“Keeping a confidence” and “learning small talk” are not mental health therapist skills but basic life socialization skills. A confidence ought to be kept by everybody, from a busboy to an athlete to a politician.
And small talk is little more than being interested in what other people have to say, and asking open needed questions about them selves.
General therapy skills are learned when studying counseling, usually in a Masters of Counseling course, then practiced. That’s why therapists often need to at least 4,000 hours of counseling internship before sitting for a licensing exam.