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EXPECTATIONS
FROM COUNSELOR
What you can expect
from your counselor?
You can expect someone who is interested in listening to your concerns
and in helping you develop a better understanding of them so that
you may deal with them more easily and effectively. Your counselor
will take you seriously and be willing to openly discuss anything
you wish to discuss. Expect your counselor to focus the session
on you, and not on others. Because counselors have different beliefs
about how people change, they differ on how much talking they do
in sessions, whether they ask you to do "homework," and
their focus of discussion. If you have any questions about what
is going on, by all means ask.
Counselors have no "magical" skills or knowledge, and
will be unable to solve your problems directly for you. Your counselor
will want to work with you, but won't do for you what you are capable
of doing for yourself. Except under unusual circumstances, your
counselor will maintain strict confidentiality about you, and will
openly discuss this with you.
Your responsibilities in counseling
Your main responsibilities in counseling are to attend your regularly
scheduled sessions, talk about what is bothering you as openly and
honestly as you can, and complete any tasks or "homework"
assignments you may be asked to do. You are expected to let your
counselor know if you are unable to make it to a session. Most counseling
will require you to try something new or a "different approach."
Another thing your counselor will expect is for you to be willing
to experiment and try things without jumping to conclusions. You
are also expected to let your counselor know when your problems
have been solved as well as let your counselor know if you don't
feel like you're making any progress. This latter point is most
important: your counselor is most interested in your benefiting
from counseling.
Common difficulties in counseling.
One of the most difficult steps in counseling occurs before you
even see a counselor for the first time. Deciding to seek counseling
is the first step in change. Once this decision has been made, the
mechanics for change have been set in motion. In the process of
changing the way you think, feel, or behave, you usually must try
out new ways of doing things. This can make you anxious or frustrated.
Also, in the course of counseling you may come to realize that things
you once thought of only in a positive or negative way you may see
a bit differently. The challenges of pushing on your limitations
may also cause your frustrations, but with commitment and practice,
you will find that you can stretch your limits and find new and
exciting aspects of your self.
Tips on how to benefit from counseling:
Be ready to focus on a specific problem or issue. Be prepared for
your sessions. Attend your sessions and take an active part in them.
Complete (or at least attempt) any "homework." Tell your
counselor if you think you're not being helped.
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