Human Growth and Development

Taking off from my colleague and what she has demonstrated on human growth and development, I am going to look at the life span stages in the counselling process. Although age is a significant variable, age alone is not nearly so significant for counselling purposes as clients difficulties can stem from different problems relating to one stage. Adolescents begin with physical characteristics as in weight gain/loss leading to anorexia as one of the many problems they face, and then continue with cognition abilities, sexual development and social development as well as personal identity. As a counsellor in a counselling process I will look at not only age but gender as well as cultural background since all these do play an important role in growth and development in each and every one of us. Furthermore gender is often related to social or psychological difficulties that people encounter at different age levels. Certain expectations held within a culture regarding proper behaviour for different age periods are frequently involved in the problems clients bring into a counsellors room, this can be on the basis of religion, ethnicity, regional, language related, class related, etc. As a counsellor I need to be aware of all these factors being key points in a counselling process, beginning with my initial encounter with a new client. The question is, what information do I have for this client’s age, and counselling problems, I have to look at gender, selected cultural conditions, can help me arrive at wise decisions like a head start in working with them.
I am merely going to focus on and try to apply concepts of human growth and development to the counselling process to Adolescents stage being age 12-18. This is identity vs Role confusion. This stage has been closely observed as a particularly stressful period of life. This is when adolescents ask who they are and need to establish social and vocational identities; otherwise they will remain confused about the roles they should play as adults. This stage you find a lot of fighting between parents and teenagers. As a counsellor it will be my role to try and resolve these parent-teen conflicts. Sadly at this stage teens are drawn to gangs because a gang gives them an identity, a place to belong, the gang answers this crisis with them. Teens are powerfully drawn to anything that tells them ‘you belong here’ you are significant here, you are unique here. If parents could see teenagers through this kind of lens, having an understanding for the deep issues within the teens heart it would be a powerful ally in aiding their relationship with their teens.
As a counsellor I will approach conflict between a parent and teenager as an opportunity to develop communication skills as well as understanding for the stage of life the teen is experiencing. Ultimately, the goal is to develop or enhance the relationship between mother, teen, father, or in the same cases to address issues of sibling rivalry that may have consumed the focus of the family. Identifying the issues and working through these problems is an integral part of counselling. Once the anger, frustration, or confusion is addressed, individuals have the opportunities to learn about each other and begin to acknowledge their teens as a separate and unique individual. It is through this understanding that a new relationship develops. I will conclude by saying that for many youths it is an unsettling period as it confronts them with marked physiological changes, shifting social pressures, diverse values from which to choose, expectations for school achievements, growing awareness to consider seriously an unchartered future. As a counsellor it is my role to help such teenagers and their parents to learn to cope with the difficulties encountered in their lives.