essential counselling skills

7/28/2019 Essential Counselling Skills

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ESSENTIAL COUNSELING

SKILLS
http://c/Users/Anne/Desktop/Life%20is%20Like%20a%20Cup%20of%20Coffee.mp4


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Essential Counselling Skills

1. interpersonal skills

A. Verbal skills

a. verbal tracking

b. appropriate vocal qualitiesc. verbal responses

B. Non-verbal skills

C. Client observation skills

2. Intervention Skills

3. integration skills


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INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

The core skills for counseling

Refer to skills required for building relationship

with clients in order to engage them in the

counseling process

Foundational in a trusting relationship between

the counselor and clients

Sets the stage for respect, openness,understanding and participation of clients in

the counseling process


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INTERVENTION SKILLS

the ability of the counselor to engage clients in

problem-solving

counselors should be familiar with the various

strategies and techniques

Counselor with a working knowledge of

different strategies will have a good repertoire

of skills to apply to each problem and situation


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INTEGRATION SKILLS

Ability of the counselor to apply strategies to

specific situations, bearing in mind the culture

and socio-economic context of clients

Each client presents with a mindset that islargely influenced by his culture and belief

system


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Example:

a client may come to a counselor feeling defeated,

ashamed and disposed. It is not unusual for him to say:I

dont know if I should be here. It is so strange talking to

you about my problems. Seems like I must be very weak

for not knowing how to deal with my problem. Dont you

think Im weak?

Avoid reassuring him too quickly and tell him he is not weak.

A helpful response would be to interpret his situation

positively:

I suppose it does seem that youre weak for

being unable to deal with your problem. However, it

must take some courage for you to come and reveal


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Verbal Skills

refers to the verbal content of the counseling

process

Counselor uses these skills to provide

attention to the client so as to facilitate the flowof conversation

Helps client feel comfortable enough to

disclose information for counselor to explorethe nature of the problem

Further lead to collaboration of client for

problem - solving


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VERBAL TRACKING

It is crucial that counselor be able to stay with

the clients topic

The client will be talking about different issues

or different aspects of one issue

Sometimes he will shift from one topic to

another

It is the counselors task to track the client andfollow with what is important so that the

interview will not be moving in different

directions.


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VOCAL QUALITIES

In attending to clients it is important to be aware ofthe way we communicate with them

Our voice is an instrument that communicateshow we feel towards clients

The pitch, volume, speech rate and tone all add toconvey to client the extent of our presence withthem

Moderate tone, lower volume, regulated pace andmedium pitch

Counselor need to vary his vocal qualities inaccordance with clients responses and problem

as well


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VERBAL RESPONSES

P araphrase

R eflecting feelings

I nterpretation

S ummarization

C larification

O pen and closed questions


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Paraphrase

refers to a repetition of the clients main words

and thoughts in the counselors own words

it is a way of telling the client that we are

hearing what is said and desire to hear morefrom him

the client will feel understood and be prepared

to explore deeper into the issue helps bring to focus a thought or situation for

clients consideration


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To ensure accuracy in paraphrasing:

1. begin your sentence with I hear you say; so

you seem to be saying; looks like you;

2. identify the essence of what the client has said

and summarize

3. focus on key words used by the client and usethem

It is important to time your paraphrasing. Allow

the client to talk, then as and when he pauses orwhen he tells you something significant, respond

with a paraphrase.

Constant use of paraphrasing disturbs the flow.


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example:

client: I have been feeling rather anxious

lately. My boss wants me to finish the report assoon as possible but he doesnt tell me when hewants it. Im afraid I may notbe able to g ive i t tohim i f he wants i t next week

could be paraph rased thus :

I hear you say that you are anxious that

you m ay not be able to know when you r bosswants the repo rt f rom you . Looks l ike you are

afraid you may not be able to subm it the repo rt

to your boss because he didnt give you a

deadline.


