In standard terms, counseling is regarded as a dialogue that takes place between the counselor and the customer to attain some predetermined goals and objectives. It is thus prerequisite for the counselor to have a great mastery of crucial communication skills to facilitate change, and also achieve active counseling process in the most significant extent. To attain proper and effective counseling process, the counselor should consider communication skills such as the ‘attending’ which is a skill essential to develop contact with the clients. Also, listening is a skill that is key to understanding the messages from the clients to improve appropriate feedback that will influence change. The power of essential empathy is also vital in the entire process as it also facilitates proper understanding. Besides, the art of questioning or probing is also crucial in the whole course as it also triggers the client to exploit broad issues that affect his or her life fully. Hence, it is appropriate for the counselor to integrate communication skills in an ideal manner in the entire counseling process. In brief, competent counselors consistently use attending and listening skills and also holistically handle the mix of empathy and also inquiries to help the clients to explore their issues to a larger extent ( McLeod & McLeod, 2015 ). It is also a vital strategy to identify the best communication skill based on the prerequisites of the client's situation.
Overview of the Counselling Skills
A counseling process is described as a course through which there is an establishment of the relationship with individuals that empowers and motivates them to achieve mental health as well as wellbeing, career goals and objectives and education. In simple terms, it is a combined relationship that exists between a counselor and the customers they serve. In particular, counseling process takes many dimensions ( Odaci, Değerli & Bolat, 2017 ). For instance, there is one that places a central focus on the growth as well as the mental health of a person, and that help the married couples fight conflicts between them and establish a stronger relationship together. Also, there is a counseling process that seeks to explore on matters that affect the family structure, and that that has a bold intention to facilitate group interaction and enhance growth. This method of counseling is unique and takes a distinct principle that constitutes six bold components. The opening is the first process which is very crucial in the entire process counseling. It is through this stage that the counselor finds a chance to know about his or her clients and thus develop an external tone link that will now control the entire therapeutic connection ( Gardano, 2017 ). The second part of the counseling is exploring client understanding in which the counselor establishes a rapport with the client and understands him or her better. In this context, the counselor tends to appraise their past and present current concerns and develop to establish proper goals and expectation accurately. Also, the third step is understanding, which is equally important in creating a healthy relationship with the customer at hand. In step, the counselor can demonstrate proper knowledge through the appropriate portrayal of the cues that takes the form of verbal and non-verbal among other styles such as the reflections as well as the paraphrasing. Subsequently, there is the step of intervention which is a course of selecting the most appropriate techniques that will enable growth and advancement within the customer. Furthermore, exploring issues is the next step which offers a chance for the counselor to learn more about the client and the reason why they have come for counseling ( Murphy, Slovak, Thieme, Jackson Olivier & Fitzpatrick, 2017 ). In essence, the process of exploration is fundamental in entirely understanding the customer's thoughts as well as feeling as far as client's issue is the concern. The last stage is encouraging to establish own solutions which allow the counselor to offer helpful answers to the clients. In this stage, there is the process of promoting and empowering them to the most significant extent( Geldard, Geldard & Foo, 2017 ). This is crucial as it requires the counselor to employ the counseling skills to identify constructive solutions to the problem under investigation.
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However, many counseling skills involve listening or observing, asking questions, reflections, empathy, genuineness, the unrestricted constructive regards and the counselor self-disclosure among others. The paper seeks to uncover an in-depth discussion of compassion as a bold skill in the counseling process, and also describes its significant in the counseling process.
Analysis of the Current Research Related to Empathy
Empathy is defined as an emotional feeling to comprehend the fact that people are subject to changing levels of emotions. It is of significant effect to understand the advantages of the using empathy and the manner to manifest compassion as therapists or counselor ( Mearns, Thorne & McLeod, 2013 ). According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, empathy is a course of understanding, being well-versed and sensitive to varying peoples’ feelings. In the dictionary's definition, it encompasses knowing what feelings as a result of what they experience, their thoughts and the extent of experience of other parties either the past or the present in the absence of their feelings which are boldly disseminated in a very empirically overt technique ( Wu, 2017 ). In this regard, it can be said to be a complicated construct that is employed to demonstrate the potentiality to understand the mental processes of people and how another feels. The two distinct kinds of empathy namely emotional empathy and cognitive empathy are vital in understanding the ability to share to become affectively influenced by the emotional conditions and situations of other parties in the context. Also, cognitive empathy is referred to as the capacity to intentionally imagine oneself into the mental processes of another person to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of what they feel or think. As such, the counseling skill empathy helps the counselor to put himself or herself into other people's shoes in both dimensions of emotion and intelligence.
