Lecture
The main task of this stage is to create an accurate characterization of the client's problem, establishing both its emotional and cognitive aspects.
Sometimes what the client has recounted about their problem in the "confession" is not enough for the counseling psychologist. In order to draw more correct conclusions and formulate well-founded recommendations regarding the essence and resolution of the client's problem, the counseling psychologist sometimes needs additional information. In this case, an additional conversation is conducted with the client or with other people connected to the problem that has arisen for the client.
At this stage, psychodiagnostics of the client may also be carried out, if the need arises to clarify their problem. The counselor should explain to the client the objectives of such an examination, its features, how it will proceed, and how its results may be used.
This stage can be very short if, during the "confession," the client identifies the problem situation on their own, formulates the request clearly, their statements raise no doubts, and the counselor is confident in the adequacy of the client's orientation and in their correct understanding of the essence of what is happening. All that remains for the counselor to do is to summarize what was said or hand this over to the client. However, this does not happen very often. Moreover, the client may not be aware of a number of errors in the model of the problem situation they present (see Documents 14 and 15: "The Structure of the Client's Complaint: Locus, Self-Diagnosis, Problem, and Request" and "Defects in the Client's Message").
Clarification of problems continues until the client and the counselor reach the same understanding of the problem. The problem must be defined by specific concepts. A precise definition of problems allows their causes to be understood and sometimes points to ways of resolving them.
A reliable approach to working at this stage of questioning is the analysis of specific situations from the client's life that clearly demonstrate their relationships with people, their behavior in problem situations, and the characteristics of the interaction patterns they choose. The client's account should reflect exactly when and in connection with what the situation being described arose, where exactly it took place, who took part in it, what specifically the client and other participants said and did, what they thought and felt at the time the events were unfolding, what, from the client's point of view, the other participants in the situation were thinking and feeling at that time, how the situation ended, what consequences it had, and what it affected. The situations chosen should be closely related to the content of the client's main complaints and should be typical, frequently occurring in the client's life, so that they can be used to judge the characteristics of the relationships as a whole. It is desirable that these situations be sufficiently detailed, describing the negative, positive, and neutral characteristics of the relationships.
+The nature of the questions at this stage changes fundamentally: the wording is aimed at clarifying the ideas that have arisen in the counselor's mind. These are now questions of substance, for example: "When exactly did you first get the feeling that she was unwell?" or "What do you feel when ... (this happens)?" The counselor should strive to ensure that the client's answers correspond to the nature of the questions asked and are precise and specific. Precision in an answer makes it more objective. Small details of a situation are harder to invent or distort, and they become a kind of filter through which information the client is unaware of or underestimates passes through. This makes it possible to examine the situation not only from the point of view the client is accustomed to, but also from the angle of the hypotheses that have arisen in the counselor's mind.
Hypotheses in psychological counseling are variants of more constructive positions for the client with regard to their problems. In order for the counselor's hypothesis to be confirmed or refuted, it is necessary to discuss two or three specific situations. If the same pattern of behavior and experience can be traced across all the situations discussed, the counselor's hypothesis can be considered confirmed or refuted. The counselor can now say with confidence exactly which client behavior leads to problems arising in their life, and how they can be helped to relate to what is happening differently and to behave accordingly.
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