I. CHAPTER 4: INQUIRY SKILLS- skills necessary to gather information and to channel the exploration of the client problems in certain directions.

a. Focusing: At the beginning of any therapeutic process, clients usually are vague and unable to focus. It is the counselor’s job to assist the client to brake the problem into more manageable pieces and to prioritize; therefore, assisting the client in centering on specific issues. There are two areas in which focusing can be useful:

i. Focusing on the problem: when focusing on this, counselor assists the client in focusing on one problem by asking questions.

1. “I heard you say that you are angry at your family”2. “I noticed that you mentioned ‘loss of self’. Can you say

more of what you were thinking when you said that?”ii. Focusing on feelings: Some people would focus on events without

attaching feelings to the situation. It is the counselor job to assist the client in identifying such feelings by asking questions:

1. “Just now, I noticed that you expression changed. Can you tell me how were you feeling?”

2. “We have talked about the stressful situations, we have not talk about how you feel about these stressful situations”.

b. Probing: it is an inquiry skills that cause the clients to look more deeply into underlying features of their problems. It can be used to 1- gather information, 2-evoke motivation to change, and 3-genrate new meanings and experiences.

i. Probe to gather information: it is questioning to gather information; however, it is important to continue focusing on the direction of the questioning:

1. Opening interview: What would you like to talk about today? Could you tell me what has been going on?

2. Probing for specificity and concreteness: could you give me a specific example fo what your wife does? What happened first (next)? What was the result?

3. Probing for clients’ point of view: What do you mean when you say depress? Could you tell me more about it? In what way is that a concern for you? Could you give me an example?

4. Probing for client’s internal experiences: What is the feeling that goes with the tears? How do you feel when you mother yells at you?

5. Probing for meaning: what does all this meant o you? What kind of sense does this make to you? What do tell yourself when…..”

6. Probing for missing data: what important things are happening in your life right now? Is there anything else happening in your life at this time?

7. Probing for the pattern of connection: who else worries? Who do you think worries the most? Who do you image worries the least? What deos she do when she worries?

ii. Probe to evoke motivations: it is also called “motivational interviewing” because the questions as such are designed to arouse a desire in clients for healing and transformation.

1. Evocative questions: evoke clients’ concerns about their own problems, leading them to think about why they are stuck with their problems. For example: What difficult have you had with the consumption of drugs?/ how much does that concern you? What do you think will happen if you don’t make a change? What would be some advantages of making a change? What do you think would work for you if you decided to change?

2. Extreme questions: assist clients to explore the most daring possibilities. Force client to look at what hey are trying to avoid seeing. For example: what cocerns you the most? What are your most dreaded fears about what might happen if you don’t make a change? What do you suppose are the words things that might happen if you keep on the way you have been going?

3. Looking-back questions: this type of questions assist client to compare the past with the present. For example: what were things kike fore you started drinking? Tell me about how you two met each other, and what attracted you to each other back then?

iii. Avoid- “why questions”; “not closed ended questions (yes, no)”; avoid questioning only.

c. Clarifying statement: This type of inquiring skill questions are better in encouraging clients to talk and to explore. It that you involves reflective listening skills + not-knowing position. This combination makes the client feel that you are listening. For example: “I can see that you are angry, but I am not sure what It is about” “I understand that you are concerned about your drug use. So please help me understand what you enjoy about using drugs and what’s the down side of it (not knowing)”.

II. CHAPTER 5: HELPFUL HINTS FOR BEGINNIGN COUNSELORSa. Understanding presenting problemsb. Listening to silence: invite the client to restart the conversation: “I am wondering what went through

you mind in this moment of silence?” “Seems to me that it is hard to share what is happening right now and what is going in your mind” “I can tell is hard for you to know where to start”.

c. Dealing with a rambling client: a client that divagates avoiding the pain and/or feelings of discomfort. If this continues, there will be no benefit acquired by the client. So this clients will go over information, give too many details, and exhaust you. Tyr to regain focus: “let us stop for a minute and let us see if I understand what you told me” “let me see if I can put together some of the stories you have been talking about”.

d. Frequency of talking (Counselor): Counselors should speak 35-40% of the time. e. Tentative lead-in phrases in reflecting: assist clients to express feelings. “I guess you feel….” “you seem

to feel…” “it is as if you….” “you must have felt….” “sort of like… “f. Avoid vague therapy: “I understand “ “I hear what you said”g. Avoid discounting phrase: “everything will be fine”, “life will go on”, “this is nature’s way”. h. Avoid intellectualizingi. Dealing with intellectualizing client: CONFRONTATION WILL WORKj. Dealing with reluctant/resistant clientsk. Emphasizing with unlikable clientsl. Use of pause

m. Timing for pacing and leadingn. Speak brieflyo. When in doubt, focus on feelingsp. Expiring highs and lowsq. Coaching clients to use “I” language

