My Values in Counselling

MY VALUES IN COUNSELLING

To be a good counsellor there are several qualities you must possess, as well a few attitudes you should develop and learn from. It is a counsellor’s job to make their clients feel like they are in a safe and judgement free environment. Building trust through compassion, empathy and creative problem solving makes for a solid basis to begin with. However sometimes, our values, like materialism, serve as reminders to the line counsellors have to draw to remain professional.

I myself am a helper; I feel the need to help people wherever I go, whether it be on the bus, on the street, in a elevator - everywhere. This is a great value to have as a counsellor as I truly care and actively want the best for my clients. Although sometimes I need to remind myself to take a step back when I feel the need to jump in and save one of my clients from a situation as this can be very overwhelming. It's not up to me to solve my clients' problems, no matter how much I want to help. Some counsellors really struggle with this as they are unable to maintain objectivity and therefore carry home the emotional stress of the job. There’s fine line between helpful to client and harmful to counsellor.

Being compassionate and empathetic can be very helpful when working with people, it helps your clients feel that you truly care about them and allows them to discuss their problems in a safe environment. Having worked with trauma victims and battered women in my previous job, the ability to empathize with my clients was huge. You need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your client and understand the situation from their point of view. Sometimes, that point of view might not make sense to you; Someone may open up to you and dark secrets from their past involving such things as sexual or criminal behaviour. You must do you best to stop yourself from pushing judgment and remain positive. There may be times when you feel it's necessary to judge a particular behaviour, but the client must not feel that you are judging them personally.

Working in the battered women’s shelter, there’s an abundance of low income clients. Many of which, cannot afford the luxuries that we take for granted. Like many people, I take pride in my appearance and the way I dress; I love to dress elegant and chic. Although, when working in a situation with clients who may feel embarrassed about their clothes and appearance, materialism can be a real issue. Something as normal as getting up in the morning and putting on a brand new for work, can become a bigger statement than intended in the eyes of a client. This can create quite a power struggle between client and counsellor. If the client feels like they are beneath you, they are less likely to open up and share how they're feeling.

I value and believe in creativity and innovation. Creativity is at the very core of being able to express our deepest thoughts and feeling. As humans we have a very strong need to express ourselves and we're happiest when other people understand what we are trying to get across to them. We find all kinds of ways to do this. Being able to problems solve and creatively analyze a situation can help counsellors understand a client’s situation and better develop a way to proceed towards a resolution. Little things like using metaphors and imagery can help a client see their problems from a different light and can open up new ways to solve problems.