ABSTRACT
A client's choice of navigation and negotiation strategy can evoke strong emotions in the counselor. There are many aspects of an ecological practice that can be emotionally draining for the counselor. Interventions are most effective when they force counselors to decenter themselves and their expertise. Sometimes, though, the emotional work that needs to be done is entirely for the counselor to do, not the client. A counselor's effective use of self means avoiding the traps of arrogance and omniscience when helping clients find solutions that will work for them. The wise counselor acknowledges what psychodynamic therapists refer to as countertransference, the counselor's personal reactions that infiltrate clinical work. There are a number of patterns to the interactions between counselors and clients that can undermine all phases of the work. An effective practice is most likely that which is reflective as well as ecological in focus.
