Differences in Counselling Skills

People working within the caring profession such as nurses, doctors, teachers, befrienders, fire and ambulance services, may incorporate counselling skills & techniques within their work places. However there is a difference between incorporating counselling skills within a work place & being a qualified counsellor. The main difference between someone using counselling skills and a qualified and trained counsellor is that ‘the counsellor is bound by a code of ethics and practice and carries a set of practisioners, we must be ensure the equality of opportunity for all(1)

‘Counselling takes place when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having, distress they may be experiencing or perhaps their dissatisfaction with life, or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. It is always at the request of the client as no one can properly be ‘sent’for counselling. By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the client’s point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It does not involve giving advice or directing a client to take a particular course of action.’ (BACP)

A teacher may use counselling skills with issues that arise within the classroom whether that be something simple such as guiding a student on career choices, mentoring, emotional support, or to much more serious issues, such as a student is worried about pregnancy or may be at risk from abuse at home. A teacher may incorporate interpersonal communication skills such as active listening and empathy, being non-judgemental & supportive in order to resolve issues. A nurse or doctor working within a hospital setting can encountera variety of different people throughout the course of their day, some patients may be vunerable, some may have emotional problems or a terminal illness. When dealing with patients, their friends, relatives, & members of the public, Health care workers may incorporate skills such as; active listening, empathy, UPR & identifying situations were the patient may need extra help, for example, an elderly patient may require extra support at home, such as a home help, or may be feeling depressed. Through using active ctive listening and can identify how the patient is feeling & ref accordingly

In a counselling setting Boundaries are in put into place to outline the relationship between the client and the counsellor.The counselling contract is extremley important so that both client and counsellor know what the working boundaries are. Boundaries covered in the contract cover areas such as:

Confidentiality: Confidentiality is extremely important within a counselling setting, as the counselling relationship is one that is built on trust. Anything that a client may disclosed in a counselling session is never revealed outside the session such as a client’s name, address, or anything that may identify neither is the identity of the client ever revealed to anyone, not even a supervisor unless in extreme circumstances such as a client intends to harm themselves or others, in such circumstances the counsellor may need to break confidentiality by informing a G.P, or police, but not before informing the client

Referral: A counsellor may refer a client when appropriate, usually when the counsellor feels that they are not trained to deal with the clients specific issues, or when the relationship is not benefiting the client,

Supervisions: Counsellors are required to be supervised by various codes of ethics and practice, for example, BACP, Code of Ethics and Practice for Counsellors & are required to have regular supervision. Supervisors are their to provide support to the counsellors which in turn maintains client & counsellor safety. The superviser will liase eith the counsellor, to review work & discuss personal development &