III. CHAPTER 6: ADVANCED SKILLS: INFLUENCING SKILLS:a. What makes one therapist stand out from many others is the repertoire of advanced skills. Everyone can

be emphatic, but therapy is not only about emphatic listening rather it requires support and listening; a impetus process. This chapter actually engages in the second stage in therapy: the awareness. Stage in which you are 1-to help clients develop an emotional awareness of ineffective coping patters, 2-to help clients work through resistance to change, 3- to help clients accept, own up, and honor old patterns, 4- to help clients recognize growth edges, and 5-to help clients envision preferred outcomes. Influential skills lead the clients to explore self-awareness to a deeper level. All the following skills share one thing; they are connected as they influence at deeper level in the relationship: content and process. This type of relationship known as “meta-communication”; expresses how the counselor-client communicates.

i. Advanced empathy: you communicate the meaning and feelings that the client is not yet aware of. It is advance because you are one step ahead of the client awareness into his own experience and inner experiences and narratives. It occurs when you have a deeper insight into the client’s struggles. You point out underlying client’s feelings, recurring themes, and unrecognized resources. Questions to keep in mind to practice this advance skill: What is the person only half saying? What is the person hinting at? What is the person saying in a confused way? What messages do I hear behind the explicit messages? What is the open edge for growth?

1. The advance empathy may take six forms:a. Reflecting the implicit emotion: explicit what is said. One need to explicitly say

that is implicit said or (underlying). For example frustration may indicated inadequacy, anger (man) hurt or fear. For example: although you don’t say it, every time we talk about your mother you hang down your head and clench your fist, I sense a strong feeling inside of you”.

b. Identifying patterns: Assist the client in seeing themes that may express previous patterns. It could be threads that run in the sessions or old patterned behaviors to cope with the situation and/or the consequences of such cope mechanisms. A theme usually has three components: 1-common thread or interaction patterns, 2-coping patterns, and 3-vicious circle resulting from the coping behavior. When you identify them, it is important to share them.

c. Connecting islands: it is more than summarization, rather a creation of framework for the client to understand his or her problems in a more structured form. In this instance, it seems that you utilize theories to make the problem sound logical. Here, this influential therapeutic approach provides sort of explanation to the client.

d. Exploring growth edges: rather than focusing on the problem or the insight of it and/or the pathology, offering the client a learning point (growth edge) provides them a gaining and a therapeutic point in which acceptance is gained. Seems to me that his is an empowering technique in which the “sparkling” event is used to encourage and depart from this point to build up strength in the client’s view.

e. Vivid graphic language: when the client can’t express the feeling and creates a cirmculoquium of feelings, the counselor should bring vivid images of what the client would like to do creating, in this way, an opportunity to tackle and face feelings. Example: so when she starts whining, you just want to strangling her(vivid image).

f. Successive approximations: gradation of words until the client feelings comfortable. Using words in an escalation manner. A very behavioral way. example: “when you husband yells at you, you feel anxious, fearful….even afraid for you life”.

ii. Counselor self-disclosure:it is an advanced and influential skills that increase trust and confidence. This self disclosure skill needs to be done economically as opposed to the social interaction’s self-disclosure in which the disclosure happens at the same peace. Self-disclosure must be done in the benefit of the therapeutic process and only with the objective of the therapy. If you do it excessively, it may reveal unfinished business from the counselor. Below there are some ways in which this can happens:

1. Process of self-disclosure: disclosing an immediate, within-the-session experience. This is not the surface of information disclosure, rather the “process” which entitles disclosing the feelings of what the counselor is feeling right there, the relationship among the two parties, and the dynamics of it. There are three types:

a. Disclosing emotional connection- “ as you told me the story, I was moved to tears” “as you spoke about your uncle, I felt angry and sad”.

b. Disclosing physical Conditions- “I have to tell you that I don’t feel well today, I have sinus problems” “I was on call last night, if I appear fatigued, that is the reason”.

c. Disclosing Misunderstanding-“ last session, I thought I have understood you, but after given a thought, I think I was not clear on ….. Could you please try to explain this to me; so that, I can better understand”.

2. Personal disclosure: disclosing a meaningful experience or a fact about yourself.

a. Personal disclosure upon client’s request: when client ask you questions “so, are you married?”- you can respond

b. Personal disclosure that normalizes client’s feelings: actually share with them your story as a way of providing normalizing experiences from your own life experience.

