Influencing

Skills
 Contents
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Soundarya Introduction

Siri Types of influencing skills: Self- disclosure and feedback

Types of influencing skills: Logical Consequences, Information/ Psychoeducation and

Shreshtha Directives

Preeti Singh Advantages & limitations, Recent Studies

 MACRO SKILLS
● MACRO SKILL- A TYPE OF A SKILL THAT HELPS CLIENTS VIEW
THEIR DIFFICULTIES IN A BROADER PERSPECTIVE

● IT ALSO HELPS CLIENTS TO HAVE AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS AS TO

WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH

● INFLUENCING SKILL- IS A MACRO SKILL AS IT BRINGS A POSITIVE

CHANGE IN THE INDIVIDUAL
WHAT ARE
SOME THINGS
THAT
INFLUENCE
YOU AS A
PERSON?
WHAT ARE INFLUENCING
SKILLS?
o A SKILL THAT HELPS OTHERS TO
CHANGE OR MODIFY THEIR BEHAVIOUR,
ATTITUDE AND CHANGE
o “NOT THE ABILITY TO GET SOMEONE TO
DO WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO, ITS
THE ABILITY TO GET YOURSELF TO DO
WHAT YOU WANT TO DO”- SUSAN
JEFFERS
o DOES NOT INVOLVE IN BRINGING A
COMPLETE CHANGE IN PERSONALITY;
RATHER IT GUIDES AND MOTIVATES THE
CLIENT TOWARDS A POSITIVE CHANGE.
PURPOSE OF INFLUENCING SKILLS
o TO EXPRESS OUR VIEWS AND CONCERNS AS A COUNSELLOR

o TO ENCOURAGE THE CLIENTS TOWARDS ACHIEVEING A GOAL

o TO BRING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON YOUR CLIENT

o TO HELP THE CLIENT SELF REFLECT

o TO HELP THEM BUILD SELF CONFIDENCE

Types of Influencing Skills
1). Feedback and Self-
Disclosure
2). Logical Consequences
3). Information/
Psychoeducation
4). Directives
“Before I open up to you (self disclose), I
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You other
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“Replace Thus, to
Self Disclosure
many minority clients, a therapist who
expresses his/her thoughts and feelings and
Feedback
may be better received in a counselling
situation.”

– Derald Wing Sue and Stanley Sue

 Self- Disclosure
o Self Disclosure is “sharing our own personal experience
related to what the
o client has said” (Ivey, Ivey & Zalaquette-2018)

o Usually starts with an “I” statement

o As counsellors, we have to be careful about when to self

disclose
When is the correct time for a
counsellor to self disclose
during the counselling
process?
Answer to the previous question
o A counsellor can share their own personal story with the
client, only if there is already a good rapport between the
counsellor and the client.

o Beginning of the counselling process

o Later in the process

 Self- Disclosure (contd.)
o Counsellor’s personal experience should be relatable
to the clients’ story.

o Counsellor holds back the self disclosure if it is distant

to the client’s personal experience.
 Feedback
o Feedback is the "clear, non-judgemental
information (and sometimes even opinions) on
client thoughts, feelings and behaviours, either
in the past or in the here and now" (Ivey, Ivey &
Zalaquette - 2018) 

o Feedback involves Empathic Mentalizing on the

counsellor's part 

o Empathic Mentalizing - understanding another's

experiences, which evokes empathy in us
 Feedback (contd.)
o Challenging Feedback 

o Supportive Feedback 
 Skills of Self Disclosure and
Feedback
o Listen first 
Listen > self disclose/feedback > checkout
 

o Be brief and concrete 

Whether self disclosure or feedback, it should be brief and
specific

 
o Use "I" statement 
Use statements like I, me and my or could be implied
o Be authentic and non judgmental 
Feedback or self disclosure should not be fake 
Feedback should be authentic and flexible so the client
can better understand themselves

o Use appropriate immediacy and tense

Self disclosure and feedback are more helpful when made
in present tense
 

o Consider cultural implications and explore differences 

Acknowledging gender, racial, cultural and other
differences help in building trust between the counsellor
and client 
 Logical
Consequences
“Not to decide is to decide.”- Harvey Cox

o Those in difficult situations can gain from

understanding the consequences of their
behavior and decisions.

o This strategy is often used in Adlerian

counselling and decisional counselling.
o The interviewer helps individuals explore alternatives, consider
consequences of alternatives, and facilitate decision making among the
possibilities.

o With the help of this strategy, the interviewer or counselor can also help
clients become aware of the potential negative consequences of their
actions.

o Warnings are a form of logical consequences and may center on

anticipation of punishment; if used effectively, warnings may reduce
dangerous risk taking and produce desired behavior.
 Suggestions for using the Strategy of Logical
Consequences
o Outline both the benefits and drawbacks of every potential decision or
action with the client. When it matters, ask the customer to imagine what
may happen in the future if a specific decision is taken.

