Whether or not you are a certified counselor, counseling is one of the greatest skills to possess.
The practice of providing counsel to others has always existed in some form among humans. This is because we are social beings with various emotions and an intrinsic desire to avoid misery and enjoy an abundant life. Today, one in every five American individuals suffers from a mental health disorder. However, research also suggests that many mental illnesses can be successfully treated.
Counseling can enable individuals to treat mental health disorders and maximize their happiness and overall well-being. Taking a comprehensive strengths assessment like the HIGH5 test can provide invaluable self-awareness about your unique qualities and talents. This profound understanding becomes the foundation to overcome challenges, foster positive mindsets, and unlock your full potential during the counseling process.
By aligning counseling goals with your innate strengths, you’re equipped with a personalized roadmap for sustainable growth. In this article, we explain and provide examples of counseling skills. Then, we will explore ways to apply these skills and understand how to use them during a job hunt. We will also go through the significance of counseling in greater detail, including a list of benefits.
What are counseling skills?
According to the American Counseling Association (ACA), professional counseling is the act of developing relationships with individuals to enable them to achieve their mental health and well-being, education, and career goals (1). In addition, the counselor and their client are expected to work together collaboratively to achieve these goals. Most counselors will agree that being effective with clients is the key to building a solid counseling relationship.
However, while they understand the importance of a good counseling relationship, they also firmly believe that treatments backed by scientific research are critical. Counseling is acknowledged as a psychological process. It is a process that considers a relationship with fundamental conditions and a range of treatments, with the purpose of changing how individuals feel, think, and behave so that they can live their lives more successfully.
Counseling skills are soft (interpersonal) and hard (technical) skills that counselors employ to assist their clients best. These skills help the clients work through their issues and challenges that hinder them from enjoying a fulfilled life. Mastering critical counseling skills can assist you in providing the best opportunities for your client to resolve their issues and live a better life…
23 important counseling skills
Counseling skills are critical to helping you establish a meaningful relationship with your clients. Various counseling skills, such as excellent communication, problem-solving, and goal-setting, are vital to encourage and support the psychological process.
Developing these skills can also help you provide coping strategies to assist your client. We will share a list of 15 counseling skills that underpin counseling sessions and help you achieve the counseling goals.
- Empathy
- Active listening
- Self-awareness
- Non-verbal communication
- Questioning
- Interpretation
- Building rapport
- Reflection
- Confidentiality
- Focusing
- Genuineness
- Listening
- Silence
- Summarising
- Attending
- Clarification
- Emotional compartmentalization
- Reflecting
- Trustworthiness
- Unconditional positive regard
- Taking notes
- Paraphrasing
- Patience
Empathy
The ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Empathy helps professionals connect with others on a deeper level, fostering trust and rapport.
Active listening
This involves fully concentrating on, understanding, and responding to what the speaker is saying. It ensures clear communication and demonstrates respect and interest.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
Understanding your unique strengths through HIGH5 can unlock new depths in your ability to be present. For example, if you lead with strengths like focus or curiosity, you can leverage specific mindfulness techniques to maintain a deeper, more engaged presence during sessions. Alternatively, those high in strengths like empathy may find it powerful to visualize themselves in the client’s shoes as they speak.
Self-awareness
The understanding of one’s own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses. It helps professionals manage their reactions and behaviors in a balanced and productive way.
Non-verbal communication
Refers to conveying messages through body language, facial expressions, and gestures. Nonverbal cues play a significant role in building rapport and enhancing understanding.
Questioning
Asking the right questions to gather necessary information. It helps clarify issues and steer conversations in the right direction.
Interpretation
The ability to understand and explain the meaning of information or behavior. Interpretation helps provide insight into situations and allows for better decision-making.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
Your HIGH5 report provides amazing insights into your ‘blind spots’ – tendencies or traits you may be unaware of projecting. For example, if autonomy is a strength, ensure you don’t come across as dismissive of others’ perspectives. If discipline is lesser, consciously showcase your excitement about their goals. Use this knowledge to ensure you’re always reflecting the mindsets and behaviors that empower clients.
Reflection
The process of thinking critically about one’s experiences or situations. It helps improve decision-making and professional growth.
Confidentiality
Maintaining the privacy of information shared. It is key to building trust and ethical responsibility in professional relationships.
Focusing
Concentrating on the core issues or objectives during conversations or tasks. Focusing helps achieve clarity and efficient problem-solving.
Genuineness
Being sincere and authentic in interactions. Genuineness fosters trust and helps establish stronger, more meaningful relationships.
Silence
Using moments of silence effectively encourages reflection and deeper thinking. Silence can often lead to more thoughtful responses.
