Introduction

Counselling today extends far beyond the traditional therapeutic setting. Modern counsellors work with individuals facing diverse challenges—relationship strains, grief, career confusion, trauma, disasters, and major life transitions. Each of these situations brings unique psychological needs, emotional reactions, and decision-making complexities. Because of this diversity, counsellors must understand a wide range of approaches, from grief counselling models and crisis-response strategies to motivational interviewing techniques and evidence-based career guidance practices.

The field recognises that people rarely struggle with a single issue in isolation. Loss may impact career functioning, trauma may strain relationships, and life transitions often produce ambivalence or resistance toward change. Counsellors support clients by helping them make sense of these experiences, regulate overwhelming emotions, rebuild coping resources, and make healthy, adaptive decisions. This requires an integration of theory with practical skills—active listening, assessment, reflective techniques, and the ability to tailor interventions to individual readiness for change.

At the core of effective counselling lies the therapeutic relationship: empathy, respect, and collaboration. Whether guiding a grieving individual, helping someone adapt after disaster, or supporting a client exploring new career paths, counsellors aim to create a safe space where clients feel understood, empowered, and motivated to take meaningful steps toward growth.

This answer booklet brings together key concepts essential for understanding the broad landscape of counselling. Each question explores a distinct counselling domain—grief and trauma, career development, motivational strategies, relationship repair, and adaptability in changing environments. The answers combine theoretical depth with real-life examples and applied knowledge, allowing students to connect concepts with practice. The goal is not only to prepare learners academically but also to equip them with the insight and sensitivity required for effective, ethical, and compassionate counselling.

Question 1.

Discuss the Stages of Change Model and describe how counsellors address client ambivalence and resistance during the change process.

Answer

The Stages of Change Model (also called the Transtheoretical Model) conceptualizes behaviour change as a process unfolding over time through several discrete stages: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance, and sometimes Relapse/Recycling. Each stage reflects different levels of readiness and motivation. Precontemplation: the client does not recognise a problem or has no intention to change. Contemplation: awareness exists but ambivalence persists. Preparation: the client intends to act and plans steps. Action: observable behaviour change occurs. Maintenance: changes are sustained and consolidated. Relapse: return to prior behaviour, which is considered part of the learning process rather than failure.

Counsellors tailor interventions to stage. In Precontemplation, the role is largely motivational and educational—raising awareness, offering empathetic reflection, and gently highlighting discrepancies between current behaviour and personal values. In Contemplation, clients often experience ambivalence (both reasons for and against change). Counsellors use motivational strategies (e.g., decisional balance exercises) to explore pros and cons, validating ambivalence rather than confronting it—because confrontation often increases resistance. Preparation involves collaborative goal-setting, problem-solving, and building self-efficacy. During Action, counsellors help design concrete plans, teach coping skills, and arrange supports. In Maintenance, relapse prevention, lifestyle restructuring, and reinforcement of new identity occur.

Specific techniques to address ambivalence and resistance include: reflective listening (echoing the client’s statements to deepen awareness), open-ended questions that explore values and discrepancies, decisional balance (weighing pros/cons), and scaling questions (e.g., “On a scale of 1–10, how confident are you?”) to elicit self-motivational statements. Importantly, counsellors adopt a “rolling with resistance” stance: if a client resists, the counsellor shifts focus, reframes, or explores the resistance itself nonjudgmentally.

Example: A client in divorce-related substance misuse may be in Contemplation—acknowledging the drinking is problematic but fearing loneliness without alcohol. The counsellor uses empathetic reflection (“You value sobriety but worry about losing comfort”), explores pros and cons with a decisional balance worksheet, and elicits client-generated reasons for wanting change (e.g., better parenting). These strategies reduce resistance and move the client toward Preparation and Action.

Question 2.

Define grief counselling and explain the psychological effects of loss arising from illness, divorce, injury, or other significant life disruptions.

Answer

Grief counselling is a specialised therapeutic process aimed at supporting individuals who have experienced significant loss—death, serious illness, divorce/separation, job loss, major injury, or loss of identity/role. It focuses on facilitating adaptive mourning, integrating the loss into life, and restoring functioning. Grief counselling is not about removing pain but helping clients process emotions, restructure meaning, and gradually re-engage with life.

