THE DIFFERENCE IN PROVIDING COUNSELLING TO CHILDREN AND TO THE ADULTS

The client during counseling process should be free and open to the counselor, and this means he/she discloses all dark secrets about the challenge to the facilitation of the solution by the counselor. According to Bemak (2000) on his work, Frank Parson (1854 – 1908) is justified the father of guidance and counseling. On the same, Bemak has acknowledged the contribution by Parson on his contemporary practice of guidance and counseling. In 1908, besides being a trained civil engineer and a lawyer from Cornel and Massachusetts universities respectively, and later teaching Mathematics, History, and French in public schools, Parson was in the frontline in leading a tremendous impact on the career guidance movement in France where gave numerous public lectures in various higher intuitions. In reference to Zunker (2002), Vocational counseling is a career focused on helping those who need to obtain work.

In this case, the counselor is the facilitator while on the other hand counselee emanates with the remedies. However, these remedies should be realistic and workable in consideration to the weight of the matter. For this process to be meaningful, it has to be specific inattention to the different challenges affecting particular clients. According to Parloff (1961), goals of counseling may be classified into two, that is, immediate and ultimate. Quick goals refer to counselee’s initial intentions while ultimate goals refer to broad and general long-term outcomes like mental health. These children include those may have experienced a traumatic event, who have mental illness or are facing stressful situations. Therefore, child counseling often deals with many of the same issues that adults do.

Although there some which are specific and only applicable to children, namely; divorce by the parents, death of loved ones, experiencing trauma, mental health diagnose, bullying, sexual abuse, anxiety and depression, physical abuse, drugs and substance abuse, relocating schools and cities among others. The focus of this therapy is to break down challenges encountered by the children so that they can understand and make sense of them (Hébert et al. Conversely, adults may experience a wide range of difficulties this include, anxiety, fears, domestic violence, abuse, depression, co-dependency, grief or loss, relationship issues, divorce prevention, trauma, anger, bipolar, self-esteem, eating disorders, self-injury, psychological evaluations among others. Incontinence occurs when a child is unable to control oneself. Many children, unlike the adults, struggle with poor self-esteem and low confidence, which can lead to depression substance abuse eating disorders or thoughts of self-harm (Feltham et al.

Because of lack of self-confidence, many children feel, unworthy and unloved by their friends and family members hence feel better without them. This not only leads to emotional challenges but also mental issues. Poor grades among children of such caliber usually evident in their class work where they perform poorly. Constant thinking because of trauma, many adults, unlike children, is in many instances affected by death issues. When the husband dies in a family, this leaves the wife in a sea of unending thoughts concerning the future of her family. The pain because of a death in the family, a breakup, or job loss can be enough to require a bit of counseling (Bemak, 2000). Many adults tend to think these feelings are going to go away on their own.

However, it is not always the case. Therapeutic games; a child can learn self-management strategies using selected games and activities. For example, strategy games such as checkers and battleship, helps children learn impulse control by thinking about consequences. Memory cards such as card marching, help a child with attention deficit hyperactivity Disorder increase his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder increase his attention span and improve memory. Family therapy; in reference to Liana(2010), family interactions patterns and dynamics offer a key into problem resolutions, through activities children and families interact with more spontaneity and imaginations than through traditional talk therapy. Using this technique, a child creates leaving sculpting by placing family members in the room in whatever position. Contingency management maintains that the help of a planned and organized system can alter the form or frequency of the behavior.

Contingency management best applies to specific targeted behaviors. According to Petry et al. (2000), contingency management approach has demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing retention and confronting drugs use among the adults. Cognitive-behavioral therapeutic technique: it is a therapeutic approach that seeks to modify negative or self-defeating thoughts and behavior. If it becomes difficult that the child cannot work with the counselor, it was advisable and recommended for one to look for a different therapist to ensure child’s needs addressed. Another critical factor is what the counselors training and qualifications are. For adults whom in many cases usually have many challenging and complex issues, it is imperative to use counselor who specializes in oneself battling problem so they can apply therapy approaches that are best suited for the challenge.