3. Professional reassurance: disclosing a reaction to the client’s progress.

a. “I am very confident in your ability to take care of yourself"

iii. Immediacy: : direct, mutual talk: it is about communicating, discussing directly and openly what is happening in the here-and-now. In order to do this, the counselor should observe the patter of behavior. Immediacy is descriptive, there are no interpretations. Use this technique only when the relationship with client is strong; know the patterned feelings/behaviors; focus on what is being said and not said; observe the non verbal.

1. Nonverbal: observe the behavior, if it has meaning or you feel it has important meaning share it. “You eyes really sparkle whenever you talk about your grandmother” “I notice that when see you this, you have fear in your eyes”

2. “I-You relationship immediacy: “ You want me to tell you what to do. I sense it” “ I noticed your urgency to know what I think”.

iv. Confrontation: challenging:confrontation serve to allow client to explore more profoundly his or her interpersonal style and its consequences. It should be tentative, non-judgmental, loving and encouraging. Confrontation should be done only based on counselor’s effective listening and careful observations.

1. Describe the client’s maladaptive behavior: telling clients how you experience them differently from the way they experience themselves.

a. Discrepancy confrontation: confrontation of behavior and verbal said. “ I sense something here. You seem angry with me for being late, but you say that you feel fine”. “You say you want to pass your class, but yet you don’t spend time research or visiting the library”.

b. Distortion confrontation: You tell the client that the way they are experience the situation is distorted, exaggerated or not accurate. “you say you are afraid of your teacher because of previous experience, and now you are seeing her as distance; although, she is warm”.

c. Confrontation of strengths: point out to the client his or her strengths and resources

2. Urging to Act: moving client from talking to “acting” or taking action.

3. Information confrontation: involves giving clients information that they don’t seem to grasp fully or that they try to ignore. “that university requires 28 points, and you have scored higher than that”.

v. FEEDBACK GIVING: The counseling process, when it is well done, provides the client with new awareness of their interaction styles with other people. This process embraces telling the client how his or her behavior affects your inner feelings and reactions to it. This is feed-back giving.

1. You need to say to the client his or her impact (interpersonal communication). You need to give cues to clients:

a. Your reaction to the client has a repetitive pattern

b. The pattern of the client’s transactions with you seem parallel to reactions with significant other outside of therapy.

2. Principles to follow in applying feedback

a. Give feedback only when the client is ready and when trust has been developed

b. When giving feedback, describe the behavior pattern before giving your reaction

c. Give feedback in the form of describing your reactions to consistent behavior rather than judging the person.

d. Only give feedback about things that the client can change

e. Give it in small amounts

f. It should be about past and current behaviors

g. Ask client for feedback on your feedback (his or her reaction towards it)

IV. CHAPTER 7- INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES: Counseling skills and intervention techniques are different. Counseling skills are generic whereas techniques are specific change agents developed by certain theoretical orientations. The techniques will require the client to engage in certain activities during the sessions. In this sense, we approach t the later stage in counseling (or problems resolution stage). There are some techniques that we can observe:

a. Directives: From the Gestalt’s perspective, clients’ problem arise when there is a lack of integration between “feelings” and their “needs”. The “disowning” and “disallowing” are two mechanism that maintain the people suffering. The directives gives room for the client to make a decision whereas commands there is an expectation from C to do what is told. Directives are more powerful that suggestions; therefore: command<directives>suggestions

i. Attention suggestion: suggest the client to pay attention to current feelings (breathing, hidden feelings, non-verbal cues): "take some time to hear what you just said. Don't move on, just stay with in for a while".

ii. Experiential teaching: it is about teaching the client to rationalize their experiences. Assist them in integrate the "parts" of themselves that they have disowned and that creates conflicts: "It sounds like you are experiencing a kind of argument between two different parts of you. The purpose of putting the two parts in different chairs is to bring this inner dialogue out into the open". "Next time that you feel alone, don’t feel ashamed, or afraid, rather own it and welcome it to your life, say: 'hey old friend loneliness' what are you going to tell me now'".

iii. Awareness homework: writing homework: during this week, I would like to write all that you are doing to yourself when you feel depress"; "this week, I would like you to pay attention to all the external things that happen that makes you feel this way and preoccupy you".

iv. paradox: create an scenario that will contradict the common belief and challenge client to defend his or her point. For example, "I have an idea. I will argue that you don't have a problem and you will argue that you do and that you need to change; therefore, I will be you and you will be me".

