As a counselor, it is a given-in that I would be a huge proponent of us all having a counselor. When I say this, people look at me with wonder and often ask what leads me to this conclusion. Aaron Beck, one of the most prominent contributors to CBT techniques, said that ‘Counselors are supportive listeners who will provide honest, harsh, and non-biased perspectives on life situations discussed during therapy.’ Sometimes, it’s the hardest for people to accept the most obvious realities in their lives. After all, who wants to look at the painful or shameful things about oneself? We all avoid looking at ourselves and our lives in a realistic way because it doesn’t feel good to feel ashamed or emotional turmoil, this avoidance is called denial. A licensed professional counselor can help a person to overcome this denial that exists in all of us as a way to trick ourselves into minimizing things we do not enjoy about our lives, the people in them, and ourselves. A counselor is an unbiased bystander that is able to notice these unhelpful patterns in our thinking that lead to problematic behavior and can help one replace these unrealistic thoughts with healthier, more realistic thinking that results in better behavioral choices.
Counselors are not only there to offer their clients someone to actively listen and process through feelings and problems, they are also teachers of skills that can help cope with life. Anxiety, depression and other emotional or mental health issues are on the rise due to increased pressures of modern day life, people having too much to do in too little time, and a lack of work-life balance. This epidemic of poor quality of life, lack of self-care and little to no life balance is something that people are not born knowing how to manage effectively. A counselor can help people learn to change their perspectives on situations, adopt healthier habits and how to implement coping skills on a daily basis to decrease stress, depression, frustration and anxiety levels. Counselors are also advocates and are able to provide their clients with support and assistance in receiving needed services, coordinating with physicians and other health professionals as needed on the client’s behalf and to ensure that all of a person’s health care providers are working with one another as a service care team. Counselors can also provide information and educate clients regarding the community services, government assistance programs, and other useful resources that are available and may also cater referrals to each client’s specific needs. As you can see, counselors are not just a one trick pony, but they wear many different hats. Counselors offer services that can be useful for anyone because they offer so many diverse types of services to their clients.
Counselors are not only there to offer their clients someone to actively listen and process through feelings and problems, they are also teachers of skills that can help cope with life. Anxiety, depression and other emotional or mental health issues are on the rise due to increased pressures of modern day life, people having too much to do in too little time, and a lack of work-life balance. This epidemic of poor quality of life, lack of self-care and little to no life balance is something that people are not born knowing how to manage effectively. A counselor can help people learn to change their perspectives on situations, adopt healthier habits and how to implement coping skills on a daily basis to decrease stress, depression, frustration and anxiety levels. Counselors are also advocates and are able to provide their clients with support and assistance in receiving needed services, coordinating with physicians and other health professionals as needed on the client’s behalf and to ensure that all of a person’s health care providers are working with one another as a service care team. Counselors can also provide information and educate clients regarding the community services, government assistance programs, and other useful resources that are available and may also cater referrals to each client’s specific needs. As you can see, counselors are not just a one trick pony, but they wear many different hats. Counselors offer services that can be useful for anyone because they offer so many diverse types of services to their clients.