Unit 5: Building Counselling Relationships

Question 1

The characteristics of a client that affect the way the counsellor views the client. Clients come in all shapes and sizes, personality characteristics, and degrees of attractiveness.

Answer 1

Client qualities

Counsellors most enjoy working with clients who they think have the potential to change

Question 2

The most successful candidates for traditional approaches tend to be YAVIS, what does this acronym stand for?

Answer 2

Young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and successful

Question 3

Less successful candidates for traditional approaches are seen as HOUNDs, what does acronym stand for? What about DUDs?

Answer 3

Homely, old, unintelligent, nonverbal, and disadvantaged

Dumb, unintelligent, and disadvantaged

Question 4

A question that requires a specific and limited response, such as yes or no. Often begins with the word is, do, or are

Answer 4

Closed-ended question

Quite effective in eliciting a good deal of information in a short period of time. But it does not encourage collaboration that might also be helpful

Question 5

A question that usually begins with who, what, where, or how. It requires more than a one-or two-word response

Answer 5

Probe

Question 6

A question that typically begins with what, how, or could and allows the client more latitude to respond. Encourages more client talk.

Answer 6

Open-ended questions

Question 7

A response the counsellor uses to be sure he or she understands what the client is saying. These requests require the client to repeat or elaborate on material just covered

Answer 7

Request for clarification

Question 8

A technique that can assist clients in gaining initiative. In this procedure the counsellor simply points out to the client exactly what the client is doing, such as being inconsistent.

Answer 8

Confrontation

The client must take responsibility for responding to the confrontation and may deny the behavior, accept all or part of the confrontation as true, or develop a middle position that synthesizes the first two

Question 9

The characteristics of the counsellor such as self-awareness, honesty, congruence, ability to communicate, and knowledge

Answer 9

Counsellor qualities

The characteristics mentioned previously, self-awareness, honesty, congruence, ability to communicate, and knowledge should be possessed by a counselor.

Question 10

Three characteristics that make counsellors initially more influential

Answer 10

Expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness

Question 11

The degree to which a counsellor is perceived as knowledgable and informed about his or her specialty

Answer 11

Expertness

Question 12

A function of perceived similarity between a client and counsellor as well as physical features

Answer 12

Attractiveness

Question 13

Related to the sincerity and consistency of the counsellor

Answer 13

Trustworthiness

Question 14

The counsellors ability to “enter the clients phenomenal world, to experience the clients world as if it were your own without ever losing the ‘as if’ quality”.
Involves perception and communication

Answer 14

Empathy

Question 15

A sensitivity wherein the counsellor perceives the cultural frame of reference from which his or her client operates, including the clients perceptual and cognitive process.

Answer 15

Culturally sensitive empathy

May help bridge the cultural gap between the counsellor and client. A counsellor who can accurately perceive what it is like to be the client but cannot communicate that experience is a limited helper

Question 16

The ability to respond in such a way that it is apparent to both client and counsellor that the counsellor has understood the clients major themes. Conveyed through nonverbal communication and various verbal responses

Answer 16

Primary empathy

Question 17

A process of helping a client explore themes, issues, and emotions new to his or her awareness. Usually inappropriate for an initial interview because it examines too much material to quickly. Clients must be developmentally ready for this to be beneficial

Answer 17

Advanced empathy

Question 18

In the final part of building a counselling relationship, the counsellor helps the client explore specific areas and begin to identify _____ that the client wants to achieve

Answer 18

Goals

Question 19

Goals that are not identified, too broad, or not prioritized.

Answer 19

Unfocused goals

Question 20

Goals defined by either counsellor or client that include happiness, perfection, progress, being number one, and self actualization. They have merit but are not easily obtained or sustained

Answer 20

Unrealistic goals

Question 21

Goals that may be incompatible with one another or with the personality of the client

Answer 21

Uncoordinated goals

Question 22

What are the seven specific criteria for judging effective goals in counseling?

Answer 22

1. Goals are mutually agreed on by client and counsellor
2. Goals are specific
3. Goals are relevant to self-defeating behaviour
4. Goals are achievement and success oriented
5. Goals are quantifiable and measurable
6. Goals are behavioural and observable
7. Goals are understandable and can be restated clearly

Question 23

The motivation to change

Answer 23

Initiative

Question 24

Blaming a person when the problem was not entirely his or her fault

Answer 24

Scapegoating

Question 25

A client who has been referred by a third-party and is frequently unmotivated to seek help. Many terminate counselling prematurely and report dissatisfaction with the process

Answer 25

Reluctant client

Question 26

A person in counselling who is unwilling, unready, or opposed to change. Such an individual may actively seek counselling but does not wish to go through the emotional pain, change in perspective, or enhanced awareness that counselling demands. Instead, the client clings to the certainty of present behavior, even when such action is counterproductive and dysfunctional

Answer 26

Resistant client

The most common form of resistance is the simple statement “I don’t know”

