Four Counseling Skills Analysis

Counseling Skills and Characteristics For this discussion post, I have selected four counseling skills/characteristics I believe are essential for counselors to possess when counseling trauma survivors. I believe a counselor must learn how to express empathy, clarify the intentions of counseling, be resourceful with life experiences, and be creative and flexible in the counseling process.

Empathy

One of the core listening skills essential for counselors to consume when working with trauma survivors is empathy (James & Gilliland, 2017). Empathy can be expressed when a counselor is sensitive and mindful of a clients thoughts, feelings, and struggles from their perspective (Trippany, Kress, & Wilcoxon, 2004). I believe it critical to express

Informing clients of the crisis intervention and the expectations during the counseling process is an important part of counseling (James & Gilliland, 2017). A client may have experienced a traumatic event for the first time and does not understand exactly what a crisis intervention details (James & Gilliland, 2017). The client should be able to look for guidance from the counselor with a clear explanation of what will occur during the counseling process. When a counselor clarifies the intentions of counseling it opens up the communication lines for the client by asking open ended questions, reflecting feelings, and owning statements (James & Gilliland, 2017). In the end, a client should be able to state who the interventionist is, what the interventions are, and what will need to occur to make treatment successful (James & Gilliland, 2017). I believe when a counselor clarifies the intentions of counseling, the client will have a full understanding of what is to come in the counseling

Life experiences can give counselors an advantage in counseling, but should be used with caution. Counselors can use their life experiences as a resource to help others (James & Gilliland, 2017). For example, if a counselor went through a similar trauma as a client, they may be able to provide additional resources that they may have used in the past to help them get through their hard time. It is essential for counselors to not let their life experiences hinder or damage a clients counseling or the counseling relationship. Life experiences must bring strong sense of resiliency, maturity, and optimism to counseling (James & Gilliland, 2017). A counselor can use their life experiences to help clients grow and work through their trauma (James & Gilliland, 2017). I believe a counselor should use their life experiences only when it will benefit the client. I do not believe a counselor should use their life experiences with clients to gain personal fulfillment. Life experiences can be an extremely powerful tool when used in a therapeutic