Counselling (Stages, Skills, Techniques, Assessment and Ethics in Counselling).

The act of helping the client to see things more clearly, possibly from a different viewpoint. This can enable the client to focus on feelings, experiences or behavior, with a goal of facilitating positive change. A relationship of trust. Confidentiality is paramount to successful counselling.

Counselling is empowering the client with adequate skills, knowledge and coping mechanisms to deal with his problems. In one sense, “enabling” has the same meaning as “empowering.” It means lending a hand to help people accomplish things they could not do by themselves. More recently, however, it has developed the specialized meaning of offering help that perpetuates rather than solves a problem.

Five steps of counselling are as follows:

Step 1: Intake session
Step 2: Assessment
Step 3: Goal Setting
Step 4: Intervention.
Step 5: Weaning and Termination

Counselling Skills

1. Active listening by providing verbal or nonverbal awareness of the other person.

2. Paraphrasing is when you summarize effectively what a person has just said.

3. Focusing encourages people to focus on the issues they are talking about rather than wander of topic.

4. Reflecting feelings, experiences or content that has been heard or perceived.

5. Interpreting by offering a tentative interpretation of the other’s feelings, desires or meanings.

6. Summarizing by bringing together in some way the feelings and experiences of the person talking.

7. Effective question skills are essential so that questions are asked in a supportive way that requests more information or helps the
person’s attention to clarify on an experience or a feeling.

8. Giving feedback and sharing perceptions of the other’s person’s ideas or feelings.

9. Supporting by showing warmth and caring in one’s own individual way.

10. Allowing silence which gives people time to think as well as talk

Counselling is a skilled activity that involves assisting clients/group of individuals in managing and resolving psychological, emotional, behavioral, developmental, relational, vocational, and other personal challenges in order to facilitate adjustment to changing life circumstances; promote personal growth, needs attainment, and overall wellness throughout the life span; and prevent the development of more serious conditions.