Effective Counselling Techniques

Topics:

• Understanding Counselling Methods and Modalities
  • Overview of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Family-Based Interventions, Person-Centred Interventions, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy interventions.
  • Applications of counselling methods across diverse client contexts (individuals, groups, communities).
• Assessing Risk Factors
  • Identifying potential risks and requirements for different counselling methods.
  • Adapting counselling modalities to cultural, psychological, and social diversity.
  • Using clinical judgment to select and adapt techniques based on client diversity.

Topics:

• Exploring Counselling Interventions
  • Step-by-step process for planning and executing effective counselling interventions.
  • Use of intervention techniques in various counselling scenarios.
    • Client-Centered Interventions
    • Dialogical Interventions in CBT
• Facilitating Insightful Client Conversations to uncover underlying client issues
  • Open-ended questioning techniques for encouraging clients to open up and share deeper insights during sessions.
  • Guiding conversations to uncover underlying client issues

Topics:

• Building Rapport:
  • Techniques to establish trust and foster engagement.
  • The role of empathy, cultural sensitivity, and non-verbal communication.
  • Strategies for maintaining rapport throughout counselling sessions.
• Effective Communication Skills:
  • Active Listening
  • Overcoming Communication Barriers
    • Identify and address potential challenges, such as resistance, misunderstandings, or emotional defenses.
    • Maintain clarity and adaptability in communication strategies.
  • Motivational Interviewing (OARS)
  • Reflective Listening

Topics:

• Understanding Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication:
  • Key principles of active listening, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
  • Recognizing non-verbal cues such as body language, tone, and facial expressions.
• Applying Socioemotional Objectives in Counselling:
  • Understanding common socioemotional goals such as improving emotional regulation, fostering self-awareness, and enhancing interpersonal relationships.
  • Integrating these objectives into goal-setting discussions.
• Goal Setting and Intervention Selection:
  • Assisting clients in identifying specific and achievable goals.
  • Aligning goals with their socioemotional needs and circumstances.
  • Presenting a range of interventions suited to client goals and preferences.

Topics:

• Monitoring Client Progress and Emotions
  • Techniques for assessing emotional and psychological states.
  • Using reflective tools to track emotional and psychological changes such as mood tracker.
• Adapting Interventions Based on Client Needs
  • Adjusting strategies based on client feedback and needs.
• Aligning therapeutic approaches with evolving client goals.

Topics:

• Identifying and Addressing Crises:
  • Recognizing signs of immediate risk or distress
  • Introduction to Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS).
  • Differentiating between types of crises (e.g., psychological, environmental).
  • Crisis intervention strategies for managing immediate risks.
• Managing Unintended Consequences:
  • Handling adverse outcomes during counselling interventions.
    • Stress-Reduction Techniques (Breathing Exercises).
    • Cognitive Reframing.
    • Time-Out Strategy (Short Break).
  • Strategies to support clients in challenging situations

Topics:

• Best Practices for Documentation:
  • Key elements to include in counselling records.
  • Ensuring accuracy, confidentiality, and compliance.
• Reporting Procedures and Standards:
  • Structuring reports for clarity and professional use.

Topics:

• Identifying High-Risk and Sensitive Cases:
  • Recognizing signs of risk that warrant escalation. 
  • Criteria for identifying cases needing intervention from higher authorities. (clinical supervisors, law enforcement)
• Escalation Protocols with Ethical Consideration:
  • Agency-Specific SOPs:
  • Overview of standard operating procedures for escalating high-risk cases.
    • Importance of consulting clinical supervisors and adhering to emergency protocols.
    • Addressing ethical requirements during escalation, such as obtaining informed consent where possible.
  • Interagency Collaboration:
    • Steps for involving external authorities such as police, healthcare providers, or social workers in crises.
    • Communicating client needs effectively while balancing ethical principles, including the duty to warn and the need for discretion.
• Code of Ethics – Singapore Association for Counselling:

Topics:

• Evaluating Counselling Effectiveness:
  • Key indicators of successful counselling outcomes (e.g., goal achievement, client progress).
  • Tools and methods for measuring intervention effectiveness (e.g., progress reviews, client feedback).
• Determining Need for Termination or Continuation:
  • Criteria for concluding counselling upon achieving goals.
  • Recognizing when further intervention is unnecessary or counterproductive.
  • Communicating the decision for termination effectively and empathetically to clients.

