CHCCSL003 – Facilitate the Counselling Relationship and Process
Overview
In this module, you will learn more about the counselling process, including how counsellors support clients to identify and work through concerns and manage the overall counselling process to its conclusion.
Trigger Warning
This Module may include content that deals with sensitive and emotionally challenging topics. Some of the topics covered in this course may include trauma, abuse, addiction, mental health issues, and relationship difficulties. These topics may evoke strong emotions, memories, or reactions in some learners. It is important to prioritise your own self-care and seek support as needed.
If you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed, please do not hesitate to reach out to your trainer, student services or a mental health professional for support. The following services may be helpful:
Introduction
Unit overview and outcomes – CHCCSL003 Facilitate the Counselling Relationship and Process
Section 1: Supporting Clients to Identify and Work Through Concerns
This module section explores some of the key skills, techniques, and processes counsellors use to establish effective counselling relationships that enable clients to identify and work through their concerns. Using these skills, techniques, and processes helps ensure effective counselling practice.
Section 2: Monitoring the Counselling Process and Ensuring Effective Counselling
This module section explores the processes involved in monitoring the counselling process. You will learn how to monitor and review the counselling process with clients to ensure that it remains effective and address a number of common threats and disruptions that can hinder the counselling process.
Section 3: Bringing the Counselling Relationship to an End
Ending the counselling process requires preparation and planning. In this final section of the module, you will learn about the key processes and techniques involved in effectively planning for the termination of the counselling relationship and process.
Unit Purpose
This unit describes the skills and knowledge to support clients to identify and work though concerns, and to manage the overall counselling process to its conclusion.
Prerequisites
There are no pre-requisites for this unit.
Content
Section 1: Supporting Clients to Identify and Work Through Concerns
Section 2: Monitoring the Counselling Process and Ensuring Effective Counselling
Section 3: Bringing the Counselling Relationship to an End
Resources/Readings
Readings A – H are located at the end of this module.
Suggested Hours
Although everyone will work at their own pace, we suggest you allow approximately 100 hours to complete this unit competently, including seminars, tutorials, assignments and practical activities.
Timeframe
The recommended time frame for this unit is 4 weeks.
Assessment
This unit will be assessed by completing the CHCCSL003 Assessments.
Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:
| Element | Performance Criteria |
|---|---|
|
1. Support clients to identify concerns |
1.1 Follow the client’s story and stay with their perspective to assist the client to feel comfortable and express their concerns freely 1.2 Explore the client’s presenting issues and establish their nature and depth, giving attention to the possibility of underlying issues 1.3 Identify and promptly deal with situations requiring immediate action 1.4 Support clients to identify their primary concerns in relation to the presenting issues and to prioritise concerns on which to work 1.5 Recognise indicators of client issues requiring referral and report or refer appropriately in line with organisation requirements |
|
2. Support clients to work through concerns |
2.1 Identify and work with uncertainty and ambivalence of clients 2.2 Support clients to experience and process difficulties 2.3 Draw attention to, and discuss parallels and links in client’s experience as appropriate 2.4 Identify and implement interventions that have meaning for the client’s immediate situation and that are most likely to facilitate client understanding and actions 2.5 Support clients to identify and use known and previously unknown strengths 2.6 Explore perceptions of client’s feelings by reflecting back, clarification and review 2.7 Assist clients to become aware of underlying issues where appropriate and begin to identify ways of dealing with them 2.8 Acknowledge and work with changes in client’s life as appropriate |
| 3. Monitor the counselling process | 3.1 Monitor and review the counselling process with clients to ensure it remains of value 3.2 Proactively identify and work on threats and disruptions to the counselling process with clients 3.3 Review and compare own and client’s perceptions of the process and provide suggestions and advice in response 3.4 Address any tension between client’s hopes and expectations and the reality of resource limitations 3.5 Facilitate change at a pace the client can tolerate and assimilate 3.6 Recognise and assess the appropriateness of ending the current counselling 3.7 Acknowledge, value and work with individual uncertainty in the counselling relationship 3.8 Apply ethical codes of conduct in addressing counselling dilemmas |
| 4. Bring the counselling relationship to an end | 4.1 Enable client to identify when the process is approaching its conclusion 4.2 Enable client to identify, acknowledge and evaluate what is and is not changing, both in the counselling process and in their situation and understanding 4.3 Use the ending process to enable client to understand the nature and impact of earlier issues 4.4 Use boundaries of the counselling relationship to assist the ending process 4.5 Plan, structure and contract endings appropriately with client 4.6 Support client’s sense of autonomy during the ending process 4.7 Inform clients about any opportunities for further support 4.8 Identify unresolved issues and discuss further work if appropriate 4.9 Complete documentation and reporting according to organisation requirements |
Knowledge Evidence
The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the work role. This includes knowledge of:
- Legal and ethical considerations for the counselling relationship, and how these are applied in individual practice:
- codes of conduct/practice
- discrimination
- duty of care
- human rights
- mandatory reporting
- practitioner/client boundaries
- privacy, confidentiality and disclosure
- records management
- rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients
- work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations
- work health and safety
- Different agency and organisation models of counselling and intervention
- The counselling process, including:
- what clients have a right to expect
- principles of person-centred practice
- purpose of counselling
- how counselling has evolved as a helping relationship
- place of counselling within the helping services
- scope and nature of the counselling relationship, including professional limitations
- impact of own values on the counselling relationship
- Obstacles to the counselling process, including:
- psychological
- physical
- economic
- Indicators of needs requiring referral, and referral options
- Structure of key stages of a counselling session, and techniques for managing each stage, including:
- introduction and establishment of relationship
- body (getting the client’s story)
- issues identification and exploration
- options and plan for change
- session closure
- Self-awareness including:
- role within the organisation
- limits of competence and responsibility
- personal strengths and limitations
- individual needs for support and supervision
- impact of own values and beliefs on capacity to be non-judgemental
Performance Evidence
The candidate must show evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage tasks and manage contingencies in the context of the job role. There must be evidence that the candidate has:
- Facilitated the counselling process for at least 3 different clients with varying presenting issues, in at least 3 sessions per client
- Facilitated client sessions using all aspects of the counselling process:
- identifying concerns
- working through concerns
- monitoring the counselling relationship
- Followed processes to bring the counselling process to an end on at least 2 occasions.
