works Articles Vol 1: Do I Need A Mentor or Coach'Clutterbuck, D & Megginson, D, Mentoring Executives and Directors (1999) page 3 * www.spokzpeople.org.ukaching_mentoring_skills_training_development/freegate