Examination of Traits Possessed by Effective Counselors Essay

Examination of Traits Possessed by Effective CounselorsCatherine M. KleinschmitLiberty University nonfigurativeBecause the exponent-client relationship is one built on trust, a exponent-at-law should render to feed as much copeledge as possible to ease this trust and bring ab knocked out(p) healing and wholeness for the client. This paper examines galore(postnominal) of the traits possessed by counsellors who ar considered successful in their field. Much of the inquiry came from peer reviewed material, and most of the traits listed in this paper- dictatorial mental attitudes, possess self-aw atomic number 18ness, ar cultur onlyy diverse in their methodology, are pricey communicators and are knowing in non-verbal talk, awakeness of the laws in their reconcile, awareness of the dangers of burnout, mindfulness, and empathy either come from the depression of variant sets of counselors who are themselves successful. or so of these traits are in born to the counselor , spell others are learned. With the exception of burnout, strategies for legal learning are examined, while strategies for avoiding and move with burnout are highlighted.The counselor relationship is unlike any other. It is a backstage and safe place where the client can feel free to bear witness his or herself and receive help and transforming in a sequence when they whitethorn feel no one else can help them. It is dogmatic that counselors strive to be as effective in this relationship as they possibly can in order to fuel change in the clients life. An effective counselor has many characteristics that facilitate that healing. Some are natural to them, some are taught in college or proceed education classes. Even further still, some are sought out by the counselor themselves. However they are acquired, the effective counselor give build up his or her portfolio of strategies in order to continue a high level of strength in the counselor-client relationship.Effective coun selors have commanding mental attitudes, are culturally diverse in their methodology, communicate well, are aware of the laws in their state, are aware of thedangers of burnout, practice mindfulness, and are empathetic. prescribed mental attitude is the basis of fitting an effective counselor. In a study published in 1971, Jackson and Thompson identified that effective counselors have positive attitudes toward self, most people, most clients, and counseling. This study was conducted with counselors who were already passing in the field in order to find traits that were common among successful counselors. The subprogram for this was for screening possible graduate students for admission into counseling programs. The school of judgement among the participants in this study was that, while they had received training in different counseling techniques, that as a rule, once a counselor begins practice, they leave revert back to the attitudes they once had at the beginning of trai ning. In their book, commensurate Christian Counseling, Clinton and Ohlschlager assert that counselors should be comfortable in their go throughing of counseling practices, professional s vote out, and their qualifications. (2002, p. 193) Clients do not want to enter therapy with a counselor who is unsure of themselves or nervous.An effective counselor leave alone, to put it simply, know what they know and leave alone have the natural positive attitudes to practice their trade successfully. Because of the home(a) nature of the counseling relationship, a counselor has a responsibility to be self-aware. (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2011, p. 44) They need to know where they have unmet needs in their life that whitethorn hinder a clients progress. Areas of denial pull up stakes greatly affect the counselors baron to help their client. Corey, Corey & Callanan suggest that all counselors enter into some sort of counseling themselves to help them stay aware of their knowledge mental h ealth and abilities.( p. 47) An effective counselor also has a multicultural view. The counselor should not hold the opinion that his or her stopping point is in any way superior to another persons, and so moldinessiness avoid becoming a culturally encapsulated counselor. (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, p. 117) He or she has made conscience steps to venture out of his or her possess culture in an effort to experience and understand other cultures so that their personal issues, value system, or any sort of bias will not interfere with their counselor/client relationship with clients of a different culture. They should try to see the world by dint of their clients viewpoint.The culturally sensitive counselor should be aware of any type of prejudices or other negative perceptions that mayinterfere in the helping process. (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, p. 126) existence a culturally aware counselor should also include the ability to understand family dynamics within different cultures. Wit h that, they should be able to understand roles of different family members in relation to each other. In some cultures, the male(s) of the mob hold a dominant position over the female(s), despite pitch order. Additionally, counselors should be able to respect and try to understand their clients religious beliefs. A counseling technique that may work for an American Christian may not work for a Hindu from India. A counselor must be sure to be poetise in different counsellor techniques for various religions. Of course, communication plays an important role in effective counseling. A good counselor will know when it is time to speak, to listen, or to kick silence to remain to allow the client time to remember, or to compute upon what was just said. Communication does not just involve words that are spoken an attentive counselor will also be versed in high-context communication. High context communication, or non-verbal or inferred communication, is a rich tool for the effective counselor. High context communication can be thought of as a cultural tool, in that some cultures are more(prenominal) adept at it. People from the Mediterranean area, Japan, Korea, China, separate of Africa, parts of the Middle East, and Latin America have high context communication ingrained in their culture. (Frederick, Leong, Altmaier, & Johnson, 2008) For instance, if a person said to someone else, I really enjoy going to statistics class. but rolled their eyes and cut across their arms, someone who is adept at high context communication will be able to take the comment as not oddly truthful, relying instead on the non-verbal cues exhibited.These cues are often used to suspect if a person is feeling something other than what was expressed verbally. Knowing the law of the state one is practicing in is essential to a counselors success. non all states have the same laws in regards to duty to warn, duty to report, electric razor custody cases, etc. (Feldman & Sommers, 2010) Being an effective counselor does not unceasingly