Chapter 5: Techniques for Developing Rapport, Trust, and Open Communication with Clients

Question 1

In the Consultant-Client working relationship, what must the consultant do? (2 things)

Answer 1

1. Hone interpersonal relationship and communication skills to facilitate an effective working relationship.
2. Be aware of contextual demands that shape or will shape the relationship.

Question 2

The consultant-client relationship is one of the most important aspects to mental performance consulting, True or False?

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What is the relationship between the client and the consultant called?

Answer 3

A Working Alliance

Question 4

Name 3 Characteristics of an Effective Working Alliance

Answer 4

1. Collaboration
2. An affective bond
3. Mutual agreement on consultation goals and tasks

Question 5

What are some common roadblock to the working alliance?

Answer 5

1. Stigma
2. Lack of fit or knowledge in the sports context (consultant cannot relate or is not experienced)
3. Lack of understanding by client of the consultation process.
4. Mismanagement of transference or countertransference.

Question 6

When working with youth sports programs, who else needs to build and establish trust with the MPC?

Answer 6

1. Parents
2. Coaches
3. Staff Members

Question 7

What are some verbal and non-verbal ways in which the MCP builds rapport with clients?

Answer 7

Using silence
Questioning
Encouraging
Reflecting feelings
Summarizing
Active listening
Attending

MPCs must be mindful of clients’ individual and cultural influences with regards to communication skills to ensure respect within the working relationship.

Question 8

Trust between clients and MPCs develops from authentic shared experiences in the consultation process. True or False?

Answer 8

True

Question 9

What are 5 key things that MPCs contribute to the working relationship with a client?

Answer 9

1. Honesty
2. Commitment
3. Knowledge and Expertise
4. Counseling Skills
5. Professional and Ethical Behavior

Question 10

What are 3 key things that Clients contribute to the working relationship with a MPC?

Answer 10

1. Openness to Change
2. Honesty and Trust
3. Willingness to Work

Question 11

What is Attending Behavior?

Answer 11

Defined as supporting the client using individually and culturally appropriate verbal tracking, visual/eye contact, vocal qualities, tone, and speech rate, as well as body language.

Question 12

Listening is the central skill of attending behavior, and it helps develop a real, connected relationship with clients. TRUE OR FALSE?

Answer 12

True

Question 13

What does SOLER acronym stand for in counseling?

Answer 13

1. Sit squarely facing your client
2. Open posture to client
3. Lean towards client showing interest
4. Eye Contact
5. Relax your body position (puts people at ease)

Question 14

What are the 5 communication skills that are referred to as the Basic Listening Sequence?

Answer 14

1. Questioning: using open questions to bring out the story and closed questions to elicit short and specific responses
2. Encouraging: providing encouragement to support and evoke details
3. Paraphrasing: reflecting the essence of what clients are saying
4. Summarizing: integrating what has been said, bringing order, and linking together different aspects of clients’ stories to make sense of them
5. Reflecting feelings: paraphrasing in order to reflect clients’ feelings

Question 15

What are some questions that you can use to start a session with a client?

Answer 15

“What would you like to talk about today?”

“Can you tell me what prompted you to see me?”

“How have things been since we last talked together?”

“The last time we talked, you planned . . . How did it go this week?”

Question 16

What are open questions?

Answer 16

Open questions typically begin with Who, What, When, Where, How, or Why.

Who, What, When, and Where questions most often lead to facts.

How questions can lead to an exploration of process or feeling and emotion.

Why questions can lead to a discussion of reasons or can help clients explore deeper issues of understanding. Consultants should use Why questions with caution and watch for any potential defensive reaction or discomfort by the client.

Question 17

What are a couple examples of open questions?

Answer 17

“How did you feel when that happened?”

“Given what you’ve said, what would be your ideal solution to the problem?”

“What else comes to mind?”

Question 18

What are closed questions?

Answer 18

Elicit shorter responses and provide specific information. Typically, closed questions start with Do, Is, or Are. MPCs must remember that even well-directed closed questions may take the focus and talk time away from clients and eventually hinder the consultant–client relationship.

