When to Specialise or be General as a Counsellor
Counselling started in the ancient times of people like Frank Parsons who were concerned with helping young people to try and make meaningful decisions about their lives, careers and find partners in life (Rodgers, 1942). The early counselling used the technics of helping people focus on their development and better their attitude towards life and opportunities in their careers life. This with time became famous as counsellors were advising their clients about the jobs and careers. However, todays counselling is so diverse and deals with different approaches e.g. clinical as opposed in the past where emotions were not regarded as factors affecting people in making decisions.
1. When therapist decide either to specialise or be general in the field of profession it is left onto them to choose because they themselves know what they want better and what they can do perfectly. Specialisation depends on the type and kind of agency you are working with and how they assign you the roles (BE london, 2005). This helps you realise the areas you have greater skills and serve better or still serve general therapies and enjoy switching to different fields. If you enjoy serving as a high resource in the apex and want your skills to be exceptional then you may choose to be an expert in particular counselling approach.
2. Flexibility is a trait that counsellors are supposed to possess, clients are different in understanding, languages, have different problems and they all respond different to advices given by the counsellor. (DM Higgins, 2007)Having a flexible counsellor makes easier to deal with different kinds of people and situations they are in however different it may look to others. The counsellor and the client might sometimes possess different traits e.g. culture, believes, information and religion but the counsellor should manoeuvre and find how better to assist this client. (DM Higgins, 2007)Enhancing this skill is so important and counsellors are advised to practise this by communicating their problems to others, do benchmarking and even refer clients to those who are better at dealing with it as they learn.
Has a good and genuine interest in other people; a good therapist has the urge everyday to sit with others at any time whether during their low time or high time, try to understand their situation and employ empathy. He tries to facilitate a positive transformation and make the person better than he/she found them in the first place (Bobevski, 2007). To cultivate this trait, a therapist ought to understand and read about peoples’ characteristics at different level. They should appreciate everyone’s situation, have a heart of understanding and make sure they help a person in need of their help.
The Importance of Flexibility in Counselling
Has a great sense of humour; a good therapist whether hearing horrible, weird or traumatic story should be able to withstand and resist anything that can bring and make him bough to the same situation. (Daniel Morisano, 2011)When a counsellor has good timing, he will know how to handle these situations when the person narrates them. The counsellor connects with the client until they start sharing the sense of humour and even going to the extent of forgetting his or her problem. It is at that point that the counsellor starts to deal with the client’s problem and advise him accordingly. This is a very good and valuable tool that every counsellor should possess (Daniel Morisano, 2011). To enhance this trait, every counsellor should always try to see a different angle of what the client says and twist the story and even give a more serious one.
3. Good characteristics should use open ended questions to the client while in the counselling process. Open ended questions help to explore the client to tell more about an issue than just to limit him or her on the YES or NO answers (Bobevski, 2007). Example (Laureate Education INC 2012) Used open ended question “lets talk more about what happened yesterday” this statement made the client to open up and be supported by the counsellor to bring more meaningful responses.
An urge to help others should be highly employed while in counselling clients. When you have a heart to help it raises you from the worldly favours of looking down to clients who doesn’t have the money required to approach you.it helps you to focus on the centre of helping people whether rich or poor but not self-gratification. Telling a client to pay first before you can dispense your services is one of the worst abused character in counselling world.
Disrespect to clients is so ineffective when used in the counselling process, when the counsellor does not know his/her own limits to the clients it reaches a stage where he maximises on the client’s problems or issues for his/her personal gain. Example asking for sexual favours from the client when they have issues with their respective partner is the most abuse characteristic in counselling. The counsellor ought to provide genuine researched attention and caring to others.
4. Economic condition is one financial status that enhance or hinder people to access certain medical or education status. Well economic status makes it easy to access anything regarding vital information on counselling skills, required resources ton pursue counselling and decisions to be taken. In a poor condition especially for women and children it is difficult for them to get quality education that is essential for making good decision. When you have low level of education it is difficult for you to interpret, research and satisfy your clients with updated information. When you are economically well, it is easy for you to acquire good level of education, information and all the requirement needed to become a refined counsellor. You will be able to go anywhere, meet anyone and research better to become and meet the counselling standards.
Characteristics of a Good Counsellor
Social and culture is the values and practises that are accepted in the community and our society to operate. Social refers to how people live, organise themselves in those groups and practice their things as a nuclear family, extended one, polygamous. If they have leaders like chiefs, village elders and specified roles they are supposed to do. This social and culture are the determinants of peoples’ ideas and feelings that always affects counselling and communications. A counsellor who comes from a community of stringent and negative culture that does not appreciate certain people from the society such as women and children, this will affect his or her ideas while dealing with issues related to them unlike those who comes to a favouring cultural and social environment.
5. The role as a counsellor; this deals with my ability to maintain the very and internal core professional values. This helps to identify my weaknesses and ability to work as a counselling profession through determination that will help the clients and I as profession (Brown, 2008). When you are aware of what is required in your profession such as ethical consideration while dealing with clients and how to conduct yourself during the counselling session, you will be effective and ready for the job and likely to make minimum mistakes.