Summarising
Providing a concise review of the main points discussed. It ensures clarity and understanding in any conversation.
Attending
Being fully present and attentive in the moment, showing interest through both verbal and nonverbal cues. It encourages open communication and trust.
Clarification
The process of asking questions to make certain that everything is clearly understood. It prevents misunderstandings and ensures accurate communication.
Emotional compartmentalization
The ability to separate personal emotions from professional situations. It is important to maintain objectivity and professionalism in challenging scenarios.
Reflecting
Mirroring the speaker’s emotions or words to demonstrate understanding. It builds rapport and ensures the speaker feels heard.
Trustworthiness
Being reliable and honest in professional dealings. Trustworthiness is fundamental to creating strong and effective relationships.
Unconditional positive regard
Accepting and supporting a person without conditions or judgment. It promotes a safe and non-judgmental space for communication.
Ability to take notes
The skill of recording important information accurately and efficiently. It ensures that key points are retained for future reference.
Paraphrasing
Restating someone’s ideas in your own words to show understanding and confirm meaning. It fosters clarity and mutual understanding.
Patience
The capacity to tolerate delays, challenges, or stress without becoming annoyed. Patience is crucial in managing difficult situations effectively.
Building rapport
Developing trust and a strong, positive relationship with others. Rapport is essential for successful communication and collaboration, and it fosters trust, collaboration, and openness, which are vital in professional and counseling environments.
Pro Tip From HIGH5
Take time to reflect on your key rapport-building strengths revealed by HIGH5. If you lead with strengths like positivity or communication, consciously showcase more of those qualities. If relationship-building is a lesser strength, be proactive about incorporating new rapport-building habits and skills. The key is intentionally leaning into your natural talents to create an environment where clients conclusively trust you.
What is counseling?
Counseling is a professional practice aimed at helping individuals address personal, emotional, and psychological issues through guided conversations. It provides a safe space for individuals to explore their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. The goal of counseling is to facilitate positive change, improve well-being, and provide support in difficult situations.
4 types of counseling
- Career counseling: Focuses on helping individuals choose or change their career paths and navigate professional challenges.
- Mental health counseling: Aims to address mental health disorders and emotional challenges through therapeutic techniques.
- Relationship counseling: Assists individuals or couples in resolving conflicts and improving their relationships.
- Substance abuse counseling: Provides support for individuals struggling with addiction, helping them to recover and manage their substance use issues.
10 advanced counseling skills and techniques
Solution-Focused brief therapy (SFBT)
SFBT is a type of therapy that focuses on finding solutions to problems and helping people to move forward in their lives. It is a brief, goal-oriented therapy that is effective in treating a wide range of issues, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, relationship problems, and more.
Motivational interviewing (MI)
MI is a type of therapy that helps people to explore their motivation for change and to make positive changes in their lives. It is a collaborative approach that involves both the therapist and the client working together to identify goals and create a plan for change.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
CBT is a type of therapy that focuses on changing negative thoughts and behaviors. It is effective in treating a wide range of issues, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
DBT is a type of therapy that focuses on helping people to cope with difficult emotions and situations. It is a skills-based approach that teaches people how to manage their emotions, deal with stress, and make positive choices.
Systems theory
Systems theory is a type of therapy that focuses on the relationship between people and their environment. It views problems as being caused by the interaction between individuals and their social systems, and it seeks to address these problems by changing the way that the system works.
Psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in shaping behavior. It views problems as being caused by unresolved conflict from the past, and it seeks to address these problems by helping people to understand and work through their unconscious thoughts and feelings.
Family systems therapy
Family systems therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on the relationship between people and their families. It seeks to address problems by changing the way that family members interact with each other.
Gottman’s method of couples therapy
Gottman method couples therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on improving communication and conflict-resolution skills in relationships. It is based on the research of Dr. John Gottman and is effective in helping couples to improve their relationships.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a type of therapy that uses eye movements to help people process and heal from trauma. It is a powerful tool that is effective in treating PTSD and other mental health issues.
Play therapy
Play therapy is a type of therapy that uses play to address psychological problems in children. It is a non-threatening way for children to express themselves and work through their issues. Play therapy can be used to treat a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, and trauma.
Each of these counseling skills and techniques is supported by research and has been shown to be effective in treating various mental health disorders. As a counselor, it is important to keep up with the latest research and trends in the field to provide the best possible care for your clients.
Why Is it Important To Recognize Counseling Skills?
Life adversities are inevitable. We could all benefit from some help when things get tough and someone to shine a light on during gloomy times. Counseling may assist you regardless of depression, relationship, self-worth issues, or if you just need some direction in your life.
