A “Charter” for Counseling

From the 18th to the 20th of March 2016 was held in Milan the annual conference of AssoCounseling. An opportunity of meeting, comparison, exchange and sharing about this wonderful profession by hundreds of passionate professionals. But this conference, actually, was special. Primarily by the number of participants, which exceeded the 3000 attendances: an event never happened in Italy, even for much older professions that of counselor. The other reason why I consider this conference special is that it has represented the culmination of a long preparation process, discussion and consideration that led to the definition of a “counseling charter”, renamed “The Charter of Assago“.

I enclose it in full, because it offers for now the best answer to the simple question: what does and who is the counselor?

The “Charter of Assago”
A starting point

The counselor …
is a catalyst for individual and social change that creates value
constantly cultivates inside him/herself curiosity, trust and responsibility
practices an humble epistemology and avoid self-reference
practices a transformative listening to the customer’s personal history
knows how to listen normal stories without considering the other as wrong
builds bridges with other professions for a broader sustainability of the social system
is able to understand and act in the contemporary world and in a multicultural environment
is able to use the proper techniques in relation to the context and to comply with customer centricity
has faith in human evolutionary potential and facilitates the expression of this potential
realizes his studies in a constant balance between theory, research and experiential practice throughout his professional life
uses techniques based on a evolutionary and learning perspective aimed at the realization of the customer’s life project
is able to customize and adapt creatively the counseling techniques congruently to him/herself and to the context in which he/her operates

20 March 2016