In essence, it is crucial to understand the skill of empathy concerning the counseling process. Study surveys by the psychotherapy clients postulate that empathy is integral in people and professional interactions with their deemed psychotherapist, and that it serves cruciality to the psychotherapy process. As such, among the advantages and the benefits that the psychotherapist clients outlined includes achievement of the high degree of the trust between the client and the counselor ( Trevizan, Almeida, Souza, Mazzo, Mendes & Martins, 2015 ). Similarly, there is also an extended level of self-understanding for the clients, and the clients achieve happiness and personal security to the more substantial extent.
It is further essential to consider that other psychotherapist surveys stipulate that empathy is necessary for examining the number of therapists as showcased from one client to another in their struggle to seek guidance for their pressing concerns. The findings of the survey put it that, in instances when the counselor demonstrates a high degree of empathy, the clients were less likely to express their pressing concerns and on the other hand, when the counselors showed less empathy as it is expected then the more likely to express their issue at the final stage of treatment (). This alludes that the treatment results tend to rely on the level of empathy that is represented by the counselor in spite of the issue under therapy ( Trevizan, Almeida, Souza, Mazzo, Mendes & Martins, 2015 ). On the other side of the matter, other studies have demonstrated that low degree of counselor empathy may fail to minimize problem drinking and even extend the level of problem drinking on the side of the client.
As much as empathy can be of crucial effect on the side of the client, it may also be essential to the counselor. As such, borrowing from the fact that the healthcare practitioners who apply the skill of empathy to their client stand a chance to derive high job satisfaction as well as the lower extent of burnout, the opposite applies to those who do not employ the skill of empathy with their clients. In this case, we dwell on assumptions because this method is only applicable to the general health care practitioner and not the counselors among other therapists. The reason why we can assume that it can also be related to the therapists is that they are eligible to perform similar jobs that attribute to a standard clinician-client relationship ( Heidke, Howie & Ferdous, 2018 ). As such, it can be concluded that those therapists who put into account the skill of empathy are more likely to garner similar advantages of attaining job satisfaction.
As aforementioned, we can derive insight that empathy skill in the counseling process is of crucial importance to the client. As this is the case, the manner or the style in which counselors demonstrates empathy matters to the most significant extent. According to Maclintock et al . (2017), clients of the counseling process benefits in the case when counselors show a high level of empathy. Consequently, it is primary to discuss proper ways in which therapists can validate empathy during the counseling process ( McClintock, Perlman, McCarrick, Anderson & Himawan, 2017 ). This stance can be related to the case which involves Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), which asserts essential ways in which they disseminate empathy to the patients. Among the notable ways, they express empathy includes physical movements, vocal tone, rhyming facial expressions, affect, energy level and also inflection. Other actions that counselors can do to show empathy to the clients encapsulates avoid being judgmental and the habit of dismissing the client's thought and beliefs. This expends can best be described by the Person-Centered Therapy which entails self-actualization, unconditional positive reward as well as empathy in the entire therapeutic relationship. This tends to achieve positive interaction in the counseling process ( PERSON, 2017 ). Additionally, a therapist can demonstrate empathy through avoid interrupting with the clients and as well as avoid being verbose during the counseling course. In actuality, avoiding such actions prompts a clear way in which the client demonstrates empathy and respect towards understanding the what they are thinking as opposed to pursuing a premeditated and a single-sized-fits all therapy strategy on the customer.
According to the Stulmaker and Jayne (2017) Ray's postulation, it is critical for the counselors to exhibit empathy through making sure that there is a perfect match with the body language and verbal technique with that of the client ( Stulmaker & Jayne, 2018 ). This is also a better way of providing a chance to the clients to express their grievances in the manner in which they feel that their counselor is hearing them. It thus requires enough practice on the aspect of empathy particularly for the counselors with a low level of empathy. They are supposed to incorporate this into practice to develop proficiency in their interaction with the clients. As such, this course can be achieved through looking for better ways in which such therapist can increase their level of empathy to enable such actions to manifest themselves in very natural manner.
In essence, the processes to cultivate empathy by a counselor is a crucial strategy. According to the Leppma &Young (2016), a specific kind of the mindfulness meditation known as the loving-kindness meditation (LKM) have demonstrated an elevated cognitive level in masters-level counseling to the counselor or the student ( Leppman & Young, 2016 ). This course starts by directing loving-kindness or concern towards oneself which is a bold sign of showing respect, friendship and compassion that is developed by oneself. This course expands to include others in the process. Recent survey contends the operation of the cultivating loving-kindness meditation can take about six weeks of six hour-long and weekly assemblies. It tends to escalate the level of empathy in the counselor to the most significant extent.
