Counselling skills for counselors I Essential Counseling skills I Empathy skills in counseling

Counseling is defined as the process of assisting and guiding clients, especially by a trained person on a professional basis, to resolve especially personal, social, or psychological problems and difficulties. It requires a set of learned skills to do effective counseling. Mastering particular counseling skills could make a great difference in whether or not you can provide your clients with the best opportunities to empowering them. There are a variety of skills that are beneficial to a counselor's understanding of their client, and to the client's overall comfort and willingness to be vulnerable about their personal hardships. Here is a list of useful skills that counselors should have:

Active listening for counseling
Active listening is an important skill for a counselor to have. It can be defined as the use of eye contact, facial expressions and gestures to imply that you are engaged and focused on the information the other person is saying. It can help a client feel like they've been heard and validated in the information they chose to share.

Open-ended Questioning
There are two types of questioning styles that a counselor should be able to utilize—open questioning and closed questioning. Being skilled in questioning techniques can help a counselor to better interpret what a client is saying and it can help them think more deeply into their personal situation as well. Open questioning includes all questioning that is directed toward gathering more detailed and complex information. Closed questioning is directed toward more short-ended questions with specific answers.

Documentation during sessions
Counselors should be skilled in organized note-taking techniques in order to record important points that were discussed during the session and information the client provided. This can be used for further analysis later on.

Nonverbal communication in counseling
Similar to information interpretation, counselors should be able to identify current attitudes or feelings based upon the body language that a client uses during the session.

Genuineness and Trustworthiness
An important skill for a counselor is to be able to build and maintain trust with their clients. This can affect a client's willingness to share information.

Empathy
A counselor needs to be able to see a client's situation from their perspective in order to best help them overcome their obstacles.

Confidentiality
Confidentiality can be seen as a valued skill for a counselor to have as they must respect their clients and the information they share with them.

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