Unit 1 Understanding the Context for the Use of Counselling Skills

Chris Townshend

Understand what is meant by counselling skills

1.1 Define Counselling Skills

Sanders in Aldridge and Rigby [2001] pg 2 defines counselling skills as:

“…interpersonal communication skills derived from the study of therapeutic change

in human beings, used in a manner consistent with the goals and ethics of the

profession of the practitioner in question. In addition, the user of counselling skills

will find that their own professional skills are enhanced by the process.”

We can deduce then, that counselling skills are not specifically the remit of the trained

counsellor, they can be used in many professions. The use of the skills should also

empower both the listener and the person listened to. Being empathic or

communicating understanding of another’s perspective, shows respect for an

individual thereby is an important part of building a working relationship. It

encourages the listener to participate and enter dialogue. Active listening techniques

help you to listen to a person in such a way so they are in no doubt that you are

completely focussed on them. This may include simple things such as a nod of the

head to communicate understanding and appropriate eye contact to show interest. Or

it may involve more specific techniques such as reflecting or communicating back to

the client that you have heard what they have felt, enabling them to see a fresh

perspective. It is similar to holding a mirror up to the client so they can see

themselves in it. Paraphrasing back to the client can be used to rephrase in the

listeners own words factually what has been said. This can serve both to clarify that

the listener understands correctly and to clarify the thinking of the person listened to.

Summarising is similar to both reflecting and paraphrasing, except that it feeds back

an overall picture rather than a specific point. This assures the listener that the whole

picture is being followed and again gives them the opportunity to see it in a mirror

and reflect on it. It should be noted that these skills do not involve parroting back

information. They should be used in a way that makes the listened to feel comfortable

and not feeling that the listener is operating a mental tape recorder.

1.2 Outline Different Roles where Counselling Skills may be used.

Counselling skills are used by many professions and can clearly be shown to be

helpful in each. Nurses are often faced with frightened patients or relatives. The

ability to listen and respond empathically can aid them greatly in situations where

they might otherwise feel themselves helpless. Teachers faced with an upset child can

use active listening to ascertain the real underlying problems of a child. A care worker

for the elderly can learn to manage silences so that the person listened to can have the

time to explain their real issues and a pastoral worker in the church can learn the skills

not to feel powerless in the face of distress from grieving relatives. From the Social

Worker to the Human Resources Manager counselling skills can be used to empower

both the helper and the helped and to enable individuals to deal more effectively with

issues for themselves and their environments.

1.3 Outline different situations where counselling skills might be used.

Each person’s pain is individual. The couple facing infertility treatment might benefit

and gain insight into the workings of their relationship and each other’s personal

distress around issues often not spoken about. A person suffering bereavement may

experience a more powerful and immediate need to come to terms with the loss of a

loved one and the helplessness, anger and feelings of loss that this might leave them

with. An addict might gain better understanding of their motivation to use substances

or the underlying feelings that inform their addiction. A couple might visit Relate in

an effort to save their marriage and an adult survivor of child abuse might want to

come to terms with the anger they feel towards their abuser. There are as many

situations as there are people in need yet the common thread is that they all want a

better understanding of self and think that the therapeutic relationship will help them

to get it.

1.4 Explain the difference between someone who uses counselling skills and a

qualified trained counsellor.

There will often be an overlap between the trained counsellor and the person that uses

counselling skills. The primary difference can be seen in the intention behind their

use. People who use counselling skills are primarily taking on another more defined

role, be it nurse, doctor, social worker, priest or even friend. The defined role of the

counsellor is just that, ‘Counsellor’. There are no other defined roles; the counsellor is

not concerned with making a client physically better through medicine or attending to

their spiritual needs.

The BACP asks 2 helpful questions:

Are you using counselling skills to enhance your communication with

someone, but without taking the role as their counsellor?

Does the recipient see you as acting within your professional/caring role?

