Greetings. Welcome to the Academy's Counselor class. I am your instructor Jen Herr.

Over the course of the next five lessons, I'll be teaching you some of the nuances of being a ship's counselor, like how to walk that fine line between helpful crew mate and nosey neighbor. So, without further adieu, let's begin:

Being a ship's counselor does not make one strictly the resident shrink. It is an important position that helps keep everyone, from the captain down to the lowest enlisted man, doing his best for the ship and crew. 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 for counselors serving aboard more battle-prone star ships, such as the Fifth Fleet USS Andorian.

Who makes a good counselor? Anyone with a desire to closely interact with other personnel and who has the ability to make objective evaluations of a given situation. Personal prejudices have no place in a counselor.

Does a counselor have to be empathic or telepathic? No. Although Commander Deanna Troi of the USS Enterprise, an empathic half-Betazoid, has made an indelible impression on the corps of counselors following in her footsteps, one must realize that her skill as a psychologist was not based solely on her ability to read emotions. Indeed, counselors who are empathic and/or telepathic have a more difficult path to follow.

For instance, an empathic counselor is in the recreation area just as a young man walks in who just broke up with his girlfriend. The man is angry, hurt, and possibly feeling worthless. The counselor picks up on this, but must be able to decide if intervention is required. In most cases, it is not. These feelings are typical and natural reactions to a sudden termination of a relationship. A counselor who queries every crewman about every extrasensory perception the counselor intercepts borders on harassment, and is of value to no one. Additionally, just knowing what the person is feeling isn't enough. A counselor must then know how to deal with these feelings.

So while a counselor with extrasensory perceptions may seem to have a leg up on one who does not, it is not so. The quality of the counselor depends on the counselor's training and dedication to his or her position.

And 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.

And, as varied as the counselor's crew is the counselor character pool. Role-players need to take into consideration the pros and cons of playing non - human counselors. The temptation of abusing a species' telepathic and/or empathic skills is often one hard to conquer. But remember, for every character plus, there must be a minus. A telepathic character, for instance, is restricted by ethical concerns over reading thoughts and acting upon them.

Someone who refuses to allow the negatives in with his character's positives, is creating an all-powerful character that will not earn him respect, but rather contempt from his crewmen; ruining the RPG experience for everyone.

The role of counselor is a varied and interesting one. But it requires a different level of dedication from the role-player. Not only does it require a commonsense knowledge of psychology, but an ability to walk a fine ethical line in role-playing.

A counselor strives to keep the crew balanced by providing an alternative perspective and unbiased advice. Superheroes need not apply. But those who feel they can handle the burden on their shoulders will find themselves having a wonderful time.

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