Topics:

• Identifying Relevant Stakeholders in the Social Service Ecosystem:
  • Overview of key stakeholders: healthcare providers, mental health specialists, social workers, community organizations, and legal advisors.
  • Mapping client needs to appropriate services (e.g., medical support, financial assistance, or family counselling).
  • Understanding the role of transdisciplinary collaboration in holistic care.
• Effective Referral Processes:
  • Best practices for initiating and coordinating client referrals.
  • Communicating client needs clearly and comprehensively to stakeholders.
• Collaborating with clients to address gaps or unmet needs in referred services

Effective counselling is a supportive and empathetic process where trained professionals help individuals work through personal, emotional, or psychological challenges. It focuses on active listening, trust-building, and evidence-based techniques to promote self-awareness, healing, and positive change. Rather than offering advice, counselling empowers clients to make informed decisions and develop healthy coping strategies. Used across social services, healthcare, education, and workplaces, it enhances well-being, resilience, and meaningful connections.

• Conversational Skills and Emotional Awareness:
  Effective counselling builds strong communication and active listening skills, helping individuals connect deeply, understand context, and respond with empathy and insight.
• Quality and Depth of Client Support:
  Counselling techniques enable individuals to offer thoughtful, tailored support that addresses the unique emotional and psychological needs of each client.
• Versatility and Applicability:
  Counselling skills are valuable across diverse fields—social work, healthcare, education, HR, community services, and more—making them highly transferable.
• Accessibility and Practical Learning:
  Counselling courses are structured to be practical, hands-on, and accessible to learners from all backgrounds, providing real-world applications from day one.
• Continuous Growth and Development:
  Counselling promotes self-awareness and lifelong learning, helping individuals continuously improve their ability to support others and manage their own well-being.
• Ethics, Boundaries, and Safe Practice:
  Counselling training includes a strong emphasis on ethics, confidentiality, and safe professional boundaries to ensure responsible, respectful practice.

In short, learning counselling equips you with powerful interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and ethical grounding to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others. Whether you're supporting a friend, client, student, or colleague, counselling empowers you to respond with empathy, clarity, and care—making it a vital skillset in today’s people-centric world.

This course has been accredited as a WSQ course and is eligible for funding under the SkillsFuture funding, subject to all eligibility criteria being met. Participants are advised to assess the suitability of the course and its relevance to his/her business activities or job roles. The SkillsFuture Funding provides 50% - 70% course fee subsidy support for direct training costs subject to all eligibility criteria being met.

Find out more on https://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/funding-individuals

Yes. For self-sponsored Singaporeans aged 25 years old and above, you can use your SkillsFuture Credit to offset the remaining course fees after WSQ funding.

To check your SkillsFuture credit balance, please follow these steps:

1. Go to https://myskillsfuture.gov.sg
2. Click on ‘Submit SkillsFuture Credit Claims’
3. Login with your SingPass
4. Click on the arrow (>) at the top right hand corner. You will be able to see a drop-down list of your Available SkillsFuture Credits.

After you have registered for a course, an Aventis representative will reach out to guide you with the SkillsFuture Credits

Yes, all our courses are eligible for Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) Funding. NTUC Union members can use UTAP to offset 50% of unfunded course fees (capped at $500 per year).

This claim must be done after completion of the course. Please refer to the UTAP FAQ for more information.

Yes, both can be utilized concurrently. UTAP claims are processed after SkillsFuture Credits have been applied.

Illustrative Example:

• Total Course Fee: $1,000
• IBF Subsidy (70%): $700
• Remaining Fee: $300
• SkillsFuture Credit Applied: $200
• Out-of-Pocket Expense: $100
• UTAP Reimbursement (50% of $100): $50
• Final Cost After Reimbursements: $50

A laptop is required for this course. No special software or other hardware is required for this course participation.

Upon successful completion of this IBF-accredited course, you'll receive a Effective Counselling Techniques certification to showcase your knowledge and expertise in this field.

Our programmes are highly respected by leading companies, who actively shape our curriculum and utilize our courses for employee training.