Psychological effects of loss are multidimensional:

• Emotional: Intense sadness, yearning, anger, guilt, anxiety, and numbness are common. Complex grief may involve prolonged, disabling sorrow or intrusive preoccupations.
• Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating, intrusive memories, rumination, disbelief, or altered beliefs about self and world (“I am unsafe,” “Life is meaningless”).
• Behavioral: Social withdrawal, changes in sleep and appetite, restlessness, avoidance of reminders, or excessive engagement in activity to suppress pain.
• Somatic: Fatigue, headaches, gastrointestinal symptoms, or somatoform complaints are frequent manifestations of grief.
• Social/Relational: Role changes (e.g., single parent after divorce), altered social networks, stigma (in cases like illness-related loss), and difficulties in intimacy or trust.
• Existential/Meaning-making: Questioning of life’s purpose, spiritual distress, or searching for meaning is common, prompting identity reconstruction.

Different losses produce particular patterns. Illness-related loss (chronic illness, disability) often involves ambiguous grief—losses are ongoing and uncertain, producing anticipatory grief. Divorce can feel like bereavement for the relationship, coupled with shame or identity disruption. Injury and disability often bring grief for lost capacities and altered future possibilities.

Grief counselling techniques include normative education (what typical grief looks like), emotion-focused processing (allowing expression of feelings), narrative/meaning reconstruction (helping clients retell their story and find continuity), behavioural activation (re-engage in valued activities), and practical problem-solving (addressing role changes, legal or financial issues). Counsellors assess risk factors for complicated grief (history of mental illness, lack of support, traumatic loss) and may integrate trauma-focused approaches when losses are violent or unexpected.

Example: A client grieving divorce might present with insomnia, anger, and social withdrawal. Counselling begins with normalising feelings, exploring the client’s narrative of the relationship and loss, introducing grief tasks (e.g., write a letter of closure), and building routines and social reconnection activities to restore functioning.

SECTION 2 – Attempt Any Three Out of Eight

Question 3.

Discuss the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural responses individuals experience during grief, and explain how counsellors can support adaptive coping.

Answer

Grief triggers a cascade of emotional, cognitive, and behavioural responses. Emotionally, individuals often feel sadness, despair, anger, guilt, relief (ambivalent losses), loneliness, or emotional numbness. Cognitively, people may experience confusion, disbelief, intrusive memories, preoccupation with the lost person/role, and trouble concentrating. Behaviourally, common responses include withdrawal, social avoidance, impaired self-care, changes in sleep/appetite, and overactivity or risk behaviours (substance use) used to blunt pain.

Counsellors support adaptive coping through several evidence-informed strategies:

1. Psychoeducation: Teach clients about normal grief reactions and timelines, reducing anxiety about “going crazy.” Clarify differences between normal grief, complicated grief, and major depression.
2. Emotional processing: Use emotion-focused techniques (safe expression through storytelling, art, or writing) to help clients experience and integrate feelings rather than suppress them.
3. Narrative reconstruction: Facilitate meaning-making—help the client re-author their life story to include the loss, acknowledging memory and continuity.
4. Behavioural activation and routine: Encourage re-engagement in daily activities and social supports; schedule pleasurable/meaningful tasks that counteract withdrawal.
5. Practical problem-solving: Assist with legal, financial, or role-transition tasks (e.g., single parenting logistics), which reduce secondary stressors that impede grief.
6. Cognitive reframing: When rumination or guilt is maladaptive, use cognitive methods to challenge catastrophic or self-blaming thoughts.
7. Building resilience resources: Foster social connectedness, spiritual resources, and healthy coping (exercise, sleep hygiene).

Example: A widower demonstrates rumination (“If only I had…”) and isolates socially. The counsellor provides psychoeducation, uses narrative techniques to honour memories, works on behavioural activation (joining a bereavement support group), and applies cognitive restructuring to reduce pervasive self-blame. Over time, these supports enable adaptive coping and improved functioning.

Question 4.

Explain the steps involved in the career counselling process, with emphasis on self-assessment and goal-setting for informed career decisions.

Answer

Career counselling is a systematic process helping clients make informed occupational choices and manage career development. Core steps include intake and rapport, assessment, feedback and interpretation, career exploration, goal-setting and decision-making, action planning, and follow-up/evaluation.

1. Intake & rapport building: Gather history (education, work, values), clarify presenting concerns, and establish a collaborative working alliance.
2. Self-assessment: Central to career counselling. Instruments and methods assess interests, aptitudes, personality, values, and skills—for example, Holland’s RIASEC interests, aptitude tests (numerical/verbal), or values inventories. Self-assessment helps clients understand strengths and limitations and reduces misaligned career choices.
3. Feedback & interpretation: Counsellor shares assessment results empathetically, linking scores to meaningful occupational choices. This step translates abstract test data into practical implications.
4. Career exploration: Use occupational databases, informational interviews, job shadowing, and labour market information to examine realistic options aligned with assessment.
5. Goal-setting & decision-making: Employ SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to translate career preferences into actionable objectives (e.g., “Complete certification in XYZ within 12 months”).
6. Action planning: Break goals into steps—resumé building, skills training, interview practice, networking. Counsellor fosters self-efficacy and addresses barriers.
7. Implementation & follow-up: Monitor progress, adjust plans, provide referrals for education/training, and support sustained momentum.

Emphasis on self-assessment and goal-setting is crucial because self-knowledge aligns intrinsic motivations with external opportunities, increasing long-term satisfaction and reducing turnover or career regret. Counselors integrate realistic labour market data to ensure goals are viable.

Example: A postgraduate unsure about career direction completes interest inventories showing high investigative and social interests (research and counselling). Through feedback and exploration, they set a SMART goal: “Apply to two counselling internships and one research assistant post within six months.” The counsellor helps draft applications and arranges mock interviews, supporting successful implementation.

Question 5.

Analyse the role of psychological testing in career counselling and evaluate how assessment tools support effective career guidance.

Answer

Psychological testing is a cornerstone of evidence-based career counselling. Standardised instruments yield objective data on interests, aptitudes, personality traits, values, and abilities—information that supplements subjective self-report and aids decision-making.

Roles of testing:

• Clarification of strengths and preferences: Instruments like interest inventories (e.g., RIASEC-based tools), aptitude tests (cognitive abilities), and personality measures (e.g., Big Five) elucidate enduring tendencies and skills.
• Matchmaking: Tests help align individual profiles with occupational characteristics, reducing mismatch and improving fit.
• Predictive utility: Aptitude tests can predict performance in specific tasks or training success, guiding realistic educational or vocational pathways.
• Structure and objectivity: Tests provide a systematic framework, reducing reliance on anecdote or transient moods.
• Identifying support needs: Tests may reveal learning difficulties, low self-efficacy, or trait patterns (e.g., high neuroticism) indicating the need for counselling or skill-building.

Evaluation and limitations:

• Psychometric quality: Effective use requires valid and reliable instruments, culturally appropriate norms, and trained administration/interpretation.
• Contextualisation: Tests are one piece of information; decisions should integrate contextual factors (family, finances, labour market).
• Potential for misuse: Overreliance or rigid labeling can limit client agency—counsellors must present results as probabilistic, not deterministic.
• Bias & accessibility: Some tests may carry cultural bias or be inaccessible to clients with language or literacy barriers.

Practical integration: Best practice combines tests with qualitative methods—life history, values clarification, and real-world sampling (internships). Feedback sessions are collaborative: counsellors interpret results, explore implications, and co-develop plans.

Example: A client with strong spatial-mechanical aptitudes on an aptitude battery and moderate extraversion might be guided toward engineering roles with team-based project opportunities rather than solitary laboratory roles. The counsellor pairs test data with occupational research and arranges an informational interview to confirm fit.

Question 6.

Discuss the nature of relationship counselling and evaluate the common therapeutic interventions used to resolve interpersonal conflicts.

Answer

Relationship counselling (couples or family therapy) addresses relational distress—communication breakdowns, recurrent conflicts, infidelity, power imbalances, or life transitions affecting the dyad or system. The aim is to improve relationship functioning, communication, mutual understanding, and problem resolution, or to facilitate healthy separation when appropriate.

Nature and approaches:

• Systemic perspective: Many relationship therapies view problems as emerging from interaction patterns rather than solely within individuals. Therapy assesses cycles of behaviour, rules, roles, and feedback loops.
• Emotion-focused: Approaches like Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) target attachment bonds, helping partners access underlying emotions (fear, shame) and restructure interactions to restore security.
• Behavioural/Cognitive-behavioural: CBT-based couples therapy focuses on communication skills, problem-solving, behavioural exchange, and cognitive reframing of negative attributions.
• Gottman Method: Integrates research-based interventions—improving friendship, managing conflict through repair attempts, and creating shared meaning.
• Structural/Strategic family therapy: Addresses family hierarchies and interactions, especially useful in family-of-origin or parenting conflicts.

Common interventions:

1. Communication skills training: Active listening, I-statements, reflective listening to reduce escalation.
2. Behavioral exchange: Increasing positive interactions (shared pleasurable activities) to rebuild positive sentiment.
3. Conflict management/problem-solving: Structured negotiation, time-outs, and agreed ground rules.
4. Emotion processing: Identify and express vulnerable emotions behind anger; foster empathy.
5. Cognitive restructuring: Challenge negative attributions (e.g., “they always…”).
6. Boundary and role clarification: Re-define responsibilities, parenting roles, or financial decision procedures.
7. Repair and forgiveness work: Address transgressions through apology, restitution, and rebuilding trust.

Evaluation: Effectiveness depends on alignment of approach with couple’s needs; for attachment wounds, EFT shows strong outcomes; for situational conflicts, CBT or problem-solving works well. Therapist neutrality, alliance with both partners, and readiness for change are critical.

Example: A couple arguing about childcare schedules may benefit from structured problem-solving: clarify values (child’s needs, work), identify options, negotiate a shared schedule, and implement trial periods. Simultaneously, increasing weekly “couple time” (behavioural exchange) improves emotional connection, reducing conflict frequency.

Question 7.

Describe the MI core skills (OARS) and illustrate their importance in strengthening therapeutic engagement and client motivation.

Answer

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a client-centred, directive approach designed to resolve ambivalence and strengthen intrinsic motivation for change. Its core communication skills are encapsulated in the acronym OARS: Open questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening, and Summaries.

1. Open Questions: Encourage elaboration and exploration (e.g., “What concerns you most about your current situation?”). They invite clients to articulate values, reasons, and plans rather than answering yes/no.
2. Affirmations: Statements that recognise client strengths and efforts (e.g., “You’ve worked hard to manage this situation.”). Affirmations build self-efficacy and validate progress.
3. Reflective Listening: The cornerstone of MI—mirroring and elaborating clients’ statements to deepen understanding and elicit change talk (client statements in favour of change). Reflections can be simple (repeat) or complex (interpretation), and are used to guide conversation gently.
4. Summaries: Periodic syntheses of what has been expressed, highlighting ambivalence, values, and change talk; they help clients hear their own motivations and contradictions, facilitating decision-making.

Together, OARS create a conversational environment in which clients feel heard, respected, and empowered. This reduces defensiveness and potentiates change talk—statements indicating readiness or reasons for change—which predicts actual behaviour change. MI emphasises evoking clients’ own motivations rather than imposing reasons.

Importance for engagement and motivation:

• Builds rapport and trust quickly, particularly with resistant or ambivalent clients.
• Encourages autonomy—clients own their decisions.
• Enhances self-efficacy through affirmations and reflective reinforcement.
• Reduces client resistance: reflective listening and open questions avoid confrontational styles.

Example: A client unsure about career shift: the counsellor asks open questions (“What interests you about that field?”), reflects (“You’re curious but worried about starting over”), affirms (“It’s impressive you’re considering this change at this stage”), and summarizes to consolidate motivation (“You value meaningful work, and you’re willing to explore steps despite uncertainty”). This process reveals client-generated reasons for change and supports concrete planning.

Question 8.

Examine the importance of career adaptability in modern work environments and describe counselling strategies that promote flexible career decision-making.

Answer

Career adaptability is a set of psychological resources enabling individuals to manage career transitions, cope with uncertainty, and proactively shape their vocational paths. In modern labour markets—characterised by rapid technological change, gig economies, and nonlinear careers—adaptability is vital for sustained employability and well-being.

Key facets of adaptability include concern (future orientation), control (self-discipline and agency), curiosity (exploration of possibilities), and confidence (belief in one’s capacity to pursue goals). Workers who cultivate these resources are better equipped to learn new skills, identify opportunities, and pivot roles when needed.

