What makes a good counsellor articles

In other cases, you may just want to move on and find a different counselor to work with. Take the first step in feeling better. You can get psychological help by finding a mental health counselor. Browse our online resources and find a…. Two things we care about almost as much as the issue we're seeking therapy for: our precious time and money. Learn 10 tips to make therapy really…. What is online therapy or online counseling, and why should you give it a try?

Online therapy offers a safe, secure way to interact with licensed…. The cost of therapy may stop some people from getting the help they need. These tips may help make therapy more affordable. Did you know there are many formats and types of psychotherapy? Find about how talk therapy can help and why it's for everyone! There are many things that may be difficult to share with your psychotherapist. If you are interested in learning more about our programs, you can find a complete list of our programs on our website or reach out directly!

Thank you for inquiring. You must be a licensed RN to qualify for entrance into this program. If you are a Registered Nurse outside of the U. S, please give us a call at Post University Blog. The Qualities of a Good Counselor These soft skills and interpersonal skills of a counselor will go a long way in helping them excel in their position.

Download Now. Communication skills Communication skills will play a key role in your relationship with your clients. Patience Patience will become a critical trait as a counselor. Confidence Counselors must be confident in the services they provide and how they help clients.

Non-judgmental Counselors also regularly meet with clients who have made choices that they do not agree with. Observant Sometimes, as a counselor, you will encounter situations where people might not tell you the entire truth. Listening Skills Knowing how to sit and really listen to what your client has to say can help to establish trust and understanding between you and the client.

Trust Clients who come to your counseling door suffer in some way. Respectful You also need to focus on showing your clients that you respect them as people. Acceptance As a counselor, you also need to demonstrate an open and accepting attitude towards your clients.

Self-aware As a counselor, you also need to be well aware of your own struggles. Appreciating of diversity You will encounter clients from all walks of life. Empathetic Finally, you want to make sure you are empathetic. Learn the…. This is difficult question for me to answer.

I think all of the skills we teach are important for our students to know. If not, why teach them in the first place. There must be value in all we do or we should change it to something more worthy. Sometimes when I have worked with children, it has been hard for me to let go and realize that sometimes the systems in place will only allow so much for me to do.

One of the important things I try to teach my students is remembering why you became a counselor in the first place. Rarely do people come to see you because they are happy. This can pull on your soul if you let it. Remember your first love of counseling and that will carry you through those dark moments of questioning why you are in this wonderful profession.

To touch lives! Contact him at stg wfu. I think a willingness to listen carefully, form and maintain a strong therapeutic relationship, show care empathize , be persistent energy and work with clients on mutually agreed upon goals are essential qualities of a great counselor. If the counselor is truly a wounded healer, he or she may well go beyond what would be considered exemplary practice because of increased sensitivity and understanding of what it feels like to be hurt and what it takes to heal.

I am hard-pressed to identify a counseling skill that is overrated. I think creativity is the most underrated counseling skill. I have had to learn to be more patient and to listen more carefully while letting counseling sessions develop. Often, I can see what a client should ideally do before he or she reaches that insight.

I think most counselors grow with experience, over time, and under supervision. While many individuals have the attributes to become extraordinary counselors, skills have to be cultivated and nourished if clinicians are to reach their full potential. Contact him at gerald. What, overall, makes a great counselor?

Great counselors possess a passion to help others. They demonstrate respect for those they serve and understand their roles within the counseling process. Great counselors are also committed to the counseling profession and understand the importance of professional unity.

Concomitantly, great counselors understand themselves. They know their core values and beliefs, and they accurately anticipate how their core values and beliefs influence the counseling process. Likewise, superior counselors have appropriate fun and utilize benevolent and kind humor.

Finally, great counselors exhibit a degree of tenacity that promotes continued client engagement — even when the counseling process becomes challenging. Invitational verbal and nonverbal skills are some of the most useful skills counselors can develop. What kinds of fun things do they like to do?

For me, the most overrated skill is active listening. Some counselors mistakenly believe that active listening means remaining silent throughout the counseling session. Thus, they fail to engage clients in meaningful treatment. Their clients capriciously ramble throughout session.

They incorrectly imply clients should feel a certain way e. Skilled counselors balance their techniques and interventions in a way that optimizes the counseling process and promotes client goal attainment without overemphasizing a single skill. Counselors who merely replicate the same counseling elements over and over again likely are perfecting imperfection.

Superior supervisors provide critical direction. They enable average counselors to become more satisfied and effective. Contact him at jkottler fullerton. Truly exceptional counselors are those who live what they teach to others. They walk their talk and practice in their own lives that which they consider to be most important for their clients.

As such, they are continually living on the growth edge, always looking for ways to become more effective as a professional and a person.

Brutal self-honesty and self-scrutiny, forgiveness for being less than perfect [and] willingness to take constructive risks, both personally and professionally. Contact him at clee5 umd. As such, as counselors, we are the inheritors and guardians of a timeless wisdom. People look to us to use this wisdom to help them solve problems and make decisions.

Don W. Contact him at locke mc. The underlying quality that supports great counselors is the genuineness they can convey both in how they respond to the client and how they view themselves and others. In addition to being genuine, the second most useful skill is to truly not only have empathy but [also] to be able to communicate that empathy to the client. A third critical skill is to be organized to the point that you can assist the client in viewing the presenting problem clearly and determining choices or options.

Effective counselors have a multitude of skills. That multiple skillset is necessary because each client offers a different and many times unique concern. For that reason, what might be considered an overrated skill may be the very skill needed by a counselor to address an individual client, but not necessarily with another.

The key is to have the critical three, listen carefully and then have strong additional skills to select from when necessary. The most difficult skill I have dealt with throughout my career is having patience. By patience, I mean the ability to match the pace of the session to the client and not pre-diagnose or rush to assist in a decision or move in a specific direction before the client is ready.

Great counselors are always learning. Each client presents new challenges and experiences. Each workshop or conference or conversation with another counselor provides new insights and approaches.

Great counselors are always open to another tool to incorporate into their portfolio. Great counselors realize that the next client will probably extend them in a direction that they did not anticipate and they need to be prepared for any and all options. Contact her at patricia. Overall, a great counselor is someone who is empathetic, creative and truly cares about others…but cares about empowering others, not creating dependencies.

The ability to be genuine, self-aware of weaknesses and bias, and capable of building a trusting relationship with another. Overrated and underrated: the ability to listen. Yes, I have rated the same skill as both underrated and overrated. Let me explain why. People who say listening skills are what make a great counselor are overrating the skill of listening!

Yes, being a great listener is important, but there is so much more than just an auditory function. It is the ability to hear what is being said — and what is not being said. Or, what needs to be said. Or, what are the implications of what is being said.

And yes, the ability to listen is [also] underrated. Without it, we have no relationship with our client. In this section you shall learn about some counseling skills. Activity 9: Counseling Skills Before you read on, do this activity on your own. It should take you 5 minutes to complete. You should also ask probing questions. We have used three expressions i. What is a closed ended question? What is an open-ended question?