To What Extent Is a Counsellor More Than Just a Good Listener? in Your Discussion We Would Like You to Draw on Key Elements That Form the Practise of Counselling. in Addition We Would Like You to Consider Your Own

To what extent is a counsellor more than just a good listener? In your discussion we would like you to draw on key elements that form the practise of counselling. In addition we would like you to consider your own qualities and skills and identify what you need to do to progress in the profession.

This century has seen a rise in counselling services. We have counsellors for specific diseases, addictions, depression, divorce, name the problem and we seem to have a ‘therapist’ for it. So what are counsellors? Do we need them? Is that not what friends and family are for, to listen and help us through difficult times? Is a counsellor just a ‘paid friend’?
Can anyone be a counsellor? After all anyone can listen, we do it all the time. Counsellors developed from the medical profession taking over the care of the mentally vulnerable from family friends and small societies when the industrial revolution swept across the developed world and fragmented communities. Early pioneers like Freud, Watson, Jung, and Rogers drew from backgrounds in science, arts, religion and philosophy to develop Psychological Theories. In 1986 Karasu noted 400 distinct models of Counselling/Psychotherapy. From the three main approaches of Psychodynamics, Cognitive Behaviour, and Humanistic theories many branches have sprouted and, as practitioners blend ideas to develop new techniques and discard those they find ineffectual, Counselling continues to grow and develop.
A benefit of a counsellor is that they are neutral. They can be objective and have no preconceived ideas about what you should say or feel thus enabling you to air thoughts that are more difficult to reveal to family or friends for fear of judgement.
A counsellor will use approaches, either singularly or in combination, to focus on listening and understanding the client thus helping them make sense of their life difficulties in a safe and non judgemental environment. Unlike other professions which may include

References: Karusu 1986, p17, An Introduction to Counselling in McLeod, J. (2008). Introduction to Counselling [Ed. D. Langdridge], Maidenhead/Milton Keynes, Open University Press/The Open University. Guggenbuhl-Craig 1971; Rippere and Williams 1985, p265, The skills and qualities of the effective counsellor in McLeod, J. (2008) Introduction to Counselling [Ed. D. Langdridge], Maidenhead/Milton Keynes, Open University Press/The Open University. McLeod 1990, p208, Introduction: the counselling relationship as a key theme in contemporary theory and practice in McLeod, J. (2008). Introduction to Counselling [Ed. D. Langdridge], Maidenhead/Milton Keynes, Open University Press/The Open University. Orlinsky et al. 1994, p209, Introduction: the counselling relationship as a key theme in contemporary theory and practice in McLeod, J. (2008). Introduction to Counselling [Ed. D. Langdridge], Maidenhead/Milton Keynes, Open University Press/The Open University. Agnew p225 The counselling relationship in McLeod, J. (2008). Introduction to Counselling [Ed. D. Langdridge], Maidenhead/Milton Keynes, Open University Press/The Open University. Henry 1966, Burton 1970, Spurling and Dryden 1989, p265 The skills and qualities of the effective counsellor in McLeod, J. (2008). Introduction to Counselling [Ed. D. Langdridge], Maidenhead/Milton Keynes, Open University Press/The Open University. The Open University (2008) D171 Developing Counselling Skills DVD, Milton Keynes, The Open University.