Characteristics and misconceptions of Counseling

What are the characteristics of Counseling? There are certain myths and notions people keep about counseling in general. Let us read the blog for a better understanding.

Characteristics

The counselor works with his skills including forming an understanding relationship, as well as interventions, focusing on helping the clients to change some aspects of their thinking, feeling and acting. The counselor and the client work together to explore every aspect of the client’s situation, which enables the client to re-evaluate his/her experiences, capabilities and potential. It is a helping relationship that includes someone seeking help and someone willing to give help, who is capable of or trained to help in a setting that permits help to be given and received.

The method adopted by a counselor depends on his theoretical approach, but some common characteristics can be noted.

1. Counseling is voluntary and starts when a client approaches a counselor. It cannot be forced.

2. Confidentiality and privacy are essential prerequisites of the counseling setting.

3. Counseling requires responding to the thoughts, feelings and actions of the client.

4. Counseling involves acceptance of the feelings and perceptions of the clients without using any evaluative standard.

5. Counselor and client both transmit and receive verbal and non-verbal messages during the process. Therefore, awareness and sensitivity to the nature of the message is an important prerequisite for a counselor’s effectiveness.

6. The responsibility for change is placed with the client which means that when changes are made, they are self-motivated and therefore more likely to last and be effective.

Misconceptions

Since we have already looked at what counseling is, it is also important to look at what counseling is not:

1. Counseling is not just giving information.

2. It is not just giving advice or solution

3. It is not influencing the client’s values, attitudes, beliefs, interests etc. with or without threats.

4. It is not the same as interviewing although interviewing may be involved.

5. It does not provide readymade solutions to the problems that the client is facing.

6. It is not just a friendly/social conversation.

7. It is not a selection process for jobs or for courses.

8. Counselling is not only for major issues or “crazy” people.