Aldridge and Rigby [2001] pg 2

If the answer is yes to these questions, then you are using counselling skills. If

someone is seen primarily as your nurse, then they cannot be your counsellor. Thus

the counsellor and counselee should be in no doubt over their prescribed roles in the

relationship. The counsellor and counselee should have a contract. This will prescribe

such issues as how often the counselling will take place, where, methods of payment,

supervision, referral and the remits of the confidentiality process as well as reference

to the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

The helped person should be in no doubt that the relationship is a professional one

and will remain so for the duration of the counselling.

The Oxford dictionary defines counselling thus:

“1. The act of exchanging opinions and ideas; consultation.

2. Advice or guidance, especially as solicited from a knowledgeable person”

However this is not counselling in a professional setting. Counselling is not advice

giving or persuasion; advice might not be appropriate to the clients needs as it will be

given from the perspective of the counsellor and persuasion may result in conflict

with the client and in doing so affect the therapeutic relationship adversely. A nurse

might be able to give advice without fear of this from a medical perspective, a

counsellor should avoid this.

2. Understand the Need to Work within an Ethical Framework

2.1 Explain the key features of one recognised ethical framework for counselling

and psychotherapy used by qualified trained counsellors.

‘Ethics’, or the study of what is right and wrong holds a relevance in many

professions but is especially important in the counselling profession because the

relationship between the client and the counsellor is a close one containing an

inherent power imbalance. Mcleod [2009] asserts

“It is very easy for therapists to believe that their approach...is fully committed to the

empowerment of the client, rather than operating as a means of social control”

So the therapist must be concerned with their own beliefs as well as the client, it is all

too easy to steer the client towards what is personally or socially acceptable rather

than what is right for the client.

To this end the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists has its own

ethical framework. It is not compulsory to sign up to this, but very difficult to practice

without it. The framework sets out values, principles and personal moral qualities

required of counsellors. Values generate behaviour, so for example the BACP’s first

value of ‘Respecting human rights and dignity’ is a quality that permeates though

everything a counsellor would do. They also inform principles such as: fidelity,

autonomy, beneficence, non-malificence, justice and self respect. The ethical

framework also sets out important conditions for counselling such as when and how

confidentiality can be broken and how an individual can make a complaint against

specific counsellors.

2.2 Compare their chosen ethical framework with the requirements of one other

professional body or employing organization.

Many other professional bodies have ethical frameworks. The General Teaching

Council for England, as an example, has a similar framework. It is, like the BACP’s,

very difficult to practice as a teacher without being a member. It contains principles of

conduct and practice as well as guidance for disciplinary procedures and grievances.

The values are pretty interchangeable:

1. Put the wellbeing development and 1. Respecting human rights andProgress of children and young people dignityFirst. 2. Ensuring integrity of client2. Take responsibility for maintaining practitioner relationshipsThe quality of their teaching practice 3. Enhance the quality of3. Help children and young people to professional knowledge andBecome confident and successful it’s applicationLearners. 4. Alleviate personal distress and4. Demonstrate respect for diversity sufferingAnd promote equality. 5. Fostering a sense of self5. Strive to establish productive 6. Increasing personal effectivenessPartnerships with parents and 7. Enhancing the quality of relationshipsCarers between people6. Work as part of a whole-school 8. Appreciating the value of humanTeam. Experience and culture7. Co-operate with other professional 9. Striving for fair and adequateColleagues. provision of services8. Demonstrate honesty and integrityAnd uphold public trust and confidenceIn the teaching profession.

I think that the main difference between the two Codes is that the BACP goes into

extreme detail as to how we actually communicate with people and the ways in which

we do as well as the reasons. This is understandable in that as far as the BACP are

concerned, communication is the backbone of the profession whereas with teachers

there are other working skills to be taken into consideration. Teachers are expected to

be good communicators, and this will aid them immensely in imparting information to

their pupils, but being only a fair communicator will not make their job impossible. In

counselling communication is the job, to the BACP has this theme running through its

entire document.

3 Understand the environment in which counselling takes place.

3.1 Explain the importance of the following when using counselling skills in a

formal setting.

