Counselors deal with people and effective counselors must have some traits which would make the counseling process easier and more effective. To enumerate, my characteristics that would make me a good councilor is patience, good communications skills, and approachable. These traits, I believe, can improve and develop communication between the patient and counselor. “ Patience is a virtue. ” Counselors need to understand that they need to help and advise people that are faced with different problems.
The counselor should lend his/her ears to the patient and he/she must also know how to deal with irate patients. The counselor should control his/her temper in situations that it is being tested such as when dealing with patients with mental disorders. Even when dealing with stubborn patients, the counselor must still maintain his composure. A counselor who loses his/her temper during a counseling session is a failed counselor. The patient, being faced with problems, would have a hard time coping with his/her problem if the counselor shows even a little sign of disdain.
In some situations, the patient does not even know what his/her problem/s is/are and the counselor must analyze point by point what is really troubling the patient based on the information gathered. Other people also notice my patience. People never see me lose my temper. I always see to it that I try to analyze the situation at hand and find more democratic ways to solve problems instead of showing anger or hatred. Having good communications skills is also essential to become an effective counselor because this job involves a lot of dealings with many people who need guidance to help them get over their problems. I believe that I have good communication skills because I socialize well with people and I rarely ever get into dealings that result in misunderstandings.
As a counselor, one must communicate well with his patient to assure a harmonious counseling process. Good communication skills does not only mean that you should be able to relay what you want to say in a nice manner. It also means that you have to listen to what your patients have to say. You must be able to comprehend well and understand the points given by your patient. If there is no smooth flow in the communication process, it would probably be hard to understand what problem/s of your patient is and it would be more difficult for the counselor to give the best advice possible. A good counselor also needs to be approachable and understanding or at least provide an image of being approachable and understanding to promote a better counselor-patient relationship.
The counselor must make an effort to make the patient feel comfortable around him/her. The patient must feel that he/she is in good hands. By doing so, the patient can better relay what his/her problems are and the patient can even be comfortable enough to reveal relevant information that is necessary to solve or help in solving the problem/s. Initially, the patient does not know you so you should make him/her feel that you are there to help him/her. How you make the patient feel comfortable around you relies on how you speak to him/her.
Speak to him/her like you understand his/her situation and you should do it in a nice manner. This aspect also require the counselor to have good communications skills. I also have good communication skills that can create the impression that I am approachable and understanding. However, I must continually strive for improvements. I should make better efforts so that the patients would really find me fit as a counselor.
I should find ways on how to talk to be able to make the patient feel comfortable enough that he would not be hiding any information that would be critical for the success of the counseling process. One aspect that can get in the way in being an effective counselor is that the tendency to become opinionated. This side might prevent from rendering impartial decisions which could affect how I deal with patients. This could result in giving wrong and prejudiced advice to the patients which in turn could produce harmful effects. Instead of helping the patients, biased decisions or advice could only worsen the situation. Patience and good communication skills are two qualities that I possess that would make me a good counselor and because of my good communication skills, the patients will find that I am approachable and understanding.
These characteristics are also connected with each another. You cannot be approachable or understanding if you do not have good communication skills or if you are impatient. I should take note that I should prevent my opinionated nature from affecting the decisions and advise that I give to patients. I can only be a good counselor if I focus on my strengths but I also need to keep in mind that my weaknesses should not affect my professional goals. This important since I care
