Careers in Counselling
The counselling professions include a range of different titles and specialisms, with practitioners working in settings ranging from healthcare and education to workplaces or voluntary groups.
What counsellors do
People seek counselling to help them resolve emotional, psychological and relationship issues. Clients may be experiencing difficult and distressing events in their lives, such as bereavement, divorce, health problems or job concerns. Or they may have more general underlying feelings of anxiety or dissatisfaction with life.
Some clients feel isolated and have no one else to talk to, but even people with supportive family and friends can find it difficult to talk to loved ones about feeling anxious or depressed. They may find it easier to talk about personal, family or relationship issues with an independent professional therapist.
Counselling involves a series of formal sessions where the therapist and the client talk about the client’s issues and feelings. Even short-term therapy typically involves six to 12 sessions. The sessions take place at a regular, agreed time and in a ‘safe’ private place where the client and therapist will not be overheard or interrupted.
Therapy may involve talking about life events, feelings, emotions, relationships, ways of thinking and patterns of behaviour. The therapist will listen, encourage and empathise, but will also challenge to help the client to see their issues more clearly or from a different perspective.
Counselling is not about giving advice or opinions, nor is it a friendly chat with a friend. The therapist helps the client to understand themselves better and find their own solutions to resolve or cope with their situation.
Where Counsellors work
Counsellors may work with individuals, couples, families or groups, and may provide counselling face-to-face, over the telephone or online. They can work in a variety of settings, such as schools, universities and colleges, GP centres and hospitals, community agencies, NGOs, addiction agencies, disability support groups, Kaupapa Māori services, or in private practice.
Counsellors may specialise in specific fields, such as addiction or relationships, or may work with clients on a wide range of issues. Some counsellors have dual roles, such as counsellor and teacher, coordinator and counsellor. Others work on a purely voluntary basis, with many helplines staffed by people with counselling skills.
Personal Qualities
- able to work and communicate with people from all backgrounds warm, open and empathetic, able to gain people’s trust and help them feel relaxed
- patient, tolerant and sensitive with an impartial, non-judgmental attitude
- trustworthy and discreet, with a good sense of personal integrity and ethics
- resilient and self-aware, with the ability to examine your own thoughts and feelings and understand your limitations
https://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/health-and-community/community-services/counsellor/