Life Span Development II School Age and Adolescence

Life Span Development II: School age and Adolescence 3 (2+1)

Lesson 32 : Counselling during Adolescence

Personal qualities of the counselor

The personal qualities that are necessary to bring about change in another person identified by many researchers are given below.

1. Empathy:- Is the ability to stand in other person’s shoes to see the world as they see. It involves certain amount of forgetting self.

2. Warmth:- Being warm, an inherent interest in other person’s problem, one should be non judgmental and genuinely interested in the other person.

3. Genuineness:- One has to be genuine, then only can help or care for others.

4. Positive regard:- Unconditional positive regard is important. They should have a broad mind towards client.

5. Concreteness:- Is a skill. It is the ability to listen to what the other person is saying & to stick with what is being said rather than what is implied.The concrete counselor accepts what the client says at face value and doesn’t interpret.

6. A sense of humour:- Can rescue most situations, the counselor can often ease tension and help the client towards a greater sense of perspective.

7. A sense of the tragic: Human beings have certain limitations which are created by ourselves and we often are unable to solve them. A sense of this tragic side of being human can help counselor to retain his humanity and humbleness.

8. Self awareness:- Counsellors should know some of their own problems, limitations and strengths also.