Session 6

Basic Counselling Skills

Learning objectives:
Understand counselling, Qualities of a good

counsellor; values and attitudes of a

counsellor.
Explore basic counselling skills and
counselling process, barriers to effective
counselling;
Practical sessions on counselling

Qualities of an Effective
Counsellor
Positive regard or respect for people.
Open, non judgmental and high level

of acceptance.
Caring and empathetic.
Selfaware and selfdisciplined.
Knowledgeable/informed about
subject and awareness of resources
available within the community.

Qualities of an Effective
Counsellor
Culturally sensitive.
Patient and a good listener.
Ability to maintain confidentiality.
Objective and having clarity.

Effective counselling skills

Effective Counselling Skills

Reflection feeling and meaning: recognizing

clients feelings and letting him know you have

understood their feeling.
Questioning: Asking openended questions
which allow for more explaining. Help the
client to go deeper into his problems and gain
insight.
Paraphrasing: Repeating in ones own words
what the client has said.
Interpretation: Giving back to the client the
core issue that he is struggling with.

Summary
The session defined counselling as a face-to-face

communication between a counsellor and client

which aims at helping the client understand their
problems and make informed decisions for change.
Qualities of a good counsellor, skills in counselling

and barriers to effective counselling, which

included physical barriers, differences in social and
cultural background, non-verbal communication,
and barriers caused by clients are also detailed.