Professional conduct

Ethical Issues

Confidentiality

Boundaries

Legal responsibility

Negligence

Diversity and difference

Professional conduct needs to be the overarching principle enveloping all areas of the

counselling practice. This is simply put because the relationship is a professional one

and should thus be separated from a relationship between two individuals in any other

area, be it that between a supervisor and supervisee or that of two friends having a

conversation is a cafeteria. It ensures that the counsellor is accountable and makes

sure that the best interests of their client is served. To this end, the counsellor is

constantly concerned that the actions they take within a session are ethically

justifiable to clients. The inherent power imbalance of the therapeutic relationship

means that it is easy for a counsellor’s own values to affect those of the counselee. A

counsellor’s religious views towards abortion, as an example, may be wildly different

to their clients but in no way should affect the relationship. In extreme examples this

may even mean the counsellor referring a client on. It is of upmost importance that the

counsellor not use the therapeutic relationship as a form of social control or

manipulation. One helpful rule of thumb when a counsellor is contemplating the

ethical value of what they are doing is “What do I hope to gain from this course of

action?” If the course of action benefits the counsellor rather than the counselee it is

highly likely that their counsellor is falling into manipulation and this is likely to

leave the client feeling used and manipulated.

Confidentiality is part of the legal responsibility of the counsellor and serves to

remind them that they do not operate beyond the law. It’s limits are not absolute (see

3.2) but its purpose is to provide safety and privacy for the counselling session. To

this end counsellors should respect and protect their client’s privacy, including

personal details as well as notes of counselling sessions. Other (but not exhaustive)

laws that affect counsellors are the Sex Discrimination Act [1995] the Race Relations

Act [1996], the Disability Discrimination Act [1995], the health and Safety Act

[1974] the Children Act [1989] and the mental Health Act [1983] Consider a client

that has just disclosed to you that they are being sexually harassed in the organization

you are both working for. Where does your responsibility lie in this case? It is

important that these things are utmost in a counsellor’s mind.

Gutheil and Gabbard in Mcleod [2009] pg 411 define a boundary as ‘the envelope

within which treatment takes place…to create and atmosphere of safety and

predictability.’ These may include time, physical space, how much the client knows

about the counsellor, how intimate the relationship is and how the client and

counsellor react if they meet outside the counselling session. Clear and appropriate

boundaries can offer a safe environment for the client to explore self.

The BACP provides its values and principles in a clear statement. Adherence to these

values and principle previously referred to as well as an interest in current legislation

and practice should ensure that diversity and difference is respected and the chance of

negligence lessened. To further ensure that the chance of negligence is lessened the

counsellor should ensure that contracts are clear, maintained and explained, sessions

should remain constant and that a clearly defined emotional distance remains between

the client and the counsellor. Gifts should not be accepted and the therapeutic

relationship should remain, as previously said, within clearly defined professional

boundaries.

3.2 Explain when, how and why confidentiality and boundaries may be

breached.

It is important that clients are aware of the limits of confidentiality when starting a

therapeutic relationship. It is easy for a client to believe that everything that is said to

them in a session is confidential. Most likely this will end up being the case, but the

counsellor has other issues to take into consideration such as; who might be harmed

by withholding the information, the law, agency policies, who might be placed at risk

and whether the needs of a wider society nee to be considered. A person’s right to

secrecy is never absolute and counsellors must be very clear both before and during a

relationship and if breached it should be explained to whom and why you are

disclosing it. For example; if you are counselling on behalf of an organization and a

client discloses a crime within that organization, it is important to know where the

limits of your confidentiality begin and end. If a client discloses previous child abuse

and you are aware that the abuser has parental responsibility for another minor, it is

imperative that you consider the possible repercussions and act accordingly.

3.3 Explain, using examples, the importance of the right physical environment

when using counselling skills.

The physical environment is important for many reasons. Anything should be done to

lessen the equality between client and counsellor (no family photos, chairs equally

sized, no large desks in between). This will strive to make the client feel safe in an

unfamiliar environment and help to ease the client’s vulnerability, especially in the

first stages of counselling. A good physical environment is vital in the trust building

process, but attention must also be paid towards the safety of the counsellor. Ensuring

someone is around, for example, can ease the anxiety of the counsellor as well as

having a panic button.