Question 27

Discuss six ways to overcome resistance

Answer 27

1. Anticipate the anger, frustration, and defensiveness that some clients display. Counsellors who realized that some of their tclients are reluctant or resistant can work with these individuals because they are not surprised by them or their behaviours
2. Show acceptance, patience, and understanding as well as a general nonjudgmental attitude. This stance promotes trust, which is the basis of an interpersonal relationship
3. Use persuasion. To direct persuasion techniques employed in counselling are the foot in the door and the door in the face technique. In the first technique, the counsellor asked the client to comply with a minor request and then later follows with a larger request. In the second technique, the counsellor asked the client to do a seemingly impossible task and then followed by requesting the client to do a more reasonable task
4. Confrontation-pointing out to the client exactly what the client is doing.
5. Use language, especially metaphors, to soften resistance or reluctance. Metaphors can be used to teach and reduce threat levels
6. Use mattering, the perception that as human beings we are important and significant to the world around us and to others in our lives

May also use pragmatic techniques such as silence, reflection, questioning, describing, assessing, pretending, and sharing the counsellors perspective

Question 28

Highlighting the last few words of the client

Answer 28

Accent

Question 29

A simple mirror response to a client that lets the client know the counsellor is actively listening

Answer 29

Restatement

Question 30

Similar to a restatement, but it deals with verbal and nonverbal expression.

Example: this counsellor response to a client who is silently sobbing over the loss of a parent: “you’re still really feeling the pain”

Answer 30

Reflection of feeling

Question 31

The act of paraphrasing a number of feelings that the client has conveyed

Answer 31

Summary of feelings

Example: John, if I understand you correctly, you were feeling depressed over the death of your father and discouraged that your friends have not helped you work through your grief.

Question 32

A response that does not interpret the meaning of the nonverbal behaviour a client exhibits

Answer 32

Acknowledgement meant of nonverbal behaviour

Example: I noticed that your arms are folded across your chest and you’re looking at the floor

Question 33

Preaching or a disguised form of advice giving. It sets up a power struggle between the counsellor and client that neither individual can win. Counsellors are probably doing this when they say more than three consecutive sentences in a row to their clients

Answer 33

Lecturing

Question 34

Where the counselling occurs

Answer 34

The physical setting

Question 35

What physical settings promote the process of counselling better than others?

Answer 35

The room should not be overwhelming, noisy, or distracting, but should be comfortable and attractive. Soft lighting, quite colors, and absence of clutter, harmonious comfortable furniture, and diverse cultural artefacts

Question 36

The distance between counsellor and client

Answer 36

Proxemics

A distance of 30 to 39 inches has been found to be the average range of comfort between counsellors and clients of both genders but this optimum distance may vary because of room size and furniture arrangement

Question 37

Explain the acronym SOLER

Answer 37

Summarizes five nonverbal skills involved in initial attending. Squarely, open, lean, eye contact, relax

S is a reminder to face the client squarely
O is a reminder to adopt an open posture
L reminds the counsellors to lean toward the client
E represents eye contact
Are is a reminder to the counsellor to relax

Question 38

A joint understanding between the counsellor and client regarding the characteristics, conditions, procedures, and parameters of counseling. Helps clarify the counselor-client relationship and give it directions; protect the rights, roles, and obligations of both counsellors and clients; and ensures the success of counselling

Answer 38

Structure

Practical guidelines such as time limits, action limits, role limits, and procedural limits are part of building structure.

Structure promotes the development of counselling by providing a framework in which the process can take place and is especially important at the beginning of counselling

Question 39

What are the five important factors that can influence the counselling process

Answer 39

Structure, initiative, physical setting, client qualities, and counsellor qualities

Question 40

Identify and provide original examples of four micro skills for facilitating the gathering of information in the first interview

Answer 40

1. Probe: a question that usually begins with who, what, where, or how and requires more than a one or two word response
   Example: what problems do you see in your marriage?
2. Accent: highlighting the last few words of the client
   Example: client-my marriage is making me feel like I’m losing control
   Counselor- Losing control?
3. Closed question: requires a specific and limited response such as yes or no and often begins with the word is, do, or are
   Example: do you enjoy going on dates with your husband? Client- no
4. Request for clarification: a response the counsellor uses to be sure he or she understands what the client is saying and requires the client to repeat or elaborate on material just covered
   Example: I don’t understand the connection between your marriage and your job

Question 41

Identify and provide original examples of four microskills to facilitate relationship building in the first interview

Answer 41

1. Restatement: a mirror response to a client that lets the client know the counsellor is actively listening
   Example: client- i’m not sure I can stay in this relationship, I am upset all the time and it’s affecting my sleep
   Counselor-you don’t know if you can stay with your spouse because of the negative feelings and physical effects
2. Reflection of feeling: deals with verbal and nonverbal expression
   Example: client- sobbing over the termination of a relationship
   Counselor- this is still very painful for you
3. Summary of feelings: the act of paraphrasing a number of feelings that the client has conveyed
   Example: counsellor says you are feeling depressed about the termination of the relationship and feel rejected because her family has not contacted you.
4. Acknowledgement of nonverbal behavior: noticing but not interpreting nonverbal behaviour
   Example: counselor’s might say you cannot look me in the eyes and you are fidgeting

Question 42

An action that usually blocks counselor-client communication and should generally be avoided except in crisis situations.

Providing a solution which may deny a client the chance to work through personal thoughts and feelings about a subject and may ultimately curtail his or her ability to make difficult decisions

Answer 42

Advice giving