Individual psychological counseling

Individual psychological counseling is a relatively young discipline and appeared in the middle of the 20th century due to the need to help solve the problems of everyday life (work, family , self-doubt, age crisis, low self-esteem ) in people without clinical impairment ^{[3] [4]} . Counseling in the USA appeared as a solution to the humanitarian task of improving the lives of victims of the adverse circumstances of the industrial revolution of the second half of the 19th century; social reforms, the spread of education, and a large influx of immigrants also played a role in the formation of the profession ^[5] . Until the early 1900s, counseling was the provision of advice or information ^[5] . The 1950s are marked as a moment of outstanding contribution to counseling, in connection with the adoption of the National Law on Education Support (establishing counseling institutes and providing funding for the training of consultants) and the introduction of new counseling theories ^[6] . In the early 60s, counseling was seen as a developing profession, at the same time, group counseling became popular, instead of one-on-one interaction ^[7] . In 1963, the Law on Community Mental Health Centers was adopted, which expanded the possibilities of counseling ^[8] . In the 1990s, interest in counseling increased, specifically in matters of personal integrity ^[9] .

• Resolution of vital life difficulties;
• Development, socialization and self-realization of personality ;
• Coordination of personal and social interests;
• The development of other behaviors that are identical to certain life situations;
• Choice and acceptance of responsibility for it ^[2] .

Benefits

• The subject of the work is one person with his unique inner world;
• The ability to focus on the properties of the inner world of one person;
• Full attention of the consultant to the client;
• Complete psychological safety;
• Respect for confidentiality ;
• Exclusivity of the work ^[1] .

Cons

• Restriction to the individual psychological space of the client;
• The inability to work with the client’s environment (use in the work of relatives);
• Limited choice of psychological tools ^[1] .

The general principle of individual psychological counseling: everything that a consultant does in his professional activity should be determined by the interests of the client and aimed at his benefit ^[10] .

In the literature, consultants are required to meet not only professional, but also personal requirements (organization, brevity, concreteness, friendliness, patience) ^[11] . To prevent burnout (physical and psychological devastation), the consultant must constantly engage in his mental health ^[12] . As a professional requirement of an effective consultant, education is carried out according to the approved program ^[11] .

Consultant Ethical Principles

The consultant should not only know ethical principles, but also follow them ^[13] :

• Confidentiality
• Customer Responsibility
• Professional competency
• Payment issue
• Advertising of professional activities ^[14]

The counseling process itself is complex, extensive, and cannot obey established algorithms; nevertheless, in practice, the stages of work are conditionally distinguished, although their order may change or they may interlock with others ^[15] .

A common and widespread model of the consultation process is the eclectic model, which consists of 6 stages:

1. Study the problem . Establishment of contact (raport) and trust between the consultant and the client, for which it is necessary to listen carefully, show sincerity, care as much as possible without evaluating and manipulating, encourage the manifestation of feelings and independent disclosure of the problem, paying attention to non-verbal behavior, feelings, content of statements ^{[4] [16 ] [16 ] ] [17] [18]} .
2. Two-dimensional problem definition . The consultant seeks to accurately characterize the client’s problems by establishing their emotional and cognitive aspects, until he reaches a mutual understanding with the client through specific concepts, which allows them to understand their causes and sometimes ways to resolve them. In case of difficulties, it is necessary to return to the first stage - research. The client is encouraged to express negative emotions (anxiety), verbalization of experiences, the client is encouraged to self-disclose, receive feedback ^{[4] [16] [15] [19]} .
3. Identification of alternatives . Stage of clarification and open discussion of probable solutions to the problem. The consultant, through open questions, persuades the client to name all possible versions that are real and suitable for the client, helps to formulate additional ones, but does not impose his decisions ^{[4] [19] [15]} .
4. Planning . The stage of critical evaluation of the selected solution alternatives, when the consultant helps the client to figure out which options are suitable for him, based on experience and existing willingness to change; checking the realism of the chosen solution through various tactics (rehearsal of actions, role-playing games) ^{[4] [20] [21]} .
5. Activity . Stage of consistent implementation of the plan for solving the problem. Building client activities, taking into account circumstances, time, emotional costs and possible failures. Mastering by the client that even with partial failure, it is necessary to continue the implementation of the plan ^{[4] [20] [21]} .
6. Evaluation and feedback . Stage of assessment of the degree of achievement of the goal and generalization of the results, clarification of the decision plan, if necessary. In the case of new or revealing deeply hidden problems, return to the previous stages ^{[4] [20] [21]} .

In the literature one can also find the Four- stage model of crystallization of problems (author V.V. Makarov), consisting of the stages "Connection - Crystallization of the problem - Therapeutic completion - Disconnection", related to short-term counseling; A retrospective model (T. Ahola, B. Furman), known in Russian literature as “short-term positive psychotherapy” (T. Ahola, B. Furman), in the USA - “ Solution Focused Therapy ”, in Finland - a conversation about a solution ( Eng. Solution Talk ), is the opposite of the usual process from decisions to understanding; The five-step model (Mutual Understanding - Information Gathering - Desired Result - Development of Alternative Solutions - Generalization) ^[22] .

• Intimate and personal psychological counseling - affecting a person as a person, evoking strong feelings hidden from others
• Individual family counseling - questions about your own family or about families of close people (choosing a spouse, building and regulating relationships in the family, preventing and resolving conflicts within the family, solving current intra-family problems)
• Psychological and pedagogical individual counseling - discussion of issues of training, education, development and education.
• Business counseling - is associated with people solving business problems (choice of profession, labor organization, etc.)
• Professional psychological counseling - aimed at solving problems of improving professional education, changing professional activities after job loss, advanced training.
• Organizational counseling (in the psychology of management and management) - is aimed at solving the psychological problems of the management system, leadership, etc. ^[23]

• Zabrodin, Yu. M. Psychological counseling / Yu. M. Zabrodin, V. E. Pakhalyan; under the general. ed. Yu.M. Zabrodina. - M .: Litres, 2015 .-- ISBN 5457005070 .
• Olifirovich, N. I. Individual psychological counseling: Theory and practice. - Minsk: Theseus, 2005. - (Modern psychology and psychotherapy). - ISBN 985-463-149-4 .
• Gladding, S. Psychological Counseling . - 4th ed. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2002. - (Masters of Psychology). - ISBN 5-318-00268-4 .
• Kochiunas, R. Fundamentals of psychological counseling / ed. V.V. Makarova. - M .: Academic Avenue, 1999. - ISBN 5-829-10002-9 .
• Lysenko, E. M. Individual psychological counseling. A short course of lectures / E. M. Lysenko, T. A. Molodichenko. - M .: Publishing house VLADOS-PRESS, 2006. - ISBN 5-305-00178-1 .
• Zhilyaeva, M. S. Individual psychological counseling in a multinational region: problems, strategy and model // Pedagogical Education and Science. - 2011. - No. 10. - P. 91—96.