ROLE AND QUALITIES OF COUNSELLOR.

 

ROLE AND QUALITIES OF   COUNSELLOR.

The role of the Counsellor

Ø  It is important to understand that counselling and guidance are not synonymous.

Ø  Guidance is the overall framework of personnel services with the school.

Ø  The counsellor is the in charge of guidance programme. The counsellor is responsible for:

1. Organize interview programme, to help the     student make wise decisions and choices and to     

    resolve their problems of adjustment.

2. Organizational and operational responsibility for various aspects of orientation programmes. 

3. He is the Responsible for the placement function, involving cooperative relationships between

    placement agencies and the school.

4. Responsibility to coordinate community resources and agencies,

5. He may also serve as a social worker of the school.

6. The counsellor should serve as a general consultant on guidance within the school and responsible for

    all related activities.

7. Conduct follow-up studies for dropouts.

8. Help the pupils and staff identify moral, emotional, educational values and problems in guidance.

 

Role of the School Counselor

         E.G. Williamson has explained the role of a counselor as;

1.The aim of the counsellor is to help the students in changing their behaviour through learning.

2.To help the students in modifying their behaviour through learning.

3.The counsellor, along with the client collect the information about the client and his surroundings.

4.The counsellor also provide information to the client, about social environment, about selected

    psychological concepts and regarding the decision-making process.

5.The counselor interprets the information about the counselee or client.

6.The counsellor also act as an advisor too.

7.The role of the counselor also includes providing information   to the client about decision making

    process.

8.The cooperation of the pupils and their participation are essential for a successful counselor.

9. The counsellor should be respecting the client. Intern, the client should also see the counsellor

     respectfully.

10The counsellor should be honest in recognizing is training and limitation of the skills.

11. The counsellor should be able to attract the confidence of the pupils.

 12.The counsellor should be sensitive towards the problem. The sensitivity of the counsellor is his

       important characteristics.

Qualities of a Good Counselor

A Good counselor has several basic qualities;

1.Professional Qualities:

»         He knows the demands and responsibilities of the counseling profession.

»         He is aware of the steps and techniques involved in the counseling process.

»         He is confident and well versed in the methods and approaches of counseling.  

2.Personal Qualities

»         The Counselor respects the client’s individuality and dignity.

»         He knows the psychology of each client, how they think and behave.      

»         He is kind and sympathetic to clients’ problems and anxieties.

»         He is control of his emotions especially of anger, impatience and frustrations.

»         He is able to use humor and laughter in his counseling, laugh with clients, not laugh at them or them at him.

3. Communication Skills:

»         Effective counselors should have excellent communication skills.

»         Counselors need to have a natural ability to listen and be able clearly explain their ideas and thoughts to others.

4. Acceptance:

»         The ability to relate to clients with an open, nonjudgmental attitude.

»         Accepting the client for who she is and in her current situation.

»         Counsellors need to be able to convey acceptance to their clients with warmth and understandingly.

5.Empathy:

»         Counselors must be able to display empathy, the ability to feel what another person is feeling.

»         Compassion and empathy help your clients feel understood and heard.

6. Problem-Solving skills:

»         It’s not up to a counselor to solve her clients’ problems, no matter how much she might want to help.

»         Counselors must have excellent problem-solving skills to be able to help their clients identify and make changes to negative thought patterns and other harmful behaviours.

7. Rapport-Building Skills:

»         Counselors must possess a strong set of interpersonal skills to help establish rapport with clients and develop strong relationships.

»         Counselors need to be able to place all of their focus on what their clients are saying and avoid being distracted by their own personal problems or concerns when they are in a session.

8. Flexibility:

»         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.

9.Self-Awareness:

»         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.

10.Multicultural Competency:

»         Counselors help people from all walks of life.

»         Multicultural competency means that you try to relate to and understand your clients regardless of their race, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs or socioeconomic background.

11. Human Skills:

»         Counseling effectiveness is measured by outcomes, so skills are required that facilitate clients improve their lives through changes in their thought processes and behaviour.

»         A skilled counselor can identify negative thinking patterns and enable the clients to replace them with positive ones.

»         The counselor needs to be able to challenge, reassure and motivate the client, especially when the client is resistant or finds it difficult to face painful memories.

12.Practice Management Skills:

»         Whether running her own practice or simply managing her workload as an employee, the counselor needs to possess a number of organizational skills including prioritizing and timekeeping.

»         Failure to be organized can result in the counselor herself appearing unprofessional and potentially have catastrophic outcomes for the clients and the practice

»         Good record-keeping is particularly important, because all records must be treated confidentially and the counselor will be responsible for effective note- taking during the session.

»         It is essential the counselor learns to control her own emotional involvement during difficult sessions, which may raise personal issues of her own.