Basic Counseling Skills
Every discipline has a mindset and a skill set. The accountant, teacher, doctor, fireman and farmer, for example, have a mindset and skill set that enable him or her to do what they do. When it comes to counseling people, there is a mindset and a skill set.
“I feel better equipped to mentor and now I have a lot of resources and tools I can reference as needed. This course also helped me understand my own struggles better and how I process and work through them.”- 2025 Course Participant
The objective of this online course is to motivate, inform and equip helpers in the area of providing counsel to others. The lessons cover the counselor's mindset & skill set, as well as how to encourage and help people. The course is designed to accommodate individuals working through the content at their own pace, but a group of people (ministers, mentors, women helpers, etc.) could also walk through and learn the content together. Participants will reflect on informational videos, articles and podcasts. For more information, view this introductory video and review the details that follow.
Course Goals:
- Participants will be given a “mindset” for counseling. Such a “mindset” will give them a healthy standpoint from which to engage a person in a counseling situation and offer encouragement and/or help.
- Participants will be given a “skill set” for counseling. Such a “skill set” will give them the tools with which to engage a person in a counseling situation and offer encouragement and/or help.
Table of Contents:
- Lesson 1: The Counselor's Mindset.
- Lesson 2: The Counselor's Skill Set.
- Lesson 3: How to Encourage Others.
- Lesson 4: How to Help Others.
Lesson information:
This can be either an individual course or a group course.
- This course has been designed to serve an individual who wishes to complete the course on their own. All reflection prompts will be private to them.
- This course can be engaged in a group context. Group participants will have an opportunity to collaborate on discussion prompts.
Each lesson will include:
- Motivation.
- Information.
- Personal Reflection/Discussion.
- Application.
Participants should expect each lesson to take 1.5 – 2 hours to complete. In addition, participants will be able to determine how frequently lessons are to be completed. Below there are two separate registrations: Individual is for those taking the course on their own & Group is for those taking the course with others.
Course Notes (optional):
The link below is a pdf of the course content in note form. If you wish to print and use them as a paper guide, feel free to do so. This, however, is not required.