ll being and quality of life. In any case, counselling is a term that encompasses many aspects, and from it stems different schools of thought, which is why it is so difficult to define in a succinct manner. So, rather than spending too much time trying to classify and describe counselling, I will attempt to give an insight into its strengths and weaknesses for social work practice.
             Firstly, it is important to note that although the profession of a counsellor is by no means the same as that of a social worker, the skills and values required from workers are similar. This is not surprising as it is clear that both professions share the main goal of supporting people and/or groups. Skills and values such as respect, empathy, honesty, congruence and so on, are seen to be vital when working as a counsellor or as a social worker. As social work practice as a whole is somewhat restrained by its statutory attachment, a power imbalance between workers and service users is inevitable. Counsellors however, have the advantage of being able to avoid the power imbalance between themselves and their clients due to the liberated atmosphere and lack of legal restraints. Along with this significant strength, counselling could also be said to have contributed to social work. Using 'counselling skills' helps social workers to connect with service users, hence providing a better working relationship with them. On the other hand, there is some debate as to whether the use of the term 'counselling skills' is appropriate. Skills such as empathy, warmth and active listening are often accredited to the field of counselling, but does this idea have any substance? Stepney & Ford argue that "to talk about social workers using 'counselling skills'...as if they were borrowing these from a profession that has a prior right to them." (Stepney & Ford, 2000: 84). Since counselling and social work have a shared history, it is ...