Skills for Exploring Thoughts and Narratives | 163 EXAMPLE OF OPEN QUESTIONS AND PROBES i ABOUT THOUGHTS The following shows a helper using open questions and probes about thoughts (in italics) and probes (in italics) in a session: Client: My younger sisters are fighting a lot with each other. 4 They really get nasty and have been hurting each other. My youngest sister was caught stealing from a store recently. My parents aren’t doing anything about it, and my sisters are just going wild. I wish there was more I could do to help them. If I were still i at home, they would listen to me. I think they don’t have anyone to turn to. My parents are divorcing, so they're just not available to my sisters. i Helper: Tell me more about what it’s like for you not to be there. Client: On one hand, I’m delighted to be away from the mess, On the other hand, [feel guilty, like I survived the Titanic crash and came out alive but they're ] sinking. | Helper: What is it like when you are with your family? | Client: My parents are still iving together, but they fight all the time. Things are pretty scary around the house | because my parents get pretty violent with each other. I have to look out for my sisters. I am really | more their parent than either of my parents are. I got to be pretty strong by having to fend for myself so much, Helper: Give me a specific example of a time when you had to look after your sisters. Client: Oh, yeah, just last night when I called home. My | younger sister said that mom has started to throw : dishes around and dad left the house in a huff and { f they haven’t talked. No one even asks them about { 4 their schoolwork any more and they are running : around wild. I don't know what to do for them from here. (Client continues to explore.) DIFFICULTIES HELPERS EXPERIENCE IN DELIVERING OPEN QUESTIONS AND PROBES ABOUT THOUGHTS A common problem is that helpers tend to ask the same type of open questions and probes repeatedly, most often “What do you think about