A model to learn and integrate Counselling skills
Counselling may be defined as, “ A professional exchange between the counselor and the client, both committed to learning ‘about’ and ‘how’ to construct new experiences”. Geethan
Counselling compass is a model that I have developed to explain and understand the process of counseling. The counseling compass is used as a tool to plan step by step movement along with the client to create healthy options context by context.
Contracting
This is one of the key ideas from the school of Transactional Analysis. Contracting process helps to match expectations between the client and the counseling service offered by the counselor.
Connecting
Is a competence of the counselor to engage along with the client’s experience. Connecting is a competence with a combination of
- Empathy
- Attunement
- Acknowledging
- Mirroring
- Paraphrasing
- Normalizing
- Validating
Clarifying
A client narrative may have many layers of messages which is not in his awareness. When the counselor respectfully clarifies certain key observations it helps the client to be in touch with
- Blind spots
- Insights
- Perceptions
- Meaning constructions
Some key competencies in clarifying are probing, inquiry and confrontations with care.
Construction
Is a process of building awareness on how clients are constructing their experience. This includes
- Information giving
- Building awareness on self limiting beliefs
- Decontaminating views which create stressful experience
- Access resourceful events
- Learning to construct self and relational experience
This model guides the counselor in understanding various factors influencing the client and his experiences that he brings to the counseling table. The compass is helpful in constructing a meaningful experience for the client in his encounters with the counselor and also his world outside the counseling room.
A.Geethan
