Characteristics of Effective Counseling

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Characteristics and Behaviors of Effective Counseling Latoya D. Spady Walden University Characteristics and Behaviors of Effective Counseling Counseling involves providing one’s client with beneficial steps towards achieving mental and emotional growth. The practice of counseling requires specific characteristic and behavior traits an individual has to acquire, whether innately or learned, to be effective in counseling. There also are specific behaviors counselors should avoid during treatment sessions. This paper will examine techniques of effective and ineffective characteristics used in the case study transcript that can greatly benefit or hinder the effective counseling process. Effective Characteristics Counselors strive to incorporate pieces of their own individual personalities along with learned theories to provide an effective counseling environment for clients. Kottler believes that the professional counselor must be vibrant, inspirational, and charismatic as well as sincere, loving, nurturing, wise, confident, and self-disciplined (as cited in Sheperis & Ellis, 2010, p.126). All of the aforementioned characteristics are great to possess, yet are they effective in the counseling process? The case study transcript explores various characteristics displayed by the treating counselor, “Steve”. An effective counselor demonstrates characteristics of encouragement empathy to the clients needs. Characteristic One Steve’s proper use of encouragement was displayed by asking open-ended questions which prompted the client “Bill” to disclose information regarding his past experiences and current inner-most feelings. Encouraging the client to learn to accept negative feelings such as guilt, shame or failure while guiding them in learning to increase positive, cognitive thoughts, is a disciplined process. As discussed in the online video “Counseling
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