This article examines the role of counselling as an essential component of good driving instruction. A client should clearly understand the role of his/her driving instructor, and they should communicate with each other in adult terms, treating each other as equal. The four basic 'styles' of instruction are: (1) telling, which is problem-centred and excludes the client from the problem-solving process; (2) advising, which is problem-centred, but includes the client in the problem-solving process; (3) manipulating, which appears to be client-centred, but actually excludes clients; and (4) counselling, which is client-centred and involves the client in the problem-solving process. Combinations of telling, advising, and counselling can be implemented, according to what stage the learner-driver has reached. Telling should be replaced by advising when the learner is confident enough. Advising should be replaced by counselling when the learner can assess possible options for driving responses. Just before a test, the client should be encouraged to drive while making all his/her own decisions, with debriefs wherever possible. Although telling and advising are well documented driving instruction methods, little attention is yet given to counselling techniques; they will need to be used much more in the future.
Abstract