Verbal and Nonverbal
Skills
Skills
These repeated client phrases can highlight underlying themes and should be reflected back.
What are key words?
"What", "how", and "why" questions are typically categorized as this type of question.
What are open questions?
Short statements such as "tell me more" or repeating client keywords in a questioning tone (e.g., "angry?", "trapped", etc.) to promote client elaboration.
What are short encouragers?
The action of observing emotions, naming the emotion, and reflecting it back to the client.
What is reflecting feelings/emotions?
This brain structure is responsible for the fear response.
What is the amygdala?
Therapists must pay attention to whether their voice has this musical quality/warmth, rather than being monotone.
What is vocal prosody?
This assessment strategy uses Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence, Thoughts, and Emotions.
What is the ABC + TE model?
This skill reflects the essence of the client’s message in fewer words.
What is paraphrasing?
The combination of these two skills is often used in reflection of feelings.
What is paraphrasing and summarizing?
This cortex labels emotions and helps us make sense of what we're feeling.
What is the prefrontal cortex?
This term describes when counselor and client unconsciously match body language during high empathy.
What is movement synchronicity?
This type of question leads can be used to open exploration of emotions.
What are "how" questions?
Unlike paraphrasing, this skill covers extended parts of the session and includes client emotions.
What is summarizing?
Therapists should keep reflections focused on this time frame to stay attuned and grounded.
What is the present?
This evidence-based program aims to reduce challenging behaviors and increase children’s emotional skills, emphasizing the Social Learning Theory.
What is the Incredible Years program?
This style of client tends to be specific and detailed, but may struggle with seeing patterns.
What is concreteness/concrete clients?
Some counseling theorists avoid questions altogether because they believe questions give too much of this to the therapist.
What is control/power?
These speech “stems” often begin paraphrases, such as “It sounds like…”
What are sentence stems?
The mindset of being mindful when it comes to how not all populations will react to reflecting feelings the same.
What are cultural considerations?
This system, including the amygdala and hippocampus, activates when someone reflects feelings to us.
What is the limbic system?
These types of statements (“I” vs “other”) help therapists understand how clients place responsibility for their struggles.
What are attribution statements?
Examples of questions for the "T" and "E" in the ABC + TE model that usually assess thoughts and emotions.
T = What thoughts came up during that time?
E = How did you feel? What emotions did you experience just before it happened? During? After? How do you think the other person felt?
This add-on to a paraphrase or summary double checks with the client to ensure accuracy.
What is a checkout?
The sentence format/order often used to utilize reflection of feelings in a therapeutic space.
What is sentence stem, labeling the feeling/emotion, brief paraphrase, and (optional) checkout?
A type of play specifically for children that emphasizes descriptive commenting without questions and child control/autonomy.
What is play therapy/child-directed play?