Basic Counseling Skills
  • Home
  • A. TECHNIQUES
  • Pattern of Sessions
  • Active Listening
  • Body Language
  • Asking Questions
  • Paraphrasing/Tone
  • Summary
  • Note Taking
  • Homework
  • Goodie Bag/Fun Stuff
  • Technique References
  • B. THEORIES
  • Client Centered
  • Holistic/Biopsychosocial
  • Strengths Based
  • Cognitive/Behavioral
  • Solution Focused
  • Existential Therapy
  • Letting Go
  • Theory References
  • C. SAMPLE SESSIONS
  • 1. Client Centered Counseling
  • 2.&3. No Show/Cancellation
  • 4. Strengths Based
  • 5. Cognitive Beh. Counseling
  • 6. Holistic Health Counseling
  • 7. Solution Focused
  • 8. Existential Counseling
  • 9. Becoming Unnecessary
  • D. SELF HELP
  • Journaling
  • Mood Mapping
  • Whole Health Check In
  • Community Resources
  • Ten Things I Like About Me
  • Common Lies We Tell
  • Goal-Setting
  • A Why to Bear a How
  • Happy People
  • Self-Help References
  • E. CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • F. SITE MAP
  • G. CONTACT ME!
  • H. Readers Contributions
    • Articles >
      • Addiction and Sleep - Jessica S >
        • Alcohol Counseling - Carol G.
        • Depression and Addiction Rehab - Katherine C
        • Quit Smoking and Alcohol Rehab
        • Reducing Stigma - Patricia S.
        • Suicidal Thoughts and Alcohol Abuse - Julia W
        • Recovery Village - William B.
        • Bereavement Counseling - Sally W
        • Personality Traits - Sally W
        • 3 Solutions to Worst Fears - Paige M
        • 30 Min Reduce Anxiety - Paige M
        • Restorative Power of Arts & Crafts - Sally W
        • 3 Ways - Rid of Sunday Scaries
        • Conquer Fear of Flying - Sally W.
        • Document Anxiety through Journaling - Sally W
        • Career Options - Sally W
        • School Counselor ToolKit - Serena K.
        • Psychology Degrees - Lindsay F
        • Depression and Addiction Rehab - Katherine C
        • Diagnosing Depression - Melissa M
        • PostPartum Depression - Tracey F
        • Assisted Living Options for People with Disabilities
        • Wheelchair Home Safety - Michael M
        • Cerebral Palsy Resources
        • Counseling and Persistent Pain - Sally W
        • Mesothelioma Guide - Corine F.
        • Mesothelioma Resources
        • Finding Start Up Success - Eva B
        • Cleaning House for Better Health - Cheryl C.
        • Destress/Clean Home - Cheryl C
        • Financial Stress - Sally W.
        • Financial Debt - Sally W
        • Be Happy - Hazel G.
        • Gut Health & Mental Health - Sally W
        • How Having a Skincare Routine
        • Counseling the Impoverished - Sally W
        • Conquering Interviews - Eva B
        • Daily Journal Routine - Paige M
        • 4 Journaling Tips for Beginners - Shristi Patni
        • Drug Dangers - Rebecca P.
        • Recall Report - Laura P.
        • Living Mindfully - Mollie Wilson
        • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Sally W.
        • Couns. Resources - Tim C.
        • Practical Financial SKills - Johanne H
        • Nutrition to Help Anxiety - Sally W
        • Retirement Career Change - Sally W
        • Managing Phobias - Sally W
        • Healing Power of Pets - Sally W
        • Geriatric Counseling - Sally W
        • Counseling Seniors with Anxiety - Sally W
        • Senior Resources - Claire S.
        • Addiction and Sleep - Jessica S
        • Better Sleep - Better Health - Cheryl C
        • Treating Insomnia - Sally W
        • Tuck Sleep - Kellen S
        • De-Fogging Brain - Sally W
        • Recovery from Sports Injury
        • Improving Mental Clarity - Sally W
        • Indoor Air Quality Can Affect Mental Health - Sally W
        • Stress on Health - Sally W.
        • Stress Management - Sally W
        • Suicidal Thoughts and Alcohol Abuse - Julia W
        • Summer Side Gigs for Teachers - Joyce W
        • Tobacco in 2017 - Mary G.
        • Take Control of Your Life - Dorothy Watson
        • No More Winter Blues - Rufus Carter
        • How I Put Anxiety Attacks on Pause
        • 8 Effective Tips for Improving Mental Health - Camille Johnson
        • Manage And Reduce Stress For Your Employees With These Tips - Rufus Carters
        • Moving Forward When Grief Intrudes in Your Life - Camille J
        • Working Remotely - Emma Grace Brown
        • Unlock Greater Confidence - Rufus Carter
        • Coping With a Mid-Life Crisis - Rufus Carter
        • 6 Self-Care Tips - Laurie Abner
        • Help a Loved One After the Loss of a Spouse - Rufus CarterNew Page
        • Relocating After a Tragic Loss - Lucille Rosetti
        • Guidelines for Teens Who Want to Thrive as Entrepreneurs - Lucille Rosetti
        • 5 Common Lifestyle Habits That Can Cause Skin Damage - Andrew Mark
        • What to Do if a Loved One Is Battling Addiction
        • From Addiction Recovery to Financial Independence
        • Major Life Transition - Ryan Randolph
        • Find Your True Path - Ryan Randolk
        • Officers Coping With PTSD - Ryan Randolph
        • Self-Care Secrets for the Rookie Caregiver - Ryan Randolf
        • Self-Care Building Blocks for Improving Your Mental Health - Cheryl Conklin
        • Avoiding Burnout in the Counseling Profession
  • Reset Your Day Without Burning Out
  • The Big 6 Personality Traits
  • When Everything Breaks, Something Begins - Holli Richardson

