Essay on How Does Counselling Differ from Other Helping Skills

When we look at other professions like social workers, housing officers, the emergency services, the police and priests who utilise counselling skills we realise that some of the key concepts that are fundamental to the counselling profession are not their main priority. If such people were to introduce themselves as counsellors their clients may be under the impression that such things as confidentiality will be upheld. An example is the work of doctors, social workers, nurses and carers, in these types of professions advise is given to the client as to what to do and what not to do, medication is administered to the client whereas in the case of counselling especially with

How does Person-centred counselling, influence the understanding of the development of concept of self? (245 words)

This is supervised and checked regularly by an accredited member of the BACP to ensure that the requirements of the BACP are being met. A person using counselling skills in other occupations may use similar methods but will not be formally using the guidelines and being assessed in such a way as that of a qualified counsellor. The intention of the use of the skills is also different. The counsellor and client relationship is a therapeutic one and both parties understand the potential or intended result of it, whereas using counselling skills may used for other purposes. For example, a person in a professional setting such as a people-management role may use listening, reflective and paraphrasing in a similar way to a counsellor yet the objective is different. The use of the counselling skills facilitates the relationship of the manager and the employee but there isn’t the intention behind it that there is between a counsellor and their client.

In the relationship between counsellor and client the need for confidentiality is vital as it is not only the bases that the relationship is built on and it is a legal obligation.

The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions provides the foundations and guidelines for ethical understanding and good practice in counselling work. This enables a counsellor to practice safely in private practice or within an agency. Different agencies may work with other frameworks, for instance the National Counselling Society (NCS), who support counselling and related therapies, and are closely linked with the NHS. (Nationalcounsellingsociety.org). The BACP framework can’t inform a counsellor of specific rights or wrongs, but outlines the values, principles and moral qualities that a counsellor should adhere to, which helps with guidance and ethical decision making and safeguarding client and counsellor. (BACP, 2015)

I understand counselling to be a helping practice that differs from other helping activities, such as teaching for example. Counselling requires professional training and is specifically contracted or explicitly agreed. It has a theoretical base and uses specific methods within an ethical framework. The relationship between the counsellor and the client is built upon mutual expectation and is central to the process of the client under-going significant change in their lives.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy is widely short-term and concentrates on enabling clients to deal with very particular problems. Often six weeks to six months sessions of course depending upon the problem it is pacifically goal directed and places great weight upon self-help as a long term coping tool that the client can take away with them and successfully use. Cognitive-behavioural therapy believes that clients can learn the wrong ways of developing and making sense of information during their cognitive development. This can often lead to distortions in the way they identify reality, it’s the job of the therapist to enable them to work this out.

Before a counselling session starts it is important that the client understands confidentiality. To be able to understand this the counsellor must explain to the client that anything they say within the

To have good ethical practice within counselling it is important that there are boundaries and contracts in place that are agreed to and understood by both the counsellor and the client.

Counsellors do not offer advice as such but instead give an insight into a client’s feelings and behaviour and they help the client to change their behaviour accordingly. They do this by actively listening to what the client has to say and comment from a professional perspective. Counsellors are trained to be effective helpers, especially in sensitive and difficult situations. They have to be independent, very neutral and professional as well as respecting the privacy and confidentiality of a client. Counselling can help clients to clarify their problems, identify the changes they wish to make and give them a fresh perspective. Counsellors should help them to seek other options and look at the impact that life events have made on the

This essay discusses: why a counsellor will need supervision, definition of supervision, peer feedback and a case study related to supervising. In order for you to continuously be getting the correct amount of supervision you need so that you’re working within the legal framework of counselling.

As Bond (1993) states, we must protect the client from any harm caused by attending counselling. To ensure emotional and physical safety, practitioners are strongly encouraged to ensure the counselling room is a comfortable, quiet calm room at the just the right temperature, free from interruption (Julie, 2006). If the client’s privacy is invaded through unwarranted interruptions, it may leave the client feeling unvalued and emotionally and physically unsafe. The chairs should be comfortable and arranged so as to help the client/counsellor relax and not feel tense. Neither occupant should be in a domineering position, adding emotional security. The counsellor should be mindful about where they position themselves in terms of their own physical safety e.g. close to the

Before I started I went over a contract and I told Jillian how I was

Introducing the limits of confidentiality in simple language that a client can understand is the first step in establishing the therapeutic relationship. ?Confidently should be explained to all potential clients with the general understanding that any information gained from the counseling relationship is kept confidential. They must also share that there are limitations when it comes to safety concerns. Examples of these limitations would be if the professional has a concern that the clients are at a risk of harming themself, someone else, or if they are posing a risk to the counselor. There are additional reasons why a counselor will have to break confidentiality in cases when there is a confession that is ordered by the court or requested by the client. They may also need to release records in a situation where a client has filed a complaint towards their counselor (Martin, Shepard & Lehr, 2015).

Confidentiality is an essential and important part of therapeutic process. This involve the exchange of information between therapist and client. Clients must feel and trust that all personal information that is share will be kept between the professional and the group. A counselor should explain to all clients the risk and benefit of all policy and procedures and limits of confidentially. A counselor I will provide to all client an informed consent that will need to be sign and review a few times during group sessions. The act of securing informed consent, which requires the interchange of facts, figures and data between provider and client is essential. Informed consent is not just signed legal papers, it involves a conversation between a