Counselling, counselling skills, processes and knowledge of how to approach issues makes me feel alive. So for example something traumatic such as sexual abuse would be handled with a lot more emphasis in the exploration, validation and problem solving orientation phase than on anything else.

Many therapeutic strategies believe that exploration of affect and meaning, combined with the therapeutic alliance with the counsellor is enough to take people through the stages of trauma to a place of acceptance. It is this place of acceptance and ability to manage difficult emotions that is the end result.

Anyway, for many other problems, it is important to move rather quickly from the exploration stage to the problem solving stage. It depends on the issue and the needs of the client.

In my experience, lack of problem solving strategies could seriously leave the client at a loss, where they are unable to move forward. There has to be clear communication where each stage that the counsellor is at is communicated to the client and inquired if they feel okay about moving to the next step or if there is more they want to talk about.