Elements and Performance Criteria

General context of work:
Work is often performed under limited supervision, generally within a team environment
Work will be assessed in accordance with Enterprise requirements, OHS legislation, and professional standards

Competence must be demonstrated in working largely independently and being accountable for own results including:

Working effectively under the pressure of crisis situations
Maintaining the quality of services to callers
Managing own responses and appropriate self care

Active listening skills include:
Appropriate brief encouragers which help the caller relate their story and concerns
Reflection of feelings /thoughts, behaviours and experience (content)
Hearing the caller's concerns
Paraphrasing (reflection of content)
Using open and closed questions to expand or clarify understanding
Understanding the caller's context
Recognising when higher levels of care may be indicated
Summarising and Closure
Open and closed questions
Balancing the frequency of questions

Strong emotions include:
Grief
Anger
Confusion
Sadness
Frustration
Suicidal despair

Empowerment processes include:
Active listening
Identifying and affirming caller strengths and opportunities
Reframing, summary and closure
Helping contain overwhelming feelings to facilitate coping
Using questions and concreteness to focus the caller on identifying immediate needs and concerns
Setting realistic achievable goals for the call
Brainstorming consequences
Exploring options
Facilitating informed client choices
Identify achievable tasks to be addressed after the call

Range of self care strategies include:
Debriefing and defusing
Self monitoring
Recognition and processing of counsellors' call-related experiences
Reflection on practice
Knowing when and how to ask for back-up support
Constructive feedback about counselling practice

Strategies to deal with client issues and emotions include:
Managing tone, pitch and pace of voice
Externalise client emotions
Awareness of personal vulnerabilities which may be triggered during a call
Containment skills
Supervision
Debriefing

Counselling approach incorporates Client Centred perspectives. This is primarily demonstrated through counsellor values:
Unconditional positive regard for the client
Non-judgmental approach
Genuineness of the counsellor

Defined models applied during counselling may include a variety of perspectives e.g. Egan

Counselling techniques include:
Use of counselling journey/story approach
Establish rapport, /explore issues, focus, identify underlying problems, assessment, develop options for action, closure

Critical aspects of assessment must include:
Demonstrated willingness to work within philosophy, policies and procedures of the organisation to address client callers needs

Concurrent assessment and relationship with other units:
'Undertake telephone counselling' and 'Provide counselling in crisis situations'

Essential knowledge required includes:
Ethos, policies and procedures of the organisation
Scope of telephone counselling role
Debriefing processes and their importance
Counselling styles to be applied
The principle of unconditional positive regard
How values, attitudes and beliefs impact on counselling processes

Essential skills required include:
Active listening
Identifying and implementing appropriate interventions required in a timely way
Respecting the client's worldview rather than imposing one's own
Recognising when higher levels of care are needed and making referrals where appropriate

Resource implications for training and assessment:
A range of assessment activities will be required over an extended period which will have an impact on the allocation of assessment resources

Methods of assessment:
Facilitators, supervisors and assessors working together assessing performance in groups, on supervised telephone shifts and via formal journal comments

Context for assessment: