Counseling in Speech-Language Pathology: Perspectives and experiences of Speech-Language Pathologists in India

Background: Counseling is important in service delivery in the field of Speech-Language Pathology. The skills required for counseling can be utilised during the assessment and management of all communication disorders. To develop, validate and administer a questionnaire assessing current perspectives and experiences of working speech-language pathologists practising in India towards counseling. Methods: The questionnaire consisted of 36 questions towards counseling which were completed by 116 speech-language pathologists. Statistical analysis was carried out using Jamovi 2.0.0.0 to determine descriptive statistics and the internal consistency of the questionnaire using Cronbach's Alpha. Results: The participants perceived the importance of counseling and were comfortable with providing counseling. The most common source of knowledge on counseling was reported to be discussions with colleagues and friends. The participants considered all the suggested aspects of counseling to be extremely important. The most common area difficult to counsel was reported to be reading and writing disorders. Conclusions: The questionnaire helped in providing insight into the current perspectives and experiences towards counseling in the field of communication disorders in India.