📘 Important for GNM/BSc Nursing, NHM, AIIMS, NORCET, GPSC & Nursing Education/Health Education Exams
Counseling is a confidential, supportive, and face-to-face communication process in which a trained person (counselor) helps another person (client) to understand their problems, explore options, and make informed decisions.
✅ “Helping the person to help themselves.”
| 🎯 Purpose | 📋 Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1. Problem Solving | Help client explore and understand their issues |
| 2. Decision Making | Support client in choosing healthy options |
| 3. Emotional Support | Provide a safe, non-judgmental space |
| 4. Behavior Change | Motivate for positive habits (e.g., quitting smoking) |
| 5. Health Promotion | Provide information for better health choices |
| 6. Crisis Intervention | Help during grief, trauma, or emergencies |
| 🧭 Principle | 📌 Meaning |
|---|---|
| ✅ Confidentiality | Respecting client’s privacy |
| ✅ Acceptance | Accepting the person without judgment |
| ✅ Empathy | Understanding the client’s feelings sincerely |
| ✅ Non-directiveness | Guiding without giving orders |
| ✅ Client’s Capacity | Belief that the client can solve their problem |
| ✅ Two-way Communication | Encourage listening and open talk |
| ✅ Individualized Approach | Counseling based on person’s background |
| ✅ Voluntary Participation | Client must come willingly |
| ✅ Empowerment | Help client gain control over their life |
👩⚕️ Build rapport and trust
👩⚕️ Maintain confidentiality and respect
👩⚕️ Listen actively and non-judgmentally
👩⚕️ Provide correct health information
👩⚕️ Support the client’s decision-making
👩⚕️ Refer to specialist when needed
🟨 Counseling is a helping relationship
🟨 Focus is on client understanding and action
🟨 Key tools = listening, empathy, and support
🟨 Respecting confidentiality and dignity is crucial
🟨 Nurse acts as a guide, not a decision-maker
Q1. What is the main goal of counseling?
🅰️ Give advice only
✅ 🅱️ Help the person understand and solve problems
🅲️ Enforce rules
🅳️ Judge the person
Q2. Which principle of counseling means keeping the client’s information private?
🅰️ Empathy
✅ 🅱️ Confidentiality
🅲️ Acceptance
🅳️ Empowerment
Q3. Counseling works best when:
🅰️ It is forced
✅ 🅱️ It is voluntary
🅲️ It is rushed
🅳️ It involves punishment
Q4. What is non-directiveness in counseling?
🅰️ Giving orders
✅ 🅱️ Letting the client make their own choices
🅲️ Interrupting often
🅳️ Avoiding eye contact
Q5. A good counselor must:
🅰️ Judge the client
🅱️ Give their own opinion only
✅ 🅲️ Be empathetic and supportive
🅳️ Ignore client’s emotions
📘 Important for GNM/BSc Nursing, NHM, AIIMS, NORCET, GPSC & Nursing Education/Health Education Exams
Counseling is a supportive, confidential communication process where a trained counselor helps individuals understand their problems, explore options, and make informed decisions.
✅ “Helping people help themselves.”
Counseling has wide application across various healthcare, educational, and community settings. It addresses physical, mental, emotional, and social aspects of health.
🎯 Scope is across all age groups, genders, and communities — from school to old age homes.
👤 One-to-one support
📝 Personalized guidance for emotional or health issues
📌 E.g., patient with anxiety, teenage girl with menstrual problems
👥 Small group with similar problems
🗣️ Peer interaction encouraged
📌 E.g., TB patient group, antenatal mothers, diabetic club
🏠 Includes family members
💬 Useful in behavioral, chronic, or terminal illness cases
📌 E.g., managing a child with autism, palliative care
💑 For couples to resolve relationship conflicts or prepare for marriage
📌 E.g., family planning, sexual health
🚨 Short-term support during trauma/grief/disasters
📌 E.g., rape survivor, natural disaster victim
🎓 For students or professionals to choose the right path
📌 E.g., nursing students choosing specialization
🧑🦽 For disabled, chronic illness, or post-accident patients
📌 E.g., stroke survivor learning new skills
🏥 Disease-specific counseling
📌 E.g., Hypertension, HIV/AIDS, antenatal, postnatal counseling
🟨 Counseling applies in hospital, school, and community
🟨 Types include individual, group, family, crisis, and rehabilitation
🟨 Helps in behavior change, decision making, and emotional support
🟨 Nurse plays a central role in all types of health counseling
🟨 Counseling is essential for holistic patient care
Q1. Counseling in which only one person is guided is called:
🅰️ Group counseling
✅ 🅱️ Individual counseling
🅲️ Family counseling
🅳️ Peer counseling
Q2. Which of the following is a major area of counseling in hospitals?