Question 19

What are some examples of closed questions?

Answer 19

“Can you tell me more about that?”

“Did you complete this assignment?”

“Are you feeling OK?”

Question 20

What are some potential problems that can occur when too many questions are used?

Answer 20

1. Bombarding or Grilling Clients
2. Confusing Clients
3. Leading or creating bias

Question 21

What is Paraphrasing?

Answer 21

Reflection of content, helps to confirm whether consultants understand their clients’ messages. It is used to generate a restatement of what clients are communicating, using both the clients’ and consultants’ words, and feeding the information back to clients.

Question 22

What is Summarizing?

Answer 22

A skill whereby consultants reflect the themes or key concepts that clients have verbally and nonverbally conveyed over a distinct period of time. For example, summarizing may be used at the beginning of a session to recap the discussion from a prior session. Usually has a check on accuracy asking the client to verify.

Question 23

What is the skill reflecting feelings?

Answer 23

A skill that resembles that of paraphrasing. The distinction between the two skills is typically the nature of the content reflected back to clients. In the case of reflection of feelings, the content focuses on emotions or feelings and helps bring to light the internal experience of clients.

Question 24

What are the influencing skills?

Answer 24

Influencing skills include:
for example
focusing
empathically confronting
reflecting meaning
interpreting
reframing
giving feedback

Question 25

What is the influencing skill Focusing?

Answer 25

A skill used to selectively attend to multiple perspectives of clients’ stories to facilitate exploration and understanding. It aids both consultants and clients in gaining awareness of the key elements and the social and performance contexts surrounding an issue, and it assists in organizing thinking (Ivey et al., 2018).

Question 26

What are the 7 types of focus a consultant can use?

Answer 26

1. Client
2. Main Theme
3. Others
4. Mutual Themes
5. Consultant
6. Contextual Themes
7. Here and Now

Question 27

What is the influencing skill or Empathetically Confronting?

Answer 27

Providing a caring and supportive challenge in which consultants note incongruences and discrepancies, feed them back to the client, and work with the client to resolve the discrepancies. Confronting should always be performed with empathy, unconditional positive regard, and accurate attending to avoid putting clients on the defensive.

Question 28

What is the influencing skill Interpreting and Framing?

Answer 28

Provide clients with new or different meaning, perspectives, frames of reference, ideas, or ways of thinking, and depend on consultants’ guiding theoretical approaches. Clients can use these new ways of thinking and feeling to behave differently.

Question 29

What is the influencing skill Giving Feedback?

Answer 29

Presenting clients with clear, nonjudgmental information so clients can gain insight into their thinking, feeling, or behaving and ways that significant others may view them or their performance. Feedback provides an opportunity for clients to learn from the consultant’s knowledge and experience, be more open and self-disclosing, and enhance their relationship.

Question 30

What is “Boundary Patrol”?

Answer 30

Be vigilant about maintaining relationship boundaries when engaging in mental performance consulting outside of traditional consultation settings. It is recommended that consultants avoid using athletes as research subjects, use psychometric testing and questionnaires sparingly, and treat the practitioner–client relationship as a sacred and special educational experience and opportunity for both parties (Vernacchia, 2012).

Question 31

What is Transference?

Answer 31

When clients respond cognitively, behaviorally, or emotionally—either consciously or unconsciously—to consultants in ways resembling patterns of response to significant others, real or imagined, in their lives (Andersen, 2004).

Question 32

What is Countertransference?

Answer 32

When consultants respond to clients in ways that are similar to how they would respond with significant others (Andersen, 2004).

Question 33

What are some of the potential relationship barriers stemming from different individuals and roles involved, including athletes, coaches, support staff, and administrative staff?

Answer 33

Lack of understanding of or experience with mental performance consulting

Negative perceptions of MPCs or the mental health field in general, based on stigma or previous experiences

Poor clarity around roles and service delivery within a team environment

Lack of sport-specific knowledge of the consultant

Concerns regarding the consultant’s ability to fit within the team culture

Financial concerns or uncertainty of funding for mental performance work