Summarizing
Summarizing enables the counselor or therapist to do several things: first, to verbally review various types of information that have been presented in the session; second, to highlight what the counselor or therapist sees as significant information based on everything that has been discussed; and third, to provide the client with an opportunity to hear the various issues that they have presented. Therefore, summarizing provides both the client and the counselor or therapist with the opportunity not only to review and determine the significance of information presented but also to use this review to establish priorities.
Example
1 Client: Yes, I think that’s what I’d like to have happen. That would make me happy. I would be in a relationship, feel cared about, and yet be able to be myself without having to either run or pretend.
Summarizing
1 Counselor/Therapist: We’ve talked about many things today. I’d like to review some of this and make plans for our next meeting. The parts that stick out in my mind are your loneliness, boredom, and desire to have a lasting relationship; your behaviors that drive you away from building such a relationship; and your need for caring and the freedom to be yourself. Am I missing anything?
2 Client: Only that I want someone who wants to spend time with me. I think that’s important.
Summarizing
1 Counselor/Therapist: So now we have a more complete picture that includes loneliness, boredom, desire for a relationship, desire for someone to spend time with, desire for someone who cares, and the need to be yourself. On the other side of the picture, we have your behaviors that keep this from happening. Where do you think we should begin next week?
Strategies That Aid in Data Gathering
Strategies that aid in data gathering include all the active listening strategies plus three strategies designed to extract specific information and gain a greater depth of information in areas that are significant in the client’s statements. As with active listening strategies, a counselor or therapist who uses the following strategies enhances their chances of gaining significant information. This set of strategies includes questioning, probing, and leading. The following paragraphs present explanations and examples of these strategies.
Questioning
Questioning, when done in an open manner, enables the counselor or therapist to gain important information and allows the client to remain in control of the information presented. Using open questioning, the counselor or therapist designs questions to encourage the broadest client responses. Open questions, as opposed to closed questions, generally cannot be completely answered by either yes or no, nor can they be answered nonverbally by shaking the head. This type of questioning places responsibility with clients and allows them a degree of control over what information will be shared.
Example
1 Client: I’ve thought a lot about what we talked about last week, and I feel I have to work on changing my behavior.
Open Questioning
1 Counselor/Therapist: Would you tell me what you think needs to be done to change your behavior?
2 Client: (short pause) I need to stop screwing up my chances for a relationship. I need to face what it is that makes me run away.
Open Questioning
1 Counselor/Therapist: Would you please talk more about the “it” that makes you run away?
2 Client: I can’t tell you what it is. All I know is that I hear this voice saying, “Run, run.”
Probing and Leading
Probing and leading strategies enable a counselor or therapist to gather information in a specific area related to the client’s presented concerns (probing) or to encourage the client to respond to specific topic areas (leading). Each of these strategies enables the counselor or therapist to explore in greater depth areas that are seen as important to progress within the session.
Example
Probing
1 Counselor/Therapist: I want you to be more specific about this “voice.” Whose voice is it? What does it say to you?
2 Client: (very long pause) I guess it’s my voice. It sounds like something I would do. I’m such a jerk.
Leading
1 Counselor/Therapist: You told me whose voice it is, but you didn’t tell me what the voice says. Would you talk about this?
2 Client: (raising his voice) It says, “Get out or you’re going to get hurt. She doesn’t like you and she’ll use you and drop you just like the rest.”
Strategies That Add Depth and Enhance the Relationship
Some strategies are used to enhance and expand the communicative and relationship patterns that are established early in the counseling or therapeutic process. When used effectively, these strategies should open up deeper levels of communication and strengthen the relationship patterns that have already been established. Counselors or therapists using these strategies model types of behaviors that they wish their clients to emulate. Such behaviors include, but are not limited to, risk taking, sharing of self, demonstrating trust, and honest interaction. This set of strategies includes self-disclosure, confrontation, and responding to nonverbal cues. The following paragraphs present explanations and examples of these strategies.
Self-Disclosure
Self-disclosure has implications for both clients and counselors or therapists. In self-disclosing, the counselor or therapist shares with the client their feelings, thoughts, and experiences that are relevant to the situation presented by the client. The counselor or therapist draws on situations from their own life experiences and selectively shares these personal reactions with the client. It is important to note that self-disclosure could have both a positive and a negative impact on the helping relationship, and care must be taken in measuring the impact it may have. From a positive perspective, it carries with it the possibility of modeling self-disclosure for the client or helping the client gain a different perspective on the presenting problems. From a negative perspective, self-disclosure might place the focus on the counselor’s or therapist’s issues rather than on those of the client. When self-disclosure is used appropriately, gains are made by all persons involved, and the relationship moves to deeper levels of understanding and sharing.
Example
Self-Disclosure
1 Counselor/Therapist: (aware of the client’s agitation) The anger I hear in your voice and words triggers anger in me as I think of my own lost relationships.
2 Client: (smiling) I am angry. I’m also glad you said that. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who ever felt this way.
Self-Disclosure
1 Counselor/Therapist: (smiling) I am very pleased with what you just said. At this moment, I also do not feel alone with my anger.