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Reflecting Feelings

related to paraphrasing except that the focus issolely on the affective state of the client and notthe content

A way to communicate empathy andunderstanding of clients feelings without saying..iunderstand how you feel.

A form of emphatic responding which involves theability of the counselor to perceive accurately andsensitively inner feelings of the client and tocommunicate understanding of these feelings inlanguage attuned to the clients experiencing ofthe moment


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2 dimensions:1. emphatic recognition which involves identification of

the feeling state of client2. demonstrate this empathy through accuratereflection of feelings to show the counselorcomprehends clients inner experiencing

Beyond words, counselors must note facial expressions,vocal qualities and various forms of body language

Then counselorneed to step into the shoes of the clientand feel as if they are the client

When the counselor is able to get in touch with theclients feelings, he should then respond emphaticallyby using appropriate feeling words and phrases.


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1. The pronoun you or the clients name ( this

helps to personalize the reflection)

2. The emotional label (s) or word(s): angry, sad,

scared, glad

3. A sentence stem ( You seem to feel.... I

imagine you feel.... Sounds like you feel....4. a context, to provide the setting for the

emotional experience ( you feel sad when

your child doesnt turn out the way you hadexpected.)


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Interpretation

Involves labelling and describing the clients

thoughts, feelings and behavior in a positive

way

It provides an alternative frame of view for theclient so that he can see himself and his

problem differently

Can lead to a better understanding of what ishappening in his life and serve as a catalyst

for change and growth


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e.g #2:

To a woman who is thinking of running away from an

abusive husband, it would be heartening to hear that she

is not crazy for entertaining such thoughts.

the counselor could say: i t must be a very di f f icul t

s i tuat ion for you. You are think ing o f running away

from you r husband. It is hard for m e to think you are

crazy as I guess someone in you r posi t ion wou ld be

thinking of the same thing.

Clients need support, encouragement and any gesture

of appreciation of their predicament.

By interpreting what they say and do differently, we can

tell them we are on their side to help them deal

constructively with problems.


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Summarization

reviews the content of the interview, brings together commonelements and clarifies.

gives the counselor a chance to hear if his or her thinking is

accurate and it gives a breather or a break to interview.

Serves an important function in the counseling process. It helps break the monotomy of the session, especially in the

case of a client who is long-winded and absorbed with his

problem.

Helpful in ending a session or beginning the next one, as it

communicates to the client that the counselor has been

listening and brings the session to some closure

In order to have an accurate summary, the counselor has to

listen carefully to client and pay attention to key ideas and

areas of concern.


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Clarification

No counselor should assume he knows exactly what the

client is saying even though ideas and words may sound

familiar.

They can mean different things under different

circumstances Help clients explore their statements attached to words

Lead them to explore issues related to the problem

presented

Led to make sense of dilemmas in their lives so as to makesense of their experiences and problems.

The counselor can respond by saying:

what did you mean when you said


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OPEN AND CLOSE

QUESTIONS The ability to ask appropriate questions is an important skill for

counseling

Meant to facilitate smooth flow of conversation so that the client

can talk about himself and his problem

If questions are not generated properly they can sound veryinterrogative and the counseling can become an investigative

session

Questions help to open up areas for discussion, assist counselor

in highlighting and clarifying issues and aid the client in self-exploration

Lead the counselor towards better understanding of clients

situation and the client to share his problem clearly.

Used open and care questions for smoother flow

What- serves to solicit facts & gathering of information


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Non Verbal Skills

S facing the person Squarely

O adopting an Open posture

L Leaning forward

E maintaining Eye contact

R being Relaxed


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CLIENT OBSERVATION

SKILLS

An effective counselor is someone who is

constantly aware of clients behavior

Client tells us a lot about their world by verbal

as well as non-verbal means. Counselors be highly aware of what clients are

saying especially through body movements,

facial expressions, vocal qualities andincongruities between body language and

verbal expressions


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essential counselling skills

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