Chapter Three: Open Invitation to Talk Flashcards
Why are questions important?
They help the interview move along, create new areas of discussion, pinpoint issues, and improve client self-exploration.
What do open questions do?
Open questions provide room for the client to talk about their situation. It allows self and situation exploration.
Why are open invitations to talk useful?
They help begin an interview, help the counsellor elaborate on points, help understand the behaviours, focus the clients attention on feelings, and find the clients thinking patterns.
Why are ‘could’ questions useful?
They give the client control. These questions put focus on the client in a comfortable way which establishes trust. They also empower the client to answer how they want to.
Why are ‘what’ questions useful?
They encourage the client to talk in more depth about facts and specifics. It provides foundation for what happened to the client from their perspective.
Why are ‘how’ questions useful?
Leads the client to talk about process and sequence, or emotions. Emotions will be explored more deeply when we help clients explore their feelings.
Why are ‘why’ questions ineffective?
These questions ask clients to search for reasons underlying their behaviour, thoughts, or emotions. They can be difficult to answer and put the client on the spot. They make clients feel that they are at fault or to blame for their situation.
What are closed questions?
Questions that bring out factual content. Often answered in a few words or a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
What do closed questions do?
Closed questions help the counsellor to learn specifics and details.
Why are closed questions sometimes ineffective?
They limit expression of feelings, shut off the client, show a lack of interest, and make the client feel interrogated.
When should closed questions be used?
Not often but sparingly for details.
What is needed for less verbal and hesitant clients to answer questions?
Trust
How can you build trust with less verbal clients?
Openness and social skills.
What questions should you ask less verbal clients?
A careful balance of open and closed questions. Language must be straightforward, simple, and concrete.
What should you avoid with less verbal clients?
Searching for general themes and patterns.
What should you not avoid with less verbal clients?
Finding concrete examples and stories.
What should you do after some trust is built with less verbal clients?
Ask concrete open questions. Help them see the end and the consequences of the situation.
What do concrete open questions do?
They help draw out the order of the story and observable details.
What are leading questions?
These are questions that cause clients to answer the question based on what you are looking for, and not what they are thinking, experiencing, or feeling.
What is the goal of questions?
To draw out the general picture, key facts, emotions, and reasons.
