Skills for a Good Counselling Session - Essay Example

Skills for a Good Counselling Session Name: Institution: Course: Date: Skills for a Good Counselling Session Introduction Counselling is a talking therapy approach, which allows a client to talk to a trained professional about their problems, feelings in a confidential and dependable environment (Blonna et al 2011). Being a professional in the field of talking therapy, the role of a counsellor is to provide their client with a platform of listening and empathizing. This has been considered effective in helping the client express himself or herself while at the same time developing relevant and personalized solutions to the problems they are experience (Ivey et al 2010). For any therapy session to be considered successful, the counsellor must demonstrate competence in by using basic counselling micro skills. This essay will focus on the skills essential in facilitating a good counselling session. Skills for a good counselling session Counselling is an interactive process between a client and a counsellor. For effective counselling to occur, it is the responsbility of the counsellor to demonstrate good communication skills as a strategy of capturing the attention of the client (Ivey et al 2010). In addition, the counsellor also has the responsibility of ensuring that the client feels the need to talk about the issues that affect his or her life. Effective communication requires detailed attention on the basic micro skills that define the counselling process. The incorporation of these skills in the process of communicating with a client provides the counsellor with a platform of understanding the personality of the client and the best approach to give in handling the issues as presented. Rapport This is the process of building a harmonious and empathetic relationship with a client. The process of developing effective rapport begins at the initial contact and it continues to develop throughout the counselling period (Blonna et al 2011). An effective rapport between the parties involved in the counselling process is crucial because it will define the future of the counselling process. According to Coppock et al (2010), instilling hope in the client in the initial meeting provides the client with confidence in the therapy process hence increasing the possibility of a friendly and harmonious therapy process. This is based on the understanding that prior to attending a counselling sessions, clients are often demoralized by the symptoms of their problems generating some element of hopelessness. Instilling hope provides the client with the first step of targeting the demoralising effect of the problems that the client may be facing. Attending skills This comprises the non-verbal aspects of communication. Other than the academic qualification and experiences that define the quality of a good counsellor, effective counselling sessions require the incorporation of non-verbal communication skills such as gestures and different elements of body language (Ivey et al 2010). Non-verbal attending behaviour is essential because it communicates the interests of a counsellor in the process (Ivey et al 2010). In addition, effective non-verbal attending skills enhance the understanding and the concentration of the client and the counsellor throughout the counselling session. The feeling of self-doubt and insecurity in a counsellor has the ability to interfere with the effective nature of the counselling process. This is because through such insecurities, the counsellor may experience some disturbances, which affects his ability to concentrate on the problems of the client (Thériault et al 2009). When negative attending skills are demonstrated during the counselling session there exists a high possibility that the client will lose confidence in the ability of the counsellor to deliver help. For the counsellor feeling of self-doubt with regard to his or her ability to deliver effective therapy to a client can contribute to an impairment of the therapist. This is because it contributes to increased stress levels, low self-esteem can in some situations the counsellor may be compelled to abandon a counselling session (Thériault et al 2009). An effective counselling session can be enhanced when the counsellor understands his areas of weakness and incompetence and develops strategies on how to use attending skills in managing the incompetence (Wood 2016). This is because the process of interaction defined by the non-verbal aspects such as gestures that an individual uses when expressing or communicating an idea. Gestures that are affirmative and positive provide the client with the confidence on the ability of the counsellor to deliver the most effective plan in developing solutions to his or her problems (Wood 2016). Maintaining a good eye contact for instance provides an assurance that the counsellor is interested in listening to the client’s story. In addition, body positioning can also be used in conveying to the client the level of interest and involvement in the counselling process (Wood 2016). The most effective body positioning the techniques include facing the client while adopting a relaxed and attentive body posture. In addition, to provide the client with some element of perceived power it will be important to let the client decide on the most appropriate physical distance considering that it helps in the definition of personal space (Ivey et al 2010). Minimal encouragers This skill involves the brief use of positive prompts with the objective of progressing the conversation and demonstrating to the client that the counsellor is listening. The use of terms such as “Oh?” “Then?” “I understand” will provide the client with the perception that the counsellor is interested in the story and this will enable the client to be willing to provide the counsellor with more information (Blonna et al 2011). According to Elliot (1991, p. 9) during a counselling session, the client and the therapist interact simultaneously at different levels. This is because the aim of the client is to ensure that h the therapist understand the story si that to provide plan on how to handle the existing situation. For the counsellor, the objective is to understand the story, the personality of the client and the relevant interventions that can be used in addressing the situation. This explains why the therapist and the client will manoeuvre themselves by speaking in turns, forming impressions and developing an understanding from diverse perceptive on the best possible interventions (Wood 2016). The role of minimal encouragers in such a situation would be to ensure that the counsellor understands the existing situation while encouraging the client to present more information that he or she considers relevant. Through minimal encouragers, the counsellor will not only demonstrate intentional listening but also engage in a process that allows for an exploration of the inner feelings and thoughts that characterize the counselling process. Through minimal encouragers, the counsellor will have more influence in the determination of the direction of client progress (Ivey et al 2010). Open and closed questions In any counselling session, questioning is considered an essential skill, which