INTRODUCTION

At times, everyone feels stressed-out, depressed, angry, anxious, or confused. Sometimes these problems gradually go away on their own or they get better with the support of their friends and family. However, there are other times when these problems can cause major disruptions in our lives and/or they are too difficult to talk about with their family and friends. It is at these times when one should seek out professional help.

The college years are an exciting time, but they can become very stressful. During the college years, students experience numerous personal challenges and are confronted with constant demands for adjustment and change. In addition to the increased academic pressures of college, students have to take on greater personal responsibilities as they become more independent from their parents, deal with new financial expenses, establish new and meaningful relationships, resolve conflicts between their own values and the pressures to be accepted by others, take on new roles, and develop career interests. Coping with all of these things can become very challenging and sometimes the support of a trained professional can be very helpful.

In general, counseling is a process where a trained professional helps someone deal with problems related to personal, social, academic, and career concerns. Counseling also is a conversational process that can be instrumental in the development of skills that help students effectively confront and cope with uncertainties and conflicts. A counselor will listen objectively and non-judgmentally and help you explore issues of importance to you. Issues may focus on a specific concern such as choosing your major, managing your time or building self-confidence. Counseling might also focus on your overall sense of well being, becoming a means by which you can gain greater understanding and acceptance of yourself and enhance your growth as a person.

The counseling profession consists of practitioners who work in educational, mental health, healthcare facilities, and other settings to help people make decisions, solve problems, establish or improve relationships, and reach life goals. Although professional counselors work in different settings with seemingly dissimilar missions, they are united by an understanding and command of basic helping skills and a common knowledge of approaches to counseling, human development, measurement and assessment, and psychological, social and cultural theories.

The counselor education program at University Tun Abdul Razak provides a foundation in counseling theory, helping skills, assessment, and developmental theories. It offers graduate students, who come from varied undergraduate backgrounds, an opportunity to study and develop their own personal style and approach to professional counseling. Students are encouraged to focus their major and elective study on course work that best meets their career interests.

The basic objective of Counseling Students Club (CSC) is to promote human development and learning by preparing professional counselors to assist children, adolescents, and adults with their educational, career, social, and personal decisions. With the emphasis on both theory and practice, students are expected to practice with competence and be able to work ethically and professionally toward their career.