Look at myself as a counsellor; when I am confident about dealing with the ethical conduct and standards by weighing my personal characteristics, these will advise me how I am ready to go ahead with counselling work. Looking at my personal beliefs, character and what I stand for, education background in the profession. Previous curriculum courses that made me like counselling and how I have helped or advised people and my interests in counselling (Stauffer, 2013). Critically look at this parts that aids in the profession of counselling and expectations of my clients and I as an individual.
Environment and people who surround us and their need plays a big role on how to be prepared as a counsellor (CS Johnstone, 2013). When you are surrounded by people who encourages you to do it, or if surrounded by people who you always help to overcome certain things, they will shape you to become a good counsellor in the long run (S Padrix, 2012).
6. Advantages of specialisation is that it is fulfilling and gives you the opportunity to dig deeper in the specialised therapy hence very easy to handle the cases related to your field (KS Dabson, 2007).
The Role of Economic Status and Social Culture in Counselling
Makes one marketable as a person who is a specialist is on the top of the list of every company or hospital so as to provide all complex therapy that other generals are not able to do (A Omidi P Mohammedkhani, 2013).
The disadvantage of specialisation is monotonous and you have to deal with one therapy every time and again and even sometime you may dose off. You are on the know of ins and outs of everything in the field until you become bored.
Specialisation also makes one not to enjoy different aspects of stories and people as those who you deal with only requires one therapy that is always presented to you. Less experience is gotten and one is narrow when dealing with other cases (A Aziz P Mohammadkhan, 2013).
7. The advantage is that it is flexible and deals with an individua as a whole because the therapy effort is directed to meet a whole variety of person’s needs (AM, 2013).
It is also helpful to people who want to leave and be free from certain traits and behaviour let by anxiety, phobias and all mental issues that affects life of an individual.
It is also used to children with autism and those who have challenges in learning and actually it improves their daily function compared with the former (AM, 2013).
Disadvantages are that there are inconsistencies arising from this integrated approach
They lack specialisation and therefore are in all therapies to all people which may not be able to handle clients conclusively (AM, 2013).
There is switching off between different modalities which is not sufficient and attended to
8. Substance abuse therapy technique is an approach that appreciates and puts into context that if one individual abuses a substance, it does not only affect him/her but also is regarded as a family issue because of physical, emotional and ill health that a family goes through (Zadeh Mohammad, 2012). If the family member is involved in this therapy or treatment then there is a high achievement to the recovery of the victim in question. If you involve that family, you will be able to understand one’s social economic issues, behaviours and substance abusers thus making it vital in the assessment.
Family intervention approach/technique this approach involves the family in the treatment option to the person abusing substances (Mowlaie, 2013). A group of family and friends play a key role in the persons ability to abuse substances and hence also key to the reform of that particular individual. This family approach also will help the person adhere to the therapy by supporting him either at home or including him in the natural recovery effort.
References
A Aziz P Mohammadkhan, S. L. (2013). The validity and reliability of irarian version of the self compassion scale. Practice of clinical psychology, 149-155.
A Omidi P Mohammedkhani, A. M. (2013). Comparing mindful based cognitive therapy and traditional cognitive behaviour therapy with tretments as usual on reduction of major depressive disorder. Irarian Red Crescent Medical Journal 15(2) , 142.
AM, A. O. (2013). Self Awareness and Communication Skills Training in Adolescents. Irarian journal of psychology, 41-46.
BE london, I. W. (2005). Physician specialisation and quality of care for human immunodeficiency virus infection. Archives of international psychology journal, 37-40.
Bobevski, A. H. (2007). characteristics of effective telephone counselling skills. Britsh journal of Guidance, 157.
Brown, S. (2008). Traumatic symptoms in sexually abused children;implication for school counsellors. Proffesional school counselling, 368-79.
CS Johnstone, J. B. (2013). Validation of adapted French form of the career Adapt abilities scale. Journal of vocational behaviour, 1-10.
Daniel Morisano, J. H. (2011). Setting, elaborating and reflecting on personal goals improves academic outcome. Journal of Applied Psychology, 128-139.
DM Higgins, J. P. (2007). prefrontal cognitive ability,intelligence,big five personality and the prediction of advanced academic and wrkplace performance. journal of personality and social psychology, 2(93), 298.
KS Dabson, K. M. (2007). psychmetric characteristic of Beck depression inventory ii in patients with major deprsessive disorder. Journal of rehabilitation, 82-88.
Mowlaie, A. G. (2013). Parenting styles and dimensions of children maladaptive behaviors. irarian clinical psychology journal, 29-33.
Rodgers, C. (1942). Counselling and Psychotherapy. New York: HapperCollins.
S Padrix, S. S. (2012). Effective of career counselling. Journal of vocational behaviour, 734-43.
Stauffer, J. R. (2013). Using group role playing games with gifted childern and adolescents psychosocial intervention. international journal of play therapy, 173.
Zadeh Mohammad, A. A. (2012). group Narrative therapy on self esteemed and self efficacy of orphan boys adolecsents. Irarian clinical psychology journal, 65-72.
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