allows counsellors to gather important and detailed information about a client. Through questioning, it becomes possible to conduct an accurate assessment of the issues affecting the client hence enabling the development of an effective plan for a counselling session. However when used inappropriately questioning can limit communication and the ability of the client to provide sufficient information (Blonna et al 2011). Open questions in any counselling session are used to elicit meaningful responses, which encourage the client to disclose more information. These are questions that begin with why, what, how, would or could and can be important when used at the beginning of the counselling process to elaborate the existing problems in specific details. This approach to questioning also provides a client with the power of choosing the direction and content of the session hence leading to an involving conversation between the parties involved in the session (Ivey et al 2010). When used during a counselling session, closed questions provide the counsellors with specific information about their clients. When asked closed questions are meant to generate “yes or no” types of responses. The challenge in using this approach to questioning is that it increases the possibility that client will become passive (Wood 2016). For effective questioning in any counselling session, the therapist can incorporate both closed and open questioning techniques to ensure the generation of specific and elaborate information about the client (Wood 2016). Paraphrasing This is an additional technique of demonstrating to a client that he or she is being listened to. During a counselling session, the counsellor chooses the most essential details presented by the client and reflect them back to the client. The essence this counselling skill is that it does not just involve the repetition of a client’s statement but involves the process of capturing the importance of what the client says (Blonna et al 2011). Paraphrasing is an essential counselling skill because it enables the counsellor to reflect on the content and thoughts of the information presented. It is important to ensure accuracy of the paraphrased information by confirming with the client. The confirmation process allows for the development a collaborative relationship between the parties concerned. In addition, it is also a way through which the counsellor conveys his interest and concern in acquiring accurate information (Ivey et al 2010). Reflecting feeling This is an important counselling skill, which allows a counsellor to assist the client in developing awareness of the emotions experienced in relation to the problem at hand. When used effectively, reflection of feelings often promotes the development of accurate empathy to assist in the creation of a safe environment of the client especially when the feeling are recognized and put in words. According to Jennings and Skovholt (1999, p. 3), the success of any counselling session is dependent on the personality of the therapist because it facilitates the process of building an alliance with the client. Effective personalities in when reflecting feelings use appropriate introductory phrases while adding emotional words to communicate their intentions (Wood 2016). Summarizing In counselling summarizing skill is considered as the use of brief statements derived from longer excerpts. During the summarizing process, the counsellor has the responsbility of attending to the verbal and non-verbal comments presented by the client overtime. These are pulled together as essential parts of extended communication and restating them to the client in the most accurate way (Blonna et al 2011). The process of summarizing allows for stating the main issues and themes while reflecting them to the client. This allows the counsellor to begin a process of helping the client make sense of that which may have seemed as a complex issue in the initial stages. Summarizing can be used at the end of a session or at the beginning of a new session to recap on the previous session. In addition, it can be used at different moment during a counselling session to assist the client in focusing on the pertinent issues. When a client presents a number of unrelated ideas, or when he demonstrates an element of confusion, the counsellor may be compelled to summarize already presented information to ensure that the session is kept on track. According to Wampold (2012, p. 4) an effective therapist engages in continuous monitoring of a client’s progress in an authentic manner. Summaries are effective ways of monitoring progress and consistency in the information provided by the clients. The information is considered important because it provides will be used in the development of effective interventions to the problems faced by the client (Wood 2016). In the process of using periodical summaries, the counsellor must demonstrate flexibility and understanding as this will provide the confidence needed by the client to ensure progress. Conclusion Counselling is an interactive process between a client and a counsellor. For effective counselling to occur, it is the responsbility of the counsellor to demonstrate good communication skills as a strategy of capturing the attention of the client. The incorporation of rapport, attending skills, minimal encouragers, open and closed questions, paraphrasing, reflecting feeling, and summarizing skills in the process of communicating with a client provides the counsellor with a platform of understanding the personality of the client and the best approach to give in handling the issues as presented. affirmative and positive illustrations and communication skills provide the client with the confidence on the ability of the counsellor to deliver the most effective plan in developing solutions to his or her problems. References Blonna, Richard, Janice Loschiavo, and Daniel Watter. 2011. Health counseling: a microskills approach for counselors, educators, and school nurses. Sudbury, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Coppock, T. E., Owen, J. J., Zagarskas, E. & Schmidt, M. 2010. The relationship between therapist and client hope with therapy outcomes. Psychotherapy Research, 20(6), 619-626. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2010.497508 Elliott, R. 1991. Five dimensions of therapy process. Psychotherapy Research, 1(2), 92-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10503309112331335521 Ivey, Allen E., Mary Bradford Ivey, and Carlos P. Zalaquett. 2010. Intentional interviewing and counseling: facilitating client development in a multicultural society. Belmont, Calif: Brooks/Cole. Jennings, L., & Skovholt, T. M. 1999. The cognitive, emotional, and relational characteristics of master therapists. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 46(1), 3-11 Thériault, A., Gazzola, N., & Richardson, B. 2009. Feelings of incompetence in Novice Therapists: Consequences, coping, and correctives. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 43(2), 105-119. Wampold, B. 2012. Qualities and Actions of Effective Therapists. American Psychology Association. Wood, Julia T. 2016. Interpersonal communication everyday encounters. Boston, MA : Cengage Learning Read More

