Being Direct
Most young people are very direct about what they like and what they don’t like. If we are to build a useful counselling relationship with them, they need to see us as real people who are open in our communication with them about who we aer. However, when working with adults, most counsellors are cautious about disclosing information about their values and beliefs. When working with young people it can be very useful to be more direct in this regard. In doing this, we need to be respectful of the young person by letting them know that we accept them fully with their own values and beliefs, even though they may be different from our own.