An Effective Counsellor

A counsellor must be self-aware in order to avoid an unhealthy or dependent relationship. In order to be an effective counsellor, the individual must be able to separate his or her own feelings, needs, and perceptions of the client.It is also important for the counsellor to be conscious of their reactions to the client so that they are not perceived as encouraging dependence or neediness. Self-awareness allows the counsellor to enhance his or her ability to understand and be empathetic of the person they are counselling. Counsellor's should continually assess their own feelings and needs to maintain an appropriate relationship with the client.
There are issues that a counsellor should be aware of when doing a self-assessment; The counsellor should be aware of when they feel uncomfortable with a client or a topic being discussed. The counsellor must choose to either be honest with the discomfort of a situation or topic, or they may refer the client to another counsellor. The counsellor should be aware of their own avoidance strategies. The counsellor must be able to recognize when they avoid certain topics, or allow distractions and then find an effective way to facilitate help appropriately. The counsellor should be able to recognize when they are trying to control a situation. It is important that the counsellor engage in responsive listening so that they're not controlling the communication process. The counsellor must remind themselves continuously that any issue being discussed has many perspectives and that theirs may be different, from that of the clients. It is important not to express whether the clients view is right or wrong. The counsellor must avoid being omnipotent. It is not the counsellors job to make the client better. It is the counsellor's job to help facilitate the client in addressing and resolving the issues. It is also important that the counsellor identifies and responds to positive feelings, and that they don't just focus on negative