Also, an analysis that was done by the Gardano (2014) found that fruitful interventions put more emphasis on role-playing as well as improving the communication skills of the counselor ( Gardano, 2017 ). In particular, one of the best ways to pursue communication skills would be through medical student interacting with the stand-in-patients, and it should be done through recording. As a result, the counselor will get insight on how they interacted with the patient in the context, and thus advice and clues can be given in the manner to improve empathy. On the other hand, the processes that pursue role-playing include the counselor acting in the position of the client during the counseling process so that they can now uncover how of feels to be in the place of the client in the counselor-client interaction. As a consequence, the two intervention of cultivating empathy as aforementioned were identified to be operative in increasing the level of empathy in the counselor.
According to the research done by the physicians asserts that empathy done by role-modeling is identified as the most functional manner to impart empathy skills to the physicians. Still, under the physician research, it was uncovered that the learning counselor interacting with the stand-in patient under the bold subject of demonstrating empathy was also identified to be critical in the process of cultivating counseling process.
In the subsequent research of the Gardano (2014), there are rich insights that contend that the most proper ways to instill empathy into the counselors are through teaching them empathy as part of their training routine ( Gardano, 2017 ). On the other hand, those who are already counselors and therapist can cultivate empathy through pursuing role-playing and also improving their communications skills as part of their daily events. In this case, the LKM is therefore identified as an excellent alternative and supplement to take into consideration.
Significant of Research in My Future Work With Clients
In essence, the research has prompted counseling skills about empathy that I believe is key in my future interaction with the client in some ways. For instance, it does not only benefit the clients I serve but also myself in the position of a counselor. The broad study on empathy has given me insights on the techniques of listening to the clients, comprehending and understanding their pressing concerns to make them understand themselves fully and provide proper feedback based on their understanding. The research has served vitality in my future deals with my clients through listening to them with empathy which. Through this, I will be able to partially oversee about their frame of reference and also try to see through the client's situation or world and the manner to fully understand the entire process.
Also, I have learned about other bold themes to avoid such as a distracting question, the use of clinches which are considered a hollow way of communicating with the client and might hamper attainment of the broad goals and objectives of the counseling process. In essence, the research has taught in the manner to avoid confrontation as well as arguments with the clients and also to uncover significantly a significant distinction between empathy and the sympathy to devise a suitable course that can facilitate proper counseling process. I have learned about the essence of becoming involved with the client through employing empathy to be emotionally engaged with the client. Indeed, the theme of empathy is holistic in my case as I will be in the position to appropriately understand my clients in case of a crisis occurs. I have also managed to realize that the clients get more engaged when approached with significant empathy.
Additionally, having a general standpoint on the theme of empathy help me to understand the clients that I will serve through coming up with specific goals and objectives that will give a clue to the clients throughout our interaction in the entire course. The fact that empathy ensures satisfaction of the clients, I will use the factor of empathy to ensure that I have made my customers derive bold pleasure as a result of our interaction experience. The research has also provided insight into the kind of satisfaction that I can acquire as a result of using empathy in my interaction with the clients. On the flip side, I have learned the fact that I can better customize the therapy course that entails my clients through understanding them. This can be achieved only by being empathetic to the clients. Performing a client's diagnosis has also enabled me to come up with empathy with more professional accuracy as opposed to any other dynamic of the counseling process.
In the course of the research, it was worth noting that it could be devastating for me to teach the factor of empathy in situations when I am discounted with particular sessions of the crisis under investigation. Counseling process require empathy skill to make it a success. In this case, it may be difficult for the counselor to attain empathy when one is feeling exhausted. The counseling skill of empathy is mostly applicable when dealing with a large number of clients. This allows the counselor to attain substantial results in their entire interaction process. I also noted that time factor could be a bold inhibitor for the broad empathy skill in the counseling process. I also came to realize that my personality can also influence the manner in which I interact with my clients throughout the counseling process. In essence, I also realized that the more one meets many clients, the more he or she can understand the customer's point of views. Also, I can successfully understand the essence of empathy skill through broad avoidance of being non-judgmental in the process of understanding the client's perspectives.
Conclusion
Finally, the counseling process is critical in establishing a therapeutic relationship with the clients. As such, the skill of empathy is bold in the course when the counselor cares about the clients, and he or she is more compassionate about the client. As a counselor, competency through use of empathy skill is a holistic course to pursue. In the bold exploration process of counseling, the capability of empathy is of significant effect to understand and comprehend self-awareness within the supervision of counselor as well as training. In more brief form, compassion means the ability to position yourself in someone's context to get to know about his perspectives. In real life situation, it takes place between the counselor and client. As such, empathy is regarded as far much beyond the concepts of sympathy in that the counselor can demonstrate his or her understanding of the customer's feelings and emotion that is in the context of the situation.
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