PSYC 526: Basic Clinical Counseling

Question 1

Active Listening

Answer 1

• psychotherapeutic technique
• therapist listens to a client closely, asking questions as needed
• used to fully understand the content of the message and the depth of the client’s emotions

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Question 2

Biopsychosocial

Answer 2

• a systematic integration of biological, psychological and social approaches to the study and treatment of mental health
• used to conceptualize a case
• a framework to gather information from multiple domains

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Question 3

Capping

Answer 3

• Done either via a question or a statement
• Intended to help move clients away from emotion-drawn discussions into more cognitive-based dialogue
• The therapist will often revisit emotion-based topic at a later time
• Used to help regain control of the session

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Question 4

Clarification

Answer 4

• Basic counseling technique
• Therapist asks the client to clear up vague/ambiguous thoughts, feelings or behaviors
• To ensure that the therapist fully understands what the client has said
• Done in clear terms and without indicating any sort of approval or disapproval

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Question 5

Client expectancies

Answer 5

• What the client expects/hopes or doesn’t expect/hope to get out of treatment
• A common feature of therapies
• Wildly influential in client progress/engagement in treatment

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Question 6

Confrontation

Answer 6

• Basic counseling technique
• Therapist calls attention to a difficult situation, realization or contradictions
• including client beliefs, attitudes or behaviors
• This technique should only be used after a strong therapeutic alliance/rapport has been established

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Question 7

Congruence

Answer 7

• Refers to a match between one’s psychological attributes and their behaviors
• Concept coined by Rogers
• Used in client-centered therapy
• due to his theory that many clients entered therapy due to a lack of congruence in their lives
• Rogers worked to model this ability of being genuine and consistent in his verbal and nonverbal behaviors

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Question 8

Dual Relationships

Answer 8

• Refers to when a clinician has another type of relationship beyond a therapeutic relationship with a client
• The therapist is either concurrently in another relationship with the client, with a close friend/relation, or promises to enter into a relationship in the future
• It is considered best practice to avoid multiple relationships when possible

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Question 9

Encouraging

Answer 9

• A part of active listening
• minimal statement or nonverbal cue
• encourages the client to continue talking about the subject they’re currently focused on
• This technique demonstrates that the clinician is listening and
• allows the client to continue talking without interruption

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Question 10

Engagement

Answer 10

• The effort a client makes during therapy to achieve desired treatment goals
• Term was coined by Rogers in client-centered therapy
• referred to their active participation in treatment as client engagement is essential for treatment success

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Question 11

Fixed vs Growth Mindset

Answer 11

• A fixed mindset refers to a permanent and unchangeable thought pattern
• A growth mindset refers to a thought pattern that allows room for learning, change, and patience throughout the process
• a growth mindset is helpful in treatment because client’s believe they can acquire new knowledge and skills to benefit them

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Question 12

Hierarchy of Needs

Answer 12

• Concept developed by Maslow
• focused on meeting basic human needs and
• progressing toward self-actualization
• It is theorized that physiological needs must be met first, safety second, love/belonging third, esteem fourth, and self-actualization lastly
• Clients cannot meet later needs if the former are not established

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Question 13

Holding vs Shifting the Focus

Answer 13

• These are basic counseling techniques that guide the direction of the therapeutic discussion
• Holding the focus refers to purposely maintaining focus on the discussion at hand
• Shifting the focus refers to purposely moving away from the current discussion and toward something more therapeutic/productive for the client

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Question 14

Immediacy

Answer 14

• Skill used when therapist provides the client with feedback in the moment of what they are experiencing
• their experience of the session, the client, or what the client is saying
• To utilize immediacy appropriately, the feedback needs to be anchored in the current content of the moment

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Question 15

Interpretation

Answer 15

• A term used in psychotherapy
• Refers to an informed explanation from the therapist that is meaningful to the client’s behaviors or feelings
• The therapist takes the information from the client and interprets or offers a new explanation about what is being discussed

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Question 16

Logical consequences

Answer 16

• A behavioral term
• Refers to actions or responses that naturally happen after a behavior occurs
• Logical consequences may serve to alter a problem behavior
• can also help understand the consequences of behaviors experiences by the client

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Question 17

Open-ended Questions

Answer 17

• A type of question that is used to promote a detailed discussion that pertains to part of the client’s story
• Does not allow for one-worded responses
• Are intended to elicit a lengthy response for the client

Ex: Upon intake, a clinician asks open-ended questions to gain thorough information about their new client. To gain information about the client’s family, the clinician says “tell me about your family” instead of “do you have any siblings?”

