Introduction
This essay seeks to examine the role of basic counseling skills in effective counseling. Drawing from a reflective personal experience, the essay will discuss basic counseling skills and the role they play in the healing and\or recovery process of a patient.
Effective Counselling
Before are proceed into the main focus of this essay, it would be necessary for us to have an understanding of what effective counseling is all about. Effective counseling deals with the ability to ensure that the needed strategies and solutions to solve one’s personal challenges as well as contain the effects of one’s emotional and mental problems are provided by a counselor (Jacobsen, 2022). It also involves “an empathetic and collaborative communication in a supportive environment between a counselor and his or her client, with the sole aim of assisting the client to recover to the extent that the challenges are non-existent and are transformed into strengths and opportunities” (Moloney 2016, p.6).. Additionally, Mcleod (2013) mentioned that effective counseling refers to a more principled relationship featured by the application of one or more psychological theories and an identified sense of communication skills, modified by experience, intuition among other interpersonal factors, to clients’ challenges.
Furthermore, in order to have a clearer understanding of the concept of effective counselling and counselling skills, it would be proper to identify some theories of counselling that relevant to this study. Also, it is important to note that for effective counseling to be achieved, there must be an adequate application of counselling skills in line with the recommendation of counselling theories.
Theorising Effective Counselling
In this essay, the psychoanalytic theory was chosen because it assists the counselor to comprehend the personality and development pattern of a client (Sibi, 2020). With this theory, a counselor can be able to understanding how a client’s mind works and also recommend the therapy for modifying the content of the mind in order to make them adapt to the client’s reality (Kenny, 2017).
The psychoanalytic therapy can be described as a form of psychotherapy that is based on the idea that human beings act based on unconscious emotions, memories and thoughts (American psychoanalytic Association, 2013). As a therapy that is based on psychoanalysis, developed by the Austrian psychologist. Sigmund Freud, this therapy helps counselors to identify their clients’ negative ways of thinking and acting in order to help them overcome their painful past experiences (APA, 2023); Dorwart 2022). While this therapy involves the use of personal communication sessions between a trained counselor and his client, it equally makes use of other techniques such as free association, dream analysis, interpretation, and transference analysis. Each of these techniques are practiced with the aid the following skills otherwise regarded as the basic skills in effective counselling: Effective/empathetic listening and responding, questioning ability, empathy, reflecting on identified contents and feelings, Empathy and trustworthiness. These counselling skills are essential characteristics that a well-trained counselor uses to understand his or her client (Yaumas, et al., 2018).
Roles of Basic Counselling Skills in Effective Counselling
Effective listening and Responding.
According to Miller and Rollnick, (2013), “Effective listening is at the heart of client-centred counselling, and once it is put into practice, it becomes an invaluable tool in peoples’ relationships, work and personal lives. Effective or active listening during counselling sessions, go beyond hearing and taking cognizance of one’s tone, body language and speech accuracy while speaking, it equally involves the counsellor’s ability to show beyond doubts that he understands everything that is being said, taking note of both verbal and non-verbal cues, and getting ready to interpret from the client’s perspective (Nelson-Jones, 2014); Wilson, 2021, 12: 40).
It is important to note that effective listening leads to effective counselling when it occurs in four contexts during counseling session. These are: when the counselor listens to the therapist; the client listens to the counselor; counselor listens to himself; and client listens to himself (Nelson-Jones, 2014). During counselling, there is need for both the counsellor and client to pay rapt attention to each other’s verbal and non-verbal cues because it is through this means that observations that would facilitate the recovery process can be made. Here, the counselor has to listen to the client empathetically and assuring the client that he or she is not alone in the process (Rogers, 2016, 12: 38).
Effective listening is a psychotherapeutic strategy that avails the counsellor the opportunity to listen attentively to a client, asking questions when necessary so as to fully grasp the content of the message as well as the extent of the client’s emotions (Sutton, 2016). Effective listening and responding also involve the counsellor’s ability to respect and accept the client’s personality and opinion, understand the client’s perspective, professionally manage client’s withdrawal of informational and be empathetic (Lambers, 2018, 12:03).
Questioning Ability
The ability to professionally ask clients questions during a counselling session is another basic skills that is necessary for the healing process. Thus involves the process of genuinely inquiring about a client’s past experience or present situation in a manner that is not judgmental and with the sole aim of making the client feel safe during the process (Souders, 2010). For effective counselling to occur then cousellors must not forget to ask their clients’ open-ended questions like “what makes the problem better? “How would you describe you mood?” “What positive changes do you went to make in your life?” “What is the problem from your own understanding?” However, before this takes place, the counselor should ensure that the emotional state and reaction of the client is normalised (Geldard & Geldard, 2008).
Empathy
As a counselling skill, empathy helps in building trust between the counsellor and the client in the counselling session. It avails the counsellor the opportunity to understand the client’s situation and condition from his or her own perspective. It paves way for the counsellor to be able to share with the client whatever it is that they are discovering about themselves, their situation and even their past experiences. It does not only help both parties to develop quality rapport with a high sense of mutual understanding, trust and sensitivity, it equally motivates them to be free and transparent in sharing confidential and personal issues. During counselling sessions, a counsellor shows empathy to a client when: 1. He actively listens to the client by reflecting on his comments in order to understand him 2. Actively ommunicates verbally and non – verbally, clarifies concepts, identifies with non – verbal cues and ask questions (Applied Counselling Skills, n.d.).
Reflection on identified contents and feelings
This is another crucial skill that is need heed for effective counselling. It involves the counselling is ability to contemplate on the information provided by the client. This could take the form of a question or rather a statement that is meant to activate another round of discussion. It involves the effective use of reflection to assess deeply beyond the layers of what a client says in a bid to come up with a better understanding of the situation at hand (Spadaro, 2014, 12: 50). On the other hand, reflection of feelings deals with the contemplation of the emotional state of the client which takes place as a result of the things that the client previously told the counsellor or some reactions, change of tone and facial expression (Geldard, Geldard & Foo, 2015).
Trustworthiness
This skill involves a counselor’s ability to connect with clients by demonstrating the desire to comprehend their situation and be empathetic. The primary aim of this skill is to ensure that the client feels safe and free in relating with the counsellor.
Interestingly the skills that have been discussed point towards the counsellor’s empathetic feeling towards the clients by listening, responding, reflecting, understanding, and sharing in their experiences and condition (Sutton, 2017).
My Personal Observation of Counseling Skills and the role they play in the healing process of a patient
In 2022 when I visited home, I found my brother, Anthony in a very critical situation. He was depressed as a result of financial constraints, his wife’s nullification of their marriage, and the confiscation of his tricycles by government officials. Recognising that Anthony needed help, I encouraged him to seek professional assistance from a trained counsellor. During the counselling process, I observed that the counsellor used basic counselling skills like effective listening and responses (which aided the free flow of information between them as Anthony was allowed to provide answer to the questions that were asked by the counsellor), reflection on contents and feelings (which helped the counsellor to ascertain the surety of Anthony’s responses), and show of care and attention towards Anthony However, I also observed that Anthony found it difficult to speak freely because he felt that the counsellor may be able to handle them confidentially. Also, the open-ended questions he was asked made him uncomfortable as he felt they required him to reveal a lot of information about himself.
Conclusion
The essay elaborately examined the basic counseling skills that counselors adopt and use in helping their clients recover from their different challenges.
References
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