Characteristic of the Affective Counselor
Lamonte Mackey
Liberty University

Abstract
Characteristics of an effective counselor can range from person to person or their opinions. Counseling is the application of mental health, psychological or human development principles, through cognitive, affective, behavioral or systemic intervention strategies, that address wellness, personal growth, or career development, as well as pathology. Thus counseling focuses on helping people make changes unlike guidance that focuses on helping individuals choose what they value most. Therefore a counselor is a person who gives counsel or advice. Counselors work in diverse community settings designed to provide a variety of counseling, rehabilitation, and support services. Their duties vary greatly, depending on their specialty, which is determined by the setting in which they work and the population they serve. Although the specific setting may have an implied scope of practice, counselors frequently are challenged with children, adolescents, adults, or families that have multiple issues, such as mental health disorders and addiction, disability and employment needs, school problem or career counseling needs, and trauma. Counselors must recognize these issues in order to provide their clients with appropriate counseling and support. As a counselor you need to have patience with your clients as they process the discussion. It may take them time to accept certain things and to move towards positive changes. Some people need to discuss something many times before they are prepared to make a move in any particular direction.
Keywords: counseling, characteristics, helping, issues

Introduction
According to Clinton & Ohlschlager (2002), counseling effectiveness is dignified by results, so skills are required that facilitate clients improve their lives through changes in their thought processes and behavior. In my opinion a counselor must take the time to asses a situation and fully listen to a client to understand their situation as a whole. A skilled counselor can identify negative thinking patterns and allow the clients to replace them with positive ones. The process involves goal-setting and creating appropriate action plans with the client. The researcher also noted the counselor needs to be able to challenge, reassure and motivate the client, especially when the client is resistant or finds it difficult to face painful memories. By using the voice to relax the client, the counselor allows the client to face challenges more effectively. According to Dillon (2014), counselors should always be a good listener and spend a significant amount of time listening to their clients. The counselor will do more listening than talking. The counselor must be content to give the client time to express their story and their feelings. The counselor will also need to be natural in subtle what the client is really saying and “read between the lines”. Counselors should always show a sense of compassion when dealing with clients as well. It is very important that your clients feel your compassion for their problems and that they sense you truly care about them. Dillon (2014) wisely noted, “Counselors may not be able to relate to every issue that is shared with them, but need to be able to have compassion for how it feels to be in their shoes”. Genuine concern yields positive results. Counselors hear all kinds of secretive information and meet all types of people. Counselors may hear dark secrets from someone’s past involving such things as sexual or criminal behavior. The effective counselor must do their best to refrain from judgment and instead communicate positive concern. The researcher also noted that there are times when it may be necessary to judge a particular behavior, but the client must not feel that the counselor is judging them. Likewise, the counselor may encounter clients of different races and/or cultures. Counselors must not push their cultural or religious views upon clients. Multicultural competency is a necessary skill. The researcher also stated the counseling environment needs to be a safe place for a client to share their most intimate concerns.
Body
According to Imig (2014), being a counselor involves a significant amount of time spent researching. An affective counselor will need to stay current on the research in order to help their clients. This involves reading books and journal articles on a regular basis. Counselors do not learn everything they need to know while attending college. Much of the knowledge will come from personal research after they have begun to see clients. The researcher also noted empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Counselors need to be able to put themselves in the shoes of their client and understand the situation from the client’s point of view. Even if a counselor does not agree with the client’s perspective, they still need the ability to understand how it feels to them in order to address their issue effectively. However, it’s important that counselors are not too empathetic. Some people struggle as counselors because they are unable to maintain objectivity and therefore carry home the emotional stress of the job. According to Imig (2014), the level of empathy necessary can be a fine line between helpful to client and harmful to counselor. The researcher stated confidentiality is of upmost importance when you are a counselor. As a professional you must be able to maintain confidentiality so the client can trust you with their most intimate concerns. The ability to encourage is important for a counselor. Many clients are struggling to find hope in their situation. One of the primary jobs of a counselor often involves instilling hope in a hopeless individual. According to Imig (2014), a counselor who is aware of their own fears, insecurities, and weaknesses will be effective in the therapeutic relationship. It is important that counselors do not react defensively to what a client shares. They must be able to keep their own feelings out of the session. They the counselors will be better able to do this if they are self-aware. In addition, self-aware individuals are more intuitive with regards to solving their own problems and can use that knowledge to help clients through similar situations. The researcher stated authenticity is vital when working with clients. Clients will know if a counselor or therapist is being unauthentic or not showing genuine concern. They will not open up or trust advice unless they feel genuine concern. This is even more critically important