microskills Flashcards
microskills pyramid levels (bottom to top)
- values (professional and personal)
- epistemology
- approach/theory
- skills
what is the role of skills
help the client to tell their story
develop the relationship
enable reflection and choice
create a new experience
2 main types of microskills
verbal and non-verbal
essential non-verbal microskills
attending
essential verbal microskills
minimal responses (verbal and non)
paraphrasing
questions
summarising
clarifying
types of essential paraphrasing
reflecting content
reflecting feelings
types of questions
transitional
probing
scaling
leading
circular
what is attending
physcially attending (SOLER)
expressiveness
mirroring posture
what is the value of attending
conveying availability and presence
supports sense of safety and comfort
encourages client to keep talking
helps us to be genuine
demonstrates empathy and compassion
what do you need to be mindful of when attending
agreeing
endorsing
stereotypical counsellor mannerism
not responsive to the client
fakeness
types of listening blocks
mind reading
rehearsing
filtering
judging
daydreaming
advising
sparring
being right
derailing
placating
what is mind reading
assuming you know what the other person feels and thinks without asking
what is rehearsing
planning what you want to say next and missing whats being said now
what is filtering
listening only to things that are important or relevant to you and ignoring the rest, even if its important to the other person
what is judging
evaluating the other person and what they said rather than really trying to understand how they see the world
what is daydreaming
getting caught in memories or fantasies while someone is talking to you
what is advising
looking for suggestions and solutions instead of listening and understanding
what is sparring
invalidating the other person by arguing and debating
what is being right
resisting and ignoring any communication that suggests you are wrong or should change
what is derailing
flat out changing the subjects as soons as you hear anything that bothers or threatens you
what is placating
agreeing too quickly without listening to the other persons feelings or concerns
what are verbal minimal encourages
one or 2 words, a phrase, an utterance
eg. yes, ok, mmhm
what are nonverbal minimal encourgaes
a movement
eg. a nod
why do we use minimal encourages
confirms that we are listening
encourages client to keep talking
emphasizes significance
establishes clarity
what do we need to be mindful of when using minimal encourages
agreeing
sympathising
consoling
patting on the back
endorsing
unconscious use of words
what is reflection of content paraphrasing
reflecting content is listening accurately to another person and reflecting the essence of the content of the communication to the other in your own words
what does a good paraphrase do
adds nothing, omits nothing, distorts nothing
why do we use paraphrasing for reflection of content
it lets the speaker know they have been heard, understood, cared for, and supported
provides feedback, promotes insight
clarify understanding
reduces repetition
what do you need to be mindful of when paraphrasing for reflection of content
parroting
interpreting
labeling
puting new ideas/thoughts into the clients head
taking the clients side
what is reflection of feeling
identifying the feelings and emotions in a persons verbal and body language and stating those feelings back to the client
what is the counsellor doing in reflection of feeling
acting as a mirror to the clients emotional state
why do we use reflection of content
bring vaguely expressed feelings into clearer awareness
validates feelings
helps people experience rather than avoid emotions
releases emotional pressure
facilitates the clients movement toward greater self-awareness and self-understanding
allows the other to move to deeper levels of expression at their own pace
deepens therapeutic relationship
what do you need to be mindful of when reflection of feeling
family and cultural backgrounds means feelings are expressed differently
our own experiences of emotions
timing
how we offer
what is summarising
ties together several ideas and descriptions of feelings into one statement
how does summarising compare to paraphrasing
broader and encompasses a longer period of conversation, than paraphrasing
why do we summarise
Sorts out disconnected material into more manageable units
Could indicate a turning point, a moment of self evaluation, identification of a goal, a strategic pause.
Things to be mindful of when summarising
Not always essential.
A re-run of what has been covered.
A tabulation of every issue that has been raised
what is Clarifying
Checking with the speaker that what is being heard and understood is accurate
why do we clarify
Helps develop shared understanding
Supports clients to identify values, beliefs, intentions, decisions
Things to be mindful of when clarifying
Narrowing the clarification
Clarifying too early
what do open ended questions encourage people to do
talk, provide you with maximum information and let the client head in the direction they want or need to take
what do open ended questions relate to
Often relate to feelings, thoughts and understandings tend to open the conversation up.
what are closed questions
Closed questions are questions that can be answered with a minimal response (often as little as “yes” or “no”).
why are closed questions helpful
They can help the counsellor to focus the client or gain very specific information
what are transitional questions
establishing connections, links; often to an earlier part of the discussion
transitional question example
For example, earlier you mentioned ***, I’m wondering how you are feeling about that now?
what are probing questions
meant to encourage clients to enlarge or expand on their initial response.
example of probing questions
Can you say more about that? / And what happened then? Could you describe that?
what are circular questions
perspective of the other
example of circular questions
For example, how do you imagine your brother would feel about ***?
what are leading questions
usually subtly, points the respondent’s answer in a certain direction.
what are scaling questions
Scaling questions help direct the session/conversation toward what clients want and what is most important to them.
types of scaling questions
introduction
current position
platform
earlier success
visualise
step forward
what to be mindful of when scaling
Bombardment/grilling
Multiple questions
Closing Down Questions
Questions as statements
Why questions
important characteristics of feedback
is invited rather than imposed
is specific
identifies the impact/effects
invites a joining/collaboration
things to avoid when offering feedback
absolute statements that position the feedback giver as the expert
blame and judgement
evaluation
