Counseling involves communication between the counselors as well as the client. Counselors help patients to diagnose emotional distress and make the right decisions. Counselors are better at communicating with patients to help them make informed decisions regarding their health. Communication skills are essential for counselors to be effective. These include listening, empathy and attending.
Counselors need to be able listen well and can understand what clients are saying and how they communicate it. Counselors must be able to listen and understand the client’s problems. In addition to that listing ability of counselor lead to valuing the client and demonstrating interest for the conversation is very helpful to success the counseling process effectively.Attending is the way of counselor is with their client both physically and psychologically. Counselors can be present with clients and allow them to share their lives with them. This skill helps counselor build a relationship with clients and help them to manage their problems. Counselors must be able to hear and understand the clients’ needs and difficulties.
Empathy can be defined as a counselor who temporarily loses sight of his/her own perspective and attempts to see the client from another perspective. Counselors can improve their ability to recognize and understand the real problem that the client is facing. Counselors can also recognize the problem and offer treatment.
Counselors can help clients understand their situation by observing how they act, what they say and how they express themselves emotionally. Counselors can learn to interpret the client’s answers and then help determine the treatment plan.
Also, the counselor can summarize any communication skills that are required. The counselor can use this to summarize what he/she has said in counseling sessions. Counselors will also be able to use this summery to keep clients from repeating themselves. This summery can also be used to help clients move forward in difficult situations.
Probing refers to asking a counselor questions or making statements about a client’s life. Probes come in many forms: statements, questions and requests. Counselors can use these probes to encourage clients who are reluctant to share their stories. Clients can then identify and address any issues. Clients will be able to recognize their feelings, behaviors, and experiences. This also helps them identify any missing parts. Counselors are able to see the exact situation of each client using probes.
