Different Types of Organizational Counseling

Organizational counseling is divided into three types. This classification has been taken from the book organizational behavior by the newsroom and Davis. The types of organizational counseling are briefly discussed below in the following pages along with their advantages and disadvantages:

Table of Contents

Types of organizational counseling

Directive counseling.
Non-directive counseling.
Participative counseling.
Iceberg model of counseling

All of the above types of organizational counseling are described below

Directive counseling

Directive counseling mostly accomplished the counseling function of advice, but it also may reassure, communicate, give emotional release, and to a minor extent-clarity thinking.

In Directive, counseling is counselor centered.
Here the counselor plays an active role.
It explains the problem to the counseling and recommends a solution.
In other words, the approach of the counselor in the case of directive counseling is authoritarian.

Advantages of directive counseling

Directive counseling is done.
More attention to the clients.
The counselor tries to understand the problem of the client.
Clients get a proper guideline to follow.
The counselor plays an active role.

Disadvantages of directive counseling

A counselor is authoritarian here.
The counselor becomes more confident.
Abuse of the authority.

So in short, in the case of directive counseling, the counselor tries to understand the problem of the client and gives him the decision to follow. The client is required to follow the solution given by the counselor.

Non-directive counseling

Non-directive counseling was developed concurrently by two groups: Elton Mayo, Fritz Roethlisberger, and others at Western Electric Company and Carl R. Rogers and his colleagues.

It is the process of skillfully listening to and encouraging a counselee to explain troublesomely and understand them. It focuses on the counselee rather than on the counselor as judge and advice; thus it is client-centered.

It is indirect in approach.
Here the counselor does not play an authoritarian role.
It is client-centered.
Here counselor provides information to the client.
And the client makes an analytical overview of the problem of the counseling.
The counselor does not make the decision.
The counselor tries to make the problem clear to his client and then ask him to make the decision.

Advantages of non-directive counseling

Here the counselor does not play an authoritarian role.
Non-directive counseling is client-centered.
Here a client can take his or her own decision.
A counselor cannot be overconfident.
Here a client cannot be dominated.

Disadvantages of non-directive counseling

Here counselor does not play an active role.
The client faces pressure that he has to think about his problem and make a decision.
Non-directive counseling is indirect in approach.
Here counseling just provides information with a frustrated man or client should do but cannot give his decision to him. So in non-directive counseling, the client is to make the decisions to solve his own problem. The counselor will not make the decision but help to make the decision.

Participative counseling

It is also called cooperative counseling. Participative counseling is a mutual counselor-counselee relationship that establishes a cooperative exchange of ideas to help solve a counselor’s problems.

Participative counseling integrates the ideas of both participants in a counseling relationship; it is, therefore, a balanced compromise that combines many advantages of both directive and non-directive counseling while avoiding most of their disadvantages.

Advantages of participative counseling

It is a suitable method for solving a problem
The participants may be cooperative and sympathetic to the problem employee.
A useful solution may come out.
Implementation of a solution may be easier.

Disadvantages of participative counseling

It is time-consuming
It may create a conflict of thought
Some participants may not be agreeable to the solution
Some participants might not manage time to participate

Iceberg model of counseling

Sometimes the feelings of the employee are hidden under the surface of a counselor’s communication than are revealed. For this reason, they constantly encourage the counselee to open up and reveal deeper feelings that may help solve the employee’s problem.

So, here are the all types of organizational counseling. All of these types of organizational counseling are highly used in our organizational counseling program.

Related Content of Organizational Counseling:

4 Types of Organizational Counseling