The Primary Skills Used In Counselling Relationships

Empathy is a two way process, its about trying to fully understand what your client is saying and feeling and also showing your understanding to your client.

ETHICAL FRAMEWORK, LIMITS OF PROFICIENCY AND THE LIMITATIONS ON COUNSELLORS COMPARED TO OTHER PROFESSIONS THAT USE COUNSELLING SKILLS.

Before I began my study in the unit of Counselling Communications, I expected it to be more theoretical than as practical as it really was. Although some of the things we learnt seemed to be of common sense, it was surprising to see how much of that common sense I actually use when counselling. Moreover, there were many things that were of much knowledgeable content and was new to me. I have realised that there were many skills I needed to improve on myself. The tutorials were helpful for me in identifying these skills and enhancing them by regular practice; so they may become almost instinctive to me.

The decision to take this course was rooted in a deepening interest in psychotherapy, self–development, the welfare of other people and in a desire to gain a theoretical base to enrich my current arts and health practice.

In this essay I will describe key elements of Psychodynamic theory, Person-Centred theory and Cognitive-Behavioural theory. I will also identify the key differences between the above theories. I shall also describe how counselling theory underpins the use of counselling skills in practise. I will then end with my conclusion.

In this assignment I intend to define ‘counselling skills and knowledge’ and then show how I actively employ these qualities during my everyday life. These include informal helping interactions with family and friends, in a supervisory capacity at work and during skills practice sessions as part of my counselling course. Finally I’ll analyse the effects that these helping interactions have on me personally and the various ways in which I deal with those effects.

I believe counseling is a collaborative partnership between client and counselor. Furthermore, this collaborative partnership is built from trust and acceptance of both client and counselor. I hope in conjunction with clients to understand the issues and concerns so to help them tap into their wisdom, creativity, and strengths to meet their current challenges. I believe in a comprehensive perspective through which clients can better comprehend themselves in the framework that our thinking about events can lead to emotional and behavioral upset. Moreover, counselors are to provide a safe environment for clients to explore their challenges and identify ways to move differently in overcoming these challenges.

The process involved in establishing a counselling relationships includes many factors to ensure that a client feels safe and comfortable with a counsellor to explore his or her feelings with them.

In this reflective essay I will provide an analysis of the counselling session I conducted and recorded. This will include a summary of the session. I will also describe the micro and advanced counselling skills utalised, as well as a critical evaluation of their effectiveness. A discussion of my application of these skills, as well as areas of possible improvement will supported by reference to relevant literature.

The British Association for Counselling’s Code of Ethics and Practice for Counsellors states that ‘Counselling may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crisis, developing personal insight and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict or improving relationships with others’ (BACP Ethical Framework).

Carl Rogers, Born in Chicago in 1902 as the 4th of 6 children in a strict Fundamentalist Christian household.

A counselling relationship is likened to being on a journey - a beginning, middle and end (Smallwood, 2013). During the beginning phase the client develops sufficient trust in the counsellor and the relationship ‘to explore the previously feared edges of his awareness’ (Mearns and Thorne, 1988, p.126).

The skills used in counselling, vary from model to model, here are definitions of the skills used in person centred counselling,

Moreover, Kaslow, Grus, Campbell, & Fouad, et al. (2009) stated that the client/therapist relationship is built on trust and kindness, empathy, and positive regard. Interpersonal and professional relationships are key. Affective skills are based on personal and cultural context (Kaslow, et al. 2009).

Empathy is often described as having consideration of someone else feelings. Webster defines empathy as, the feeling that you understand and share another 's experience and emotions. Empathy consists of having the ability to feel another person 's feelings and the ability to place oneself in another person shoes or situation. In counseling, the therapist is expected to show empathy for their clients whose experiences are different from the counselor. The role of the counselor is to support the client with any issues or concerns. The role empathy plays in counseling.