Counselling Skills Fundamentals

This course provides an introduction to counselling interviewing skills. The topics covered include the helping relationship, the helping process and the communication skills required in the therapeutic dialogue.

Students are expected to self-disclose and engage in self-exploration, as the bulk of the course will focus on using counseling skills with fellow classmates.

This course is recommended for students who are interested in human service professions such as criminal justice, teaching, coaching, nursing, human resources, social work, and counselling/clinical psychology.

Course Content

The Helping Relationship

• The components of an effective helping relationship
• Values that drive the helping relationship
• Professional ethics/code of ethics 
• Diversity as part of client/counsellor interactions

The Helping Process

• Clarifying the key issues
• Engaging the other
• Overcoming reluctance and resistance

Communication Skills In The Therapeutic Dialogue

• Non verbal behaviour 
• Active listening
• Empathic listening and responding
• Basic and advanced empathic listening and responding
• Probing and summarizing
• Challenging client assumptions and moving to new perspectives

Learning Activities

Lecture and skills demonstration/practice of specific counselling skills will be the primary methods of instruction.

The course may also involve other methods of instructions such as small group activities, group discussion, computer simulations, digital recordings, and guest lectures.

Means Of Assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Evaluation will include some of the following:

Exams - 25%

Three video recordings of skill demonstrations and transcripts - 20%, 25%, 25%=70% (No recording should be assigned less than 15% or more than 30%). 

To attain a passing grade in this course, students must demonstrate professional conduct and complete all recording assignments within the semester and as outlined in the course syllabus.

To attain a passing grade, students must also demonstrate counselling skills by successfully completing at least 80% of in-class counselling practice sessions.  

• Attendance - 5%
• Total - 100%

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, the successful student should be able to:

• Delineate the key elements of successful helping.
• Analyze personal values that could impact the helping relationship.
• Outline ethical principles that guide helping relationships.
• Explain how stereotyping and being judgmental hinders helping.
• Demonstrate how to clarify key issues.
• Explain how reluctance and resistance operate in helping relationships.
• Demonstrate attending skills.
• Demonstrate active listening skills.
• Demonstrate basic and advanced empathic listening and responding skills.
• Demonstrate the skill of probing.
• Demonstrate the skill of summarizing.
• Demonstrate the skill of challenging client assumptions.