b. Parts dialogue: There are many experience that are incomplete and that fragment the client; creating in this way, a split: for example one that is angry and the other that condemns angriness. As a clinicians one needs to help the client to see from where the "condemnation" comes from and face it.

i. Using parts dialogue: the counselor can use split dialogue or introjection dialogue intervention techniques to facilitate integration; that is, allow the client to put both parties in contact; this in turn, will provide the client with awareness. See the following examples:

1. "you have two puppets, in one hand is the good girl; on the other hand, it is the bad one. Have them have a conversation"

2. "It seems to me that you are caught into two parts of yourself. One that is responsible, and other that is not. Please put the irresponsible Joe on one chair and the responsible one on the other one and explain the irresponsible Joe that you want to provide a sense of stability and security to your girlfriend".

c. “Empty Chair”: for unfinished business. An opportunity to talk, express and ask questions. Counselor should drive the client to the highest emotions; otherwise, it would fall into a story-telling reaction. Steps:

i. provide a rational: I know a way in which you can talk to your mother. Would you like to talk to her.

ii. Making progress suggestions: do not ask questions!: "tell you mother what you feel as you say that"/ "tell your ex-wife what you hear in her voice"/ "tell her what is behind your tears"/ tell your boss what actually humiliated you".

iii. Give clients permission and support for Feeling expression: when extreme emotions are experienced such as "anger" and "sadness" clients tend to push back. Allow them to continue: "stay with anger"; "allow yourself to go as far as you will with that sadness"; "it's perfectly okay to cry".

iv. Using role reversal to re-evoke the depth of unfinished feelings: reversal. HAve the client respond to his or her feelings. If the ex is the problem, change the chair and have the client be the ex and respond to the motions; thereafter, return back to the chair and react to what the ex-has said.

v. Direct the client to use "I" language:

vi. Re-directing clients to change global complaints to specific resentment: redirect the client to talk about what they feel instead of "generalizing it". for example: "you never pay attention o me" could you say, "mom I am hurt, when you get so caught up in your own world that you cannot be there for me".

vii. Helping client using developing focusing skills: "be aware of your voice". "notice how are you shaking right now" "go back to the nausea and see how you express your anxiety".

viii. Sharing process observation: "I see that you are angry, but no emotions" "I noticed that you often fight back tears and hold them despite being sad". "

ix. Feedings the clients sentences as try-ons: "please try the next: 'I hate that you always put me down when all I did was just try to please you". "I feel your fucking pain when you were desperate for my father". "you treated me like a piece of garbage and used me, abused me, and destroyed me when I loved you".

x. Making Hunches about clients' internal struggles: "it seems that the part of you that wants to get closer to your father is struggling of power with the part of you that wants to escape". "my intuition tells me that you hide your emotions from your wife because your fear of being vulnerable".

xi. Disclose reaction to client behavior:

xii. Focusing on incongruence

xiii. getting client in touch with constriction

xiv. making process comments on a client's deflection of emotions: "I noticed that you are having difficulties expressing yourself by getting distracted and telling me jokes. This is a chair-technique in which you can create everything".

xv. Helping client finish the cycle (the ebb-and-flow) of crying: the therapist should allow the process until the body relaxes:

1. goodbye mom

2. C: it is okay to cry. let all tears go as long as you want and as far as you want

3. Never had a change to say it: I love you

4. C: it is okay to feel this way

5. sobbing

6. C: see how you body is responding.

xvi. Closing the experiment:

1. symbolic ceremony: "this candle represents the light of your mom inside of you. Are you ready to say good bye"

2. "is there anything else you want to say".

d. Reflexive questions: It is an advance skill, is used to facilitate the client to "generate experience of preferred realities. Reflexive questions are formulated to trigger clients to reflect on the implications of their current perceptions and actions and to consider new options and meanings. Reflexive questions facilitate self-healing by generating new meanings for clients, and by helping them produce constructive patterns of cognition and behavior on their own. You can use this skill to enable client to see new possibilities. There are five types of reflexive questions:

i. Future-oriented reflexive questions: imagine what would happen if they were to change in the future. "when you face your problem with alcohol, what will be the first thing to happen?" "How much more relaxed will you feel by June" (focus on the 'WHEN')

ii. unexpected reflexive questions: catch the client off-guard. In this type of questions behaviors and inner processes are personified in a way that is unexpected so that change is more likely. "What patterns of your behavior need to die?" / "what feelings need to be buried for you to move on"

iii. Embedded-suggestion questions: questions that have suggestions imbedded within. "if you were to tell her how insulted you feel about her infidelity, what do you image she would do"

iv. normalization questions: to let the client know that they are not alone. " Everyone has problems dealing with loss. When did you first realize that you were not alone iny our desperation?"