Asking Questions - To Open Up or Close Down?

Asking questions (link to Learning counseling and problem-solving skills by Leslie E. Borck, Stephen B. Fawcett) - open and closed - is an important tool in the counseling kit. They can help a person open up or close them down.

An open question is one that is used in order to gathering lots of information – you ask it with the intent of getting a long answer.

A closed question is one used to gather specific information - it can normally be answered with either a single word or a short phrase. Good basic counsel skills to know!


Open-Ended Questions (OEQs) have no correct answer and require an explanation of sorts. The who-what-where-why-when-how questions your English teacher taught you to ask? Little did she know you’d be using them for asking questions in counseling! Here are some good ones:

• What brought you in here today?

• Do you have an idea about why this keeps happening?

• What is your Plan B?

• How does that make you feel?

You’ll notice that I didn’t use “why?” directly. This is because some people find it threatening and overwhelming. It implies judgment and it can be asking an unanswerable question.

Picture
Open Ended Questions are great for:

• Starting the information gathering part of the session

• Keeping the client talking

Closed Questions (CQs) are those that can easily be answered with a “yes” or a “no” or brief information. For example:• What is your name and date of birth?

• Did you call the health practitioner to set up a physical?

• Where do you work? Occupation?

• Are you ready to stop doing that?!

They sound a little harsh, but are needed:

• For getting necessary information

• To get bring a chatty client back on track or interrupt her/him.

You’re going to take a few minutes right now and practice asking questions! Don’t worry, asking questions will soon be as natural as breathing.


In Class Homework - Trying Out Open Ended Questions (OEQs) and Closed Questions (CQs):

10 minutes of questioning and 5 minutes of feedback

Listener - Get ready to actively listen and get into your encouraging body language.

Ask an OEQ like, “Was there anything particularly interesting that happened within the past few days?” You want them to go on at some length.

Speaker - Talk away!

After a few minutes, the listener can try to constrain or redirect conversation by asking a CQ such as “Does this make you feel good or bad?” You are looking for an either/or answer.

Listener, ask another OEQ, followed by a CQ a few minutes later.

Speaker, be helpful, ok? :)


*****

Listener

1. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of an OEQ?

2. What impression did you have when asked a CQ?

Speaker

1. Was it easy or difficult to ask OEQs?

2. How about CQs?

You may have noticed that quiet people need lots of OEQs and chatty people need more CQs!


*****

Out of Class Homework


Be very conscious of asking questions - the kinds you ask and why you do so? Notice how you feel when asked an Open or Closed question?


A major stimulant to creative thinking is focused questions. There is something about a well-worded question that often penetrates to the heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and insights. - Brian Tracy
Chats II
Buy at AllPosters.com
take me to the top of the page!
Proudly powered by Weebly