counseling that addresses a client’s personal or emotional difficulties. The counseling encompasses general goals for the client, for example, greater self-acceptance, better reality orientation, improved decision-making ability, and greater effectiveness in interpersonal relationships. The counselor’s responsibilities include gathering and interpreting data, identifying the client’s major problems, and formulating and (sometimes) implementing a treatment plan.
1. a person or object that substitutes for the role of an individual who has a significant position in a family or group. See father surrogate; mother surrogate.
2. more generally, any person or entity that substitutes for another.