v. questions introducing hypotheses: create hypothesis (I see a problem-you limited the client to your hypothesis disallowing him or her to say what the more logical hypothesis is).

e. Narrative steps: (after getting information and use reflexive questions to provide a new vision you need to assist the client in "constructing" change within". The following are steps for co-constructing clients change:

i. Empathizing with the Client's Story:

ii. Noticing themes or behavior coping patterns:

iii. Sharing the themes with the client:

iv. mapping out the impact of the client's self-defeating coping patterns

v. tracing past of current influences

vi. searching for unique outcomes

vii. planting the seeds for preferred outcomes

viii. client performing the preferred narrative

f. The body awareness technique: the idea is provide the client with a moment of relaxation in which awareness if reached through relaxation (close your yes and just relax for few moments). -->Check your body to see what you find 2--> Check anything in your body that is calling attention to itself. 3--> just monitor your body, inch by inch, from tips of your toes to the top of your head and down to the tips of your fingers. In particular, note any hot spots, cold spots, tight or tense muscles, pains, tingling, or anything happening in any part of our body. Don't modify anything, just notice it.

i. After this exercise, ask the client to describe what he or she has discovered. The discovery can be of good material for therapy continuation.

g. there are some emotions that have been buried so deeply that talk therapy will not work by itself; therefore, it is recommendable to bring it up by awareness.

h. The “yes” set: A technique for the resistant client. "A 'yes' set is a state of mind that features agreement and deep acceptance. When clients are in this 'yes' mind set, they will be receptive to your therapeutic work. the first step in using the "yes" set of techniques is by reflecting the clients' experience or share current experiences. This is called, "truism" in which you simply reflect or employ current truths about the client or about shared experiences.

i. your name is Harry? -->yes

ii. We have spoken on the phone, but this is the first time you have come to my office-->yes

iii. you told me that you have had bad experience with therapy--> yes

iv. and now it is two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon and you area here and I am here...--> yes.

i. The “no” set: this is based on the idea that there are some clients that are very negative and will answer all your questions with a "no". This people are called mismatchers. They can see the flaws in all projects, but when they actually take this attitude in interpersonal relationships, people hates them. The usage of this technique is a bridge of acceptance between the client and the counselor, leading the client to change a 'no" mind set into a "yes" mind set.

i. client: it was very inconvenient to come here today, and I am not feeling very hopeful about coming to therapy?

ii. C: you had some past experience with therapy that cause you to feel not very hopeful about therapy (repeat client's negation), and yet despite the inconvenience (repeat client's negation), you had the courtesy to drive here and keep this appointment, didn't you (end negation question)?

iii. Client: yes, I did.

V. CHAPTER 8:- TERMINATION SKILLS

a. The idea is to employ techniques to assist the client to see the 'goodbye' of the therapy not as a lost but rather differently; that is, assisting the client not to feel the anxiety that they had when entering therapy, felt by the problems they presented in the first stance.

b. The following are techniques that are useful for termination

i. dealing with feelings of separation: invite clients to express their reactions (fears, concerns, sense of loss, fief) about separation from the therapeutic relationship.

ii. assessing the progress: assess how ready they are to leave and how long they have got to. "in scale of 10, if 0 indicates an extreme sense of hopeless, powerlessness and the worst sense of

yourself, and 10 indicates an optimal sense of confidence, feeling goof about yourself and trust in life, where were you when you first cam in?"

iii. reviewing the counseling experience: How was counseling been important to you?/ when you say you have grown a lot, what are some of the changes you have seen in yourself?/ what were the highest of the counseling experience for you?".

iv. giving and receiving feedback: provide feedback: "this is what I have seen on you..." "I would like to hear feedback about my working style.

v. carrying learning further: "how will help yourself... how will you continue to work...I would like us to co-create a certificate that you have overcome depresison".

vi. saying goodbye: show appreciation of your client's sharing and experience. The learning process that has taken you to be a new counselor.

VI. CHAPTER 9:- CASE CONCEPTUALIZATION-THE COVERT SKILLS:

a. The therapeutic process is actually a covert process in which you obtain, maintain and assist the client to change. Skills that are overt skills are reflective, influencing, and intervention skills but this is not sufficient for the change, counselor needs to conceptualize and analyze themes to tackled where change can begin. The following are exercise for conceptualize cases/covert.

i. theme analysis

ii. contextual analysis

iii. unique outcome analysis

iv. preferred outcome analysis

v. how to write case notes