Question 18

Paraphrasing

Answer 18

• Basic counseling technique
• Used to express the meaning of what the client has said but in different words, often for the sake of clarity or brevity
• This skill allows the client to know the therapist has heard/understood what they have said
• Allows the client to correct any misunderstanding on the therapist’s part

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Question 19

Positive Asset Search

Answer 19

• Technique when a therapist helps the client brainstorm what their strengths and attributes are
• Positive asset search is an essential part of behavioral analysis
• Identifying client strengths can help increase client self-efficacy

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Question 20

Power Dynamics

Answer 20

• Authority relationship between the client and the therapist
• There is a natural power differential between the two
• Exists merely due to the role of each part in a therapeutic relationship
• Power dynamics can elicit responses from a client
• These dynamics can be lessened by use of warmth, empathy and genuineness

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Question 21

Reflection of Content

Answer 21

• Basic counseling skill that refers to when the therapist repeats back the most important content information the client has said
• Does not “parrot” the client’s exact words
• Reflection of content demonstrated active listening
• Allows the client to clarify any misunderstanding on the therapist’s part

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Question 22

Reflection of Feeling

Answer 22

• Basic counseling skill that refers to when a therapist makes a statement that is intended to highlight the feelings or attitudes that are implicitly expressed in a client’s words or affect
  -Meant to draw emotion out
• Demonstrates that the therapist sees the client’s emotions, while also helping them identify/recognize their own emotions

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Question 23

Reflection of Deeper Meaning

Answer 23

• Basic counseling skill
• Refers to when the therapist shows the client they have understood the underlying meaning of what the client has said
• This typically reflects client core beliefs that guide their actions

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Question 24

Reframing

Answer 24

• Basic counseling skill
• Refers to the process of reconceptualizing a problem by seeing it from a different perspective
• By exploring alternative meanings, this can build insight for the client
• Reframing statements often put a more positive spin on statements made by the client

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Question 25

Miracle Question

Answer 25

• This is a question a therapist asks to prompt the client to envision what their life would look like if one day they woke up and their problems suddenly disappeared, as if a miracle occurred
• This technique helps the client and therapist determine what the client’s goals are and what they hope to gain from therapy

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Question 26

Self-disclosure

Answer 26

• Occurs when a therapist reveals personal or private information about themselves to the client
• Self-disclosure should only be used when it will benefit the client’s process and/or strengthen the therapeutic alliance
• Self-disclosure needs to be client focused and avoid shifting the full focus onto the therapist

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Question 27

Stages of Change

Answer 27

• A model that’s used to assess the client’s readiness for change
• The 5 stages of change include
• precontemplation (resistance to change)
• contemplation (ambivalence about change)
• preparation (commitment to change)
• action (making the change)
• maintenance (keeping the change)
• Cycle can continue if a client relapses or changes mind about change
• Understanding what stage of change a client is in allows the therapist to tailor intervention to where the client is at
• Clients can exit and reenter at any stage

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Question 28

Structuring

Answer 28

• basic counseling statement made usually within the first few sessions of treatment
• refers to when the therapist explains specific procedures and conditions of the therapeutic process
• Structuring is important because it establishes norms
• Allows the client to form expectations of what treatment will be like

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Question 29

Suicidality

Answer 29

• Refers to the risk of suicidal behavior/completion
• Suicidality is typically indicated by suicidal ideation or intent
• Typically evident by the presence of a well-established plan
• when assessing suicidality, the clinician should ask about ideation, plans, means, intent

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Question 30

Summarization

Answer 30

• Basic counseling skill
• Captures the general sense of the discussion over an extended period of time
• Summarization is typically used at the beginning or end of a session
• Reflects on the material discussed, either from earlier in the session or from the previous session

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Question 31

Termination

Answer 31

• Term used in the therapeutic process
• Refers to the conclusion of treatment, either immediately or over a long period of time
• Termination can be suggested by the client, therapist or via mutual agreement
• Typically occurs when treatment goals have been achieved and therapeutic services are no longer needed
• Ideally, this is planned in advance
• In a termination session, the clinician should share their own experience, ask about client experience, review progress made, and instill hope

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Question 32

Transference/Countertransference

Answer 32

• Terms used in therapeutic relationship
• Transference refers to the client’s displacement or projection of unconscious feelings, often directed toward important individuals in their life, onto the therapist
• Countertransference refers to the therapist’s reaction to the client and their potential transference
• Countertransference is thoughts/feelings that are based on the therapist’s own psychological needs and conflicts

Ex: Client expresses that what the therapist said reminds them of when their mom yelled at them

Question 33

Trustworthiness

Answer 33

• Refers to when the client trusts the therapeutic relationship
• and views it as a helpful, safe, free from blame/harm, and as a reliable dynamic
• Trustworthiness is important in therapeutic relationships because it promotes client honesty/genuineness and builds rapport

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Question 34

WEG Skills

Answer 34

• Non-negotiable therapeutic conditions coined by Rogers
• Stands for warmth, empathy and genuineness
• Warmth refers to the therapist’s unconditional positive regard for the client
• Empathy refers to when the therapist works to fully understand a client’s experience and “steps into their worldview”
• Genuineness refers to a congruence between the therapist’s words and actions and demonstrates the humanity of the expert

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Question 35

Working Alliance

Answer 35

• Collaborative and affective bond between the therapist and client
• A working alliance is crucial for client progress and healing
• Occurs when both the client and the therapist are active collaborators throughout treatment

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