Counseling Techniques PDF

Benefits of Counseling 1. Improved communication 2. Enhanced relationships 5. Giving Clear Information 3. A happier family - before you give any information, it is 4. Peace of mind helpful...

Benefits of Counseling 1. Improved communication 2. Enhanced relationships 5. Giving Clear Information 3. A happier family - before you give any information, it is 4. Peace of mind helpful to ask questions to determine 5. Improved self-esteem how much the client already knows. 6. More satisfaction out of life - ask clients to repeat the information you 7. Personal growth have given them to verify that they 8. Improved job performance understood. Counseling may be helpful in any of the 6. Arriving at Agreement following areas: - involves clarifying and summarizing the 1. Adult relationships decisions that a client has made during 2. Career change the counseling session. 3. Dealing with loss of a loved one 4. Anxiety Inappropriate Responses in Counseling 5. Depression 1. Judging – “You wouldn’t have these problems if you had acted differently!” Some Qualities of a Good Counselor 2. Attacking – “How could you be that 1. Empathy irresponsible?” 2. Respectful 3. Denial – “Don’t worry. I’m sure that it’s 3. Warm nothing important.” 4. Confidential/discreet 4. Pity – “Poor thing! How terrible that 5. Honest happened!” 6. Attentive/listening 7. Unbiased Counseling Technique Tools 8. Understandable/clear 1. Asking Questions 9. Unhurried - open and closed is an important tool in the counseling kit. Elements of Counseling Skills 1. Effective Questioning OPEN ENDED QUESTION - use questions to elicit facts or feelings – used in order to gather lots of information. about the client’s health. – have no correct answer and require an - use closed-ended questions to quickly explanation of sorts. gather factual, non-sensitive information. great for: - open-ended questions are critical for a. Starting the information gathering part of eliciting feelings and detailed the session. information. b. Keeping the client talking. - use probing questions to elicit more in-depth information. ✦ don’t use “why?” directly as some people find it threatening and overwhelming. 2. Active Listening - involves communicating, without words, CLOSE ENDED QUESTION your interest in the needs the client – used to gather specific information. expresses. - maintaining eye contact, leaning needed for: forward, occasionally saying words like a. Getting necessary information “yes,” and “please continue”. b. To get bring a chatty client back on track or interrupt her/him 3. Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Clarifying 2. Active Listening - involves repeating, synthesizing, or - happens when you "listen for meaning". summarizing in other words what the - listener says very little but conveys client has told you. empathy, acceptance and genuineness. - helps the client to feel that he or she has - listener only speaks to find out if a been heard. statement has been correctly heard and understood. 4. Reflecting and Validating Feelings - involves clarifying the feelings the client a. Before the session, make sure your expresses in order to help understand physical needs are taken care of. his or her emotions. b. Look at the speaker. Taking a few notes - helpful to clients to let them know that can keep you on task; mentally put their reactions to a situation are normal. masking tape across your mouth.  c. Watch your body language! More on this later. d. Encourage the speaker to continue with short, gentle comments. 3. Encouraging Body Language - communication is 55% body language, 38% tone and 7% words. - remember that your client may not remember what was said, but they will remember how you made them feel. SOLERF method - S: squarely face person vs. sitting kitty-corner. - O: use Open posture vs. crossed arms and legs - L: lean a little toward the person vs. settling back in your chair - E: use Eye contact vs. staring off into deep space - R: relax, keep it natural vs. sitting like a board - F: look friendly vs. neutral or scowling 4. Paraphrasing - restate succinctly and tentatively what the speaker said. - moderation in all things including voice. tone of voice: a. High / low b. Loud / soft c. Fast / slow d. Accommodating / demanding e. Light-hearted / gloomy 5. Summary - focusing on the main points. - beginning summary: recalling what happened last meeting; ending summary: attempting to condense what has happened over 40 mins.