The Key Skills of a Cancer Counsellor
- Stutee Kulkarni
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Counselling is a field within psychology that requires high levels of compassion, empathy, and being non-judgmental. This field is where mental health professionals are constantly in direct contact with their patients. Hence, the success of the counselling process entirely depends on the level of rapport established between the counsellor and their patient. The counselling techniques are being widely applied across various domains in our society. However, there is one crucial counselling field that is emerging within the healthcare sector.
Cancer Counselling is an essential counselling process that caters not only to the cancer-affected patients but also their families and caregivers. Hospitals and cancer centres across the globe are increasingly promoting the need for a mental health professional to work alongside an oncologist and caregiver for managing the emotional aspects of cancer.
With an increasing demand for this field, cancer counselling has become an entirely separate field named "Psycho-oncology." This field covers the necessary medical, psychological, social, and emotional aspects related to providing cancer care to the patient and the rest of the support system.
To ensure efficiency in the cancer counselling process, it is paramount for the counsellor to effectively utilise the counselling skills that they have been trained in during their sessions. Relying on these skills also takes care of the mental health of the cancer counsellor.
Some of the key skills required to be an efficient cancer counsellor are as follows:
1) Empathetic and Non-judgemental:
A patient or their families dealing with cancer are undergoing immense emotional turmoil. The cancer-affected patient, especially during the treatment process, has their life being uprooted during each treatment cycle. Hence, being non-judgmental, empathetic and giving them a safe space to share their emotions can aid towards their emotional regulation.
2) Advanced Active Listening:
It is important to fully listen to the patients and observe their verbal, as well as non-verbal cues, to ensure a truly cathartic and validating counselling experience for the patients. This technique further includes uncovering the underlying context, emotions, and unspoken motivations of the patient.
3) Psycho-oncology Knowledge:
Knowledge of cancer care, the specific psycho-social aspects involved in the stages of treatment, side effects, and effective counselling skills are necessary for helping the cancer counsellor deal with patients’ fear of relapse, or existential fear.
4) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Techniques:
Therapeutic techniques involve guiding patients to reframe overwhelming thoughts, breaking down larger problems into manageable steps, and helping patients build daily routines to cope with the mental load of treatment.
5) Crisis and Grief Management:
To navigate the complex stages of grief, end-of-life planning, and palliative care. The cancer counsellor must be able to facilitate challenging discussions regarding mortality and advance directives.
6) Family and Systemic Dynamics:
The ability to provide counselling to caregivers and family members, as cancer impacts the entire support system. This includes navigating shifts in family roles, intimacy concerns, and communication breakdowns.
7) Self-awareness and Boundary Setting:
To ensure efficient management of the cancer counsellor's mental health and emotional well-being, it is important to ensure that the counsellor can compartmentalise their own emotions, avoid burnout, and prevent secondary trauma from affecting their work.
8) Ethical Knowledge:
There are specific ethics that a cancer counsellor needs to adhere to when working with their patients as a mental health professional in hospital settings.
Following these ethics ensures an efficient and safe counselling process for both the counsellor and their patients.
In totality, an effective cancer counsellor requires several skills to be learned and implemented. The skills discussed above are merely the tip of the iceberg. Several other skills can aid the cancer counsellor in conducting compassionate counselling sessions.
To conclude, the key essential skills are being compassionate and accepting as a cancer counsellor. With these two skills, the counsellor can navigate their way across various challenging pathways while providing care, ultimately leading towards the benefit of the patient.
Author's Note: The author would like to genuinely thank the entire team of Texas School of Mental Health for teaching her through their lectures, the Counselling Skills required for psycho-oncologists, which helped her write this article.
Other References:
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