What is Counseling?Definitions:1. "Counseling helps individuals to better

recognize the various information about itself" (Chiskolm, 1959).

2. “Counseling is a process of assistance made by an expert (called counselors) to individuals who have something problem (called counselee) that lead to problems facing clients” Frank Parson (1908)

3. Something that provides direction or advice to a decision or course of action.

Techniques of

Counseling

These basic skills include the patterns of sessions, active listening, body language, tone, open ended and closed questions, paraphrasing, summarizing, note taking, homework,

Active Listening - Listen for Meaning

1. Active listening happens when you "listen for meaning". The listener says very little but conveys empathy, acceptance and genuiness.

2. Look at the speaker. Taking a few notes can keep you on task;

3. Encourage the speaker to continue with short, gentle comments like “uh-huh”, “really!?”, “tell me more”, etc.

4. If the person is not normally talkative, you may have to refer to your brief one or two word notes and ask an open question.

Encouraging Body Language -Practice Makes Perfect!

1. Communication is 55% body language, 38% tone and 7% words.

2. Developing encouraging body language can take some practice.

3. Keep communications specific -- focused on facts and feelings of relevant concerns.

4. The counselor shares personal feelings, experiences, or reactions to the client.

5. Your client may not remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.

Asking Questions -To Open Up or Close Down?

1. Open and closed question - is an important tool in the counseling kit.

2. An open question is one that is used in order to gathering lots of information – you ask it with the intent of getting a long answer.

3. Open-Ended Questions (OEQs) have no correct answer and require an explanation of sorts.

4. Asking question like “why” is threatening and overwhelming for some people. It implies judgment and it can be asking an unanswerable question.

5. Closed questions (cqs) are those that can easily be answered with a “yes” or a “no” or brief information. for example:

1. What is your name and date of birth?

Paraphrasing - What You Think the Speaker Said Paraphrasing is when you restate

briefly and tentatively what the speaker said –

It’s good to learn how to rephrase briefly and acknowledge that this is what we think the client has said.

This is a good time to take interest in the tone of your voice. Be watchful of whether it is… ◦ • High / low ◦ • Loud / soft ◦ • Fast / slow ◦ • Accommodating / demanding ◦ • Light-hearted / gloomy

Moderation in all things including voice is important.

And remember, the person may not remember what was said, but they will remember how you made them feel!

Summary - Focusing on the Main Points

When you focus on the main points of a presentation or session you are checking to see if you are accurate .

Sum-ups happen at the beginning and at the end of a session..

In a beginning summary you are recalling what happened at the last meeting.

In an ending one, you are attempting to condense what has happened over 40 minutes into a few minutes worth of material.

In both cases your tone needs to imply that you are open to some changes in perspective. It’s important that both the client and you, are “reading from the same page.”

Note Taking - Can Get a Little Messy! Note taking can keep you on

track, but it can also be distracting for the client as you are tempted to rest your eyes on the pen and paper.

And if you don’t take notes, you may forget what happened in the last session?

In counseling, SAPO method may be used for note taking.◦ Subjective – What the client is

describing? ◦ Assessment -What was the

ensuing discussion? ◦ Plan- What is the action plan? ◦ Other-What do you need to do

in order to be prepared for the next visit?

Yes, There Will Be Homework! Remember, there are 23

hours in the rest of the day. Most of the work is done outside of the session.

If some information is crucial you can always phone or email the client.

Reason for homework is that it decreases the amount you talk.

It helps you to be more self aware of the client.

It also helps to educate the client and provide tools for improving.

It helps you to get prepared for the next session.

“Thank you”