Counselling strategies to promote adaptability:

1. Strengths and transferable-skills mapping: Help clients recognise core competencies (communication, problem-solving) that apply across contexts.
2. Lifelong learning planning: Encourage continuous skill development—microcredentials, short courses—tailored to market trends.
3. Future-oriented exercises: Visioning and scenario planning increase concern and reduce anxiety about uncertainty.
4. Action-oriented goal setting: Small, iterative goals that build mastery and confidence (e.g., take an online class, attend a networking event).
5. Exploration and experimentation: Support internships, volunteering, job shadowing, or side projects to test fit without full commitment.
6. Cognitive reframing: Reinterpret setbacks as learning experiences, reducing fear of change.
7. Building networks: Coaching on informational interviews and professional networks provides access to hidden opportunities.

Example: A mid-career professional in a shrinking industry works with a counsellor to map transferable skills (project management, stakeholder communication). They create an adaptability plan: complete a digital marketing course (3 months), attend two industry meetups, and pilot freelance projects. This promotes curiosity, confidence, and control—key adaptability dimensions—making transition tangible and less threatening.

Question 9.

Evaluate the four processes of Motivational Interviewing—engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning—and discuss their relevance in career and behavioural counselling.

Answer

MI’s four sequential but overlapping processes structure the helping conversation:

1. Engaging: Establish a trusting therapeutic alliance. Effective engagement involves rapport-building, empathy, and creating a safe space for exploration. Without engagement, eliciting motivation is unlikely.
2. Focusing: Collaboratively narrow the conversation to a target behaviour or direction (e.g., career change, quitting substance use). Focus ensures the session has direction while respecting client autonomy.
3. Evoking: Elicit the client’s own motivations, values, and change talk. Techniques include exploring pros/cons, using evocative questions, and reflective listening—aiming to amplify client-generated arguments for change.
4. Planning: Translate motivation into commitment and concrete steps—design SMART goals, anticipate barriers, and build supports.

Relevance in career and behavioural counselling:

• Engaging is critical when clients feel ambivalent or ashamed (e.g., career failure or addiction). Establishing trust reduces defensiveness and increases openness.
• Focusing helps when clients present multiple concerns—clarifying priorities (e.g., immediate job loss vs. long-term career pivot) avoids dilution of effort.
• Evoking is central: lasting change in career trajectories or behaviour is most sustainable when clients articulate their own reasons. Evoked motivations often predict follow-through better than counsellor directives.
• Planning ensures momentum: it operationalizes change into actionable steps, linking intrinsic motives to practical strategies.

Example (career counselling): A client is disengaged at work and unsure about switching careers. The counsellor engages empathically, explores options, focuses conversation on exploring alternatives rather than immediate resignation, evokes the client’s values (desire for meaningful contribution), and co-develops a plan: informational interviews, short course enrollment, and a timeline for applications. This MI sequence converts ambivalence into a clear, self-motivated plan.

Question 10.

Explain the principles of disaster counselling and describe how counsellors provide psychological first aid during crises.

Answer

Disaster counselling addresses acute and community-level trauma produced by natural disasters, accidents, violence, or large-scale crises. The immediate goal is to reduce distress, promote safety, and facilitate short-term coping; long-term goals include preventing chronic psychopathology by connecting survivors to supports.

Principles of disaster counselling:

• Safety and stabilization: Prioritize physical and emotional safety.
• Practical assistance: Address urgent needs (shelter, food, medical care).
• Cultural sensitivity: Interventions must respect local norms and community networks.
• Evidence-based, low-intensity interventions: Use scalable methods suitable for affected populations.
• Do no harm: Avoid re-traumatization via intrusive questioning or premature exposure.
• Community and systems approach: Coordinate with agencies, integrate into community recovery.

Psychological First Aid (PFA): An evidence-informed, humane response model used immediately post-disaster. Core components include:

1. Contact and engagement: Approach survivors respectfully and gently.
2. Safety and comfort: Ensure immediate safety needs; provide calming presence.
3. Stabilization (if needed): Help ground those overwhelmed (breathing exercises, orienting).
4. Information gathering: Identify immediate needs and concerns.
5. Practical assistance: Help with problem-solving and connecting to resources (shelter, reunification).
6. Connection with social supports: Re-establish contact with family/community supports.
7. Information on coping: Offer simple strategies for acute stress management and normalize reactions.
8. Linkage with services: Refer those with severe reactions to mental health services.

PFA is non-intrusive, flexible, and can be delivered by trained helpers, not only clinicians.

