The Relationship Between Trainee Counsellors’ Skills and Clients’ Satisfaction in Counselling Sessions Among UNIMAS Students
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UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK
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This study investigates the relationship between trainee counsellors’ skills and clients’ satisfaction in counselling sessions among Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) students. As trainee counsellors play a pivotal role in shaping clients’ therapeutic outcomes, understanding the impact of specific skills such as empathy, respect, helpfulness, listening skills, and counselling effectiveness is critical. A quantitative research design was employed, utilizing two standardized instruments: the Counselling and Counsellor Skills Scale (CCSS) and the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-18B). Data were collected from UNIMAS students who had attended counselling sessions with trainee counsellors. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS. The results revealed that all five counselling skills sub-scales were significantly and positively correlated with client satisfaction. Empathy showed the strongest correlation (r = .541, p < .01), while the overall counsellor skill level significantly predicted client satisfaction (B = 0.637, β = 0.469, p < .001), accounting for 22% of the variance (R² = .220). These findings underscore the importance of developing core counselling competencies during training, as they directly influence client perceptions of satisfaction and therapeutic effectiveness. The study offers valuable implications for improving counsellor education programs and enhancing client outcomes in university-based counselling settings.