Why Can’t We Explain How We Help?
Counselors are highly skilled professionals trained in the art of emotional pain relief. We use our skills to promote insight in our clients so they feel better. When they feel better, we terminate treatment. If they don’t feel better, then we look at our treatment plan and make adjustments. If we make adjustments and our clients are still not feeling better, we help them find a specialist who can meet their needs and hopefully accomplish what we could not. What we’re not so good at is explaining this to our potential clients. So when talking to clients, perhaps we should think more like a dentist and clearly explain what we do and what to expect from our sessions. This “solution-focused and goal-oriented” approach could begin with the first phone call. Once your potential client explains her emotional pain, you would tell her three things:
- Whether or not counseling with you can help her specific issue,
- A step by step map of the first three to four sessions, and
- Specific tools she will gather by that fourth session that may offer symptom relief.