Example: After a flood, a counsellor providing PFA meets a displaced parent who is panicked. The counsellor ensures the parent and child have shelter (practical assistance), uses grounding techniques to stabilise breathing, connects them to relief services, reunites extended family, provides brief information about typical stress responses, and arranges follow-up support. Those with severe symptoms are referred to specialist trauma services.

Question 11.

Analyse the ethical issues that counsellors must consider when working with vulnerable clients experiencing grief, trauma, or career uncertainty.

Answer

Working with vulnerable clients raises multiple ethical considerations; counsellors must balance beneficence, autonomy, confidentiality, competence, and justice.

Key ethical issues:

1. Competence & scope of practice: Counselors should practice only within their training. Trauma and complicated grief may require specialised modalities; failure to refer or upskill can harm clients.
2. Confidentiality & privacy: Protecting sensitive information is crucial. In settings such as workplace career counselling, dual relationships may challenge confidentiality—counsellors must clarify limits and obtain informed consent.
3. Informed consent: Clients should understand the counselling process, expected outcomes, limits of confidentiality, and referral options. This is essential when working with grieving or disoriented individuals.
4. Risk management: Suicidality, self-harm, or severe PTSD require immediate safety planning and possible breach of confidentiality to protect life. Counselors must assess risk and follow local legal/ethical protocols.
5. Boundary issues & dual relationships: Particularly in small communities or organisational counselling, dual relationships can impair objectivity and confidentiality.
6. Cultural competence & respect: Grief and career meanings are culturally embedded. Counselors must avoid imposing normative timelines or values.
7. Avoiding harm & re-traumatization: Techniques must not force early exposure or intrusive probing; trauma-informed care emphasises safety and pacing.
8. Equity & access: Ensure vulnerable clients have fair access to services; consider economic, linguistic, or mobility barriers and provide appropriate referrals.
9. Documentation & record-keeping: Maintain accurate records while protecting privacy; in some cases, documentation may need to be minimal to protect client confidentiality.
10. Ethical termination & referrals: When client needs exceed counsellor’s capacity, timely, respectful referral is required; abrupt termination is unethical.

Example: A counsellor working on-site at an organisation with employees experiencing layoffs must clearly communicate confidentiality boundaries, avoid sharing session content with HR, and provide referrals for specialized trauma care if employees show suicidal ideation—balancing organisational demands with client welfare.

Question 12.

Explain the concept of resilience and discuss counselling techniques that help individuals rebuild functioning after loss or major life transitions.

Answer

Resilience is the dynamic process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, or significant sources of stress. It’s not innate invulnerability but capacities and resources—psychological, social, and practical—that facilitate recovery and growth. Resilience includes emotion regulation, problem-solving skills, social support, positive appraisal, and meaning-making.

Counselling techniques to foster resilience after loss or transitions:

1. Strengths-based approaches: Identify and amplify existing coping resources and past successes (e.g., times the client overcame difficulty), reinforcing self-efficacy.
2. Cognitive reappraisal: Help clients reframe adversities to reduce catastrophic thinking and find adaptive interpretations (e.g., “This loss is part of a new chapter” rather than “I am ruined”).
3. Narrative therapy / meaning-making: Facilitate telling the loss story, integrating it into personal identity, and finding continuity of values—often yields post-traumatic growth.
4. Emotion regulation skills: Teach grounding, mindfulness, and distress-tolerance techniques to manage intense affective states.
5. Problem-solving and behavioural activation: Practical steps to restore routines, accomplish manageable tasks, and increase pleasurable activities—supporting behavioural recovery.
6. Social reconnection: Encourage rebuilding or strengthening social networks, support groups, and community engagement—social capital is a major resilience factor.
7. Psychoeducation: Normalize reactions and provide expectations about recovery trajectories, reducing shame and hopelessness.
8. Goal-setting & future orientation: Develop attainable short- and medium-term goals to restore agency and direction.
9. Referral to resources: Address economic, medical, or legal needs that otherwise impede recovery.

Example: After a career-disrupting injury, a client struggles with identity loss. The counsellor uses strengths mapping (identifying transferable skills), supports enrolment in vocational rehabilitation (practical assistance), applies narrative work to reframe identity (“I am more than my job”), and encourages gradual goal-setting (skills training), thereby rebuilding functioning, confidence, and a renewed career path.