Process Competence versus Expert Knowledge: Counseling in Special Needs Education

摘要

This study aims to develop knowledge of essential counseling competencies in the Educational Psychological Counseling Service (EPCS). Through semi-structured interviews with six counselors, the essential competencies of those who counsel teachers and parents are identified and discussed. Five main categories of competencies are proposed in response to the research question: What counseling competencies are considered essential during the counseling process? The results emphasize the importance of the counseling alliance, the counselor’s awareness, the counselor’s competencies in challenging and confronting the client, the counselor’s subject knowledge and enhancement of the client’s ownership of the proposed solution. Three of the categories (the counseling alliance, awareness and challenging/confronting) constitute counselors’ process competence. The two remaining categories (subject knowledge and ownership) constitute counselors’ expert knowledge. Conclusions: Process competence is heavily emphasized as essential for EPCS counselors and process competence and expert knowledge might be seen as two sides of the same coin.