Strategies for Facilitating Insight (Rita SF)

Question 1

1. Acknowledging and working with differences.

Answer 1

-e.g., “Here I am, an older white woman, yet another person telling you what to do.”

Question 2

2. Reframing.

Answer 2

offering the client a different or alternative frame or perspective

-e.g., “Facing all of these difficult things and coming here despite how little time you have tells me that you love your daughter a lot to put yourself through this.” [Reframe desperation into intense love]
-e.g., “My mom is nagging me to bring a jacket. She is so annoying.” –> reframe: “It sounds like your mom really cares about you.”

Question 3

3. Empty Chair or Two-Chair Dialogue.

Answer 3

–two-chair: person speaks to 2 different parts of themselves (for cases of ambivalence)
–empty-chair: speak to an empty chair which may represent someone that is deceased, abused the person, etc.

–> e.g., “There is a strong part of you saying I do, and I’m hearing this little other part that is saying I’m not so sure. Is that fair?”

Question 4

4. Confrontation.

Answer 4

a reflection or statement to the client that is noticing discrepancies

–> e.g., “I just wanted to check in with you and ask you for permission. We’ve been talking the last few sessions and I have some observations that I want to share with you, but only if you feel that would be okay.” –> “What I’m hearing is, on one hand, you want to have a baby and have a good marriage with Mark, but on the other hand, you are on birth control, and you forgot to tell Mark about that appointment change. I feel like maybe you are not actually as sure as you are about having a baby and your relationship with Mark.”

Question 5

5. Self-disclosure.

Answer 5

Immediacy = type of self-disclosure; bringing the here-and-now reactions of the counselor into the room in a way that facilitates insight in the client

–> e.g., “I feel like we’ve been doing deep work and I feel protective of you making that transition into a grief group.”
–> e.g., “I kind of wish it was a bad dream too.”

Question 6

6. Interpretation.

Answer 6

pointing out a pattern, something in the client’s unconscious or projection –> noting a relationship between 2 things and hypothesizing a connection between the two

–> importantly, client has not yet seen the connection
–> e.g., “So, I’m just going to float a little hypothesis out there. I’m wondering if there may be a connection between this really difficult relationship with your brother, I’m assuming since childhood up until now. And some connection to the difficulties you have with some of the other men in your life.”