My counsellor has to have a lived experience of the problem I am discussing to be effective.

A counsellor doesn’t have to have a terminal illness to help pain manage similarly they don’t have to undergo bereavement themselves to offer effective bereavement counselling. Infact sometimes lived experiences can be triggering for them personally impacting on the effectiveness of the session. A counsellor needs to have empathy, active listening and non-judgemental attitude in addition to working with dedicated techniques to help people surmount their challenges.