Work Environment
Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice s typically work in the following Career Sectors:
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Most commonly reported Work Activities
- Coaching and Developing Others Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Organising, Planning, and Prioritising Work Developing specific goals and plans to prioritise, organise, and accomplish your work.
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Scheduling Work and Activities Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
- Training and Teaching Others Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Interacting With Computers Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
The Work
Private Guidance Counsellors work with clients through in-depth face-to-face and on-line interviews, which usually last for one hour.
Guidance Counsellors support clients through multiple modes; over the telephone, email, social media, or VoIP. Some advisers give presentations to groups, or run courses or workshops to help young adulta and adults in the community.
Private guidance counsellors provide information on the availability of courses, their content and how to progress to them. They may use booklets. softcopy, on-line guidance programmes and printed sheets, or audio and visual materials. Some guidance workers produce their own materials: bloggs, social posts, and visual content and computer databases to find educational and vocational training courses.
They guide their clients through assessment techniques such as psychometric tests. Guidance Counsellors encourage client self-assessment. The information they give must be impartial, and must help clients to come to their own decisions.
Building a trusting relationship with clients is essential. For example, a client may have to address factors in their lives that have prevented them from making educational achievements in the past. By listening carefully, the guidance worker can begin to understand any difficulties from the client's point of view. The guidance worker may ask questions to help clients explore various aspects of their life and feelings, encouraging them to talk as freely and openly as possible.
It is very important that the guidance worker does not make judgements or attempt to impose solutions of their clients. Their aim must always be to enable people to talk about and clarify their barriers and then to help them act for themselves to resolve them.
Some duties of a Private Guidance Counsellors include:
- Provide guidance, counselling and information services to individual clients and to groups, and provide referral services to other agencies as appropriate
- Broker services with educational bodies and other institutions as emerging client needs are identified
- Share good practice from the sector and supporting the mainstreaming of relevant lessons into national policy and practice
Most commonly reported Work Tasks
- Counsel individuals to help them understand and overcome personal, social, or behavioral barriers affecting their educational or vocational situations.
- Provide crisis intervention to clients when difficult situations occur in their career develoment.
- Network with parents or guardians, teachers, administrators, and other professionals to discuss a clients' progress, resolve behavioral, academic, and other barriers, and to determine priorities for clients and their resource needs.
- Maintain accurate and complete client records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
- Prepare clients for later educational experiences by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
- Evaluate clients or individuals' abilities, interests, and personality characteristics using tests, records, interviews, or professional sources.
- Identify cases of abuse or other family problems and encourage clients or parents to seek additional assistance from mental health & support professionals.
- Counsel clients regarding educational issues, such as course and program selection, class scheduling and registration, learning adjustment, study skills, job seeking, and career planning.
- Provide special services such as; career workshops, alcohol and drug prevention programs, and classes that teach clients to handle conflicts & challenge.
- Manage the promotion and finance of their guidance practice.
- Network with other guidance & educational professionals.
Most commonly reported Work Tasks
- Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
- Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by law, district policy, and administrative regulations.
- Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment and materials to prevent injury and damage.
- Prepare materials and classroom for class activities.
- Assign and grade class work and homework.
Qualities - Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice
- You must enjoy working with people and helping them to make important decisions about their education, training and careers.
- Good communication skills are very important. You must be able to listen carefully and ask the right questions to find out about the client's interests, skills and values.
- Knowledge of assessment techniques such as psychometric tests and computer guidance systems is also useful.
- You will meet people from many different backgrounds, with different levels of self-confidence and experience of education.
- You should encourage self-assessment, avoid imposing solutions, and guide the client to come to their own choices and decisions.
- You will need strong negotiating skills, to represent the client's interests when you work with colleges or training providers.
- Private guidance can be very varied, so you will need to be flexible and well organised.
- You will need to be able to plan your caseload, and do administrative tasks such as writing reports and keeping records.
- You will need to be a goo networker, have strong IT skills, and creative enterprising attitude to develop a client base in your practice.
Interests - Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice
This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:
Social
The Social person's interests focus on interacting with the people in their environment. In all cases, the Social person enjoys the personal contact with other people in preference to the impersonal dealings with things, data and ideas found in other groups.
Many will seek out positions where there is direct contact with the public in some advisory role, whether a receptionist or a counsellor. Social people are motivated by an interest in different types of people and like diversity in their work environments. Many are drawn towards careers in the caring professions and social welfare area, whilst others prefer teaching and other 'informing' roles.
