Counseling Skills and

Techniques
Dr. Hector M. Perez, RPsy, RPm
Outline
• Introduction
• Basic of Counseling
• Counseling Process
• Client-Counselor Relationship
• Counseling Skills
• Counseling Techniques
• Counseling Simulation
Introduction
• In introducing yourself, kindly include the
following information:
– How long have you been doing counseling?
– What students’ concerns are usually
presented to you during counseling
sessions?
– Any memorable students’ concern that you
handled and what was the outcome?
 COUNSELING
• An interactive process characterized by a
unique relationship between the counselor
and client that leads to change in one or
more of the following areas:
 Behavior
 Beliefs or emotional concerns relating to
perceptions
 Level of emotional distress
COUNSELING PROCESS

1. Rapport and Relationship

Building
2. Assessment / Problem
Definition
3. Goal-setting
4. Initiating Interventions
5. Termination
Rapport and Relationship

• Psychological climate resulting from the interpersonal

contact of client and counselor.
• Living and evolving condition.
• Relationship includes respect, trust, and relative
psychological comfort.
Impacted by
• Counselor’s personal and professional qualifications.
• Client’s interpersonal history,
– anxiety state,
– interrelation skills, and
– previous ability to share.
Assessment

Involves specific skills

• Observation
• Inquiry
• Associating facts
• Recording information
• Forming counseling hypotheses
Observation

1. Take notice of the client’s general

emotional state.
2. Establish sense of client’s cultural context.
3. Note gestures / movements that denote
emotional / physical dysfunctions.
4. Hear how the client frames his / her
problems.
5. Note verbal and non-verbal patterns.
Presenting problem
and context
Basic Questions Detailed Inquiry
• What concerns • Clarify stressors
brought you here? • Elicit
• Why now? – coping skills,
• Has this happened – social support,
before? – and resources
• How is it impacting • Clarify life function
your daily life?
– family
– Health
– relationships
Presenting problem
and context
Basic Questions Detailed Inquiry
• What concerns • Clarify stressors
brought you here? • Elicit
• Why now? – coping skills,
• Has this happened – social support,
before? – and resources
• How is it impacting • Clarify life function
your daily life?
– family
– Health
– relationships
Mental Status
Basic Questions
• How do you feel now?
• How is your mood affected?
• Had any unusual
experiences?
• How is your memory?
• Do you think that life isn’t
worth living?
Detailed Inquiry
• Note
– age & mannerisms
– dress & grooming
– orientation
• Probe
– anxiety symptoms
– form, content,
thought.
– suicidal ideation
– violent impulses
Developmental history and
dynamics
Basic Questions Detailed Inquiry
• Clarify
• How would you describe – current self-view
yourself as a person? – level of self-esteem
• Shift to the past, how – personality style
were things when you • Note
were growing up? – developmental
milestones
– experience in school
– best friends
– educational level
Social history and cultural
dynamics
Basic Questions • Detailed Inquiry
• What is your current • Elicit
living situation? – social support
• What is your ethnic system
background? – race, age, gender
– sexual
orientation
– religion
– language
– education
Health history and
behaviors

Basic Questions Detailed Inquiry

• Tell me about your • Identify
health? – prescriptions
• Health habits? – substance usage
– health status
– health habits
Client resources

Basic Questions Detailed Inquiry

• How have you tried to make • Probe
things better? Results? – Efforts to change
• How do you explain your – Efforts vs. successes
symptoms? • Clarify client explanatory
• What is your / my role in model
your counseling session? • Identify treatment
• When will things change / expectations
get better? • Specify readiness for
change
Wind down and close

Basic Questions Detailed Inquiry

• What else would be • Use an open-ended
query
important for me to
– Allows the client to
know? add information.
• Do you have any – Creates sense of
questions for me? reciprocal and
collaborative
relationship.
 Conceptualizing Problem
• Recognize a client need.
• Understand that need.
• Meet that need.
1. Beliefs may
 Contribute to the problem.
 Impede the solution.
 Become the problem.
2. Feelings / responses often
 Exaggerate the problem.
 Impede comprehension of the problem.
 Become the problem.
Conceptualizing Problem
3. Behavior / responses may
 Be inappropriate.
 Contribute to the problem.
 Complicate the problem.
4. Interaction patterns include
 Miscommunication channels,
 Expectations,
 Self-fulfilling prophesies.
 Coping styles.
5. Contextual factors
 Time
 Place
Goal Setting

1. Indicates how well counseling is working.

2. Indicates when counseling should be
concluded.
3. Prevents dependent relationships.
4. Determines the selection of
interventions.
5. Mutually defined by the client and
counselor.
Goal Setting

