This course had a significant impact on me since it was specially designed for students studying psychological and pedagogical specialties. It could be interesting for school and counseling psychologists, social workers, as well as teachers involved in counseling work with adolescents and youth. The course described in detail the process of counseling children and adolescents, their parents, family counseling, as well as diagnostic and corrective work (Wood & Peterson, 2017). The features of counseling for different categories of children and adolescents were of great interest to me. Actual problems of this scientific and practical area were highlighted, taking into account the modern achievements of psychological science.
I have learned approaches to short-term psychological counseling, as well as the specifics of psychological work with adolescents and young people, their parents, and teachers. I have also learned the communication skills needed by a counselor, such as making contact, joining, active listening, paraphrasing, and feedback (Nota & Soresi, 2017). Technologies for working with the emotional sphere and the cognitive content of problems also became an important revelation for me. Another important knowledge was how to advise adolescents who have difficulties in relationships with peers, parents, as well as issues with professional and life self-determination (Nota & Soresi, 2017). Besides, I have learned how to cope with the educational problems of children, for example, lack of motivation, difficulties in the cognitive sphere, conflicts with teachers, and exam stresses.
As a result of this course, I understood the specifics of psychological counseling in solving problems of personal development and interpersonal interaction of young people. This course helped me to form new communicative competencies of a counselor. Using the acquired knowledge and skills, in the future I will be able to independently conduct psychological consultations with families of children and adolescents.
References
Nota, L., & Soresi, S. (Eds.). (2017). Counseling and coaching in times of crisis and transition: From research to practice. Routledge.
Wood, S. M., & Peterson, J. S. (Eds.). (2017). Counseling gifted students: A guide for school counselors. Springer Publishing Company.