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Counseling is seeking support and guidance of
a trained counsellor. This person will help to guide you to a better
understanding of yourself, your problems or whatever issue you seek to
present to the counsellor.
counseling is not really about giving
advice. It is about finding your own solutions and your own way of doing
things. The counsellor will listen to you. Indeed, listening is probably the
key counseling skill. The counsellor will repeat back to you what you have
said. This may sound silly or a waste of time but, in fact, it is excellent
in helping you to analyse your thoughts.
counseling is about change. Clients usually
turn to counsellors at moments of change in their life or when they feel a
need to change. Sometimes, clients will approach a counsellor or be referred
to a counsellor at moments of crisis. Here the role of the counsellor may be
to help you understand the crisis and take control of it.
There are several types of counseling. The
most popular is the person-centred approach, based upon the work of Carl
Rogers. Other more specialised types, include Gestalt, psychodrama, career
counseling.
Many 'caring' professions such as teaching,
medicine, social work, will also employ counseling skills to enable the
professional to help the client.
Online counseling. This seems to be
developing slowly as the Internet develops. In a way, it goes a little
against the grain in counseling as many counsellors would prefer
face-to-face meetings with clients. On the other hand, online counseling
does offer the client a degree of anonymity, similar to telephone counseling.
Free online counseling. Well, we get asked
about this and we've not yet found it online. Most professionals offering
online counseling, charge a fee. Many fees range in hundreds of dollars just
to answer your email.
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