Here are the key benefits of counseling:
- Counseling allows you to understand yourself more deeply, such as your personality, values, and beliefs.
- Counseling enables you to develop self-awareness and gain insight into the difficulties you may be experiencing.
- Counseling provides you with a safe and non-judgmental environment to share your personal issues.
- You can discover what actions you need to take to change your self-defeating behaviors to more positive behaviors or habits.
- You learn to accept your shortcomings and imperfections as a natural aspect of being human.
- Counseling may help you rediscover your life purpose and meaning by exploring and understanding your values, beliefs, and hobbies.
- Improved emotion regulation and management to minimize unpleasant feelings from escalating and leading to undesirable behaviors.
- Allows you to express your frustrations, reveal hidden wounds, and release your resentments and bottled-up emotions.
- Foster hope, motivation, and encouragement to promote hope to be a better person and live a better life.
- Learn life skills that will lead to greater overall well-being for your body, mind, and soul.
How do you identify your counseling skills?
Here are several methods you can use to identify your counseling skills and determine which to develop further.
- Think about what you do in your current job.
- Reflect on your previous job experiences and education for transferable soft skills.
- Reflect on how you usually communicate with people around you. For example, do you demonstrate active listening when someone speaks to you? Are you aware of others’ feelings or emotions?
Bonus tip: You can take the strengths test from HIGH5 to discover your strengths. You can use the test result to identify your areas of development to improve your counseling skills too.
How do you improve counseling skills in the workplace?
To apply your counseling skills in the workplace, you must practice them frequently. Here are a few suggestions to practice and improve your counseling skills:
1. Be conscious of your non-verbal cues.
Always be aware of your body language, especially during a counseling session. Depending on the circumstances, a client may be concerned about being judged while disclosing certain information. Therefore, always keep a friendly expression and tone to reassure your client that you are there to listen.
2. Go through your client notes both before and after sessions.
Every time you prepare for a counseling session with your client, you should review notes from past sessions. This will help you recall information to better direct your questions at your next appointment.
3. Do not disclose client’s personal details to others.
To maintain client confidentiality, you should avoid discussing a client’s personal concerns with your colleagues. If you wish to discuss this with your colleague, keep the information you share vague and avoid disclosing the client’s identity.
4. Refrain from pressuring your clients to disclose personal information.
You should avoid asking clients too many questions just to build trust. If you do this in your first few sessions with them, it may backfire on you. Instead, build your conversation around the information they shared with you. They will slowly become more comfortable with you over time and provide you with more information about themselves.
How do you highlight counseling skills in a resume or a job interview?
Knowing how to showcase your counseling expertise on your resume and during a job interview is essential. It will determine if a potential employer considers you a suitable candidate for the position you’re vying for. Here are a few examples of how to include your counseling skills in your resume and job interview:
Include counseling experience on your CV.
On your CV, you may position yourself as the ideal candidate by combining your skills with those mentioned in the job description. For example, include your counseling expertise in your resume’s about me, skills, and professional experience sections. Highlighting the keywords in your CV is especially useful if the organization you’re applying to utilizes a keyword tracker. You stand a higher chance of being shortlisted if the keywords you highlighted in your resume match those stated in the job description.
Highlight your counseling experiences during a job interview.
During a job interview, you should use the opportunity to present yourself as the ideal candidate for the counseling position. Take this chance to share your experiences and showcase your counseling skills. Engage in active listening by demonstrating to the interviewer that you can apply positive body language and gestures. Make the interviewer feel you’re interested in what they are saying.
You should also portray your trustworthy and empathetic skills throughout the interview. Use your behavior and posture to show the interviewer that you appear warm, approachable, and welcoming.
Related: 40 School Counselor Interview Questions and Sample Answers
Counseling skills FAQ
What is the most Important counseling skill?
You are required to be good at several skills to become a great counselor. However, communication skill is perhaps the most important skill of all. During counseling sessions, a counselor must listen and pay full attention to their client. They must also be aware of their client’s body language and non-verbal cues.
What are the 7 principles of counseling?
The 7 principles of counseling are the principle of acceptance, the principle of communication, the principle of empathy, the principle of respect for the individual, the principle of non-judgement, the principle of confidentiality, the principle of Individuality, and the principle of non-emotional involvement.
What are the key skills of a counselor?
Key skills of a counselor include empathy, active listening, questioning, nonverbal communication, and confidentiality. These skills help counselors build trust, understand clients, and provide effective support.
References:
- ACA – What Is Counseling? https://www.counseling.org/mental-health-counseling/what-is-counseling