• Counselor • Client
Greater objectivity Experience with the
Training in problem
Normal and History of the problem
Abnormal Potential insights
behavior Awareness of
Process personal investment
experience in change
• Process goals • Outcome goals
 Related to establishing  Are different for each
therapeutic conditions for client and directly
client change. related to clients’
 Includes: changes.
Establishing rapport,  Always subject to
Providing a non- modification and
threatening setting, refinement.
and  To begin, formulate
Possessing and tentative outcome
communicating goals.
accurate empathy and  Modify goals as
unconditional regard. needed to support
effective change.
 Interventions
• Objective -- initiate and facilitate client change.
• After assessment and goals setting, answers the
question, “How shall we accomplish these goal?”
• Must be related to the problem.
• Selecting an intervention may become an adaptive
process.
• Skills to initiate include
1.Competency with the intervention;
2.Knowledge of appropriate uses;
3.Knowledge of typical client responses;
4.Observation skills to note client responses.
Termination

No clear cut ending, but no need to continue

beyond usefulness.
Awareness by the counselor and the client that
the work is accomplished.
May take the same number of sessions as
rapport building.
Types of Termination

Suggested termination, with client agreement

Imposed termination
 Continuing is against client best interest
 Client is deteriorating, not progressing
 Incompatibility with the therapist
 Client using therapy in place of life
Situational termination
 Client moves
 Employment change
Early termination
CLIENT- COUNSELOR
RELATIONSHIP

• How the relationship itself assists you as a counselor:

 Diagnostic aid
 How the client acts in session is a clue to how
he/she acts outside of session—patterns of
behavior
 Interpersonal engagement
 This allows you to have influence over the client
– be careful of this as you carry power in your
role…
 social modeling,
 directives and challenges
 your reactions to their material
 how you deal with immediacy issues, etc..
CLIENT- COUNSELOR
RELATIONSHIP

Unfinished business
 Transference and countertransference
reactions can be grist for the mill
 You can use the relationship to help heal from
past.
• Personal support system
– Research suggests the number one factor in
clients improvement is support system (it’s best
if this is both outside and inside the session)
– Counselors should support clients, be a
cheerleader for them
CLIENT- COUNSELOR
RELATIONSHIP
Support communicates
• someone is here for you
• you can count on someone
• I might not approve of what you are
doing, but I approve of you
• there is a person in your life who is
reliable and dependable
• you will not be taken advantage of
• my job is to help you get what you want
CLIENT- COUNSELOR
RELATIONSHIP
• Authentic engagement
– You will like some clients and dislike
others, but you must be genuine and can
use this as immediacy
– If you have have strong reactions to liking
or disliking a client it is imperative that you
discuss this in supervision/ consultation.
Core Conditions

Empathy
Understanding what the client feels and
not just what you would feel if you were the
client.

Genuineness
Being who you are without pretense or
hiding behind the “counselor” role.

Unconditional Positive Regard:

Accepting the person for who he or she
may be without putting conditions on it.
Core Conditions

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 counselor must be: congruent, warm,

empathetic, and speak with positive regard
to their client.
Core Conditions

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.
Exercise on Active Listening
• Select a partner.
• Buzz with your partner a concern that happened a
week ago.
• Take note of the questions being asked.
• Take note of any non-verbal behavior shown by your
partner.
COUNSELING SKILLS
• Listening is not passive. It is important to
indicate that the person is being heard
• Good counselling skills means listening before
acting to solve problems
• Verbal listening skills
 Show interest
 Gather information
 Encourage speaker to develop ideas
 Communicate our understanding of ideas
 Request clarification of understanding
 Build the therapeutic alliance
Listening Skills

• Using good verbal listening skills, you increase the

chances that:
 You will understand what the other is saying and
they will understand you
 You will create a situation where you will be able
to develop a helping relationship

34
 Non verbal attending and observation
1. Take notice of the client’s general state of
anxiety.
2. Establish sense of client’s cultural context.
3. Note gestures , movements that denote
emotional / physical dysfunctions. Non verbal
behavior include eye contacts, head nods, facial
discrimination, body posture and physical
distance between counselor and client
4. Hear how the client frames his / her problems.
5. Note verbal and non-verbal patterns.
A Good Listener

• Maintains eye contact

• Makes few distracting movements
• Leans forward, faces the client
• Has an open posture
• Allows few interruptions
• Signals interest with encouragers and facial
expressions
Bad listening

• Makes little eye contact

• Makes distracting movements
• Faces away from the client
• Has a closed posture (eg:arms crossed)
• Interrupts client
• Does too many other things while listening
• Has a flat affect, speaks in a monotone,
gives few signals of interest
Looking Like Your Listening is
Not Enough
Responding

• Ask open and closed

questions
• Use “encouragers”
• Paraphrase what you have
heard
• Reflect on feeling
• Summarize
Questioning Description Purpose Examples
Technique

