I.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A. Personal Information
Name: Mary Abigail Delgado
Age: 16
Birthdate: September 16, 1998
Address: Mabuyong, Anini-y, Antique
B. Family Information
Mother: Nilda Delgado
Occupation: Elementary School Teacher
Father: Rodulfo Delgado
Occupation: Elementary School Teacher
Sister: Ma. Pearl Colyn Delgado
Age: 19
School: University of San Agustin
Course: BSBA Finance and Marketing
Brother: Rodulf John Delgado
Age: 18
School: John B. Lacson Maritime Foundation, Inc.
Course: Nautical Engineering
C. Educational Background
Elementary School: Silvino D. Qubing Elementary School
Award: Class Valedictorian
High School: St. Thereses High School, Inc.
Award: 1st Honorable Mention
Mary Abigail Delgado is a 16-year old freshman student taking up BS
Psychology in the University of San Agustin. She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Rodulfo Delgado who are both elementary school teachers. Abigail or
Pangging (as what her family and close friends call her) and her family are
natives of Anini-y, Antique.
Abigail is the youngest of the three children in the family. The eldest is Ma.
Pearl Colyn Delgado, a senior student of the University of San Agustin taking up
BSBA Major in Finance and Marketing. The second one is Rodulf John Delgado, a
sophomore student of John B. Lacson Maritime Foundation, Inc. taking up
Nautical Engineering. Abigail stated that she and her siblings are not that close
and they dont bond often.
As a person, Abigail describes herself as empathic, approachable and
merciful to others. She doesnt want any conflicts and tries to avoid it as much
as possible. When she has a misunderstanding with her friends, she is usually
the one who initiates the mediation process (even if its not her fault).

As a student, Abigail is perceived to be competent and diligent. She is also

an academic achiever as reflected by her awards. She graduated as Class
Valedictorian in her elementary education and as 1 st Honorable Mention during
her Secondary education. She also excelled in writing competitions where she
won various awards in Editorial Writing and bagged the Championship medal in
PRISSAAPs Poem Writing Contest (English Category). Aside from that, Abigail is
also active in their school organizations. She was the Pupil Government
President of their school in her elementary years and also the Supreme Student
Government President of St. Thereses High School, Inc. during her high school.
Abigails favorite subjects includes English and Chemistry. Her hobbies
includes reading books and writing poems. When asked about why she took up
BS Psychology, Abigail said that she thinks the course will give her a better
understanding of herself as well as her family. Her goal is to become successful
in the field of Psychology someday.

II. INITIAL IMPRESSION AND ASSESSMENT

My initial impression of my counselee is that she is a joyful type of a person.
As we are just starting our first session, she wore a sweet smile while she tells me
that she is comfortable in her place. Maybe the reason behind this is her previous
experiences regarding her friends and family. Her smiles can be deceiving and can
be interpreted as a result of having a lively personality. But as the session
progressed, my counselee tells me that she smiles to keep her real emotions. It is a
way of faking her problems in life.
Moreover, I also perceiveher to be open in disclosing her concerns. During our
first session, she was very generous with her answers. She tries to give as much
detail as she can when she shares her concerns. Maybe the reason behind this is
her birth order in the family. Abigail is the youngest in the family and she doesnt
talk that much with her siblings. She rarely shares her concerns and problems to her
family and keeps it by herself (knowing that her major concern is her relationship
with her family, esp. the parents). She was very open and very detailed in sharing
her concerns with me because she sees it as an opportunity to have someone listen

to her. She just wants to have a listening ear that will help her cope up with her
difficulties.

III. ACTION TAKEN

At the start of our first counseling session, I used the Questioning and
Probing responses. This is to get further information about the counselee and to
identify in what situation she is experiencing difficulty with. I asked her questions
about her college adjustment, if she already adjusted, her college friends, and her
family relationships.
After that the counselee opened up about a conflict she had been with her
classmate where she got offended when her classmate yelled at her and called her
Slow. To deal with this I used the Paraphrasing and Understanding
responses. I used this response so I can get the clarification if I understood the
counselees statements the way she meant it to be.
The session progressed and the client told me about her issues with her
family. To know further information about it and to understand the situation clearly, I
used the Questioning and Probing Responses combined with Paraphrasing
and Understanding responses. When she told me that her mother started to
communicate with her when she entered college unlike before when her mother
never does so, I heard a slight shift of her voice which sounded like it really
mattered with her. I asked her more questions which lead her to share more about
their family set-up and their family relationships.
The client told me that she chose not to tell her parents whatever problems
she encounters because they have their own problems to deal with. To answer this
statement of my counselee, I used the Advising and Evaluation responses. I
told the client that if I were her, I will share my concerns to my parents because as
their child, they have the right to be informed about whats happening in my life if
Im doing good or bad or if I have problems in school or social life. The reason
behind this response is to suggest an appropriate course of action to my client that
she needs to share her problems and experiences with her parents.
My client shared a traumatic experience she had and how it caused her

