How Do I Make Use of Counselling Skills and Knowledge in Helping Interactions and/or in Helping Work?

The key approaches to counselling are Psychoanalysis, Humanistic, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).

A counselling skill is the ‘doing’ part of the therapy, applying the theory to practice. Tools used in the process of counselling. Examples would include be active listening, empathy and respect.

This presentation describes the main processes in initiating, maintaining, developing and ending a helping relationship successfully. Video footage presents a counselling session with details of the counselling skills used and how these skills, when integrated, are beneficial in supporting a client.

The theories of counselling, listening skills sessions, offered the opportunity to learn and exercise the practical application of listening skills. Such skills involved actively listening to the speaker and asking forth bringing questions. The knowledge attained throughout the theories of counselling module, was applied in these practical sessions. Even though the students in these listening skills sessions were supposed to work in mock therapeutic session, it was made clear that these exercises did not provide the necessary training for the students to become professional counsellors. Nevertheless this does not mean that these practices were not helpful. We were provided the possibility to gain a better and newer understanding of the

In my personal life I can think of few occasions when counselling skills helped me to understand others and at the same time help them to understand themselves. I would like to describe here two of these occasions that stuck to my mind the most.

This essay will explore and identify the complex, yet beneficial nature of counselling while attempting to define the role of the counsellor. As well as, endeavouring to differentiate between professional counselling and informal helping. Finally, this paper will discuss the importance of counsellors being mindful of their own self-awareness, beliefs and values.

Helping others is one of the most important aspects in life today. There are many different ways, and different forms of helping people. Helping others could make another person feel better either inside, or about them self. ‘Helping’ is one of those taken for granted words. It is a familiar part of our vocabulary. Traditionally, for example, social workers, youth workers and support workers, guidance counsellors and psychologist have been talked about as members of the helping professions. The question, do you need some help? Should be part of our daily business as informal and formal educators and guidance counsellors. Yet what we mean by ‘helping’ is not that obvious and the qualities we look for in ‘helping

Counselling is considered a learning process, especially for the client. An effective counsellor displays affirmation and nurturing behaviours whilst less effective counsellors use the ‘watch and manage’, ‘belittle and blame’ and ‘ignore and neglect’ behaviours (Najavits & Strupp, 1994).

Obtaining the Master of Arts in Professional Counselling degree will allow me the opportunity to practice the interpersonal skill gained from my under graduate communication studies degree in a practical setting. A few interpersonal skill that would directly relate to professional counselling include message reflection and active listening. Active listening is a skill which has a high importance in interpersonal communication that directly relates to counselling. As counsellor, I will have the task of engaging clients true active listening to allow them to get in touch with their own feelings and be aware of what feelings are around in the process. Helping them get in touch with the root of what is going on and in

Counseling is a being-in the world, down to earth body of knowledge. It can be abstracted into its numerous orientations and counseling methodologies, but as I have found counseling is best practiced when the counselor learns and grows with his practicum, is constantly open to new experience, and is malleable to the changing process. The counselor grows as much as the patient and, oftentimes, the two grow in tangent. The following essay is a recapitulation and review of my practicum experience to illustrate the fact that the value of any theory to us as practitioners is nil until theory turns into who we are - into phrase and glance and gesture - until our intellectual powers and our humor settle into it." (Luepnitz 1988 p.20).

Counselling skills may be used by (1) a helping service professional like qualified counsellor, psychotherapist or psychiatrist, (2) a voluntary counsellor who has been trained to use counselling skills, (3) a person who use counselling skills as part of their work like a teacher or doctor, and (4) an Informal counsellors such as friends and family

This discussion will begin by considering two definitions of counselling, moving on to identify key elements of practice and what makes counselling different from other professions where counselling skills may be used. Finally the discussion will consider the role of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) which regulates the profession.

One of the biggest topics in today’s society is mental health. There are many pressing issues with mental issues. However, maybe we should look more at the helpers to see if they are competent and efficient with helping clients. Helpers should be actively looking to see if they are self –aware of their surrounds and their biases. If they are not, this could lead to conflict with the client. In this paper we will discuss what is self-awareness, personal factors influencing helping, diversity factors influencing helping, and strategies to improve self-awareness. Through these topics I hope to promote self-awareness regarding the personal and diversity factors that might influence the helping skills process as a helper.

3, maintaining competent practice: Practitioners are responsible for ensuring that they have training in the use of counselling skills and that this training is appropriate and sufficient for the counselling work they undertake. They are responsible for working within the limits of their competence. Both practitioners and the organisations for whom they work have a responsibility for monitoring and developing the practitioner’s

Counsellor would encounter a wide range of clients in the course of their profession and sometimes other than the basic counselling skills, advance counselling skills would be required to better bring out the conflicting emotions into the surface, providing clarity, opportunity for discussion and to elicit the strengths from the clients.