mean only effective with ones clients. It convey effective with the community and society in general as well. Let us look at the famous Tarasoff case. In 1969, a student by the name of Prosenjit Poddar at the University of California, Berkeley confided in his healer that he intended to kill a student for whom he had developed romantic feelings. Through hisdescriptions, the healer identified the student at Tatianna Tarasoff, and he alerted the campus police after conferring with his colleagues. The police detained Poddar, but found him to be rational, and released him. Poddar eventually killed Tarasoff. It was later ruled that the therapist should have warned Tarasoff. (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011) Had the therapist followed through in regards to duty to warn, it is possible this disaster could have been avoided. Burnout is a factor that effective counselors deal with successfully. Burnout can be defined as experienced stress manifesting itself in three ways. These are, match to Lent and Schwartz, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. (2012) Because counselors spend their day relations with clients deep emotional and psychological problems, they must deal with the fact that their self-efficacy will be affected.There are many indicators that one is experiencing burnout, the lead manifestation being neuroticism. (Lent & Schwarz, 2012) Neuroticism is characterized by feelings of anxiousness, feeling angry, being overly self-conscious, and feeling vulnerable. (Lent & Schwartz, 2012) The look into conducted by Lent and Schwartz suggests that a counselors own genius may help combat this. They show that a counselor who is by nature more agreeable will be more interested in others lives and behave in a more altruistic way, thus reaping more benefits from their work and not experiencing burnout as often. (2012) Lent and Schwartz suggest three strategies to create a pos itive piece of work and minimize burnout. Firstly, they suggest that counselors work with employers/supervisors to encourage a more levelheaded other-care/self-care balance. (2012) Secondly, counselors should seek out support from cohorts or mentors that can help them through time of stress, and relieve anxiety. A counselor should be aware that times of burnout are part of the profession, and to be expected, and asking for help from colleagues is nothing of which to be ashamed.Lastly, Lent and Schwartz suggest that a counselor become a mentor. They counsel that mentoring helps the counselor with working through their problems, because they are not as rivet on just what is going on in their life. (2012) A scheme known as mindfulness can improve a counselors efficacy. Mindfulness is defined as bringing ones whole self into the encounter with clients by being completely in the moment on multiple levels physically, emotionally, cognitively, and spiritually. (Campbell &Christopher, 2012) In a study inform by Campbell and Christopher, medical students who participated in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training raise their empathy for others and saw a reduction in their level of anxiety and depression. (2012) The research showed that after completing a course in mindfulness, participants reported becoming more aware, patient, mentally focused, empathetic, compassionate, attentive, responsive, and able to handle strong emotions. They were also slight defensive, reactive and judgmental. (Campbell & Christopher, 2012) In conclusion, in a study conducted by pope and Kline, 22 counselors considered experts in their field ranked 10 different personality traits they feel are important for a counselor to possess in order to be successful. Interestingly, among the top three was empathy, and among the bottom three was sympathy. (1999) Sometimes, these twain terms can be confused with one another.However, the website Dictionary.com states that sympathy and e mpathy twain are connected to feelings one has for another person. While sympathy means to feel with, empathy means to feel into. (2013) The difference is that the counselor who has the ability to translate will be able to actually feel their clients hurt or frustration, and will ultimately be able to understand the client better. To put it in simple terms, one feels empathy when one has been in that location and one feels sympathy when one has not. (Dictionary.com, 2013) While effective counselors possess positive mental attitudes, are culturally diverse in their methodology, are good communicators, are aware of the laws in their state, and are aware of the dangers of burnout, one must also have empathy, and to gain empathy, or the ability to have been in that location one must expand his or her own personal boundaries and borders to become, as Paul said in I Corinthians 922, To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (KJV)ReferencesCampbell, J. C., & Christopher, J. C. (2012). Teaching mindfulness to create effective counselors. ledger of mental wellness Counseling, 34(3), 213-226. Retrieved fromhttp//search.proquest.com/docview/1027919921?accountid=12085 Clinton, T. & Ohlschlager, G. (2001). Competent Christian Counseling Volume one.carbon monoxide gas Springs, CO WaterBrook Press Corey, G., Corey, M., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions Eighth edition. Belmont, CABrooks/Cole. Dictionary.com. (2013). Word FAQs. Retrieved from http//dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/d23.html Feldman, S. (Producer), & Sommers, G. (Director). (2010). Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Professionals, Vol. 1 Confidentiality, Privilege, Reporting, and Duty to WarnMotion picture. (Available from Psychotherapy.net) Retrieved from http//ctiv.alexanderstreet.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu2048/view/1779007 Frederick, T., Leong, L., Altmaier, E.M., & Johns on, B.D. (2008). Encyclopedia of Counseling. Retrieved from http//go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu2048/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GVRL&userGroupName=vic_liberty&tabID=T003&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=AdvancedSearchFormtPosition=3&contentSet=GALECX3074200401&&docId=GALECX3074200401&docType=GALE Jackson, M., & Thompson, C.L. (1971). Effective counselor Characteristics and attitudes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 18(3), 249-254. doi 10.1037/h0030862. Retrieved from http//psycnet.apa.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu2048/journals/cou/18/3/249 Lent, J., & Schwartz, R. C. (2012). The impact of work setting, demographic characteristics, and personality factors related to burnout among professional counselors. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 34(4), 355-372. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com/docview/1114670345?accountid=12085 Pope, V. & Kline, W. (1999). The personal characteristics of effective counselor s What 10 experts think. Psychological Reports, 84(3), 1339-44. Retrieved from http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10477949