1_1_-_Appreciate_the_Meaning_of_the_Term_Counselling_Skills.

1:1 - Appreciate the meaning of the term counselling skills. Counselling skills can be both verbal and non-verbal and facilitate the building of good rapport between client and counsellor. These skills should help enhance communication between both parties helping the client to open up and to talk freely and openly about their experiences and issues thus assisting their own personal development. • A desire to be helpful. You need to truly want to help your client as any lack of sincerity will be easily detected by the client. • Acceptance and respect for clients. Giving your clients respect will enhance their trust in you and allow them to open up. • Listening to and understanding what your client has to say will make it easier for you to see things from their point of view. • Excellent therapeutic communication skills will help you succeed in the empathic understanding of the client. • Counsellors will, having personal therapy or personal development, work themselves with clear boundaries set so they are able to accept and reflect on the clients problems without being burdened by them. This in-turn enables the counsellor to understand and help the client in a non-judgemental and confidential manner. 1:2 - Know the place of skills on a help continuum. In other words know the series of steps that follow on from each other and at what point on the continuum do you use the particular skills that are listed. Counselling covers a broad spectrum helping people deal with feelings of sadness, depression ,anxiety or low self-worth none of which are connected to anything in particular, these are the six steps that follow on from each other; 1. Engagement: This means the first contact with a client is telling the client what the counsellor has to offer so the client can make a decision whether or not they find it helpful for the counsellor to work with them. 2. Exploration: To create a comfortable environment/place to work, so the client feels free to disclose their concerns. Encouraging them at an empathic level helps the client feel safe and not threatened by the engagement enabling them to self-explore. Tanya Wray Intermediate Counselling Skills Journal 1 Week 2 Page 2 3. Cognitive- experimental understanding. To help the client understand themselves, others and the world around them and how their beliefs, emotions and behaviours are connected explains the maintenance of their problem. 4. Change based on cognitive-experimental understanding. To understand the need to make changes such as behaviour or philosophical in nature, emphasising on each stage and not over lapping what goes on between stages. 5. Working through. Clients will work through the positive aspects they can change, making them their own counsellor. 6. Ending. It is difficult to end a relationship but by giving due time to help work through these thoughts and feelings the client will have the 'tools for their tool box' so to speak which will help the relationship end without it being a sense of loss but a new beginning. For Example: A client will be offered an assessment interview. This will provide both client and counsellor the opportunity to decide whether they want to work together as it is important that both are comfortable with each other at the end of the session. A number of sessions will be arranged even though there is no obligation to attend all. The client will have the right to cancel appointments at any time. Sessions are usually taken once a week, making this a regular commitment which gives the client a better chance of finding out more about themselves and better helps them deal with the difficulties they are having. After an agreed number of sessions a review will assess progress and decide what the next stage should be. Should the client no longer wish to work together with the counsellor, the counsellor will provide the client with details of alternative practitioners and agencies. Sessions usually last an hour with a 15 minute gap either end for the clients to arrive and leave anonymously. Appointments can be held at any time of day and there is no limit as to how long a period of time the client should wish to see the counsellor.