Open Questions
How is counseling different from conversations in your everyday life?
Counseling focuses on the client, is goal-directed, employs limited self-disclosure by the counselor, and is time-limited.
What's so great about reflections, anyway?
Reflections allow a counselor to explore what the client is currently saying in depth, rather than steering the conversation towards a different topic of the counselor's choice.
Define closed questions and open questions.
Closed questions enable you to obtain specific information and can be answered in a few words. Closed questions often start with do, is, or are. Open questions can’t be answered in a few words and facilitate deeper exploration of client issues. Open questions often begin with who, what, when, where, or why.
A student seeking counseling to address stress management shares having had recent suicidal thoughts. What should you focus the session on next?
Risk assessment
When working with trauma, what should you address first: (a) Reprocessing trauma, (b) Safety, or (c) Reconnection?
Safety first!
What are SMART Goals?
Goals which are Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Time-Oriented.
A reflection of content is also called a
Paraphrase
Define empathy vs. sympathy.
Empathy describes feeling with, while sympathy describes feeling sorry for.
Describe the counselor's role in helping a client in crisis?
Active, directive, immediacy-focused, and attuned to tangible needs.
Give an example of appropriate vs. inappropriate self-disclosure.
Appropriate self-disclosure should be focused on the client, and used to offer a different perspective to the client. Inappropriate self-disclosure crosses boundaries or makes the counselor the center of the session.
What's the difference between advice-giving and psychoeducation/directives?
Taking time to understand the full problem first, then using a clear theory to ground the recommendation.
Provide an example of a reflection of feeling.
"You feel _______ as you talk about this."
Define an encourager, a paraphrase, and a summary.
Encouragers are short verbal or nonverbal responses that encourage clients to keep talking. Paraphrases shorten or clarify the essence of what has just been said, and are also known as reflections of content. Summaries integrate clients' thoughts, emotions, and behaviors over a longer time span that a paraphrase.
The PIMP model of suicide assessment stands for
Plan, Intent, Means, and Prior Attempts
Name 5 of the counseling theories we've talked about this semester?
Solution-focused, Adlerian/Psychodynamic, Gestalt/Psychodrama, Humanistic/Phenomenological, CBT, Social Learning, Behavioral, etc.
How do you plan to balance your self-care, work, and school needs as you continue on in your professional development?
Self-care isn't just a buzzword; it's an "ethical imperative" for helping professionals!
A reflection of feeling should attempt to guess what emotion the client is feeling. Name 10 emotions.
The feelings wheel is your friend!
Define empathic confrontation.
Supportively challenging the client to address observed discrepancies and conflicts.
Name a deescalation skill you could use in working with someone in crisis.
Grounding, breathing, speaking slowly, maintaining distance from the client, giving clear directives, etc.
Name 5 of the theory-based counseling techniques we've talked about this semester?
45 options to choose from...
How can you integrate your own personality into your counseling approach?
Integration balances your own personal authenticity with the needs, goals, and style of the client; the context and multicultural, social justice, and advocacy needs of the client; and your own life goals, values, worldview, vision, and wisdom.
Describe the difference between a (a) reflection of content, (b) reflection of feeling, and (c) reflection of meaning.
A reflection of content shortens or clarify the essence of what has just been said, and are also known as a paraphrase. A reflection of feeling guesses at the surface level or deeper feelings the client may be experiencing. A reflection of meaning focuses beyond what the client says and examines underlying meanings, values, visions, or goals.
Define trauma-informed care.
A treatment environment which recognizes the possibility of trauma in all clients, and which promotes safety; trust and transparency; peer support; collaboration and mutuality; empowerment, voice, and choice; and cultural, historical, and gender issues.
Give 2 specific questions you could ask to assess a client's risk for suicide.
Stick to a model!
What 5 microskills make up the basic listening sequence (BLS)?
Remember the pyramid! Questions (open and closed), encouragers, paraphrases, reflections of feeling, and summaries.