insomnia. To facilitate the discussion, I used the combination of Question and

Probing and Paraphrasing and Understanding Responses to extract further
detail about what happened. It came out that until now, she had never told her
parents about it. She only shared it to her cousin and to the niece of their helper.
When asked about how she felt after she opened it up to them, she said
Dawnagmaganangbuotko. I followed it up with more questions so she will tell me
more about what she felt during the time and asked her what if she open it up with
her parents. I then applied the Advising and Evaluation responses where I told
her that its better to open up with her parents.
With more questions asked, it was then found that what hinders the client to
open up with her parents is the fear that they will get disappointed. The client fears
that her parents will respond in a way opposite to what she wants it to be. She fears
her parents reaction. I continued using the Advising and Evaluation responses
where I stressed out the importance of our parents in our lives their care and
concern for us. This is to encourage her to start communicating with them more
often. I also told her not to let her fears of disappointing her parents hinder her to
share her concerns to them.
Near the end of the first session, I used the Reassuring and Supporting
responses where I told the counselee that what shes going through is OK because
it is part of growing. The reason behind this is to somehow show my support to the
counselee that it is normal to experience problems like that and there are many
ways to cope with it. By doing so, the client will feel better with less guilt. The first
session ended up with the client enumerating the possible ways where she can
improve her relationship with her parents and with the counselor giving her
thoughts about each alternative.
On the second session. The counselor still used the Questioning and
Probing responses to have more a detailed understanding of the situation. The
session went back to discussing the time when the counselee received a text
message from her mother. I asked her what she felt during the time and what came
to her mind when she read the message. The counselee told me that it was just ok,
that she did not feel anything special about it even though her mother seldom
communicates. The counselee told me that her mother may be thinking about her

adjustment in college since her mother has the idea that she sometimes had
difficulty in adjusting to new environment.
The counselee started to talk more about her family relationships and she
started to cry. I comforted her through my words and by tapping her shoulders. I
used the Paraphrasing and Understanding Responses to let the counselee
know that I am listening to her concerns and I am interested in her sharing. After
which I used the Advising and Evaluation Responses to give a corrective view
about her thoughts and at the same time to ease her feelings. The counselee asks
why those things happen in their family so I told her not to blame herself because
she has nothing to do with that.
I continued to ask the counselee what she plans to do to improve her
relationship with her father. She told me that she already tried to approach her
father and even tried to hug him once but he kept on refusing and he avoids any
sweet interaction with the family. To follow this up, I used the Reassuring and
Supporting Response. This is to commend the counselee that its good to know
that she has been trying to solve the problem. Moreover, this is to give her a sense
of encouragement and affirmation that what shes doing is right and that she should
continue making her father feel her affection towards him.
Then I used the Analyzing and Interpreting Responses with the pressure
the client feels because of her parents and how she tries to deal with it. The reason
behind this is to give the client an explanation why she feels pressured and its
effects to her. I told her that because maybe she is the youngest, she fears that her
parents might expect that much and as a result, she pressures herself to always do
the best.
In order to deal with the pressure, I used the Reassuring and Supporting
Responses where I told the client that it is fine to pressure herself because
pressure is sometimes helpful to maintain a goal-oriented behavior. But that
pressure must be on a considerable level which will drive her to reach her goals and
not to make her feel too exhausted. To provide alternatives to compensate with the
pressure, I told the counselee to sometimes give herself a break from too much
pressure by enjoying small things in life such as watching a movie or treating
herself on a lunch out.

Finally, the session ended by enumerating the possible solutions to the

clients concern as told by the client herself. It included starting to improve
relationship with parents through sending text messages more often and by being
more expressive. Over-all, the counselor incorporated the 5 basic responses during
the conduct of the counselling sessions.

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Refer to the Guidance Office
Some of my clients concerns deal with deep seated issues such as
traumatic experiences. Moreover, the client seemed to be so emotional. I, as
a beginning helper, is not capable and qualified to deal with such issues. If I
talk about her trauma, I may only make her condition worse by making her
recall those experiences again. Whereas in the case of a guidance counselor,
they are already trained with techniques and equipped with the knowledge
and skills to attend and resolve these issues. It will be best for my counselee
to visit the guidance office because the guidance counselor will be able to
deal with her problem thoroughly and will provide her with the best
alternative to respond to her concerns.
2. Be More Vocal and Open Up to Parents
One of the major concerns of the client as discussed in our two
counseling sessions is her relationship with both parents. My counselee
seemed to have a different family set-up where they dont show much
affection to one another. As a result, my counselee does not tell her parents
about her problems. She tries to resolve it in her own way and she sublimates
her emotions through her passion in writing.
To avoid further problems with parents and with other aspects as well,
my counselee decided to start to be more vocal in expressing her feelings to
her parents. She will initiate it by texting simple words to her parents such as
Thank You, I love you and I Miss You. Aside from that, my counselee
must start to open up with her parents regarding her concerns or problems.
Telling her parents about her problems will lead to a more open relationship
between them. Moreover, the client must start to eliminate the fear of
disappointing her parents because it usually hinders her to disclose with
them.

