Psychological counseling is a very rewarding job for people who like to interact with and help others. Helping people live a more effective and happier life can bring great satisfaction to psychological counselors. But in reality, many people don’t seem to know or understand the real requirements of engaging in this profession before becoming a psychological counselor. More knowledge about psychological counselors may help you decide whether this profession is suitable for you.
1. Don’t be too harsh on yourself
As long as you do not violate ethics and morals during the consultation, then you will have no mistakes. As your work experience increases, your self-confidence may be hit, and you will doubt whether your foothold and consultation methods are correct. At this time, you need to follow your intuition and let the client lead the consultation. Many clients who take the initiative to receive consultation will guide themselves to overcome their various problems. And you can think of yourself as a propulser, not a leader.
2. Building trust can take a long time
Trust is the basis for a good relationship between a consultant and a client, but building true trust can take months or even years. There are many ways you can build trust, and over time you will find the best way for you.
- Be yourself. If you treat your visitors honestly and sincerely, the visitors will eventually repay you. The client will be more likely to accept you and open up, and the final consultation will be better.
- Be patient. The relationship with the client develops at a similar rate to your relationship with friends and lovers. Be patient and give the client/counselor enough time to build a relationship so that their relationship will be healthier and more productive.
- receives continuing education. Even if you have obtained a certificate of practice, you should continue to study so that you can continue to grow in your career. The more you know, the more you are capable of helping your visitors.
- provides high-quality customer service. Good customer service will reflect your good image as a professional. Call customers back in time, be organized and keep the office clean. This professional image can help you build trust with your clients before they first come to consult.
3. It also takes time to establish a customer base
It takes many years for a consultant in a personal studio to develop a strong and stable customer base. Usually it's difficult at the beginning. Building a network of relationships, introducing yourself to others, and encouraging others to recommend it can help you build a customer base faster. Maintaining a good business image and providing high-quality customer service can help you get more recommendations. Having expertise can also help.
4. Taking good care of yourself is also very important
Consultants mostly tell clients to take good care of themselves, but rarely spend time helping themselves or paying attention to their emotional state. And this is very important for everyone! If you can help yourself and take care of your emotional needs, you can become a better consultant and a better listener. In the first few years as a consultant, you may find yourself working very hard and some of the problems your clients experience may also exhaust you. It is important to take a day off occasionally. Take some time to reflect quietly on your life, your important matters, and your goals. In this way, you can have a more satisfying life.
5. The actual consultation is different from what you see on TV
Psychological consultation on TV is beautified and idealized. On TV, it was all in an academic-looking office, where visitors lay on a large leather sofa, staring at the ceiling, and talking to an indifferent professional about childhood experiences. But in real life, consultation can occur in a variety of different environments, sometimes with sofas and sometimes without.In fact, you need to adjust your office based on your consultant. For example, if most of your visitors are children, you can prepare an office with toys, colored furniture and small chairs.
6. Sometimes I feel desperate
Some visitors seem to have made no progress. When you meet a client like this, the best thing you can do is to reassure him and tell the client that you will work hard for his success and always be with him. But at the same time, you must also understand that you are not a consultant for everyone, which is also very important. If your client has not grown during the consultation process, it may also mean that you have not established a connection with the client. In this case, referring the client to another consultant might be a better approach.
7. Body language is important
Body language plays an important role in communication between you and your clients. Over time, you will start to notice the client’s body language. Some visitors make eye contact, while others stare in the distance. Some people will restless, while others will sit calmly. As you accumulate experience, you will be very good at interpreting this body language. However, it is important to understand that your body language will also send signals to your visitors. You can show confidence, friendliness and kindness by sitting calmly, smiling and avoiding fidgeting, helping you gain the trust of your clients during your consultation.
8. The client must have the willingness to improve
It is far from enough for the client to receive consultation; they must also have the willingness to improve the situation. The personal motivation required to solve problems and improve personal dilemmas is not something a counselor can implant into the client. This motivation must be driven internally. If you meet a client who is not interested in or has no motivation for the consultation objective, it indicates that the client may not be ready for consultation. In this case, you and your client may need to take a step back and evaluate the current situation before continuing with the consultation. If no major changes are made, subsequent consultations will not help either of you.
9. Your job is to help people deal with their problems at their own pace
Every client seeking consultation is different. Everyone will use their own time and method to deal with their own problems. Sometimes progress can be fast, but usually progress is slow, tortuous and difficult to measure. As a consultant, you may want to see your clients progress faster, but that’s not how counseling works. Pressure on your visitors can undermine your trust and relationships and negatively affect the progress you work hard to make. So, you need to consult at the pace set by the client, which is good for both of you.
10. Your job is not to "fix" people
Thinking of your visitors as broken people who must be cured will have a big negative impact on your interaction with the visitors. The visitors may feel your thoughts and they will be very disgusted with it. Yes, your visitors do need help and are looking for help. But as a promoter, your job is just to help the client get on track, and your client is the one who needs to take effective action. You need to keep this in mind all the time during the consultation process.
