ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with counselling in the therapeutic/helping sense, the aim of which is a pupil's self-awareness and direction of his own behaviour. Counselling is an attempt to help the pupil towards understanding, and being 'at home' with himself – also called self-actualisation or autonomy. The aim is to facilitate a fully functioning person, who is sufficiently well adjusted to his life circumstances to cope with them. It is a form of mental hygiene. As with teaching, there are a variety of theories of counselling. Practitioners are either drawn towards those they feel happiest with or take from each what they want and feel is useful at that time, that is they take an eclectic approach. Counsellors, too, are human and hold attitudes. In Britain, teachers are selected for counsellor training courses, mostly because they apply and have adequate qualifications. Future school counsellors need to be particularly stable and intelligent people, with plenty of experience of school life.
