Page 55 - PartA
P. 55
Counselling Skills
Unconditional positive regard
Having unconditional positive regard means valuing and respecting the client as a
unique human being. It involves:
• Accepting and caring about the client in a non-possessive way, irrespective
of how the client behaves
• Not judging the client by a set of rules or standards
• Accepting the client’s strengths and weaknesses, positive and negative
qualities, and thoughts and feelings
• Not pressuring the client to be someone else
• Facilitating and helping the client to change.
Key Fact
Lack of respect for other people’s cultures and beliefs can lead to
discrimination, exploitation and the denial of people’s rights.
Empathetic understanding
Empathetic understanding means being able to see the world as the client sees it and
being able to communicate that to the client.
Complete the following activity to check your understanding of empathy.
A Activity 2: The meaning of ‘empathy’
Look at the statements below and tick those that you think would
enable someone to demonstrate empathy.
1. Being able to step into someone else’s shoes and step out again. √
2. Being able to stand back and be objective, rather than
becoming totally enmeshed in the client’s world.
3. Being close to, but separate from, the other person.
Check your answers at the end of this workbook.
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