Page 9 - PartA

Counselling Skills

2. Genuineness

Genuineness is also called congruence. Like unconditional positive regard,
genuineness is also an attitude that can be developed as a skill. It is perhaps the
most important basic skill for the counsellor because often clients can tell whether the
counsellor is genuine or not. They can tell if the counsellor is just ‘going through the
motions’, in which case they are not likely to be forthcoming with issues of concern.

If the counsellor is perceived not to be genuine, the client will lack trust in both the
counsellor and the counselling relationship. A relationship in which the client cannot
explore issues and make progress will not develop.

Genuineness comes from a desire to help the client find the solutions to their
problems, it is not solving the problems for them. It is strongly linked to having
unconditional positive regard. It means that the counsellor has to be authentic
and not put on a facade.

R Further Research: Genuineness

Use the link below to find out more about genuineness. If you
need help using the internet, you should seek advice from
your tutor or your local library. If the link does not work when you
type it into a browser, simply type ‘Gordon training: genuineness’
into a search engine and you will find the link on the results page.

http://www.gordontraining.com/leadership/acceptance-empathy-
and-genuineness-not-a-weakness/#

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