🅰️ Agriculture advice
✅ 🅱️ Chronic illness and pre-operative support
🅲️ Construction training
🅳️ Cooking skills
Q3. Marital counseling focuses on:
🅰️ Employment guidance
🅱️ Teaching
✅ 🅲️ Relationship and communication issues
🅳️ Career change
Q4. Counseling given after trauma or disaster is:
🅰️ Educational counseling
🅱️ Career counseling
✅ 🅲️ Crisis counseling
🅳️ Peer counseling
Q5. Rehabilitation counseling is meant for:
🅰️ School children only
🅱️ Students
✅ 🅲️ Disabled or chronically ill persons
🅳️ Healthy adults
📘 Important for GNM/BSc Nursing, NHM, AIIMS, NORCET, GPSC & Nursing Education Exams
The counseling process is a systematic, step-by-step approach that a counselor uses to understand the client’s problem, build a relationship, and help them make informed decisions and cope effectively.
✅ It involves trust, empathy, communication, and guided action.
🤝 Build trust and comfort between counselor and client
🔸 Use greeting, eye contact, polite tone
🔸 Ensure a safe and non-judgmental space
🔸 Show genuine interest and confidentiality assurance
🧠 Gather information about the client’s problem, background, emotions
🔸 Use open-ended questions
🔸 Explore emotional, social, psychological, and physical factors
🔸 Avoid assumptions
🎯 Help the client identify the real problem(s)
🔸 Define clear, achievable goals
🔸 Prioritize urgent or life-impacting concerns
🔸 Gain client’s agreement
🔧 Develop a step-by-step strategy
🔸 Suggest alternatives and coping methods
🔸 Encourage client decision-making
🔸 Provide health education, referrals, or follow-up plans
🚪 Bring the counseling to a meaningful closure
🔸 Review what was learned or changed
🔸 Reinforce progress
🔸 Plan future visits or give referrals if needed
👂 Give full attention, nod, make eye contact
🔸 Avoid interrupting
🔸 Reflect back feelings (“You seem worried…”)
❓ Ask questions that encourage detailed responses
🔸 Example: “Can you tell me more about what happened?”
❤️ Understand and reflect the client’s emotions
🔸 “I understand this must be difficult for you.”
📝 Clarify unclear points, summarize discussions
🔸 “So, what we discussed today is…”
👏 Praise effort and small achievements
🔸 Builds motivation and self-esteem
🤫 Allows the client time to think and respond
🔸 Shows patience and respect
👩⚕️ Build rapport quickly in clinical settings
👩⚕️ Use effective communication and empathy
👩⚕️ Support informed decision-making
👩⚕️ Ensure privacy and confidentiality
👩⚕️ Follow-up and refer when necessary
🟨 Counseling involves 5 steps: rapport, assessment, goal setting, intervention, and closure
🟨 Key skills = listening, empathy, reflection, questioning
🟨 Counseling is client-centered and non-directive
🟨 Nurse acts as a facilitator, not a decision-maker
🟨 Effective counseling leads to positive behavior change
Q1. First step in the counseling process is:
🅰️ Intervention
✅ 🅱️ Rapport building
🅲️ Follow-up
🅳️ Goal setting
Q2. Asking “How are you feeling today?” is an example of:
🅰️ Closed question
✅ 🅱️ Open-ended question
🅲️ Directive instruction
🅳️ Judgmental comment
Q3. Reflection in counseling means:
🅰️ Copying behavior
✅ 🅱️ Mirroring client’s feelings and thoughts
🅲️ Recording videos
🅳️ Memorizing facts
Q4. When a counselor summarizes the session, they are in which stage?
🅰️ Data collection
🅱️ Goal setting
✅ 🅲️ Termination
🅳️ Action planning
Q5. Silence during counseling is:
🅰️ A sign of ignorance
🅱️ Wasted time
✅ 🅲️ A technique to allow client reflection
🅳️ To end session early