Becoming a Good Counselor (Term Paper Sample)

Becoming a Good Counselor
Name
Institution
Introduction
Counseling theories and psychotherapies can be used to analyze my potentials to become a good counselor. The theories identify factors that I can use to evaluate myself. According to Savickas (2011) the theories and psychotherapies include client-centered (Rogerian) counseling, holistic health (Biopsychosocial), strength based counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, solution focused therapy and lastly the existential approach. To be a capable counselor, there are various qualities that one needs to possess alongside with attitudes that one need to develop. The theories provide values and attitudes that are necessary for effective counseling. To be an effective counselor, I must establish common grounds or build a rapport between the client and me.
My Strengths and Potentials to Be Being a Good Counselor
One of my strength as a good counselor is being empathetic. Empathy is defined as the intellectual ability to identify thoughts, feelings or state of another person. Empathy helps one to understand the client’s point of view and read his/her emotions (Greason and Cashwell, 2009). According to client-centered theory or Rogerian counseling, empathy is one of the essential aspect that a good counselor need to consider. It is important when I show the client that I understand how it feels to be in similar situation like the client’s. In other words, counselors need to put themselves in the clients place to be effective. I can use words such as "I understand how it feels" to show that I am empathetic with the client.
Positive thinking is another strength that makes me a good counselor. According to strength based theory, a counselor needs to focus on what is going to be right in the client’s life. I can use previous and future success to solve the current challenge of the client. I am optimistic, and optimism in every situation helps the counselor to ease the situation of the client. Negative thoughts or seeing the impossibilities can only make the situation worse. I strive to reduce the dissonance in client’s minds by not capitalizing on what is negative but focus on what can be right in client’s life. Being solution oriented can make me a good counselor. A good counselor focuses on what the client want to achieve instead of the problem that brought the client to the counselor (Enherenreich, 2009). Solution focused therapy states that one needs to concentrate on the present and the future instead of the past. This potential helps me to make the client envision how the future can be when the challenge is over. I can focus on the solution of the client’s problem and the ways to go about it.
I have good communication skills. According to client-centered or Rogerian theory, a counselor is supposed to ensure good communication throughout the counseling process. I emphasize in the appropriate language suitable to the situation that I am confronted with. For example, the language that I use to address an old client is not the same language that will be used to address a teenager. I consider eloquence and simplicity of the language that I use. If a counselor uses the language used by psychologists, the client may not understand and this can lead to misunderstanding (Hay, 2009). I am careful when using non-verbal communication and I try to use it appropriately as it has a great impact on the client. Facial expression should not be misused as the client greatly relies on it. When I don’t understand the language used by the client I look for an interpreter. I detect feedback whether verbal or non-verbal. On the other hand, I give feedback either in form of verbal or non-verbal to maintain the flow of communication with my client. Good communication helps me to gather information from the client to come up with an effective solution.
Accepting attitude towards others makes me an effective counselor. I can accept the situation that the client is in without passing judgments. It can be hard at times but a counseling relationship built on trust requires it. It makes the client feel accepted and cared for throughout the counseling process regardless of his or her weakness. Accepting attitude is one of the core values in the client-centered theory (Savickas, 2011). For example if the client is a drug addict and has approached me, I need to accept his/her situation without passing judgments that one have been misusing drugs. The client feels wanted and valued by the counselor. Demonstrating a positive acceptance encourages interaction and disclosure. Unconditional positive regard provides room to explore change and provides the client with a sense of acceptance and care.
Genuineness makes the client trust me and relax. Counselors should reveal their personality and credibility so that the clients can trust them (Kolden et al. 2011). Body language such as facial expression, maintained eye contact, personal space and posture encourages the client to trust me. This encourages self-disclosure as the client gains confidence in me. I always ensure that there is a friendly atmosphere through trust that I establish in my client. Active listening is a skill that a good counselor requires (Drollinger, 2009). Apart from it being fundamental for any interpersonal communication, it helps me to concentrate on what the client is saying rather than passively hearing. It is an aspect that forms the basis of client-centered or Rogerian counseling theory. It can be developed or acquired through practice. I demonstrate active listening through verbal or nonverbal messages. I can agree to what the client is saying by saying "yes" or "mmhm" to show that I am following what the client is saying. I can also nod the head or smile to show that I am part of the conversation. This encourages the client to talk and one feels like the counselor i interested to help him/her. Through active listening, I can understand what the client is saying and come up with the required solutions to the challenges that made the client approach me as a counselor.
Ability to identify my client’s needs is a skill that contributes to my good counseling. Every person has a wide range of needs which include physical, social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and vocational needs among others. This is as seen in cognitive behavioral therapy. A good counselor should be able to identify the kind of need that the client has (Savickas, 2011). I consider having basic knowledge on a wide range of fields like career, vocation, education, faith, family life and peer influence among others in order to deal with the specific type of need that the client have. Since the client is concerned with the well-being, I should help him or her meet those needs. This will help the client overcome stress and discomforts in one’s life. As explained by Hay (2009) cognition of the client’s situation makes one a good counselor. This is where the counselor uses words such as "as I think”, "I feel" and it is well explained in the cognitive behavioral therapy which is also known as ABC method. A is for activating events which is the actual event and how the client interprets that event. B is for beliefs about the event and C is for consequences which is a result of how one feels and what one does. I use a positive language to show cognition in every situation. This creates warmth and the client can feel comfortable while talking to me.
My ability to create the client's identity plays an important role in counseling. In this case, I show the client the meaning and the reason of the client being there. The existential therapy which is also known as the meaning therapy suggests that the person who knows the reason of his existence can bear many things (Savickas, 2011). For example I can tell the client that the reason of him being there is because I am willing and is ready to listen to his problems and come up with the required solutions. As a counselor I need to show the client the importance of his existence. My counseling skills experience adds to my effectiveness as a counselor. By experience I have dealt with many cases and this can help me to analyze and solve the client’s problem. Also experienced counselors have come across different clients and they know the best way to handle them. They know the limitations of counseling and they do their comparison with different situations that they have encountered.
Weaknesses and limitations that block me from becoming a good counselor
To begin with, my weakness being upset and angry hinders me from being a good counselor. Sometimes I am faced with situations which are upsetting. On the other hand the client needs me to solve problems and I cannot solve those problems effectively when I am angry. As indicated by Perry et al. (2014), if the counselor cannot control his or her temper it may block one from becoming a good counselor. For example if I am dealing with a child who has been neglected I may get upset especially if the similar situation has ever happened to me. Being angry does not help me and as a counselor I need to control the temper. It only makes the situation worse. Solution focused therapy states that one needs to focus on the present and the future rather than the past. The client needs a good atmosphere where there is peace to disclose one’s problems but when the counselor gets upset the atmosphere becomes uncomfortable.
Transference is another aspect that affects my effectiveness as the counselor. Transference refers to the feelings or negative memories from the past that the client projects to the counselor (Carroll and Onken, 2014). Tran...