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Counselors and psychologists play a major role in society and they help people to deal with various mental issues ranging from complex medical issues like depression that may affect someone that has lost a job or a spouse to issues like low self-esteem that may have an impact on a teenager that has developed acne. Because of the complexity and sensitivity of these matters then it is important to select a qualified counselor that can handle the issues that one has in the best way possible and thus when looking for a counselor the first thing is to search for referrals from friends, family and even one's personal doctor because in most cases they are more likely to know a licensed counselor.

 

Relationship Therapy counselors usually go to school then they have to be licensed by their licensing body and thus the client can ask the counselor for their academic qualifications so that they are sure that they are being handled by a professional and not a quack that has no training at all. After learning that the psychologist or counselor is qualified then, they need to know the area of specialty that the psychologist has specialized in and determine if they can handle their issues because a marriage counselor may be unable to handle self-esteem issues. The potential client also needs to confirm for how long the psychologist has been practicing because the more experienced a psychologist is, the more comfortable they are at handling various issues that are complex such as various marital issues.  

 

A known fact is that the client needs to be comfortable with the gender of the counselor because in Counseling sessions trust is important and it begins by being comfortable with the gender of the counselor so that the client may be able to open up to them and creative effective sessions.

 

It is good to note that the client also needs to visit the counselor physically to be able to gauge if they have chemistry with the counselor as this will determine the effectiveness of the counseling session and the absence of chemistry can make the meetings unproductive and a waste of time and money and thus it is crucial for a client to select a counselor that they have chemistry with. The client also needs to gauge the rapport building skills of the psychologist such as the following: ability to pay attention to the customer, avoiding interrupting the client, avoiding interruptions such as phone calls and being patient with the client to express their emotions and not rush through the session so that the next customer may come in.