Counselling is a process that involves discussing upsetting feelings and painful memories. These conversations may cause you to feel worse initially, but in time you should begin to feel better.
The first step is to develop a warm relationship and mutual trust. The therapist then encourages you to speak about your problems in detail in order to identify the primary cause.
Confidentiality
In counseling, confidentiality is a crucial aspect of the therapeutic alliance. Clients entrust counselors with their innermost thoughts and feelings, so it’s important for clients to know that their information will not be shared with anyone else. Counselors typically discuss confidentiality policies and limits at the onset of therapy.
While most counselors respect their clients’ privacy, there are times when they must break confidentiality to ensure the safety of the client or others. For example, if a counselor has reasonable suspicion of child abuse or elder abuse, they must report it to the authorities. This is a common exception to the rule of confidentiality.
It’s also important for counselors to inform clients of who might see or listen to their records, such as administrative staff and interns. This can help them maintain ethical practice. In addition, it can also prevent clients from re-disclosing their private information to someone else. Also, it can help counselors avoid violations of HIPPA laws.
Listening skills
Qualified counselors must go through years of study and clinical practice to acquire the knowledge base that allows them to diagnose and treat their clients. However, just as important as these hard skills are the soft skills that allow them to build rapport and empathy with their clients. These include active listening and empathizing.
Active listening involves a number of techniques to ensure the client feels heard and understood by their counsellor. These include reflecting back to the speaker a shorter version of what they have just said and paraphrasing. It also involves avoiding leading questions, which can cause confusion and distrust. Lastly, it requires projecting acceptance of the client. Even the slightest hint of bias or judgment can discourage a client from sharing their emotions and thoughts with the honesty and frankness needed to be productive.
The counsellor must also be aware of their body language during sessions. For example, crossing their arms may come across as a sign of disapproval to some clients.
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a skill that can be learned and refined over time with the right focus. It has received increasing attention in management-focused literature and leadership training as a critical factor of success. It’s also been found to predict virtual team performance, and research has demonstrated that individuals with higher EQ are more resilient and less likely to experience stress or depression.
Those with high emotional intelligence can recognize and manage their emotions, which allows them to make more informed decisions in a business context. They can also handle workplace stress and build relationships with their colleagues. In addition, they can improve their personal health by learning how to regulate their emotions. In one study, researchers found that happiness is linked to an individual’s ability to perceive and use their emotions in a positive way. This is why many employers rate emotional intelligence as important as IQ when hiring top employees. Moreover, EI is crucial for self-motivation and achievement.
Communication skills
Communication skills are vital for effective counselling, and this is one of the main areas counsellors hone during their training. It’s about being able to understand, connect with and interact with clients through a variety of techniques, including questioning.
For counsellors to communicate effectively, they need to be able to listen not just to what the client says, but to what they imply through body language and facial expressions. They also need to be able to interpret what the client does not say – because often, what clients omit can be very important information.
Empathy is another key communication skill that counselling teaches, and it involves entering into the client’s frame of reference, their inner world of values, beliefs, thoughts, meanings, feelings, cultural influences, experiences and perceptions. This is known as empathic responding, and it’s vital for establishing the therapeutic relationship. It allows the client to feel that they are being ‘held therapeutically’ by the counsellor, which is an essential part of their healing process. https://milton-keynes.transformation-coach.co/