2022
Semester 01
L.Smith
(67337163)
,Contents
INTRO & OVERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................... 2
Study Unit 1 – Beginnings: Creating Context............................................................................................................ 3
Study Unit 2 – Surveying Context for Counselling .................................................................................................... 4
Study Unit 3 – Holding the Cracks ............................................................................................................................ 5
Study Unit 4 – Theoretical Context........................................................................................................................... 8
HOSTING COUNSELLING ENCOUNTERS .....................................................................................................................11
Study Unit 5 – Entering the Space ..........................................................................................................................11
Study Unit 6 – The Dance of Attending ..................................................................................................................15
Study Unit 7 – Dancing with Change ......................................................................................................................18
Study Unit 8 – Checking-Out: Importance for Counselling Process .......................................................................22
PRACTICE FRAMEWORKS & ETHICS...........................................................................................................................25
Study Unit 9 – Practice Framework: Discovering your Place..................................................................................25
Study Unit 10 – Counselling Ethics and Values .......................................................................................................30
Study Unit 11 – Intersectoral Collaboration ...........................................................................................................34
TAKING LEAVE ............................................................................................................................................................38
GLOSSARY OF TERMS & ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................39
REFERENCE LIST ..........................................................................................................................................................46
SUMMARY PYC3705 – Transformative Counselling Encounters [L.Smith 67337163] Page 1
,INTRO & OVERVIEW
Important Points from the Overview v
Important to understand the world as a set of related and interlinking systems and to recognize that problems and v
problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation
The module is designed to help you consider the various ways in which we can develop a praxis that can respond
in a sensible and logical manner to the social challenges facing us as South Africans, within the continent and the
world at large
To bring about social transformation, both reflection and action are required
Contextualised learning: viii
This module introduces you to the art of counselling and some of the contexts in which encounters of a counselling ix
nature that are also transformative happen
Generally used verbs (classified according to difficulty level): xii
o List: The required information should be provided in the form of single words or in short sentences, preferably
numbered.
o Describe: When a particular phenomenon must be described, you need to use words to reproduce the terms.
Where possible you should include examples.
o Explain: An explanation requires that you clarify a certain outcome or result. A problem may be stated to which
you are required to provide a possible solution with an explanation of why you think that solution is correct.
o Distinguish: Here you must compare the differences and similarities between two or more issues.
o Discuss: “Discuss” means to debate. When you critically discuss an issue you are required to provide a
comprehensive evaluation giving arguments for and against. Your own opinion based on the discussion may also
be included. In other words, any opinions you express must be substantiated
SUMMARY PYC3705 – Transformative Counselling Encounters [L.Smith 67337163] Page 2
, 1
Study Unit 1 – Beginnings: Creating Context
Finding your Personal Space
Must always remember that our own version of reality is but just one version 5
People have different ways of approaching a new situation
The certainty of our ideas and the patterns that we have acquired from our histories, as Motsemme (2007, 2008)
and Pillay (2004) also note, determine to a large extent our perceptions of what constitutes normative standards
for behaving and dealing with what comes to meet us
Self-Analysis & Awareness
People’s experiences are comprised by multiple layers, multiple truths and multiple voices 8
Unfortunately, we cannot fathom people’s inner worlds mechanically. Only the individual can give an outsider a 9
glimpse of what is going on inside his or her private world
Most often people are confronted with situations that require a variety of decisions and responses and the
inevitability of juggling multiple demands at the same time. All too often people rely on common approaches that
work well in one set of circumstances but fall short in others
When people engage with and encounter others, they bring parts of themselves into the context of relating and 10
create new realities and ways of being that are peculiar to that interactional space. The amazing thing is that, as
persons, we share ourselves with others and in this sharing we do not diminish who we are; on the contrary – we
become more who we are in the act of relating
How we invest in new encounters
We are active participants within networks of connections with others and that these connections happen across 11
time and locality. Our interests and preconceptions, whether conscious or not, are imposed at all stages of our
encounters with others, from the questions we ask, to those we ignore, from the kinds of things we choose to
acknowledge and those we do not
A sense of community and belonging is essential to feel loved and stimulates the desire to give love. We then
notice that in a relationship, both partners have to be giving for the experience of love to be transformational
One of the extraordinary properties of consciousness, according to Stevens (1996), is that people have the ability 12
to reflect on the act of experiencing (that is, to be conscious of being conscious). He calls this the capacity for
reflexive awareness, or reflexivity. People are capable not only of feeling happy or sad, for example, but of being
aware that they are feeling that way. People can monitor their own actions, as well as their thoughts and feelings;
in other words, be aware of what they are doing. This can happen either retrospectively or actually in the act of
doing (though this is usually more difficult).
