How to be a good counselor :

1) Judgment
A good counselor is someone who can learn not to make judgments on behalf of the person being helped. Although counsellors have their own values, these should not be imposed on the client – and the counsellor must retain the ability to listen to and accept the views of clients with other standards.

2) Patience and Acceptance
A counselor rarely needs to use his or her self control in dealing with people, even those people who are not likeable.

3) Experience
Learning to grow into a more complete person from the experience of life’s hard knocks can be a valuable quality in a counselor.

4) Education
Formal degrees in psychology do not necessarily make good counsellors, but a common sense approach is not sufficient. Good counsellors are willing and able to learn about themselves and other people too.

5) Social Skills
It is not enough to be considered to be a good listener. Counselors learn through training how to perceive all aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication, and deliberately improve their listening skills by using appropriate techniques during counselling.

6) Genuineness and Warmth
Effective counsellors have a genuine interest in other people. This is often referred to as respect or unconditional positive regard for the person being helped. People who do not need others in their lives may find this sort of warmth to unknown people as being problematic.

7) Discretion
Counselors must show complete discretion, never revealing what others say or do within the counselling context. Confidentiality is paramount in counseling relationships.

8) Practice, Practice, Practice
Counseling requires a lot of training, followed by much practice. A current job that will allow the possibility of a helping role could be very useful.