Experiences
- The environment
- What the client thinks during specific circumstances
- How the client acts in reaction to them
- The client’s reflection of the facts of his or her story may be
- open-ended
- fragmented
- unpredictable
- As the story unfolds
- situations clarify
Initial steps
1. communication
2. understanding
Counsellor must
- attend
- encourage
- connect
- share similar experiences
Client encouragement
- client should do the majority of talking
- three feet of distance
Counsellor should use
- encouragers
- open questions
- paraphrasing
Encourage talking to
- go deeper
- to give meaning to relevant issues
so that the client feels
Feelings
- verbal (fluent)
- unconscious
expressed as
- talk
- body language
often in relation to
Meaning
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Opening skills
tell me more...
- encouragers
- open questions
- non-coercive
- inviting
- positive
- what is bothering you?
- why did you schedule a session?
Minimal Encouragers
utterances to urge the client to reveal more
- uh huh
- I see
- I am following you
Shows counsellor
- attention
- understanding
- is on track
without disruption
Paraphrasing
sums up understanding (preferably as a question) to encourage client’s confirmation of it:
- I hear from what you are saying that you think...
- It sounds like...
- From what I can tell, you think...
It reflects counsellor understanding of client’s
- thoughts
- relevant experiences
Reflection of feelings
are fully fluent responses to the client that
- identify specific emotions (in relation to events and experiences)
- verbalize feelings to point to them objectively to then approach meanings
- careful use of thoughts vs. feeling vocabulary
You feel <these feelings>
Client response
- confirms correct feelings from impressions
- is disclosure
Reflection of meaning
Worldview/values from experiences
about
When expressing feeling, client will often return to superficial facts as they “feel safer,” possibly cyclically
Summarizing statements focus
- facts
- experiences
- thoughts
- feelings
- meanings
Summarizing types:
Focus
- highlight issues
- keep on track
Signal
- that material is absorbed
- move on with “story”
Thematic reflects
- patterns
- places to return to
that are certain to provide "inroads" to deeper meaning
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Open Questions
- invite expression
- encourage the client to offer rich details
- less coercive for clients who are inhibited
could you tell me about the <specific experiences>?
Closed Questions
obtain specific information (increased granularity)
How
Leading questions
get to the
- underlying beliefs that
- create emotions as a
- fluent message that is probably
- hidden, or unconscious
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