0UNIVERSITY OF NORTHEASTERN PHILIPPINES

Iriga City
School of Graduate Studies
A/Y 2022-2023

MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION MAJOR IN GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING

TECHNIQUES OF COUNSELING

Name: KEN PAUL V. BALCUEVA

MICROSKILLS IN COUNSELING

Instruction: Read the attached reading on Counseling Microskills. Identify the microskills you
think you possess based on the reading material. Write your professional reflection.

“Many can give advice, but few can provide professional counsel”. This is how I express
the nature of counseling. It is indeed that offering some advice might be easier than providing
counseling. Counseling, in a wide range perspective, seek professional standards to be fit on it. It
also requires micro-counseling skills to be able to conduct the counseling procedures
professionally and appropriately. We cannot easily tell the client either what to do or not
enabling them just to fit in our standards and expectations.
The usage of approaches in counseling can differ from one another. Based from the
reading, adults and young person demands separate methods of micro-counseling skills when
performing professional counseling. I certainly agree with this statement, that for us to
empathically infiltrate one’s persona, we must make an extensive use of micro-counseling skills.
In fact, it was a bit surprise for me that I actually performing these useful micro-counseling skills
unconsciously either when giving a piece of advice or when encountering a confused one.
Definitely, my observation always gave me that impressions towards the person, but not
considering the fact that it might be their façade concealing their actual self. This is typical,
particularly when the trust has not yet been built between the line. Trust unlocks concealment
towards the reality. This is the only way for us to put our feet onto their shoes – a way to know
them, help and make them feel better. Active listening could not just only mean I am attending to
the clients’ concern but also reminds me about the ethical way of communication that every time
there is someone talking, I must listen and respond to them especially when necessary. Among
this active listening skills, namely, non-verbal response, encouragers, amplifying, and
summarizing, I have already been utilizing them varying on the clients ‘overall personality.
Some of it might be applicable to some but may not be to someone. Thus, it truly demonstrates
how difficult to perform counseling without putting risk to someone. Inappropriate counseling
could create boundaries between the counselor and the client. That’s why, we should also put
into consideration the suitable words we use in every given situation to sustain the process of
counseling, especially when giving feedback, affirmation, reframing, summarizing, and noticing
what is missing. Furthermore, the mastery of art-questioning must be possessed by the counselor.
This could lead us into enlightenment of person’s overall presentation.
In conclusion, the provision of this micro-counseling skills brought me into a well-
defined complexity of counseling process. It took me into realization that counseling is not as
easy as we think from it – that in every word we say, and act we do, we must be guided
accordingly.