BASIC COUNSELLING SKILLS

BASICS OF GUIDANCE & COUNSELING

BASIC COUNSELLING SKILLSOpen-ended Question

Open questionobjective: discussion, ask for additional information and explanationNo definite answer (yes/ no); less frightening; varied responseWhat, How, Where, Why, Who

Ended (closed) questionobjective: to gather data; look for specific answer (yes/ no)response using one or two words; frightening; limit responseDid; Have; …

Open-ended questionHelp begin an interviewHelp get the interviewee to elaborate on a pointHelp elicit examples of specific behavior so that the

interviewer is better able to understand what the interviewee is describing

Help focus the client’s attention on his feelings

Excessive reliance on questions may lead to the following problemthe interview digress to a question-and-answer interrogationthe responsibility for the interview reverts to the counselordiscussion moves from affectively oriented topics to cognitively oriented topicsinterview loses a sense of flow and movement

Listening SkillsThe process of tuning in to the client’s

messages and responding accurately to the meaning behind the message

A synthesis of the skills of restatement of content and reflection of feeling

Promotes within the client the feeling of being understood

Genuinely and sensitively involved in what someone else is sharing; genuinely interested in understanding his world

Restatement of ContentAbility to restate the content of the client’s

message or to paraphrase a client’s statementFeed back the content of the statement using

different wordsRestatement conveys 3 purposes:

1. To convey to the client that you are with him, that you are trying to understand what he is saying

2. To crystallize a client’s comments by repeating what he has said in a more concise manner

3. To check the interviewer’s own perception to make sure she really does understand what the client is describing. (Ivey, 1971)

Client: I am so sick of school I can hardly get up in the morning to go to class.

Counselor: You’ve just about reached your limits as far as school is concerned.

Reflection of FeelingReflects the client’s feelings; responds by

paraphrasing the content of the message but place the emphasis on the feeling the client expressed

Counselor attempts to perceive and understand the client accurately from the client’s internal frame of reference

Counselor tries to identify the feeling accurately by listening not only to what the client says but also to how the client says it.

Communicates to the client the counselor’s acceptance of her world

Client: I was happy to hear I’ve been selected for a scholarship to the university I want to attend.

Counselor: What a thrill for you. You must be very excited and proud to know that you were selected for such an honor.

Summarization of Content

To condense and crystallize the essence of the client’s statements

It can further client exploration and can also serve as a perception check for the counselor

A paraphrase normally responds to the client’s preceding statement; a summary can cover an entire phase of the session or even a total interview

Summarization of content is most frequently used in the following situations

1.When the interviewer wishes to structure the beginning of a session by recalling the high points of a previous interview

2.When the interviewee’s presentation of a topic has been either very confusing or just plain lengthy and rambling

3.When an interviewee has seemingly expressed everything of importance to him on a particular topic

4.When plans for the next steps to be taken require mutual assessment and agreement on what has been learned so far

5.When, at the end of the a session, the interviewer wishes to emphasize what has been learned within it, perhaps in order to give an assignment for the interval until the next session.

Empathy

Ability to tune in to the client’s feelings and to be able to see the client’s world as it truly seems to the client

Can be viewed as a skill as well as an attitudePrimary level – an empathic response

communicates an understanding of the client’s frame of reference and accurately identifies the client’s feelings

Advanced level – takes the client a step further into self-exploration by adding deeper feeling and meaning to the client’s expression

Client: I don’t know what’s going on. I study hard, but I just don’t get good marks. I think I study as hard as anyone else, but all my efforts seem to go down the drain. I don’t know what else I can do.

Counselor A: You feel frustrated because even when you try hard, you fail.

Counselor B: It’s depressing to put in as much effort as those who pass and still fail. It gets you down and maybe even makes you feel a little sorry for yourself.

Interpretation To add meaning to client’s attitudes, feelings, and

behavior; to impose meaning on behaviors – interpretation will vary depending on one’s theoretical orientation

Draws causal relationships among these three areas.Timing is important – as the relationship progresses, the

counselor gains increasingly greater insight into the client’s dynamics and is more able to suggest or infer relationships, perceive patterns of behavior and motives, and help the client integrate these understandings

Client should be at the point of readiness that will allow counselor’s response to facilitate growth and behavior change

If appropriately done – client can become defensive and resist the process

Interpretation Techniques

Clarification

Immediacy

Confrontation

ClarificationFocus on cognitive information, or to highlight

client meanings that are not initially clear; concreteness

Are you feeling angry or resentful; I’m not sure whether …. Before or after ….

ImmediacyCounselor’s being sensitively tuned in to her

interactions with and reactions to client as they occur

Can respond to these feelings about either the client or the relationship in the here and now

Counselor: I’m having difficulty staying tuned in today. It seems that we’re hashing off stuff, and I suppose that I’m getting tired of hearing the same things over again. How are you feeling about being here and what’s transpired between us?

Client: Well, I suppose I’m avoiding talking about some issues that are very painful and that I’d like to ignore

Confrontation requires both a sense of timing and a sensitivity

and awareness of the client’s receptivityWhen properly done, it can help clients become

more integrated and consistent in their behavior and in their relationship with others.

May take several forms – to point to discrepancies

Between what we think and feel, and what we say and what we do, our views of ourselves and others’ views of us, what we are and what we wish to be, what we really are and what we experience ourselves to be, our verbal and nonverbal expressions of ourselves. (Egan, 1975)

• Should only be made in the context of trust and caring for the client and should not be used as a means of venting anger and frustrationHelp clients see things as they are rather than

perceiving situations on the basis of their needsHelp clients understand when they may be evading

issues or ignoring feedback from othersConfront when

You are willing to become more involved with the client

The relationship has been built and the client’s level of trust in you is high

The confrontation can be done out of genuine caring for the client’s growth and change. Confrontation should not be used as way to meet the counselor’s needs