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Substance Abuse and Counselling
If the counsellor does not take this warning seriously, there is a definite possibility that, by attempting to counsel a client for whom medical therapy is more appropriate, harm will result to the client. Warning symptoms that suggest that medical intervention is necessary for the following:
Grossly abnormal behaviour (e.g. being violent, not taking care of personal hygiene);
Abnormal talk (e.g. being irrelevant and incoherent);
Presence of delusions (these are false beliefs, such as that of being persecuted, followed, talked about, poisoned, etc.)
Presence of hallucinations (e.g. hearing voices, seeing visions);
Presence of obsessions or compulsions (these are repeated thoughts and actions that are beyond the subject’s control);
Severe abnormality of mood (that markedly interferes with normal life);
Loss of judgment; and,
Loss of insight (that is, the failure to acknowledge that one is ill).
General Characteristics of a Good Counsellor Everybody can offer counsel, but not everybody has the skills to be a good counsellor. This section discusses the characteristics of a good counsellor. In the process, some of you who are already involved in counselling can