Counselling Skills for Youth Justice Workers

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Professional behaviour
   • demonstrate knowledge of professional ethics and values
   • identify strategies for resolving ethical dilemmas
   • demonstrate knowledge of the difference between a personal and professional relationship
   • identify skill strengths and limitations including awareness of the limits of one’s expertise
   • describe the importance of self-awareness to the helping process
   • describe strategies for increasing self-awareness including establishing conditions for giving and receiving feedback
   • define the characteristics of a counselling relationship
   • list the essential relationship-building objectives of each of the four phases of counselling
   • explain the importance of the core conditions of warmth, empathy, and genuineness
   • demonstrate core conditions in a helping interview
   • describe the counselling contract
   • demonstrate the ability to negotiate a counselling contract
   • define and demonstrate immediacy skills
   • identify counselling and interviewing skills
   • demonstrate ability to classify skills based on purpose, client need and phase of helping
   • describe the circumstances where the use of a particular skill or strategy may be appropriate
   • identify non-helping behaviours
   • list the phases involved in the helping process - preliminary, beginning, action or work, ending
   • describe essential worker tasks and skills for each phase of helping
   • demonstrate ability to preplan an interview
   • demonstrate knowledge of non-verbal communication skills
   • demonstrate techniques for gathering information (e.g., open questions, closed questions, probing for specificity and definition)
   • demonstrate ability to maintain the focus of an interview
   • demonstrate ability to listen, summarize and paraphrase
   • demonstrate ability to respond with empathy
   • demonstrate ability to use self disclosure appropriately
   • demonstrate assertiveness
   • demonstrate ability to use confrontation skills appropriately
   • demonstrate knowledge of skills for working with hostile and potentially violent clients
   • demonstrate versatility with a range of skills and strategies
2. Self-Awareness
3. Relationship building skills
4. Counselling/Interviewing Process
5. Counselling/Interviewing Skills
6. Empowerment Skills
   • describe the elements of empowering clients
   • demonstrate ability to identify and assess problems
   • demonstrate ability to assist clients to set long and short term goals
   • demonstrate ability to assist clients to identify and evaluate strategies for problem solving and goal attainment
   • demonstrate ability to assist clients to implement action plans
   • demonstrate ability to assist clients to evaluate and revise action plans
   • demonstrate the ability to assist clients by reframing
7. Culture and Diversity
   • define worldview and its importance to counselling
   • explain why realities such as racism and oppression impact counselling
   • identify and explore how the values, beliefs, behaviours, and traditions of diverse populations impact the counselling process
   • adapt counselling strategies to fit the needs of diverse populations