Chapters 5&6 Flashcards
accent
Highlighting the last few words of the client.
E.g. Client: This situation I’m in now is driving me crazy!
Counsellor: Driving you crazy?
request for clarification
a response the counesllor uses to be sure he or she understands what the client is saying.
e.g. help me understand this relationship. OR I don’t see the connection here, can you say more?
probe
A question that usually begins with who, what, where or how requiring more than a two word response.
E.g. What do you plan to do about getting a job?
Few probes use why, because it is often unanswerable and can cause defensiveness.
Closed Questions
one that requires a specific and limited response such as yes or no. It often begins with is, do or are
e.g. Do you enjoy meeting other people?
Open Question
Typically begins with what, how or could and allows the client more latitude to respond.
E.g. How does this affect you
Could you give me more information?
Tell me more about this.
3 elements of Counselling relationship
a) transference and countertransference
b) the working alliance
c) Real relationship
Real Relationship
When helping skills are used well, a real relationship (that is reality-oriented, appropriate, and undistorted) will emerge.
Starts a 2-way experience between counsellors and clients from their first experience
Facilitate genuineness in their clients, attempting to see and understand clients in a realistic manner. Clients contribute to the realness by being genuine and perceiving their own situations realistically.
working alliance
also known as the therapeutic alliance, counselling alliance, helping alliance…refers to the quality and strength of the reciprocal relationship between a client and a counsellor and includes both the affective elements and the collaborative working elements of this reciprocal relationship
3 components of working alliance
1) agreement on goals
2) agreement on tasks
3) the bond/relationship
Counsellor attributes associated with working alliance
warmth, flexibility, accurate interpretations
structure
a joint understanding between the counsellor and client regarding the characteristics, conditions, procedures and parameters of counselling
Benefits of structure
- gives direction
- protects the rights, roles and obligations of both counsellors and clients
- ensures the success of counselling
Aspects of structure
- Practical guidelines such as time limits, role limits, procedural limits, fees
Initiative
The motivation for change
reluctant client
one who has been referred by a third party and is frequently unmotivated to seek help
resistant client
a person in counselling who is unwilling, unready, or opposed to change,
Clings to the certainty of present behaviour, even when it’s counterproductive or dysfunctional
Most common form of resistance is “I don’t know”
Four Categories of Resistance
1) amount of verbalization
2) content of message
3) style of communication
4) attitude toward counsellor
How to deal with lack of initiative
- anticipate the
anger, frustration and defensiveness some clients display, so as to not be surprised - acceptance, patience, understanding and general nonjudgmental attititude
- use persuasion via
a) foot in the door - ask client to comply with a minor request and follow up with a larger request
b) door in the face - a seemingly impossible task, followed by a reasonable task - Confrontation - point out the inconsistency
- metaphors - e.g. what does a fighter do when he gets badly beaten up every time he fights?
- mattering. The perception that as human beings we are important and significant to the world around us and to others in our lives.
- Pragmatic techniques - (Silence, pause, reflection, empathy, questioning, describing, assessing, pretending, sharing ccounsellor’s perspective
Foot in the door
ask client to comply with a minor request and follow up with a larger request
e.g. journal your thoughts and feelings this week. THEN. Journal your thoughts and feelings from now on.
Door in the Face
a seemingly impossible task, followed by a reasonable task
e.g. talk briefly to 100 people a day between now and our next appointment. When they refuse… Okay, say hello to 3 new people each day.
Mattering
The perception that as human beings we are important and significant to the world around us and to others in our lives.
Physical Setting
some physical settings promote counselling process more than others. Ideas include: soft lighting, quiet colours, comfortable furniture, absence of clutter
1) Accessories - clean, plants, artwork
2) Colour - bright, soft (rather than dark)
3) Furniture - intermediate distance
4) Lighting - soft lights - yielded more pleasant and relaxed feelings, more favorable feelings about counsellor, more self disclosure
5) Smell - pleasant smells trigger happy memories
6) Sound - music may enhance, other sounds may detract esp if loud
7) Texture - soft texture surfaces that absorb sound to increase feelings of privacy
8) thermal conditions - 69-80 F and 30-60% humidity
Proxemics
spatial features of the environment - distance of 30-39 inches has been found to be average range
equilibrium theory
assumes there is an appropriate amount of intimacy within individuals and if transgressed, the individual will compensate in some way (decreasing eye contact, moving further away
Client Qualities
be aware of appearance and how you associate that with likability. Also watch for non verbal cues of clients
Counsellor Qualitites
Should possess self-awareness, honest, congruence, ability to communicate and knowledge
Initially more influential if: perceived expertness, attractiveness, trustworthiness
Self Awareness
in touch with your own values, thoughts, feelings. More likely to have a clear perception of your own and your clients needs and accurately assess both.
expertness
the degree to which a counsellor is perceived as knowledgeable and informed about his or her specialty. display credentials, certificates etc perceived as more credible
Attractiveness
Individuals are more likely to self-disclose to an attractive counsellor than an unattractive one - clients perceive attractive counsellors as more expert and trustworthy. The mannor counsellors greet and talk with clients increases attractiveness, including eye contact, head nodding and simple clear sentences
trustworthiness
related to the sincerity and consistency of the counsellor. - The counsellor is genuinely concerned about the client and shows it over time by establishing a relationship. Generated through patterns of behaviour that show care and concern.
restatement
a simple mirror response to a client that lets the client know the counsellor is actively listening. Can be sterile and ineffective if used alone.
e.g. I’m not sure if I’ll ever find a partner. My job keeps me isolated.
counsellor: You don’t know if you will ever find a spouse because of the nature of your job
Reflection of feeling
similar to a statement but deals with verbal and nonverbal expression. An example is when a counsellor says to a client who is silently sobbing over the loss of a parent, “You are really feeling this pain”
Summary of Feelings
act of paraphrasing a number of feelings that the client has conveyed. For example: John if I understand you correctly, you are feeling depressed over the death of your father and discouraged that your friends have not helped you work through your grief. Also, you feel like your work is boring and your wife is emotionally distant from you.”
Acknowledgment of nonverbal behaviour
e.g. I noticed that your arms are folding across your chest and you are looking at the floor. (does not interpret the behaviour).
rapport
Start by making clients feel comfortable. Counsellors should set aside their own agendas and focus on the person of the client, including listening to the story and presenting issues.
most important microskills for rapport building are basic attending behaviour and client-observation skills.
Door Openers
Invitations for clients to focus on reasons for seeking help
e.g. what would you like to talk about? You look like you are in a lot of pain, Tell me about it.
unstructured, open ended.
door closers
judgemental evaluative responses
empathy
counsellors ability to enter the client’s phenomenal world, to experience the client’s world as if it were your own without ever losing the ‘as if’ quality.
2 skills: perception and communication
