Core Counseling Skills

 Rapport building – Attend to clients

physically and psychologically. Be
attentive both verbally and nonverbally.
Apply SOLER:
◦ Face the client SQUARELY
◦ Adopt an OPEN posture
◦ LEAN forward slightly
◦ Maintain EYE CONTACT
◦ Be RELAXED

Core Counseling Skills

 Opening and Closing Counseling Interview

 Structuring – defining the nature, limits,

roles and goals within the counseling
relationship
 Information gathering – use of more open-ended
questions, if necessary; use of non-directive leads

 Information giving – aims to correct erroneous

information to identify and/or evaluate alternatives;
teachable moments to expand the meaning or
learning for the client

 Reflecting feelings – 3 aspects of the skill are:

◦ Listening for feeling (Listen to what is not said)
◦ Timing (Don’t cut off an internal flow or disturb focus)
◦ Reflecting (Use a feeling word when the client may not have
said one)
 “So from your point of view, it’s ….”
 “It sounds like you’re feeling….”
 “You believe…”
 “It seems like…”
 “What I sense is that you’re feeling…”
 “It might be that you….”

How Reflective Listening might

sound
 Ask open-ended questions.
◦ “How did you feel about….?”
◦ “What do you think about…?”

◦ NOT “Did you feel left out or taken for

granted?”
◦ “Do you think your work status is unstable?”

Guidelines in Asking Questions

 Avoid either-or questions. (“Do you want to get
married or stay single?”
 Try to use indirect questions. (NOT “How does it feel
to have a broken home? BETTER: “I wonder how it
feels to have ….”
 Use non-directive leads, such as:
◦ How do you feel about it?
◦ What have you tried so far?
◦ For instance?
◦ Can you give an example?
◦ In what way?
◦ How does it look right now?
◦ What seems to be your greatest obstacle?
 Summarizing content and feelings – can be used at
the beginning to review what transpired in the
previous sessions or at the end to review what took
place
 Confrontation – taking note of
discrepancies/inconsistencies between words and
actions of the client; most effective when done from a
caring position that shows respect for the client and
validates him as a worthwhile individual
 Interpretation – advanced skill requiring mastery of
reflection of content and feelings whereby the
counselor presents the counselee with a new frame of
reference
 Responding Skills – paraphrasing,
reflecting, clarifying, linking, summarizing
 Closure – bring a particular issue or
problem to some resolution; terminate
work with a client or bring a session to an
end

Prepared by: MCArrevillaga, RGC, RPsy