o As appropriate to the circumstance, provide customers a non-

judgmental assessment of favourable and negative outcomes.

o Encourage client decision making as much as possible.

o The decisional balance sheet

Psychoeducation
o An intervention aimed at giving individuals
information intended to change their cognitions,
beliefs, affect, and behaviours.

o This educational process can take place in

formal groups (psychoeducational groups) or as
a routine part of initiating psychotherapy.
o It is especially important to listen first and learn the story and
discover the client’s goal before offering information or
psychoeducation.

o When listening to counselors who provide information and

psychoeducation, the client needs to be in charge and should
want to hear and learn something new.

o The therapist must be very cautious in giving advice, providing

information, and engaging in psychoeducation.
 Directives
o It involves directing clients to follow
specific actions.

o They are useful in helping a client develop a

new perspective and are also effective in
helping a client move to behavioral action.

o Directives are particularly useful in the

restory and action part of the interview.
Effective directives require an expansion of the “1-2-3”
pattern:

1. Involve your client as co-participant in the directive

strategy.

2. Use appropriate visuals, vocal tone, verbal following, and

body language.

3. Be clear and concrete in your verbal expression and time

the directive to meet client needs.
 Directive strategies
1). Homework

- One directive strategy homework has been shown to be

especially important in producing results and follow-up from the
interview.
- Research increasingly shows that learning during the interview is
easily lost if it is not immediately transferred to daily life.

2). The Relaxation Response

- The goal in working with the relaxation response is to equip

clients with an immediately accessible response as they
encounter tense situations.
- It enables clients to deal more effectively and healthfully with life
challenges.
3). Physical Exercise and Nutrition

-A sound body is fundamental to mental health.

-Moving the body increases blood flow, and an exercise routine

has been found to help reduce stress and depression.

4). Positive Imagery

- Closely allied with psychoeducation, imagery is a popular

technique to help clients relax and discover positive
resources.
5). Mindfulness Meditation and
Mindfulness

- Mindfulness meditation is derived

primarily from Buddhist thought and
practice.

- There is no “goal” except perhaps to

live as much as possible in the
immediate here and now.

- The focus becomes the Now and

paying special attention to breathing,
noting the breath come in and out.
 Advantages
• Development of trust , lessen the discomfort, empathy towards the client, affirmation,
egalitarian relationship, find a new solution related to the counselors self-disclosure.

• Improved performance, transferred ownership, cultivating qualitative relationship,

supporting in choosing the their goals and how to meet
the them, boost the self confidence and morale.

• Help the client to develop internal understanding ,self control and desire to follow the
rules

• It helps clients to look closely at their behavior and consider the result of choice
 Limitations
• Excessive personal sharing can damage counseling relationships.

• Counsellor self-disclosure can be detrimental if it is provided without consideration

of the client’s value system.

• Too much counsellor self-disclosure can blur the boundaries in the professional
relationship.

• Treatment failure & emergence of new issues, therapy dependence, undermining of

self efficacy.

• Treatment failure & emergence of new issues, therapy dependence, undermining of

self efficacy.
 Recent Studies
• A study conducted by Sloan, Denise M. (2012) found that self-
disclosure also produces a wide variety of health benefits, and self-
disclosure in psychotherapy is thought to play a critical role in
successful treatment outcome.

• Audet (2011) conducted a study whose findings indicated, can either

enhance or diminish perceived credibility and competence and can
enhance or compromise the client's view of both therapist and client
roles.
• Another study conducted by Lappan et al in 2017 on
the importance of adoption of formal client feedback
in therapy. While couple and family therapists have
unique obstacles in therapy due to multiple
therapeutic alliances, the use of formalized feedback
has potential to strengthen alliances and improve
outcomes for all clients who participated in the study.
 Key Takeaways
● INFLUENCING SKILLS BRING A POSITIVE CHANGE
IN THE CLIENT

● INFLUENCING SKILLS AS A MACRO SKILL HELPS

THE CLIENT IN A BROADER PERSPECTIVE

● BE GENTLE AND INFLUENCING SKILLS ARE NOT

USED FOR SHOWING SUPERIORITY- RATHER
THEY HELP THE CLIENT RECIEVE THEIR
SUGGESTIONS

● ALLOWS THE CLIENT FOR A POSITIVE CHANGE

 References
● Audet , C. Therapist self-disclosure and the therapeutic relationship: A phenomenological
study from the client perspective. Taylor & Francis.
doi/full/10.1080/03069885.2010.482450 

● Ivey, E., Ivey, B., & Zalaquett, P. (n.d.). International Interviewing and Counseling :
Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society (Ninth edition)

● Lappan, S., & Blow, A. (n.d.). The importance of adoption of formal client feedback in
therapy. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-6427.12183 

● Sloan, D. M. (2010). Self-disclosure and psychological well-being. In J. E. Maddux & J. P.

Tangney (Eds.), Social psychological foundations of clinical psychology (pp. 212–225).
The Guilford Press. 
Thank
you!