Attending skills This comprises the non-verbal aspects of communication. Other than the academic qualification and experiences that define the quality of a good counsellor, effective counselling sessions require the incorporation of non-verbal communication skills such as gestures and different elements of body language (Ivey et al 2010). Non-verbal attending behaviour is essential because it communicates the interests of a counsellor in the process (Ivey et al 2010). In addition, effective non-verbal attending skills enhance the understanding and the concentration of the client and the counsellor throughout the counselling session.

The feeling of self-doubt and insecurity in a counsellor has the ability to interfere with the effective nature of the counselling process. This is because through such insecurities, the counsellor may experience some disturbances, which affects his ability to concentrate on the problems of the client (Thériault et al 2009). When negative attending skills are demonstrated during the counselling session there exists a high possibility that the client will lose confidence in the ability of the counsellor to deliver help.

For the counsellor feeling of self-doubt with regard to his or her ability to deliver effective therapy to a client can contribute to an impairment of the therapist. This is because it contributes to increased stress levels, low self-esteem can in some situations the counsellor may be compelled to abandon a counselling session (Thériault et al 2009). An effective counselling session can be enhanced when the counsellor understands his areas of weakness and incompetence and develops strategies on how to use attending skills in managing the incompetence (Wood 2016).

This is because the process of interaction defined by the non-verbal aspects such as gestures that an individual uses when expressing or communicating an idea. Gestures that are affirmative and positive provide the client with the confidence on the ability of the counsellor to deliver the most effective plan in developing solutions to his or her problems (Wood 2016). Maintaining a good eye contact for instance provides an assurance that the counsellor is interested in listening to the client’s story.

In addition, body positioning can also be used in conveying to the client the level of interest and involvement in the counselling process (Wood 2016). The most effective body positioning the techniques include facing the client while adopting a relaxed and attentive body posture. In addition, to provide the client with some element of perceived power it will be important to let the client decide on the most appropriate physical distance considering that it helps in the definition of personal space (Ivey et al 2010).

Minimal encouragers This skill involves the brief use of positive prompts with the objective of progressing the conversation and demonstrating to the client that the counsellor is listening. The use of terms such as “Oh?” “Then?” “I understand” will provide the client with the perception that the counsellor is interested in the story and this will enable the client to be willing to provide the counsellor with more information (Blonna et al 2011). According to Elliot (1991, p. 9) during a counselling session, the client and the therapist interact simultaneously at different levels.

This is because the aim of the client is to ensure that h the therapist understand the story si that to provide plan on how to handle the existing situation. For the counsellor, the objective is to understand the story, the personality of the client and the relevant interventions that can be used in addressing the situation. This explains why the therapist and the client will manoeuvre themselves by speaking in turns, forming impressions and developing an understanding from diverse perceptive on the best possible interventions (Wood 2016).

The role of minimal encouragers in such a situation would be to ensure that the counsellor understands the existing situation while encouraging the client to present more information that he or she considers relevant.

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