The world of the Counselor An introduction to the counseling profession 5e chapter 5

Counseling Skills

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The Office-the importance of a first impression
 Do Box 5.1, p. 151
Nonverbal Behavior
 Posture, eye contact, tone of voice
 Personal space
 Touch ?
Counselor Qualities to Embrace
 Nine characteristics of the effective counselor from Chapter 1
 Other?
Counselor Qualities to Avoid
 Demeaning, negative, blaming, and judgmental attitudes
 Other?

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Listening
 Good listening (see list bottom, p. 153 to top of p. 154)
 Hindrances to listening
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Preconceived notions
Anticipating what client will say
Thinking about what to say
Personal issues of counselor
Strong emotional reactions to client content
Read Box 5.2, p. 154

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Preparing to Listen
 See List pp. 154-155
Empathy and Deep Understanding: A Special Kind of
Listening

▪ Rogers definition:
▪ “The state of empathy, or being empathic, is to perceive the
internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with
the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto
as if one were the person, but without ever losing the “as if”
condition.”

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Empathy (Cont’d)
 Carkhuff Scale

▪ Figure 5.1, p. 155
▪ Table 5.1, p 156

 Silence
▪ Importance of
▪ Length of time
▪ Culturally determined

▪ Pause time

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Questions
 Open vs. Closed
 Tentative
 Solution-Focused Questions
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Preferred goals questions
Evaluative questions
Coping questions
Exception-seeking Questions
Solution-focused questions

 Why questions
 When to use questions and when to NOT use them

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Self-disclosure
 Content Self-disclosure
▪ Box 5.3, p. 163

 Process Self-disclosure
 Guidelines for when to disclose (p. 162)
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Modeling (social learning; imitation, behavioral rehearsal)
 To highlight clinical skills client can copy (e.g., empathy)
 Through role-playing certain ways of acting
 To teach the client about modeling and encourage him/her to
find a model to emulate
 Accurately identify desired behaviors you want to model

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Affirmation Giving
 General positive response to client behaviors
Encouragement

 Positive attitude toward client’s work toward goals
Affirmation and Encouragement can lead toward dependency
Offering Information
Providing Alternatives
Giving Advice
 See Figure 5.2, p. 164

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Confrontation: Support, then Challenge
 NOT a hostile exchange
 Is a gentle way of helping client see discrepancy in between
values and actions
 Five ways to show client his/her discrepancies
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You/but statements
Asking client to justify discrepancy
Reframing
Using Irony or Satire
Higher-level empathic responses

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Collaboration
 Generally done during transition points in counseling
(between stages of the counseling relationship)
 Ways of doing it:
1. Use foundational skills to offer summary
2. Ask client how he/she feels about treatment
3. Ask client about direction to take in treatment
4. Share own thoughts about which areas might be important to
focus on
5. Have honest discussion concerning any discrepancies
between numbers 3 and 4 above

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NEED ADVANCED TRAINING
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Some examples
 Use of metaphor

 Hypnosis
 Strategic skills
 Cognitive Restructuring
 Narratives and storytelling

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NEED ADVANCED TRAINING
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Some examples
 Therapeutic touch
 Paradoxical intention
 Role Playing
 Visualization

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Allows counselor to understand client’s presenting
problems apply appropriate counseling skills and
treatment strategies based on the counselor’s theoretical
orientation.
Inverted Heuristic Pyramid
 See Figure 5.3, p. 169

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Six Stages
1. Rapport & trust building
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Professional Disclosure Statement

Problem identification
Deepening understanding & goal setting
Work
Closure
Post-Interview Stage

Reciprocal Relationship of Theory, Skills, and Stages of the
Relationship
 See Figure 5.4, p. 174

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

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Importance of Case Notes
 Helpful in conceptualizing case
 Helpful when making a diagnosis
 Measure of our standard of care
 To measure progress
 Useful in supervision
 Needed by insurance companies, agencies and schools
Many different ways of writing case notes
 One popular method: S. O. A. P. Notes: see Table 5.2, p.
176

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

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Apply Skills Cross-Culturally
 Many skills are helpful to many clients
 However, these same skills can be harmful to some clients

from certain cultures. Just as a few examples:
▪ Native American client may be uncomfortable with prolonged
eye contact
▪ Latin American clients are comfortable with less personal
space than others
▪ Muslim client by consider being touched by the left hand of
the counselor

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Know differences in how clients will respond based on
culture

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Confidentiality and Privileged Communication
 Records should be kept confidential
 Licensed professionals usually have privileged communication
▪ Jaffee v. Redmond
Clients Rights to Records
 Clients have rights to records, except progress notes

▪ Freedom of Information Act of 1974
▪ FERPA
▪ HIPAA
 Parents generally have right to children’s records
Security: Keep passcode protected or in locked file cabinets

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

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Case Notes and Records (cont’d)
 Security of Records
▪ Verbal and written info needs to be kept confidential
▪ Exceptions to confidentiality of records:

▪ Court subpoenas
▪ Parents generally have right to see children’s records
▪ If you obtain permission from clients to discuss records
with other professionals
▪ Keep records password protected/in locked fields
▪ Clerical help should no importance of confidentiality

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Specialized field in counseling now acknowledge by
CACREP
Eight steps:
 Contact and Engagement
 Safety and Comfort
 Stabilization (if necessary)
 Information Gathering
 Practical Assistance
 Connections with Social Supports
 Information on Coping
 Linkage with Collaborative Services

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The Developmental Nature of Counseling Skills
 New skills take practice
 The better you get at them, the more you realize you have
to learn
 A lifelong process of skill development

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