Clinical skills certain play a key role. The therapist-client relationship is also important. But ultimately the quality of the counsellor as a person matters the most. Some people give you bad vibes, even when they try to make a good impression.
Some people seem to exude a positive life energy, even through the telephone or e-mail.
An effective counsellor is a therapeutic person. Being in the presence of such a person already has a healing effect on the client. In some mysterious ways, often unconsciously, the positive attributes of the counsellor hope, faith, love and joy are absorbed by the client. This transforming effect is achieved through osmosis rather than intentional intervention. Unfortunately, most counsellor training programs only focus on clinical skills.