This essay will assess how integrating counselling skills should support clients. Counselling is a supportive and empathic professional relation that provides a framework for the exploration of emotions, behaviours and thinking patterns and the facilitation of healthy changes. Counselling is directed towards people experiencing difficulties as they live through the normal stages of lifespan development (Feltham C, 1995). The skills that the essay will focus on are active listening, acceptance, paraphrasing, asking questions, and empathy.Active Listening Active listening is when the counsellor uses a set of skills which will encourage the individual to talk, as this will help and benefit them because they will be heard and understood. It is called active because the counsellor knowingly does things to aid them to feel that they can talk, and because the counsellor engages all their attention on what the client is saying, how they are acting, and how they are feeling (Mallon B, 1997).
The skills which active listening requires is using minimal encourager’s such as small signals or words that let the speaker know that they are listening and understanding, words like “uh-huh”, “yes”, “no”, “mmm”, and little actions like nodding that show they are engaged in listening. Using open body language will help them feel comfortable and safe with the counsellor. Repeat back what the individual has said as this will show that the counsellor is engaged. Paraphrasing is putting what the speaker says into their own words (Nelson-Jones R, 2013).Active listening cActive listening can benefit a service user because it can help them to feel worthy, appreciated and respected.
When all of attention is on the speaker, they will answer positively by interacting on a deeper level, perhaps by disclosing personal information or by becoming more relaxed. If the counsellor pays exceptional attention to what the client is saying they are encouraging the client to continue talking, as well as ensuring communication remains open and positive, then this will indicate to the speaker the counsellor wants to help (Evans G, 2013).Acceptance is about valuing and respecting the client as a unique human being. It is about conveying a non-possessive caring and acceptance of client, irrespective of how offensive the clients behaviour might be. Demonstrating acceptance facilitates change. It is where individuals communicate a deep and genuine caring, not filtered through their own feelings, thoughts and behaviours (Colley S et al, 2011).
