At Mumbai Psychiatrists Clinics, we provide an opportunity to discuss your thoughts and emotional state about any concern that you face in life which you might wish to discover and understand better, in a professional and trusted setting, with a qualified and competent Counselor in Powai, Dahisar, Mulund, Vashi and other areas in Navi Mumbai. Our Psychologist offer face to face & online counselling.
Owing to our rich psychological expertise, we are also regarded as one of the best counselor in Powai for all age groups. We endow psychological counseling in Mumbai for individual development, career-oriented issues, education, marriage, relationships, family dilemma, life style amendments; personal, social & interpersonal skills development, helping students with examination anxiety, learning skills to augment competence and various other areas.
Our belief is that in order to endow best psychological counseling in Mumbai, it is important to eradicate the root cause of all emotional distress. Further, what makes Mumbai Psychiatrists Clinics experience different is that we respect confidentiality of our patients.
The provision of professional assistance and guidance in resolving personal or psychological concerns.
It is the process that involves :-
- when a client and counsellor set aside time in order to explore difficulties which may include the stressful
or emotional feelings of the client. - the act of helping the client to see things more clearly, possibly from a different view-point. This can enable the client to focus on feelings, experiences or behaviour, with a goal to facilitating positive change.
- a relationship of trust. Confidentiality is paramount to successful counselling.
Counselling is Not:
- Giving advice.
- Judgemental.
- Attempting to sort out the problems of the client.
- Expecting or encouraging a client to behave in a way in which the counsellor may have behaved when
confronted with a similar problem in their own life. - Getting emotionally involved with the client.
- Looking at a client’s problems from your own perspective, based on your own value system.
Basic Counseling Techniques
Active Listening: During active listening, the counselor will listen for meaning. As a listener, they will not say much, but they will use body language and eye contact to show that they are interested. The only type of speaking that will occur is if the counselor needs to reiterate a statement to see if they heard and understood their patient correctly.
Body Language: During counseling, a counselor will use their body language, facial expressions, and angle of body to express empathy, concern, or understanding to their patient. Even the placement of arms and legs can relay meaning. Body language techniques are meant for the counselor to show their client how their statements make them feel without using verbal acknowledgement.
Open Ended Questions: By asking an open ended question, the counselor is hoping to receive a lot of detailed information for their client, as open ended questions cannot be answered with one word. The counselor will then gain more clarification and dive into some generalizations and specifics. These types of questions are useful in the beginning of therapy for the counselor to gain as much information as they can straightaway. Also, it allows the client to tell their story and background to the counselor to help get to know and understand them better. An example of an open ended question could be, “Tell me about your family?”
Closed Question: On the other hand, a close question is used to gather only specific information, and can be answered with a single word or a short phrase. These are used if the counselor needs something small to add to a bigger piece of the puzzle, and to move on through the session.
Paraphrasing: The counselor will use paraphrasing to restate what their client has said and to clarify any statements. This can help show the client that the counselor understands and is listening to what they have to say, and will make them feel acknowledged and more comfortable in the setting.
Summarizing: In summarizing the counselor will focus on the main points of their conversation with the client as a way to highlight and clarify what had been talked about. Also, by summarizing, the client can make sure that the counselor has accurate information and portray of their conversation.
Note taking: Just like in a lecture, the practice of taking notes and jotting down pieces of information is helpful if you need to remember something after the session. It can also help when the counselor is going back to reiterate or summarize any of the conversation to point out key details that they thought were important that were expressed by the client.
Homework: If you want to achieve something or get good at anything, you are going to have to practice, practice, and practice some more. If your client is serious about getting the help that they need, then they should be willing to take the necessary steps into addressing it. A counselor may decide to give their client homework to work on the issues that they are dealing with.
Reflection of Feeling: Empathy is a good counseling technique to allow the client to be aware that the counselor knows what they are feeling. By using reflection of feeling, the counselor may use emotions and words that reflect what they hear the client is expressing. Therefore, the client will feel that they are putting their emotions out there for good use and purpose.
Proxemics: The proxemics of counseling ensures that the client and the therapist both are in a space where they feel comfortable and trusted. There should be no physical barriers, open and spacious setting, soft lighting, and white noise to help maintain a professional space for openness.
Qualities of Counsellor
A Genuine Interest in Others
This one isn’t technically a skill – but it is an essential component of a counseling career. When you wake up in the morning, do you have the drive and energy to sit with people through their best and worst? Can you be fully present for your clients’ stories, however difficult or long? Will you still be ten years down the road? A sustained commitment to facilitating positive transformation and human-to-human connection is key to a successful and fulfilling career in mental health.
Self-Reflection
An effective therapist knows that it’s just as important to look within themselves as it is to carefully observe others. The idea of “Self as Instrument” is central to a successful education and career in mental health. Thinking well means to think critically, to conceptualize the client in theoretical terms, and to demonstrate good academic skills. To act well means to conduct oneself in the service of the client, community, and the professional field. Through the use of Self as Instrument, counselors are able to better relate to clients and facilitate positive change.
The Ability to Listen – On Multiple Levels
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but effective listening as a counselor is a nuanced skill. A counselor needs not only to listen to what is being said, but how it’s said, why it’s being said, and what it means in the context of that particular client. Think content, delivery, and context. A counselor also needs to be able to listen “between the lines,” so to speak, for those things that aren’t being said. What a client omits from a session can speak just as clearly as what is communicated out loud. Perhaps most importantly, a counselor should know how to listen without judgment or evaluation. As a counselor, cultivating a non-reactive stance and learning the difference between observation and evaluation will help in making accurate assessments, and developing a relational connection with the client.
Accessibility and Authenticity
A counselor must be accessible to clients in order to gain their trust, but perhaps more importantly, a counselor needs to be genuine and empathetic – in his or her communication, listening, and professional persona. Developing an empathetic connection with each client is key to moving forward in the therapeutic process, and is the core of an effective counselor-client relationship.
Flexibility
A good counselor has flexibility in world views and a strong understanding of multicultural issues in clinical practice. Each client is going to be different in his or her background, experience, and engagement in the therapeutic relationship, so to be able to transition from one perspective to another based on each client is a skill that should be developed early on. However, recognizing when a counselor and client may not be a good fit with each other is another important facet of flexibility. Being able to communicate when things aren’t working, and then offering to refer the client to another professional who may be able to better aid them is one hallmark of a good counselor. A good counselor cannot – and should not — be all things to all clients.
A Sense of Humor
Counselors sit through some uncomfortable, difficult, and often traumatic stories. That said, it’s alright for both counselors and clients to laugh along the way. Timing is, of course, everything when it comes to this type of thing, but knowing how to form a relational connection with someone to the point of developing a shared sense of humor is a skill that shouldn’t be overlooked. Humor and a nuanced understanding of its uses in the therapeutic environment is a valuable tool.
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