For a graduate school requirement in my PhD-level course Counseling for Wellness, I interviewed a Registered Guidance Counselor with over twenty-two years of experience working in school settings, as well as in corporate, community, and crisis intervention contexts. Let’s call her Maria.
Maria began her career in educational settings, working with students from preschool to senior high school. Later, she transitioned into workplace wellness programs, psychoeducation, and trauma-informed care for abused children. Because of the breadth of her experience, I chose her as my respondent. I believed her clinical journey would provide deep insight into the idea of “one client, many lenses.”
Her practice is grounded in person-centered counseling, trauma-informed care, psychoeducation, strengths-based and solution-focused approaches, and creative techniques such as journaling, mindfulness, and group facilitation.
About how clients change
Maria shared that in basic education, especially with younger students, it is often difficult to immediately observe change because the concerns are usually not heavy. Most concerns are behavioral or academic. Parents often have a hard time accepting that their child has a problem. There are probationary students even at the preschool level. In these cases, change cannot come from the child alone. There has to be change at home, in therapy, and in school. Sometimes there is conflict with teachers as well. There are also cases where the school has to refer out, or in some situations, recommend that students enroll elsewhere because the school cannot adequately handle their needs.
One of the strongest insights I gained from the interview is that change is sometimes gradual, sometimes sudden, and rarely linear. Clients may experience insight-driven breakthroughs, but they may also revisit the same struggles repeatedly, each time with slightly improved coping skills or deeper understanding. Progress can move forward, pause, or even go backward before advancing again. In school settings, especially in basic education, change is often difficult to observe because of the extenuating circumstances surrounding behavioral and academic issues. Client change is dynamic because it varies based on many factors. It is shaped by different contexts such as family, work, and culture, and also includes individual differences like personality and coping styles.
What facilitates change?
Maria emphasized that support from family, school, and therapy is essential, describing it as a kind of triumvirate. A good relationship with the counselor also plays a big role. Improvement often comes from a combination of factors within the person, such as the client’s readiness and the therapeutic relationship. Family, culture, and society influence healing. Filipinos live in a collectivist culture, where family and community matter. Clients can draw strength from family, but conversely, stigma or family pressures can slow progress. So part of counseling is helping clients figure out how to work through these cultural dynamics while using them as resources for recovery.
Reflecting on this, I realized that healing is not simply about personal willpower. Healing is also about the systems around them and their environment—whether these help or harm.
The counselor’s role in healing
For Maria, the counselor’s main role is to create trust and safety and to provide a secure and supportive space. As a Rogerian counselor, she emphasizes that change comes from within the client.
She says, “As a counselor, you must facilitate insight. Wrong behavior comes from within, so self-awareness is important—not just for the client, but for the counselor as well. You need to be aware of your own biases. You help the client identify what skills they need to improve and what strategies will work.” Coping skills and communication skills are always what she prioritizes, followed by encouraging clients to apply these tools in daily life. Aside from these, she endeavors to help clients understand the roots of their behaviors.
One of the most poignant insights I gained is the counselor’s role in helping clients navigate cultural dynamics—using family and social relationships as resources for wellness, while also supporting autonomy and boundary-setting when needed. Counselors adapt evidence-based techniques to ensure that interventions are respectful and make sense in the Filipino and family context. The goal is not just short-term improvement but long-term resilience, so that the effects of healing are lasting and sustainable.
Different approaches to help clients heal
As Maria mentioned earlier, she uses a Rogerian orientation and CBT for coping skills. In addition, she favors solution-focused counseling. She is careful not to cross into psychotherapy since she is a registered counselor, not a psychologist. (Sometimes, she says, it is just a matter of using different terms, but counselors rely more on psychoeducation.)
In her observations, clients experience change in different ways because their personality, background, and culture shape what works best for them. Some benefit from structured behavioral strategies, while others respond more to narrative or relational approaches, where sharing their story and building trust with the counselor is paramount. There is no single method for everyone, and as she says, “I can only do so much.”
Regarding psychologists versus counselors, some people think psychologists are automatically better, but Maria believes that years of experience matter. That said, she is currently furthering her education by studying for a PhD at a state university. Her learning effort is aligned with her goal to learn better ways to help facilitate clients’ overall wellness. She is also keen on pursuing her RPsy license—not for prestige, but for personal growth. Maria is in her 50s, close to my age, and like me, she says, “For us older counselors, learning never stops.”
Current trends and professional observations
One of the most concerning trends Maria observes is self-harm among adolescents, which is now one of the most common reasons students seek counseling. When it comes to self-harm, if the client is a minor, you are legally required to inform the parents. The challenge is how to approach the parents. Some teachers dismiss self-harm as “copycat behavior,” but it should always be taken seriously. Because she uses a Rogerian approach, she earns the child’s trust first. She never promises that she will not tell the parents. Instead, she gives the child the option of how the parents will be informed. Maria stresses that the counselor-counselee relationship is always central.
She notes that self-harm is often rooted in family and peer dynamics, particularly feelings of inadequacy — there is a feeling of “kulang sila.” Social media further amplifies these struggles. Many adolescents now lack resilience, as gratification is immediate and discomfort is increasingly avoided. Overprotective parenting can unintentionally undermine resilience, especially when children are shielded from hardship entirely. The parenting mindset of “Lahat binibigay ko sa’yo para di ka makaranas ng hirap” can be problematic.
Maria also devotes significant time to abused children, VAWC cases, and child exploitation. With these, she uses a trauma-informed approach, focusing on emotional support and psychoeducation.
Another common concern involves identity and romantic relationships. Many clients struggle with rediscovering themselves in this context. Starting one, maintaining one, ending one, or making peace with being single, probably for life are reoccurring themes.
Maria’s personal reflections on me as a counselor
One particularly moving part of our conversation was Maria’s personal feedback:
“You write about mental health, and when you do wellness seminars, you are very open and very vocal. You don’t mince words. What you need to continue building is empathy — use empathy to strengthen the relationship. Sometimes people need to hear the exact words. Just stay genuine. Kaya mo silang saluhin. Your directness gives people courage. With your writing, it may sound like ranting at first, but when someone reads the whole context, they realize something. You help people come to insight. You empower me. Keep on doing what you are doing.”
I hold this feedback with deep gratitude.
Advice for Beginning Counselors
Maria shared three guiding principles. She said:
“First, don’t get stuck. Commit to lifelong learning. Don’t stay within the four corners of what you already know. Stay updated.
Second, prioritize the relationship with the client. Be empathic and build a strong alliance. If you really don’t like the client—or the client doesn’t like you—it is better to refer them to someone else.
Third, take care of yourself. Don’t pour from an empty cup. Set boundaries. Caregiver burnout is real. Know your limits and protect your energy.”
Final Reflections
This assignment deepened my appreciation of the idea of “one client, many lenses.” Behavior change and recovery must be seen through awareness of the client’s developmental stage. Culture matters—not just Filipino culture, but the client’s setting, lineage, and province of origin. These shape how they make sense of their experiences. This awareness allows cultural sensitivity to what makes sense in the client’s mind.
Professionally, Maria reminded me of the importance of relational attunement. As someone who leans toward being a thinker than a feeler in my approach, this hits hard. Finally, a wellness-oriented mindset—where prevention is better than cure—means including psychoeducation and preventive strategies in sessions, which I already do, but this interview reinforced and reminded me of its importance.
