Lesson 06-ST: Departments

SECTION 2: COUNSELING

Being a ship's counselor is not only being the ship's/starbase's psycologist. This is an important position that helps keep everyone, from the captain down to the lowest enlisted man. Duties include counseling individual crewmen; providing periodic performance reports for each crew member; and offering advice on command decisions. Additionally, counselors are also unofficial morale officers, striving to provide ways to keep the mood up on the starship or space station. Morale boosting is a vital duty!

A counselor does not have to be empathic or telepathic, they mearly have to have the ability to work with outhers? A counselor must know how to deal with feelings, expressions of emotion and behaviors. Nothing less than a quality counselor is adequate for any ship in the Fleet.

Nowhere is a counselor more visible, nor more influential, than while on bridge duty. Therefore, it is here that the portrayer must pay special attention to character work. Actions taken here can have far reaching consequences. A bad piece of advice or a flare of temper can destroy a counselor character's credibility instantaneously.

While on the bridge, the counselor's duty is to gauge the emotional condition of the command staff and provide the captain with insight and advice regarding command decisions. It is not the counselor's job to question every order the captain gives, but rather, to offer an alternative perspective if it is required.

Should the captain give an order that could be counterproductive to the mission, is fueled by personal concerns, or unnecessarily risk the safety of the ship and/or crew, it is the counselor's responsibility to discuss it with the captain.

Ideally, the counselor will talk with the captain privately. However, some situations require immediate action. In these rare instances, the counselor should be careful to be discreet, respectful, and non-confrontational when offering the captain the alternative advice.

Remember, as a counselor it is your duty to provide the captain with options. It is not the captain's duty, however, to abide by them.

As any counseling character soon discovers, you don't get many patients at your door. Few people are willing to subject their characters to the type of flaw required to need counseling.

Therefore, it's a common tendency to try and find patients. This is rarely a good idea. Pouncing on every crewman who seems to be having a bad day borders on harassment. If others resent your character being a busy body, you've reduced your chances even further of having any significant interaction with them.

However, by simply paying attention to the happenings aboard ship, a person playing a counselor will find plenty of opportunities to get involved without cornering their crewmates. It is a matter of recognizing where counselor intervention is required.

The death of a crewman or a member of his family deserves counselor attention; usually in the form of a sympathetic ear for the bereaved. A counselor is also a logical contributor to any interrogation process to provide insight into body language and motivations. Likewise, a counselor should be included on diplomatic missions or other cultural exchanges. Characters who attempt suicide or exhibit other extreme irrational and/or dangerous behavior, require serious psychological attention. And it is in these cases that the counselor is both expected and required to force interaction.

Common sense on the part of the player is necessary in handling any counseling situation. Remember, a counselor should be viewed as an asset to the crew, not an annoyance.

A component of counseling often overlooked is the role of morale officer. A necessary post on all long-range and/or battle-oriented cruiser, the role can also be vital to any ship that experiences high levels of stress.

Put simply, as morale officer, it is the counselor's duty to keep the crew relaxed. This is achieved through various diversions, such as concerts, classes, plays, and sports tournaments. Interestingly, these diversions are as enjoyable for the role-player as they are for the characters. It provides a break from RPG-related role-playing and offers a different level of character interaction. This change can act as a breath of fresh air; giving new life to the ship.

However, just because it's a good thing does not mean it should be overused. Diversions should be introduced sparingly and when the RPG can logically support the endeavor.

Another duty of counselor is to assist the executive officer with annual reviews. This duty requires attention to detail on the part of the role-player, as it requires genuine knowledge of the crew's player characters and their lives. It also requires a counselor role-player to separate his personal feelings toward another role-player. Allowing real-life prejudices to taint a character review only causes rifts to deepen and the integrity of the counseling character to deteriorate.

The populace of STF space is as varied as the stars themselves. And every character species has its own unique psychology. It is up to the counseling role-player to use common sense when dealing with species-related idiosyncrasies.

For instance, Klingons are inherently aggressive. A Klingon officer who yells at his department head is a job for his commanding officer, not the counselor. A Klingon department head who constantly berates his staff, however, creates a morale problem and does require counselor attention. Determining how to handle any given situation requires common sense and thought on the part of the role-player.

Who in the Star Trek shows to watch for clues or examples:
Deanna Troi, Ezri Dax

Lesson 06-ST will be continued on the next page:
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