Intended to be  As opening questions in *It's great weather, isn't

Closed answered with a yes, a conversation, it makes it?
no or single it easy for the other *Are you alone today?
Questions word/phrase. person to answer, and *Where do you live?
Closed questions have doesn't force them to
the following reveal too much about
characteristics: themselves.
*Do you want to move to
* They give you  For testing another section?
facts. understanding. This is
* They are also a great way to break *Are you satisfied with
easy/quick to answer. into a long ramble. your current living
* They keep control situation?
of the conversation  For achieving closure of
with the questions. a persuasion (seeking
yes to the big question). *Would you prefer a
different living
arrangement?
Questioning Description Purpose Examples
Technique
Intended to elicit a long
answer that asks the  As a follow-on from closed
Open respondent to: questions, to develop a *How are you managing at
* think and reflect. conversation and open up home?
Questions * give opinions and someone who is rather
feelings. quiet.
* give control of the
conversation to the
person. * What concerns you most
 To find out more about a about living with your ?
Questions usually begin
person, their wants, needs,
with what, how.
problems, and so on.
"Tell me" and "describe" * What is most important for
can also be used in the  To get people to realize the you as you think about the
same way as open extent of their problems. future?
questions.
 To help them feel positive
Asking questions
about talking with you. * How can I help you to talk
beginning with ‘why’ can
with your daughter about
be problematic as these
not living with her?
questions can often be
perceived as challenging
the person and are best
avoided.
Questioning Description Purpose Examples
Technique

Leading A specific type of • Subtly prompts *Do you talk with your
Question close ended the respondent parents much of the
s question phrased to answer in a time?
in a manner that particular way,
tends to suggest usually the *Isn’t your foster parents
the desired. interviewers giving you the care you
Leading questions way. need?
are generally
undesirable as
they can result in
false or slanted
information.
Questioning Description Purpose Examples
Technique

Funnel Involves starting • Finding out Tell me more about

Questions with general more detail Option 2.
questions, and about a specific
then honing in point: "Tell me *Have you consulted your
on a point in more about parents about your plan
each answer, Option 2." of discontinuing your
and asking more practice?
and more detail • Gaining the
at each level. interest or Did they solve your
Easier if you increasing the problem?, What made
start with a confidence of this option work (or not
closed question the person work) in helping
followed by you're talking
more open with.
questions.
Encouragers

• There is a category of responses that fall

between non verbal attending and actual
responses ,termed by Ivey & Ivey(1999) as
minimal encouragers.
• e.g. “Yes, I understand” or repeat a word
or two of what was said, “uh-huh”,
“hmmn hmmn”and…?”and “then..?”
• Serves to:
 Encourage further discussion
Reflection of Feelings

• Focus on feelings (stated and unstated)

• Serves to:
 Communicate understanding of emotions
 When combined with a paraphrase,
confirms the accuracy of understanding
(“Check out” the the other person)
 Encourages discussion of feelings
Reflection of Feelings

• Exercise on Reflective Listening

Napapagod na ako sa araw-araw ng buhay
ko.

Ayaw ko nang pumasok kasi lagi naman wala

ang mga magulang ko.

Wala naman akong kuwentang tao eh.

Paraphrasing
• Briefly summarize the content of the discussion
• Reflective listening
 Check your understanding
 Show that you heard what was said
• Acknowledge and accept feelings without judging
e.g.
• Client: “I am worried that my grades are getting
and I may not be able to graduate”
• Counselor: “It sounds like you are worried
about your graduation.”
47
Summarization

• Finally pull together ideas from the interview

• Serves to
 Organize the structure of the interview
 Check the accuracy of understanding
Influencing or Changing
Behavior
Influencing or Changing Behavior

• Directives
• Reframes and interpretations
• Advice
• Feedback
• Logical consequences
Directives
• Requests to clients to perform some actions.
• Counselors might give home assignments to
keep track of times when clients felt on the
verge of losing control or to note what
conditions seemed to lead to a greater sense of
productivity.
• Works best if clear and concrete
• Serves to:
 Move a person to take a specific act
Reframing and Interpretations

• Attempts to replace an old, maladaptive

response with a newer, more useful (usually
positive) one
• Serves to
 Increase insight and understanding
 Shift emotional or intellectual response
Advice
• Provides information to help client make a
decision. Can be very directive or less so
• Serves to:
 Share information that would be relevant
for a person’s decisions, actions, or
understanding
• Disadvantages of advice
 It’s often disempowering (You can’t solve
this on your own)
 People may say (but not really mean) that
they want advice
Feedback
• Gives information about how the person is
experienced by others
• Serves to:
 Help client see self more objectively (as others
see him or her)
• Feedback works best when
 It is requested or desired
 It is concrete
 It is positive
 If negative, it addresses something changeable
or controllable
Logical Consequences

• Focuses on the logical consequences of a

person’s behavior, actions, thoughts, or feelings
• Serves to:
 Increase awareness of consequences
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES
 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,
classmates, extended family, school, community,
culture or religion, and any external influences.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES
 Confrontation
 This does not mean the client confronting the
counselor, 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.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES
• Immediacy
• This technique features 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.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES
• 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.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

• 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?”
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

• 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.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

• 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.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

• Self-Disclosure
• The counselor will make note when personal
information is disclosed at certain points of
counseling sessions.
• This technique will help the counselor learn more
about the client and use this information only to
benefit them
 COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

• 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.
COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

• 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.
Other people are not here to fulfill our needs or
meet our expectations, nor will they always treat
us well. Failure to accept this will generate feelings
of anger and resentment….. Albert Ellis