3.4 Explain the importance of ensuring the emotional and mental safety of both

speaker and listener when using counselling skills.

When a client feels that the conditions are safe, that the contract is explicit, that the

venue, fees, boundaries and expectations are in place then they can be in a place

where their emotional and mental needs can be valued within the therapeutic alliance.

The equality gap can be bridged and they can perhaps begin the process of trust.

Similarly if the counsellor feels physically, mentally and emotionally safe then they

can feel confident in their competence. A good counsellor will constantly evaluate

their competence through supervision thus helping to ensure their emotional and

mental safety and to be able to build on it with feedback from others, but they should

also develop their own tools for self assessment and use them constantly. It is only

through reflection on practice that one can improve.

4. Understand the importance of casework supervision.

4.1 Explain the difference between casework supervision and other forms of

supervision.

The use of the word supervision in counselling can lead to misapprehension. There

are many types of supervision; peer supervision, line manager supervision and group

supervision amongst them. Regular supervision in most fields involves the supervisee

being given takes and being evaluated on how they have completed previously given

tasks. Supervision in counselling is not a management tool (although counsellors in

organizations may be subject to separate management supervision). The purpose of

counselling supervision is to help the counsellor to work as effectively as they can

with the client. Hawkins and Shohet in McLeod [2009] pg 646 highlight three main

functions of counselling supervision; educational, support and ensuring quality. This

can be done in an individual or group setting but the underlying theory behind it is

that the best way to help the client is to help the helper. It is also part of the BACP’s

guidelines as a requirement for competent practice:

“All counsellors, psychotherapists, trainers and supervisors are required to have

regular and on-going formal supervision/consultative support for their work in

accordance with professional requirements.”

4.2 Explain why casework supervision is important for a trainee and a qualified

trained counsellor.

Because the aim of casework supervision is the indirectly help the client it is vital that

the trained and untrained counsellor receive supervision. A trained counsellor may be

more likely to reflect and be aware of their internal biases, but this is by no means

certain. The BACP requires counsellors to:

“…keep up to date with the latest knowledge and respond to changing circumstances.

They should consider carefully their own need for continuing professional

development and engage in appropriate educational activities”

A good supervisor will be able to see where even a trained counsellor needs help.

Both the trainee and trained counsellor should always be concerned with self

development. Similarly both the trainee and trained counsellor do not have the ability

to be objective about their counselling. They cannot, simply because it in itself is a

subjective experience. A supervisor can also ensure that ethical standards are being

adhered to and that the therapeutic alliance is effective. The supervisor can also help

the counsellor in the process of self evaluation (this would be especially important or

newly trained counsellors).

4.3 Using examples, explain the possible effects of good and bad casework

supervision on

The work being done with counselling clients

The personal development of the trainee or qualified trained counsellor

Good casework supervision will benefit the counsellor and by inference benefit the

client. As an example, if a client discloses they are being bullied, a natural reaction

may be to imagine how terrible this is, or even see it as an opportunity for a client to

become tough and learn to cope with life on its own terms. We may even see this as

empathising with the client. Neither of these may be the case for our client and the

good supervisor can encourage the counsellor from becoming too involved, losing

their discipline and engaging in bad habits which may become increasingly hard to

break. A bad supervisor will not help a counsellor to understand and thus ‘own’ their

own behaviour. A good supervisor will notice the inherent transference of the

counsellor due to their subjectivity and make the counsellor aware of it, thus leading

to a better experience for both counsellor and client.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aldridge, S. and Rigby, S. [Eds.] (2001) Counselling Skills in Context, Hodder and

Stoughton

British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (2010) Ethical Framework

for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP

Frankland, A and Sanders, P. (1995) Next Steps in Counselling, Glasgow: PCCS

Books

Hough, M. (1998) Counselling Skills and Theory, Hodder and Stoughton

McLeod, J. (2009) An Introduction to Counselling, McGraw Hill: Open University

Press