Counselling is not only for Careers

An Army engineer wanted his only son to follow in his footsteps. The boy took up science in Class XI, but found he didn't have an iota of love for engineering. Concealing his disinterest in science from his parents, the student, when he floundered in studies, reeled off excuses that he was unfairly marked in the exam and such like. "There was complete lack of effort on the child's part. Ultimately he failed in Class XI," says a former counsellor for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Telephonic and face-to-face counselling ensued. The parents "didn't meet reality." The counsellor says she finally asked the parents to let the child study humanities. "He did very well in Class XII. He also did very well in college as a student of English literature."

There are numerous children in India who require counselling for career selection, learning disorders, family troubles, study-related anxiety, stress, depression, aggression, adjustment problems, relationship issues, and whatnot.

This year, the CBSE expanded its annual examination counselling helpline to reach more students. The board added six cities - Bhopal, Nagpur, Bangalore, Guwahati, Baroda and Kollam to its list of 12 where it operates counselling centres. Other than CBSE, counselling providers and helplines are proliferating in the physical as well as virtual world. From well-equipped PhDs to the somewhat-qualified, people are jumping into the fray to cater to a swelling mass of the stressed, depressed, anxious and confused.

More and more Indians - both the old and new generation - are now willing to knock on a counsellor's door. Dr Etishree Bhati, clinical psychologist (counsellor), Delhi Public School, RK Puram, who has been a CBSE counsellor, says that about "50 to 60 per cent of the people still think seeking counselling will stigmatise them." However, she adds, many people are coming forward. "Now, children themselves make references." And "now, parents admit and express problems they have at home. They ask for parenting tips to deal with different issues." Says Aloka Bose, a senior PGT in biology at Birla Vidya Niketan, Delhi, who was a CBSE counsellor from 2003 to 2006, "Gone are the days when parenting was a natural skill. Today it's a trained skill." She points to the gulf between the two generations that can affect the course of a child's life. "There's a yawning gap between parents understanding of kids and children following the parents."

Counsellors say that family and academic matters are often the root cause of the commotion in a child's life. Dr Bhati says, "More than children, it's often the parents who need counselling." According to Nidhi Kaul, counsellor, Suncity School, Gurgaon, "Ninety-nine per cent of the time, there's a family issue."

Dr Monalisa Palit, a consultant clinical psychologist specialising in children and adolescents at VIMHANS, Delhi, says the modern lifestyle is giving rise to a huge need for counsellors' intervention.

Says Bose, "I strongly feel this is an upcoming field. Counselling is one of the biggest accessory departments to routine education." Adds Dr Amrita Singh, counsellor (senior wing), Birla Vidya Niketan, Delhi, "We are the first step. If a child needs therapy or medication, we refer him to a psychologist or psychiatrist, respectively."

But in India, there are few training institutes offering specialisation in clinical child psychology. "You need to do a PhD to specialise in child psychology," says Dr Palit, a PhD from Sydney University.

Bose says formal training is not very essential - and she is herself an example. "It's good (to have a relevant qualification) but the skill to be a counsellor is inherent."

And what are the skills and traits critical to make a career in this line? "You should have an inherent capacity to understand others, be a good balancer - understand the parents' viewpoint and the child's viewpoint. You should have far-sighted vision," says Bose. She emphasises you should have "extreme sensitivity in your communication style. Dr Singh explains, "Respect the person who is coming to you. If you try to impose things, the communication is dropped."

What's it about?

A child counsellor provides counselling on a variety of problems and disorders, such as relationship issues, depression due to family issues, exam-related anxiety and learning difficulties such as dyslexia. S/he can also provide career guidance. Often these counsellors need to counsel parents, too, to address the root cause of a problem. Child counsellors also work in hospitals. They can practise independently, too.