Decision‐Making: A Dilemma and a Purpose for Counseling

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Abstract
A goal of counseling is to help decision makers make good decisions. But what is meant by “good”? Two views are discussed: outcome and process. The former is concerned with real‐life results after the decision is made, the latter with the quality of the deliberations during the decision‐making process. The counselor's interaction occurs during the process and is in terms of the decision maker's statements about reality (rather than reality itself). These statements are often unrealistic in that they inaccurately reflect conditions in real life. Counselors should help decision makers change their inaccurate perceptions so that (1) process deliberations are more likely to lead to expected outcomes, and (2) the decision maker is more likely to be prepared for whatever outcomes occur.

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