Book review “The Barefoot Counsellor”

Author: Joe Currie, SJ
Published by: Asian Trading Corporation Bengaluru, India

“Barefoot Counsellor” reveals its aim by the title; that it focuses on such techniques that can be practised by anyone interested in the field of counselling. And such persons or non professionals can then help the society at large. Peer counselling can work sometimes not if they don’t want to share something very personal which can be shared with a professional unknown person. Book even guides everyone who listens to their close ones feelings, sorrows related to day to day life or relationships etc.

I will take plenty of time & resources to produce man power of professionals in the field of mental health. Until that we have to train non professional counselors who can provide basic counseling services after a training program, to people in need or crisis. World itself is following the phenomenon of engaging paramedical workers into medical units and services at large. Similarly in mental health issues these trained but non professional counselors can handle situations well as available research indicates. Complex or later treatment of course should be handled by qualified professionals.
80 to 100 hours training have been suggested for non professional counselors. Although in lesser time it could be minimum 25 to 40 hours. Actual counseling experience as a practical learning is advised rather than any complex theoretical theory or lessons. Facilitative dimensions of counseling given by Rogers are used as a basic approach in training. Basic skills as a barefoot counselor flourish with a helper attitude towards clients. As understanding and acceptance are roots of all helping relationships. Listing to clients is the most important skill defined to help clients to make decisions.
Author compared two approaches used in counseling that how a person to person approach is more successful and useful for persons in need of help. Carl Rogers’ bartender approach is quite simple but effective for barefoot counselors as listening to the clients is the main rule of counseling. All other approaches are far away, a counselor needs to help the client as a helper to come out of the problem. Barefoot counselors can learn such techniques by regular practice not through any book or syllabus. Dispensary approach is just the opposite as here the counselor acts as he knows everything. Counselors remain at the top of the problem as an expert. He is a guide rather than the co worker or the companion in the relationship. Thus many clients don’t turn back for another session after the first one as counselors try to control situations in the interview according to their understanding.
Author also clarifies the difference between Guidance, counseling and psychotherapy as most people consider it as similar. Counseling enables individuals to learn how to deal effectively with situations. Guidance is providing information related to a specific topic and Psychotherapy deals with emotional problems by changing behaviour.

Author has very much emphasized Carl Rogers person to person or person centered approach. It helps non professional counselors to deal subjectively with clients. Counselors show empathy with counselee/client. Approach helps both counselor and client to make a trust between them and a good therapeutic relationship is built. Thus clients self esteem are increased and it affects problem solving skills. Main focus is on helping persons with problems and for that we need a helping relationship. Throughout the book counseling is described as a relationship. When therapist or counselor would provide help in a helping relationship it will be more effective in terms of sharing problems, making trust and solving problems.
Feelings are described as most important in a relationship as we must know about our feelings. This is called awareness, after that we must accept our feelings and should follow a proper communication with concerned people regarding our feelings towards him or her. This will help clients in terms of self awareness, regaining confidence, and making relationships better by understanding and accepting others. It will help to cope better with problems of life. On the other hand it will help counselors’ ability to communicate three essential qualities: genuineness, understanding and acceptance. Further author has defined above mentioned three qualities with examples and has provided rating scales and checklists for detailed understanding.
Author advocates that anyone can become a good counselor, as a human being, we all have listening and speaking skills which he understands most important for counseling. But yes without the right attitude and correct skills it can be harmful as well. A person who can accept others without being judgmental would be a barefoot counselor with a training program.
Thus author has made a checklist of 25 questions to check a person’s interest in counseling. Additionally the author brings some points on which young counselors need to work such as to know personal effectiveness that is important to know one’s capacity, work on self disclosure is the second point that helps an individual to know who am I? And third one is openness to all types of feedback, criticism and praise. These 3 points help to sharpen skills as a counselor for each individual. Facilitative and action oriented dimensions of counseling are rated with a scale developed by Carkhuff. These two are non directive approaches of counseling where action oriented dimension can be helpful only if a counselor is following facilitative dimension. Facilitative dimension includes understanding and acceptance of a client and action oriented dimension covers taking initiatives in the interview and offering directions to the client. Training sessions try to give experience related to these dimensions mainly as young counselors need to grasp these fundamental skills.
Listening is suggested as the most important part of counseling. Thus author has defined the use of listening as a basic sense organ in day to day life and how it is useful to establish a helping relationship. Listening doesn’t mean just listen to a person without any attention. If the opposite person will see the interest of the listener only then the conversation will go deeper. That’s why listening is being given such importance in counseling as it’s the first step between counselor and client. Building relationships, identifying problems and taking initiative etc. all depend upon success of our first step. Listening is a skill which can be learned. Author has pointed out a few very simple but effective suggestions to improve listening skills such as making eye contact with clients, sitting properly, a silent interview place, free from internal distractions and some emotionally charged words. Author suggests being sensitive to non verbal signals as it’s also part of active listening in which counselors have to include ears and eyes. After active listening, the second step is adequate response. Adequate response means the counselor has to communicate correctly to the client. Responding as best as the counselor can, to what he has picked up, accurately, spontaneously and concretely after an active listening. It makes clients more comfortable within the helping relationship established between both.
Ten stages of counseling are defined by the author under two phases. First phase comes under the facilitative dimension as “Self exploration” and the second phase comes under the facilitative and action oriented dimensions as “Emergent Directionality”. (We have discussed the facilitative and action oriented dimensions earlier.) Let’s discuss these 10 stages.
1. Setting up the relationship: counselor has to build a professional relationship with clients with the help of various skills as discussed previously in the summary.
2. Unfolding of the problem: after setting up the relationship counselor tries to explore the problem of the client through an interview. Professional relationships help counselors to get the detailed information about the problem. Its counselors skill that how he decodes the information given to him in an interview.
3. Third one is missing in the book and also can’t be traced.
4. Encouragement of positive feelings: Feelings are handled at first as it’s important to remove negative feelings and encourage positive feelings for better understanding of the problem.
5. Growing confidence to explore new ways: Client with the help of counselor grow confidence and explore new ways to deal with his problems.
6. Self exploration and clarification: Client has to do self exploration for best options available to him.
7. Insight: Insight related to past behavior and realization of the factors connected with client’s own problems.
8. Planning: Planning related to final action emerges from client and the counselor’s dialogue.
9. Action: Client has to take the final action himself at the end of the counseling as what is most appropriate for him.
10. Re evaluation: After experimenting with his plan, client needs to review its consequences with the help of the counselor.

