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Introduction

Before the ’80s in Italy the health counseling was almost unknown. The very term ‘counseling’ was used only in reference to clinical counseling extensive work in very specific areas.

In the United States, Canada and England, but also in other European countries, it was instead spreading the belief that in the health sector there was a need of what they called " counseling skills ". They even began to think that having a high level of communication and interpersonal skills were a duty of every health professional.

This new approach to health care was highly critical ( "But is it really necessary that physicians, nurses or biologists,etc.,respond to these needs?” Health professionals have little time, the important thing is that they are competent on clinical and technical level, and only afterwards they are psychologists "," If the patient wants to be understood, listened, helped to cope with the situation he will see a psychologist "and so on). To answer these objections,we must ,first of all , make clear what "counseling in health care" means.

According to the World Health Organization "Counseling is a process that, through dialogue and interaction, helps people to solve their problems and make decisions; it involves a "client" and a"counselor". The first is a person who feels the need to be helped, the second is an expert, impartial, not bound to the client, trained to listen, support and guide him. "

According to the British Association for Counseling, however counseling means to facilitate the client's endeavour in a manner that respects the values, personal resources and self-determination. " In general, then, we can say that counseling is a process that relates a professional (the counselor) to another person (the client) who feels the need to be supported in the management of a problem or a decision . It is a relationship of help which aims at helping people to make decisions in order to improve their situation. It is therefore about analyzing together with the people concerned, their current lifestyle, possible changes,

the difficulties to implement these changes and the most effective way to address them. It is understood as: "use of skilled and structured relationship that develops self-awareness, emotional acceptance, growth and personal resources.

The counseling can be directed to defining and solving specific problems, in decision-making, to face times of crisis, to confront their own feelings and their inner conflicts and to improve relations with others The role of the counselor is to help the client work in a manner that respects the values, personal resources and self-determination. "

In general, then, we can say that counseling is a process that relates a professional (the counselor) to another person (the customer) who feels the need to be supported in the management of a problem or a decision . It is a relationship of help that aims to support people in making the best decisions to improve their situation. It implies, therefore, analyzing together with the people their current lifestyle, possible changes, difficulties to implement these changes and the most effective way to address them.

The task of the "counselor" should never be to provide pre-packaged solutions to the consulted ones but to help them explore the possible chosen solutions. The counselor does not offer recommendations, does not indicate solutions,even less psychotherapeutic paths to follow: his task is to support the person who asks for help in finding possible ways of changing what has become now a tiring situation and a source of discomfort. The objective of the intervention is to enable the customer's path of change towards the goals that he sees possible and achievable. Therefore it is defined as a professional intervention, based on communication and relating skills, which deals with a request from a single person, a couple, a family or a group of people to be assisted in solving a problem, in undertaking a change and finding simple and easily workable solutions.