Introduction

Unit Title

CHCCSL002 – Apply specialist interpersonal and counselling interview skills

Unit Purpose

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to use advanced interpersonal communication skills to facilitate the client-counsellor relationship in a counselling practice.

Prerequisites

There are no pre-requisites for this unit

Content

Section 1: An introduction to effective communication

Section 2: Microskills and the counselling interview

Section 3: Specialist counselling communication skills

Section 4: Counselling practice

Resources/Readings

Readings A – H are located directly after the learning material for this module.

Suggested Hours

Although everyone will work at their own pace, we suggest you allow approximately 60 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 CHCCSL002 Assessments.

Upon completion of this unit, you should be able to:

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 communication in counselling practice, and how these are applied in individual practice:
  • Codes of conduct/practice
  • Discrimination
  • Duty of care
  • Human rights
  • Practitioner/client boundaries
  • Privacy, confidentiality and disclosure
  • Rights and responsibilities of workers, employers and clients
  • Work role boundaries – responsibilities and limitations of the counsellor role
  • Work health and safety
  • Principles of person-centred practice
  • Key objectives of counselling interviewing
• Stages of a counselling interview
• Potential impacts of using different communication skills and techniques in counselling contexts
• Communication techniques and micro-skills including:
  • Attending behaviours – active listening, reflection of content feeling, summarising
  • Questioning skills – open, closed, simple and compound questions
  • Client observation skills
  • Noting and reflecting skills
  • Providing client feedback
  • Specialised counselling communication techniques and how they are used, including:
    • Challenging
    • Reframing
    • Focusing
• Components of the communication process including:
  • Encoder
  • Decoder
  • Primary factors that impact on the communication process including:
    • Context
    • Participants
    • Rules
    • Messages
    • Channels
    • Noise
    • Feedback
• Communication barriers and resolution strategies, including:
  • Environmental
  • Physical
  • Individual perceptions
  • Cultural issues
  • Language
  • Age issues
  • Disability
• Mechanisms that enhance effective interpersonal communication
• Observational techniques, including:
  • Facial expressions
  • Non-verbal behaviour
  • Posture
  • Silence
• Ways in which different people absorb information, including:
  • Visual
  • Auditory
  • Kinaesthetic
• Obstacles to the counselling process
• Impacts of trauma and stress on the communication process, including on:
  • Concentration and attention
  • Memory
  • Use of verbal and written language
  • Use of body language
  • Challenging within the counselling session
• Self-evaluation practices, including:
  • How to recognise own biases
  • Impact of own values on the counselling relationship

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:

• interviewed at least 3 different clients using specialised interpersonal communication and counselling interviewing skills, including:
  • micro-skills and communication techniques, including:
    • attending behaviours – active listening,
    • reflection of content, summarising
    • questioning skills – open, closed, simple and compound questions
    • client observation skills
    • noting and reflecting skills
    • providing client feedback
  • specialised counselling interviewing skills, including:
    • challenging
    • reframing
    • focussing
  • integrated clear case note taking into the interview process
  • completed a structured process of self-reflection and evaluation of own communication used during the 3 interviews.