when working with teens. This is why active listening is also important. According to Clinton & Ohlschlager (2002), through active listening, effective counselors guide clients to finding their own answers, but listening is a learned skill. Good therapists are able to listen without interrupting and or offering advice. Clinton & Ohlschlager (2002) also noted during active listening, counselors are not only hearing the client's words but also understand the unstated message behind the words. Asking the right questions at the right time is also an important part of active listening. Active listening is a fundamental skill, together with reassuring clients to talk by asking open questions while keeping the client’s responses on track. The counselor also needs to listen to what is not being said, whether through mistake or expressed non-verbally. Being able to understand and use non-verbal communication such as voice tone and pitch, posture, facial expressions, gestures and unconscious movements are key skills. According to Dillon (2014), paraphrasing what the client says and reflecting feelings back to him are techniques used to communicate the counselor’s understanding, while summarizing allows the counselor to bring everything together accurately and concisely in just a few powerful words. In my opinion an effective counselor recognizes trends of harmful behavioral and thinking patterns by listening to and observing his clients. The variety in the client's voice and body language provides information to the observant therapist. As an example, the researcher also noted if a couple comes in and the husband angrily says he thinks the marriage is fine, while sitting as far from his spouse as possible, the therapist knows that everything is not "fine." Counselors are responsible for keeping track of paperwork, including insurance documents and case notes for each client. The counselor must have an organized system of property that protects client confidentiality while keeping the notes at hand and retrievable. According to Dillon (2014), they must also keep an accurate schedule to avoid booking multiple clients for the same time slot and to keep appointments on track. Whether running her own practice or simply managing her workload as an employee, the counselor needs to possess a number of organizational skills including prioritizing and timekeeping. Failure to be organized can result in the counselor appearing unprofessional and potentially have negative outcome for the clients and the practice. As I am in a profession myself where documentation is important, staying organized is a key component. The researcher also noted good record-keeping is particularly important, because all records must be treated confidentially and the counselor will be responsible for effective note-taking during the session. Conducting the session in a professional manner involves a number of skills, including the ability to adhere to a timescale and avoiding disclosing personal information. It is essential the counselor learns to control emotional involvement during difficult sessions, which may raise personal issues. According to Imig (2014), an effective counselor can identify negative thinking patterns that may be feeding feelings of sadness, depression or anxiety. By encouraging you to build upon personal strengths and suggesting skills that can overcome self-inflicted feelings of hopelessness, a counselor can help you develop a more positive attitude.
Conclusion
According to Clinton & Ohlschlager (2002), a good counselor can assist you in making positive changes in your relationships with others, helping you recognize behaviors that may be contributing to a negative situation. Rather than applying one formula or pushing right answers, the counselor should first listen deeply to assess individual symptoms and needs. There is no one-size-fits-all attitude. The researchers also noted good therapists offer a whole tool kit of techniques and approaches to create balanced guidance. Effective counselors do not bring prejudice into their work. Counselors take a broad view and explore other resources. Comfort with ambiguity. Many times, as counselors we cannot clearly see the results of our work. For example, counseling “results” are often biased or slanted because they are usually presented via client self-report, clients sometimes don’t return for that final session that provides closure, and occasionally, clients will lie. Therefore, you have to be comfortable in situations where you won’t always have all of the facts. Although this may seem apparent, counselors need to have a particular kind of empathy. According to Dillon (2014), a good counselor must balance empathy with accountability. Simply feeling sorry for clients isn’t enough; a good counselor must also hold clients accountable for their actions. Professionals in the field of counseling should be there to help them grow. Counseling is a profession that has a higher risk for stress. Therefore, if you are a person who has trouble defining boundaries and maintaining boundaries, your counseling years could possibly limited. A counselor with good boundaries understands limitations, and is able to say “no” when necessary in a constant, but kind, way and knows where responsibility for the change process ends and where the clients’ begins. They establish policies and procedures, and apply them regularly. For example, not allowing sessions to routinely surpass the pre-established time, since clients will sit and talk to you forever if you allow them to. They must believe in the capacity for change. According to Imig (2014), good counselors believe that people can, and do, change, and provide optimism and hope when there is none. However, good counselors are not blindly optimistic. Rather, they are realistic about the change process and are able to help the client set attainable goals. The researcher noted that some of these qualities can (and will) be enhanced during your education and practicums. However, these are important considerations for anyone thinking of entering the counseling field.

References
Clinton, T. & Ohlschlager, G. (2002). Competent Christian Counseling, Volume One; 45. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press.
Dillon, S. (2014). A List of Skills Needed to Become an Effective Counselor. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/list-skills-needed-become-effective-counselor-5100.html
Imig, A. (2014). Small but Mighty: Perspectives of Rural Mental Health Counselors. The Professional Counselor, 4, 404–412. doi:10.15241/aii.4.4.404