SUMMARY PYC3705 – Transformative Counselling Encounters [L.Smith 67337163] Page 3
Semester 01
L.Smith
(67337163)
,Contents
INTRO & OVERVIEW..................................................................................................................................................... 2
Study Unit 1 – Beginnings: Creating Context............................................................................................................ 3
Study Unit 2 – Surveying Context for Counselling .................................................................................................... 4
Study Unit 3 – Holding the Cracks ............................................................................................................................ 5
Study Unit 4 – Theoretical Context........................................................................................................................... 8
HOSTING COUNSELLING ENCOUNTERS .....................................................................................................................11
Study Unit 5 – Entering the Space ..........................................................................................................................11
Study Unit 6 – The Dance of Attending ..................................................................................................................15
Study Unit 7 – Dancing with Change ......................................................................................................................18
Study Unit 8 – Checking-Out: Importance for Counselling Process .......................................................................22
PRACTICE FRAMEWORKS & ETHICS...........................................................................................................................25
Study Unit 9 – Practice Framework: Discovering your Place..................................................................................25
Study Unit 10 – Counselling Ethics and Values .......................................................................................................30
Study Unit 11 – Intersectoral Collaboration ...........................................................................................................34
TAKING LEAVE ............................................................................................................................................................38
GLOSSARY OF TERMS & ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................39
REFERENCE LIST ..........................................................................................................................................................46
SUMMARY PYC3705 – Transformative Counselling Encounters [L.Smith 67337163] Page 1
,INTRO & OVERVIEW
Important Points from the Overview v
Important to understand the world as a set of related and interlinking systems and to recognize that problems and v
problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation
The module is designed to help you consider the various ways in which we can develop a praxis that can respond
in a sensible and logical manner to the social challenges facing us as South Africans, within the continent and the
world at large
To bring about social transformation, both reflection and action are required
Contextualised learning: viii
This module introduces you to the art of counselling and some of the contexts in which encounters of a counselling ix
nature that are also transformative happen
Generally used verbs (classified according to difficulty level): xii
o List: The required information should be provided in the form of single words or in short sentences, preferably
numbered.
o Describe: When a particular phenomenon must be described, you need to use words to reproduce the terms.
Where possible you should include examples.
o Explain: An explanation requires that you clarify a certain outcome or result. A problem may be stated to which
you are required to provide a possible solution with an explanation of why you think that solution is correct.
o Distinguish: Here you must compare the differences and similarities between two or more issues.
o Discuss: “Discuss” means to debate. When you critically discuss an issue you are required to provide a
comprehensive evaluation giving arguments for and against. Your own opinion based on the discussion may also
be included. In other words, any opinions you express must be substantiated
SUMMARY PYC3705 – Transformative Counselling Encounters [L.Smith 67337163] Page 2
, 1
Study Unit 1 – Beginnings: Creating Context
Finding your Personal Space
Must always remember that our own version of reality is but just one version 5
People have different ways of approaching a new situation
The certainty of our ideas and the patterns that we have acquired from our histories, as Motsemme (2007, 2008)
and Pillay (2004) also note, determine to a large extent our perceptions of what constitutes normative standards
for behaving and dealing with what comes to meet us
Self-Analysis & Awareness
People’s experiences are comprised by multiple layers, multiple truths and multiple voices 8
Unfortunately, we cannot fathom people’s inner worlds mechanically. Only the individual can give an outsider a 9
glimpse of what is going on inside his or her private world
Most often people are confronted with situations that require a variety of decisions and responses and the
inevitability of juggling multiple demands at the same time. All too often people rely on common approaches that
work well in one set of circumstances but fall short in others
When people engage with and encounter others, they bring parts of themselves into the context of relating and 10
create new realities and ways of being that are peculiar to that interactional space. The amazing thing is that, as
persons, we share ourselves with others and in this sharing we do not diminish who we are; on the contrary – we
become more who we are in the act of relating
How we invest in new encounters
We are active participants within networks of connections with others and that these connections happen across 11
time and locality. Our interests and preconceptions, whether conscious or not, are imposed at all stages of our
encounters with others, from the questions we ask, to those we ignore, from the kinds of things we choose to
acknowledge and those we do not
A sense of community and belonging is essential to feel loved and stimulates the desire to give love. We then
notice that in a relationship, both partners have to be giving for the experience of love to be transformational
One of the extraordinary properties of consciousness, according to Stevens (1996), is that people have the ability 12
to reflect on the act of experiencing (that is, to be conscious of being conscious). He calls this the capacity for
reflexive awareness, or reflexivity. People are capable not only of feeling happy or sad, for example, but of being
aware that they are feeling that way. People can monitor their own actions, as well as their thoughts and feelings;
in other words, be aware of what they are doing. This can happen either retrospectively or actually in the act of
doing (though this is usually more difficult).
SUMMARY PYC3705 – Transformative Counselling Encounters [L.Smith 67337163] Page 3