3. Give Time for a Break When Pressure Becomes Too Hard To Handle
The counselee also talked about her parents expectations and how
these expectations pressure her. As the counselee stated, she finds it difficult
to withstand the pressure.
As a recommendation, I told her that its okay to pressure herself as
long as it is done to keep her goal oriented and it is in a tolerable amount.
But too much of everything is undesirable so I suggested that when worse
comes to worst and she feels she can no longer keep it up with the pressure,
she must also give herself a simple break. Having a nap, going out to eat
lunch or watching a movie can be simple joys that can give her a pause from
the stress.
V. PERSONAL INSIGHTS/LEARNING
During the conduct of the counseling sessions, my first difficulty was how to
word my questions or statements so that it will get the desired response from the
counselee. I had a difficulty in choosing the most appropriate words in conversing
with the client. In order to manage it, I tried to formulate possible questions or
responses before the second session so that I will not ran out of words and I will
avoid leading the conversation somewhere else instead of discussing the real
concerns of the client.
My second difficulty was my voice and the rate of my words. During normal
conversations with friends, I sometimes I talk too fast that I stutter and mumble
most of my words. This makes it hard for them to understand me. I am already
aware of this so what I did to manage it was to practice how to talk slowly. I listened
to myself as I talk and even asked my friends if I sound better. During the conduct of
the counseling sessions, I put in mind to speak as legible and as calm as I can.
My third difficulty was the problem of my counselee. Her concerns were quite
hard to deal with considering that I am just a beginning helper and I have no prior
experience in conducting a counseling session. To manage it, I asked for the opinion
of our professor Ms. Muriel Minerva Jover who is already an expert in the craft of
counseling. I found out that I should refer my client to a guidance counselor and I
should only focus on those concerns which I can still handle.

My fourth difficulty (and the hardest for me to handle) was avoiding the
Jonah Complex and avoiding the advice-giving part of the process. Usually, when
my friends have problems and they talk to me, I usually offer them pieces of advice
on what I think is the right thing for them to do. Ive been used to this and when I
realized that counseling is not advice-giving, I had a very hard time managing it.
During the counseling session, I am prone to give advice rather than to let my
counselee decide on her own. Its always been, If I were you and I think
statements. Theres always an I in everything which is undesirable in the conduct
of counseling. What I did to manage it was to use the Paraphrasing and
Understanding Responses so that I can avoid giving advice. But its frustrating
that when I listened to the audio, I went back again to the If I were you and other
I statements.
To do well in the future and to improve my next possible counseling sessions,
I will first study all the necessary theories, techniques, skills, and ethical standards
involved in the process. I will familiarize each of the essential knowledge in order to
achieve competence. If I already know the required knowledge in counseling, I will
apply it in my sessions. Through this I will be able to provide a better, professional
and reliable help to my client. This will brace me to deal with the client more
effectively and to conduct a counseling session with more ease and confidence.
Second, I will practice how to conduct the process. Yes, it may be a primitive
quote but its really true that practice makes perfect. Presently, I still experience
tension and fear in conducting a counseling session. I sometimes stutter and I kept
on giving advice. But with constant practice and necessary knowledge, the fear will
totally disappear and counseling will become a skill. From conscious incompetence,
it can change to unconscious competence. By practice, I will get used to it and I will
be a better counselor in the future.
Finally, I need to keep myself open-minded to be able to understand the
counselee. I have firm beliefs and principles which tend me to react to others
offensively and hinder me to perceive the situation in a full perspective. I tend to be
bias with those things I know to be morally acceptable. For example, I have a strong
conviction against same-sex relationships and premarital sex. If a counselee with
the same concern will come to me and ask for help, I may react negatively or

present alternatives which goes in harmony with my beliefs. To avoid this and to
really provide help to the client, I must develop a more accommodating and less
judgmental mind.

Pre-Lim Project in Psych 116 (Principles and Techniques of Counselling)

A Report of the Counseling Session Conducted
Submitted by
Frances Ann Rosales
BS Psych 4

Submitted to
Ms. Muriel Minerva Jover
Professor

August 4, 2015