You can hail from any stream in class 12th, however, you should keep Psychology in your list of subjects (not mandatory). The PCB stream may also give you some advantage when dealing with the physiological and neurological aspects of Psychology.
To gain the practical knowledge of your field, and to specialise in counselling, you’ll need a master’s degree. You will study about counselling theories, social and cultural diversity issues in counselling, career development and counselling, research methods and much more. You’ll also complete internships and dissertation work to meet the criteria to receive the degree. Admission to the various colleges will be through entrance exams or your marks in graduation along with the interview. Many institutes let you take up psychology for your master’s even if you have not studied it at the undergraduate level.
An additional step you can take to actually double down on your counselling skills is to do a 1-year diploma in guidance and counselling. Numerous institutes offer this course, to help you hone your counselling skills and gain practical knowledge and certification in counselling. Such diploma courses are particularly relevant for people who do not hold a master’s in psychology, yet want to build their career in counselling. Try to ensure that the course you pursue is recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).
1.Delhi University, New Delhi 2.Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi 3.Ambedkar University, New Delhi 4.Panjab University, Chandigarh 5.Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 6.Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 7.Fergusson College, Pune 8.Christ University, Bangalore
A marriage counsellor is not a psychiatrist, and cannot diagnose and treat mental illnesses that play havoc on a marriage. However, the counsellor can make suggestions about what underlying issues, such as drug abuse, childhood experiences or depression, he sees that might be contributing to the couple's troubles. The counsellor is then responsible for referring the person to the appropriate medical doctor, if necessary. Once treatment is started, the marriage counselling still can continue with discussions about what needs to be done to mend the marriage. Most marriage counsellors stay away from telling a couple whether they should stay together or divorce. Instead, the counsellor is trained to help the couple talk to each other in a way that gets real results without the other person getting fired up.