The EFFECTIVE Counselor: CHAPTER 3

THINK ABOUT: What are personal qualities of effective counselors? What’s the difference between a theory, a strategy, and a technique? What are fundamental counseling theories and strategies? What are basic interviewing skills that counselors use? What are techniques of effective counselors?

IN-CLASS ACTIVITY Break into groups of 4-5 people. Your group should create a list of: What are qualities that you would like your counselor to have if you were a client? Class Discussion of your lists.

PERSONAL QUALITIES What are qualities of effective counselors according to the authors of your book? Carl Rogers and the therapeutic relationship. What are elements of the therapeutic relationship? How does these elements compliment our discussion of ethics for counselors?

AWARENESS of DIVERSE CULTURES Why is it important for counselor to be aware of diverse cultures? How would you show a client that you were aware of diverse cultures?

PERSONAL GROWTH Personal Counseling…for Counselors. Avoiding Burnout What do the authors of your book say about counselors undergoing therapy? Do you believe students of counseling should be required to undergo their own therapy? Why or why not? Avoiding Burnout What is “burnout”? How does burnout affect the counseling process? How do counselors avoid burnout?

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES Four major categories: Knowledge about Counseling Theories and Strategies Interviewing Skills Assessment and Diagnostic Skills Sound Ethical Judgment How would you define each of these categories? Grades may fall, students may be shifingsocailactiviteis and friends 7

INTERVIEWING SKILLS How is the counseling process different than a regular conversation? Using good attending skills and asking good questions helps counselors to establish a strong therapeutic relationship. What’s the difference between listening skills and attending skills? What is the “basic listening sequence?” Chung, 1995: importance of sex-role socialization in the developemnt of vocational skills, noting that people are afforded much more opportunity and encouragement to develop sills that are considered appropriate for hteir gender than to develop nontraditional skills 8

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT…. What do you think are obstacles and challenges that counselors of today face? How do you think technology can help counseling? How do you think it can hinder or harm counselors’ work? How do you think that culture and diversity impact the current work that counselors do?

FACILITATIVE SKILLS Examine Table 3.2 on p. 43 of your book. Which of these skills would be hard for you if you were providing counseling to a client? What might be information that you may choose not to self-disclose to a client? Why?

ASSESSMENT What is the main purpose of assessment? Why do you think assessment would be useful? How do you think that assessment could be harmful to a client if done unethically or incorrectly?

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT…. Why is it important to make referrals and forming liaisons with other health care agencies? What are examples of liasons/collaborations between schools and community agencies? What are examples of liasons/collaborations between university counseling centers and community agencies?