Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Counseling Psychology: School Counseling. Explore all counseling programs undergraduate, graduate, certificate, and PhD. Flexibility A good counselor has flexibility in world views and a strong understanding of multicultural issues in clinical practice.
A good counselor cannot—and should not—be all things to all clients. Sense of Humor Counselors sit through some uncomfortable, difficult, and often traumatic stories. Humor and a nuanced understanding of its uses in the therapeutic environment is a valuable tool. Emotional vs. Cognitive Empathy The study of empathy is an ongoing area of major interest for psychologists and neuroscientists in many fields.
Learn more about empathy. Laura Geidel '17 wants to support deaf students and their families as they navigate a hearing world. Read more about Becoming a champion for the deaf community. Turns out that the teens were right; the provider was a supershrink. The idea that some counselors are exceptional and have very high success rates with clients is not new.
In fact, this phenomenon has been verified empirically. Research over the past several decades has demonstrated that some counselors consistently achieve higher client improvement rates than do other counselors.
With that in mind, it is important to consider what we can learn as counselors from so-called supershrinks and how we can embody the characteristics and actions of highly effective counselors to improve our own effectiveness.
Findings of counselor effects appear in a variety of study settings such as naturalistic clinic settings and in randomized clinical trials RCTs.
Counselor effects in RCTs are particularly intriguing because these studies are tightly controlled.
In RCTs, counselors commonly adhere closely to a treatment manual i. RCTs are the gold standard for comparing efficacy of specific treatment approaches for specific disorders.
Although there have been important findings about the efficacy of different treatment approaches or theories from RCTs, another finding that has received less attention over the years is that counselor effects are the better predictor of counseling outcomes.
In other words, who the counselor is makes more of a difference in terms of client improvement than does which theory the counselor professes to use. As Wampold and others have pointed out, these findings about the relative strength of counselor effects in comparison with theoretical approach are not justification for tossing out counseling theories.
Framework, structure, a road map for navigating clinical territory, and conceptualization are just some of the benefits of grounding our work in theories of counseling. Although the existence of counselor effects in outcome research has been around for several decades, empirical attempts to discern pan-theoretical characteristics and actions of highly effective counselors are rather new.
There are limits to developing a list of such characteristics because new research is frequently emerging. In fact, it is noteworthy that the five characteristics highlighted in this article are just some of the major characteristics and actions of highly effective counselors. The list contained here is composed of qualities that counselors can actively cultivate in their current practice. In other words, there are some strategies for growth with each of these five qualities.
There are other characteristics of highly effective counselors in the research literature for which it is not currently clear how to increase or enhance those characteristics e. Thus, this list focuses on characteristics and actions that can be enhanced to improve counselor effectiveness. Accompanying the descriptions of these characteristics are some tips for developing each of them in your own counseling practice.
Both concepts have theoretical roots. Presence can also be defined by identifying it as the opposite of absence e.
Countertransference, of course, has theoretical roots in psychoanalysis. Although countertransference reactions are commonplace, the impact of countertransference on counseling outcomes is largely due to how the countertransference is managed. Meta-analytic research by Jeffrey Hayes and colleagues has indicated that successful management of countertransference predicts better counseling outcomes. Multiple factors can lead counselors toward increased presence and better countertransference management, including self-insight e.
Given all these factors, counselors can be left feeling a bit overwhelmed by methods to strengthen their presence and countertransference management. Fortunately, research evidence supports a few overlapping practices to enhance both of these qualities. An effective therapy relationship also includes resolving issues that arise. Research in suggests that resolving these ruptures can lead to better outcomes for you. According to an APA article on continuing education , there are various qualities that can set a counselor a part from others to create better outcomes in therapy.
A mental health professional can be a good counselor for one person — but not a good fit for someone else. At its core, therapy is about a genuine connection between you and your therapist. When trying to figure out whether a counselor is good for you , consider asking:. So, you might find therapy more effective when you:. Some of these things can be hard from time to time. If you find yourself getting stuck in therapy, consider exploring why. Either way, try to be honest with yourself and your therapist.
But group therapy can be a positive, transformative experience. As in any meaningful, fulfilling relationship, trust and unity are essential ingredients of effective group therapy.
A good counselor will be empathetic, tailor treatments to your needs, and foster collaboration. Flexibility in counseling is defined as the ability to adapt and change the way you respond to meet your clients' needs. You don't stay rigid and stick to a predetermined treatment path when your clients require a different approach.
Being flexible is one of the most important attributes of a professional counselor, says Gerald Juhnke, professor of counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio, in an interview with "Counseling Today.
Self-awareness is the ability to look within and identify your own unmet psychological needs and desires, such as a need for intimacy or the desire to be professionally competent. This ability prevents your issues from affecting or conflicting with those of your clients. Self-awareness has a major impact on a counselor's effectiveness, says professor David Hutchinson in his book, "The Essential Counselor.
Counselors help people from all walks of life. They must display multicultural competency and adopt a multicultural worldview, says Hutchinson.
0コメント