Effective mental health counsellor interpersonal skills

Effective mental health counsellor interpersonal skills

Mental health counselors are medical professionals who caters for the emotional well-being of a patient. Counselors employ various psychotherapy methods and techniques. As part of the treatment plan, counselors see the patients on an ongoing basis therefore necessitating possession of various skills for the counselling sessions to be effective.

Active listening is an important skill a mental health counselor should have. The counselor should pay attention to what the clients are saying, understand the questions being asked so as to give the appropriate responses. The counsellor should also be able to interpret the client’s nonverbal messages such as the bodily behavior, the facial expressions and physical appearance. Being empathetic in that the counselor is able forget their own frame and see the situation in the client’s perspective is a very important element of active listening which helps in creating a rapport between the client and counselor thus improving the overall communication (Miville, Carlozzi, Gushue, Schara, & Ueda, 2006).

Another essential skill a mental health worker should possess is critical thinking. A mental health counselor should be able to approach the problem in different angles and use logic to analyze and understand the strengths and weaknesses of various alternative solutions. In drawing conclusions, the counselor should weigh the relative costs and benefits of the solutions so as to pick the most appropriate. In case of identification of complex problems, related information should be reviewed to develop and implement the solutions.

Time management is key in order to work effectively as a mental health counselor. This involves organizing the day to day activities so as to meet the professional matters, business needs and personal needs too. The counselor should also be service oriented in that he or she is eager to meet ad serve clients to their satisfaction. He or she should be able to negotiate with the clients and have the ability to reconcile differences. The counselor should also be able to monitor the performance of himself or herself and improve the services or make corrections where there is need.

To improve the quality of life of the clients and become a better professional, a mental health social worker should continuously sharpen their skills. The counselors should improve their professional effectiveness. Effective strategies such as time management, emotional resilience and goal setting should be continuously employed. It will therefore become a routine leading to the achievement of the desired objectives over time (Little, Packman, Smaby, & Maddux, 2005).

To hone the skills the counselor requires to attend various seminars and workshops to acquire knowledge. This helps with being up to date with the current trends therefore enabling the counselor perform very well over time. Interaction with other people helps in learning new things as different people have different experiences. Counselors who undergo training regularly perform better compared to those who do not.

In order to perform better over time, the counsellor should always be flexible. This is attributed to the fact that different clients will have different problems and a solution that worked for one client may not necessarily work on the other. Being diverse will help the counselor handle clients wisely and therefore improving on his or her critical thinking skills. A counsellor should also volunteer. Volunteering helps in boosting confidence since one is positively impacting the community and adding value to the resume.

To have a successful career, a counsellor should take care of himself or herself. In the course of counselling, a counsellor experiences a lot thus being at a higher risk of stress. Being able to manage the stress brought by work will help the counsellor balance between life and work enabling him or her serve the clients better.

References.

Little, C., Packman, J., Smaby, M. H., & Maddux, C. D. (2005). The Skilled Counselor Training Model: Skills acquisition, self‐assessment, and cognitive complexity. Counselor Education and Supervision, 44(3), 189-200.

Miville, M. L., Carlozzi, A. F., Gushue, G. V., Schara, S. L., & Ueda, M. (2006). Mental health counselor qualities for a diverse clientele: Linking empathy, universal-diverse orientation, and emotional intelligence. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 28(2), 151-165.