What Is Counselling?

Counselling is a form of psychotherapy that tackles not only the symptoms of a problem but delves deeper to identify its root cause. Counselling is usually done on a one-to-one basis and may take place face to face in the counsellor’s office or clinic, or over the telephone or online. During counselling sessions, the counsellor will listen and provide support while helping you explore your thoughts, feelings and emotions without judgement.

Often, counsellors use a combination of several counselling theories to tailor their approach to each individual client. Three important aspects of counselling include empathy, genuineness and unconditional positive regard. Empathy involves putting yourself in the client’s shoes and understanding their experiences and associated feelings. Genuineness comes from being honest with the client about your own thoughts and feelings and ensuring that your actions match up. Unconditional positive regard is about letting the client know that you respect them and accept them for who they are. During counselling, the counsellor will also employ active listening skills and paraphrasing to ensure that they understand what the client is saying.

Getting qualified to become a  counselor requires at least a master’s or doctorate degree from an accredited counseling program and supervised experience working with clients. Some states require a certain number of face-to-face supervised hours, while others only require supervised hours in person. A criminal record may disqualify someone from becoming a counselor, but this varies by state and depends on the type of conviction and how long ago it occurred.  https://transformation-coach.co/