This counselling module is presented as an introduction to general counselling to address the needs of students studying with the Life Academy.

Within this context the counselling role or skills utilised may be a sub role within a broader role of flower essence practitioner or another type of healer or therapist. The skills of counselling can be used at many points during a flower essence consultation. Even if the flower essence practitioner is not providing counselling in a formal sense they will need to respond with sensitivity and communicate with their client. This counselling module will teach appropriate ways to communicate with your client and will enhance your practice.

In addition it is useful for students to have an understanding of this discipline, as a number of your clients will also be seeing a counsellor or psychologist or mental health practitioner. In this way the flower essence practitioner can provide excellent quality of care by understanding this modality.

The limitations of this module are acknowledged. This module is an introduction to basic counselling. The focus is on developing practical counselling skills and building self-awareness in the student. As such the more theoretical aspects of psychology and counselling are not presented in much detail. If students seek a deeper understanding about the theoretical aspects and different models of counselling and psychology they are encouraged to enrol in a full time course in this.

The building blocks of this module are based on Carl Roger's Client Centered Therapy. Client Centered Therapy is based on a sound ethics and deals with the client's unique problems, feelings, and attitudes. Client-Centered Therapy encourages exploration of thoughts and feelings in order to obtain insight into the causes for behaviours. It takes the client's internal frame of reference as the starting point. Roger's used the term client rather than patient. This was very significant for him, as he believed the term patient implied being sick or mentally ill, rather than responsible and competent. He believed treating clients emphasized that they are in charge of the therapy and that the focus is upon the equality inherent in the client/therapist relationship

The client-centered approach is especially useful during the early phase of the counselling process when relationship building is paramount. Many researchers have reported that when the therapist focuses on building a positive, warm, and caring relationship with the client then the results of therapy are much better. Even amongst different models and approaches to counselling there is agreement that the relationship between client and therapist is vital to the process working well. In Client Centered Therapy the type of relationship the therapist has with the client is one where the therapist is not necessarily the expert with all the answers but is willing to walk alongside the client and be there for them.

In this module we will also use a number of useful techniques drawn from Gestalt Therapy. The use of specific language and role-play are the main Gestalt techniques covered in this module. These can be combined well with the Client-Centered Therapy. Gestalt therapy can be quite confrontational however combining it with the warmth and caring of the Client-Centered therapy can be very effective.

In counselling, the therapist as a person and as a therapist is the main instrument of change and help for the client. As such, therapist self-awareness and ethical practices are most important. There will be a focus in this module on developing self-awareness in the students. Ethical practices for counsellors will be discussed in Module Two.