Creative
Creative people are drawn to careers and activities that enable them to take responsibility for the design, layout or sensory impact of something (visual, auditory etc). They may be atrracted to the traditional artistic pursuits such as painting, sculpture, singing, or music. Or they may show more interest in design activities, such as architecture, animation, or craft areas, such as pottery and ceramics.
Creative people use their personal understanding of people and the world they live in to guide their work. Creative people like to work in unstructured workplaces, enjoy taking risks and prefer a minimum of routine.
Enterprising
Enterprising people like situations that involve using resources for personal or corporate economic gain. Such people may have an opportunistic frame of mind, and are drawn to commerce, trade and making deals. Some pursue sales and marketing occupations. Many will eventually end up owning their own business, or in management roles in larger organisations. They tend to be very goal-oriented and work best when focused on a target. Some have an entrepreneurial inclination.
Entry - Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice
The qualification in guidance and counselling is a postgraduate course. To satisfy the entry requirements one must have a basic undergraduate degree NFQ level 6-8.
Employers place importance on the right personal qualities. Relevant life and work experience are also highly valued. You may have gained this in an area such as: Teaching, Youth and Community work, Social work, and Probation work or personnel work.
Relevant courses are available at institutions throughout the country. Information on course details and entry requirements can be obtained from the individual Colleges.
Training & Development pathways
FET Centre Traineeship & PLC courses: Teaching, Youth & Community work, Social work, and Probation work or personnel work NFQ level 5-6 Search FET Courses
CAO Higher Education entry: Teaching, Youth and Community work, Social work, and Probation work or personnel/ HR NFQ level 6-8 Search CAO courses
Posgraduate Options: Career Guidance & Counselling NFQ Level 7 [special purpose] & post grad NFQ level 9
Dublin City University (DCU)
MSc in Guidance Counselling
2 year part time (contact DCU directly regarding entry criteria)
University of Limerick (UL)
MA Guidance Counselling & Lifespan Development
2 year part time (contact UL directly regarding entry criteria)
Maynooth University (MU)
Post Graduate Diploma in School Guidance Counselling
1 year part time - SCHOOL ONLY (contact MU directly for more information and entry criteria)
Master of Education - School Guidance Counselling
1 year part time - SCHOOL ONLY (contact MU directly regarding entry criteria)
Post Graduate Diploma (Arts) in Adult Guidance Counselling
2 year part time - FURTHER EDUCATION ONLY - (contact MU directly regarding entry criteria)
Recognizing Foreign Guidance Qualifications
NARIC Ireland provides advice on the academic recognition of foreign qualifications by comparing them, where possible and appropriate, to a major award type and level on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). A comparability statement for each qualification listed is available for download on the NARIC website.
Professional Practice & Continuous Professional Development
Institute of Guidance Counsellors
National Centre for Guidance in Education
Last Updated: April, 2023
Pay & Salary - Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice
Salary Range (thousands per year)* €21k - €63k
Salaries vary as this is a private business. Salary depends on charge rates per guidance practice and appointment or interevention. Employment may be full time or sessional based on circumstances.
Data Source(s):
Salary Expert/ Indeed/ Payscale
Last Updated: August, 2024
* The lower figures typically reflect starting salaries. Higher salaries are awarded to those with greater experience and responsibility. Positions in Dublin sometimes command higher salaries.
View Salary information from Indeed.ie
Note: data not aways available
Labour Market Updates - Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice
This information has been derived from the Solas National Skills Bulletin (2023).
Employment growth was below average over the five-year period, with little growth since 2020. It should be noted that career guidance professionals working in the second level system are most likely captured in the secondary teaching occupations. Employment permits issued in 2022 were all intra-company transfers and related to roles outside of the education sector.
Useful Contacts - Guidance Counsellor - Private Practice
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IGC Institute Of Guidance Counsellors
- Institute of Guidance Counsellors, The Basement, 17 Herbert St., Dublin 2, Ireland.
- 01 6761975
- [email protected]
- Click Here
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ILDN Irish Local Development Network
- Unit 24, Tait Business Centre, Dominic St, Limerick, V94 A9X6
- 061 404 923
- [email protected]
- Click Here
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Local Enterprise Office
- C/O Enterprise Ireland
- Click Here
