PATIENT
COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES
There are many
different techniques that counselors can use with their clients. Let’s
take a look at some of the techniques that we feel to be most effective during
a counseling session:
- Spheres of Influence: This assessment tool will
get the individual to look at areas of their life and see which areas may
be impacting and influencing them. The person’s job is to figure out
which systems in their life give them strength, and which ones give them
stress. Some spheres of influence to consider are: themselves,
immediate family, friends, husband or wife, extended family, job or
school, community, culture or religion, and any external influences.
- Clarification: A counselor should often ask
their client to clarify what they are telling them to make sure they
understand the situation correctly. This will help the counselor
avoid any misconceptions or avoid them having to make any assumptions that
could hinder their feedback.
- Client Expectations: When a person enters therapy,
they should voice their opinions about counseling and their beliefs about
treatment. In the beginning, they should be able to communicate
with their counselor as to what they expect to get out of counseling. This can help
the counselor guide and direct their counseling accordingly.
- Confrontation: We do not mean the client
confronting the therapist, or vice versa. The confrontation that
should happen here is within the client. The client should be able
to self-examine themselves during counseling. However, the speed at
which they do this should be discussed between the counselor and the
client.
- Congruence: This has to do with the counselor
being genuine with their feedback and beliefs about their client’s
situation and progress. The more authentic and true they are with
their counseling, the more that their client and work to grow and benefit
from their help.
- Core Conditions: This technique in counseling goes
over some essential traits that the counselor needs to integrate for
effective counseling, which are: positive regard, empathy, congruence or
genuineness, and warmth.
- Encouraging: Being encouraging as a counselor
for your client is an essential technique that will help facilitate
confidence and respect between both parties. This technique asks
that the counselor focus on the client’s strengths and assets to help them
see themselves in a positive light. This will help with the client’s
progression.
- Engagement: As a therapist, having a good, yet
professional relationship with your client is essential. However,
there are bound to be difficult moments in counseling sessions, which will
require influential engagement on the counselor’s behalf.
- Focusing: This technique involves the counselor
demonstrating that they understand what their client is experiencing by
using non-judgmental attention without any words. Focusing can help
the counselor determine what the client needs to obtain next from their
services.
- Immediacy: The technique of the counselor
speaking openly about something that is occurring in the present
moment. This helps the client learn from their real life experiences
and apply this to their reactions for other past situations.
- Listening Skills: With any relationship,
listening skills are needed to show that the counselor understands and
interprets the information that their client gives them correctly.
The counselor should do this by showing attentiveness in non-verbal ways,
such as: summarizing, capping, or matching the body language of their
clients.
- Open-Ended Questions: Open ended questions
encourage people in a counseling session to give more details on their
discussion. Therefore, these types of questions are used as a
technique by counselors to help their clients answer how, why, and what.
- Paraphrasing: This technique will show clients
that the counselor is listening to their information and processing what
they have been telling them. Paraphrasing is also good to reiterate
or clarify any misinformation that might have occurred.
- Positive Asset Search: A positive technique
used by counselors helps clients think up their positive strengths and
attributes to get them into a strong mindset about themselves.
- Reflection of Feeling: Counselors use this
technique to show their clients that they are fully aware of the feelings
that their client is experiencing. They can do this by using exact
words and phrases that their client is expressing to them.
- Miracle Question: The technique of asking a
question of this sort will help the client see the world in a different
way or perspective. A miracle question could be something along the
lines of: “What would your world look like if a miracle occurred?
What would that miracle be and how would it change things?”
- Stages of Change: By assessing a client’s
needs, a counselor can determine the changes that need to occur for their
client, and when they should take place. This can be determined by
what they believe to be most important.
- Trustworthiness: The counselor must create an
environment for their client as such that their client feels that they
have the capacity to trust their counselor. A therapist must be:
congruent, warm, empathetic, and speak with positive regard to their
client.
- Capping: A lot of counselors use the technique
of capping during their sessions. Capping involves changing a
conversation’s direction from emotional to cognitive if the counselor
feels their client’s emotions need to be calmed or regulated.
- Working Alliance: Creating a working alliance
between a counselor and their client is essential for a successful
counseling environment that will work to achieve the client’s needs.
This technique involves the client and therapist being active
collaborators during counseling and agreeing upon goals of treatment that
are necessary, as well as how to achieve those goals.
- Proxemics: This technique has the counselor
study the spatial movements and conditions of communication that their
client exhibits. By studying their clients body orientation, the counselor
can determine mood, feelings, and reactions.
- Self-Disclosure: The counselor will make note
when personal information is disclosed at certain points of therapy.
This technique will help the counselor learn more about the client and use
this information only to benefit them.
- Structuring: When the individual enters
counseling, the counselor should discuss the agenda for the day with their
client, the activities, and the processes that they will go through.
This technique in counseling will help the client understand their
counselor’s train of thought into determining how this routine will work
for them. Soon enough, the client will get used to the routine, and
this establishes comfort and trust in counseling.
- Hierarchy of Needs: This technique involves the
counselor assessing their client’s level of needs as based on the progress
that they are making. The needs that they will factor in are:
physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, self esteem
needs, and self-actualization needs. All these will determine if
change needs to take place in counseling.
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