COUNSELLING AND
PSYCHOTHERAPY
LEARNING MICROSKILLS
ENCOURAGING, PARAPHRASING AND
SUMMARIZING
• These techniques all either encourage the client to keep
talking, or think about what they are saying.
ENCOURAGING
• Encouragers are of verbal or non-verbal signs to the
patient to go on speaking.
• Verbal encouragers: “Go on, uh-huh, mmm, or repeating key
words client has said” (what are chinese verbal encouragers?)
• Non-verbal encouragers: nodding, open-hand gestures,
smiling and warmth (also attending behaviour), silence
ENCOURAGING TASK:
• What are your natural encouragers? Discover your natural
way of encouraging by listening to your partner without
really saying anything and encouraging them to go on
speaking.
PARAPHRASING
• Paraphrasing is saying back to the client the main point of
what they have said to you. It is not precise repetition – you
add your own words.
• If it is done too often, or too mechanically (parroting) or just
insensitively, it can frustrate and upset clients
• Done correctly, it makes a client feel like they have been
heard and understood, and encourages them to speak
further and more deeply.
PARAPHRASING EXERCISE
• With your partner, roleplay a counselling session and try
paraphrase the main aspects of what they say, before changing
roles.
• If this skill is done correctly it can open a new world for you –
mostly, people do not do this in ordinary social interaction, which
is why sometimes people can feel like nobody ‘really’ listens to
them
• For Clarifying – have to be careful that are you sure use that at
this point*** à if the convo is keep going, the client will correct
you. LISTEN is more important
SUMMARIZING
• Summarizing is a technique where you make a statement
about the main points a patient has stated over a long
period.
• Beginning a session: a counsellor can summarise the previous
session
• Midway in session: can help a person see what they have
been focussing on in session and move deeper into that focus
• End of session: can help the person think about what was
useful about session or come to some resolution/conclusion
REFLECTION OF FEELING
• Reflection of feeling is a very important skill. It is like
paraphrasing, but it focuses on the feelings the client is having
about what they are saying – you could say it ‘gets to the heart
of the matter’. Sometimes you can have a whole session
where you do this, and it can be helpful.
• This means it is very important to observe the emotions of
the person correctly; it can frustrate the client if you reflect
the wrong feelings too often
REFLECTION OF FEELINGS EXERCISE:
• Observe the lecturer demonstrating this skill with a student
• In your pairs, roleplay a counselling session where you mostly just reflect
the feelings back to the person of what they are feeling.
• it is different with interputation of a feeling
• Try NOT to response to the client that is seeking for agreement in
tracking**
WHAT ABOUT UNCONSCIOUS FEELINGS?
• Sometimes a client seems unaware of what they are feeling.
Sometimes there can be a different message in their words
from in their body language. Sometimes a counsellor wishes
to bring the ‘unconscious’ feeling to the client’s attention
(especially in the psychoanalytic approach).
• Clients will most often resist this or refuse it, so it is a careful
skills that will take a long time to get right. You must also
judge carefully when to use it.
• This is a good reason to use ‘tentative’ (unsure) words when
reflecting feeling.
POSITIVE VS NEGATIVE FEELINGS
• Sometimes a counsellor will deliberately reflect a positive
feeling back to the client, to help shift their feelings into better
ones, or to help calm them. Also, sometimes, there is little
point in exploring bad feelings the person has already
explored.
• But sometimes clients have a need to focus on bad feelings
more, and will feel unheard or frustrated if the counsellor just
wants to hear positive feelings. Also, just because a client
resists focussing on bad feelings, doesn’t mean it isnt a good
idea. Only experience teaches this
