Directive Listening Behaviors (Middle) Flashcards
feeling validation
Statements that support, affirm, approve of, or validate client feelings.
Effects:
1) enhances rapport
2) temporarily reduces anxiety
3) may cause therapists to be viewed as experts
e.g., “It totally makes sense that you feel heightened anxiety before an exam.”
e.g., “I can sure see why you feel angry about that.”
e.g., “That sounds overwhelming, it’s totally understandable why you would want some sort of relief.”
interpretive reflection of feeling
Statements that explore feelings that therapists believe are underlying their client’s thoughts or actions.
–> may enhance empathy and encourage emotional exploration and insight
–> e.g., “I’m sensing that beneath that anger is a sense of distrust for that person.”
–> e.g., “Your anger is really evident and I hear that. I’m also sensing you feel betrayal that she left you.”
interpretation
Statements that express what therapists believe a client’s emotions, thoughts, and/or actions might represent; often includes references to past experiences.
–> encourages reflection and self-observation of clients’ emotions, thoughts, and actions.
–> promotes client insight or perceptual shift.
–> reframing: taking info the client is giving you and linking it to an alternative reality
–> e.g., “I notice that whenever you bring up your wife, you bring it up in the context of what she did when she left you.”
–> e.g., “It sounds like when you have a pattern of not being able to shut off, that is when you have trouble sleeping.”
confrontation
Statements ranging from gentle to aggressive that point out or identify a client incongruity or discrepancy.
–> encourages clients to examine themselves and their patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.
–> may result in personal change and development.
–> e.g., “I’m hearing you say that you have no feelings for your ex-wife, but I’m also hearing a lot of anger and energy and emotion. What do you make of that?”
–> e.g., “I’m hearing you say you’re unsure why you can’t sleep, but I’m also hearing that you are overthinking 24/7.”
immediacy
Statements that integrate here-and-now therapist experiences and disclosures; can be used for confrontation, support, or guidance.
–> initiates an examination or exploration of the here-and-now therapeutic relationship
–> focuses on how the client is affecting the therapist or being perceived by the therapist
–> e.g., “You’ve been on my mind lately.”
–> e.g., “You look exhausted, to the point I’m concerned.”
open questions
A sentence or phrase designed to obtain a broad range of information from clients (commonly begin with the words “what” and “how”).
–> encourages clients to speak openly about one general topic of the therapist’s choosing
–> prompt clients to speak in an exploratory manner
–> e.g., “What would it be like for you to talk to him about it?”
–> e.g., “How do you cope with all the stressors in your life?”