Author’s words about above mentioned stages are “Every counseling session is unique, unpredictable and open ended, experienced counselors provide us with a certain pattern of phases or stages of counseling. Obviously, every step will not be followed in every interview, nor need they follow the order given below.”

Author has denoted one chapter of the book about the code of the barefoot counselor. He has defined what as a counselor one should do and don’ts. These are the list of 10 don’ts given by the author for a counselor.
1. Don’t advise or look too hastily for a solution.
2. Don’t question from curiosity or from uneasiness.
3. Don’t moralize or intellectualize.
4. Don’t make other dependent on you.
5. Don’t categorise or pre-judge the other.
6. Don’t be falsely reassuring or supportive.
7. Don’t evaluate the other on his behavior or attitude.
8. Don’t talk too much or project yourself into the interview.
9. Don’t look for or encourage, long narratives.
10. Don’t use technical terms.

Author has pointed about common counseling mistakes as well such as beginners especially start giving many advises as a guru who knows everything. Beginners use dispensary approach with clients, where we in fact need the bartenders approach (both approaches are discussed earlier).
As in counseling our aim is to enable the individual in such a way that he/she can solve their problems. Thus as a counselor we should not make them depend upon the counselor for answers of each problem or questions. Another mistake is that counselors concentrate on the problem only but the person and his feelings also have importance as we need to know the root of problems by enabling the individual. Rather than providing reassurance to the client a counselor needs to accept the person as he is without being judgmental. Reassurance can reinforce grief, behavior and attitude of a client so best reassurance would be genuine acceptance and respect of the client. A counselor should also avoid asking leading questions during the interview as it can take away from real problems.
Author has defined ten points which a counselor should try to do. These Ten Do’s are suggested for barefoot counselors.
1. Be yourself
2. Concentrate, but in a relaxed way
3. Listen to the full message of others.
4. Respond adequately and creatively.
5. Communicate interest, warmth and understanding.
6. Prize the others.
7. Confront if and when necessary, responsibly and sensitively.
8. Help the other to sort out and clarify his problem.
9. Use simple and direct language.
10. Help others to take charge of himself.

Earlier we have read about the counseling process with an individual only but in many cases problems don’t move around only one person, two or more than two persons can also be involved. Such as a husband-wife, or all family members etc can be responsible or engaged into a problem of one individual. Thus there we need joint or group counseling. A counselor has to work as a mediator in group counseling. Another important thing is to explain that in a group, group members must understand their feelings and emotions towards other members. Group members have to drain these feelings and emotions against others in a group as it will help to alive the problems. Holding negative feelings and emotions against others won’t help us much to improve relationships in any group.
Counselors have to work very effectively in group counseling as they need to understand areas of conflict between both parties. For that counselors must be able to listen attentively to each of the conflicting views along with the acceptance to each of the parties without giving the impression of agreeing or disagreeing. Overall experience along with skills used in individual counseling helps counselors to take group counseling sessions and help group members to resolve the conflicts. Counselors must remember that they won’t succeed, if group members do not want to resolve their conflicts.
In the end of the book the author has described special counseling skills required for professionals those who hold responsible positions within an organization as leaders. Main purpose is the growth and development of juniors by creating a helping relationship so an open dialogue can start. Superiors or leaders work as a counselor who must communicate genuine concern and interest in his subordinates well being. A satisfied worker will generally produce more. This relationship helps to create a good working environment in the organization and it helps in better functioning. Author has specified basic guidelines as well as for the interview.
In the end the author has concluded the book by clarifying the need of counseling for. Author has described Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs as counselors need to know about all this with each client. Counselors cannot solve all problems as skills and resources are limited. Author emphasis that all sections of society need some help related to counseling services. Rich can afford counseling services easily but we need to reach at poor’s door step. Here is the role of barefoot counselors who can reach to the masses to help the people solve their personal problems.

We can conclude that this book provides a path for persons who want to help others. So they can become barefoot counselors. Book puts light on basic skills and approaches needed to establish a helping relationship with clients. Listening is termed as the most important skill on which this helping relationship stands. Other important skills are acceptance and respect for the client. Client centered or person to person approach of Carl Rogers is the main axis of the book, because of the focus on the person’s subjective view of the world. Book helps beginners in the counseling profession with all-round knowledge and clarification about the profession in a simple but detailed way.

Gurpreet Singh
Psychiatric Social Worker
Pushpanjali Trust
Chandigarh