4. Psychological counseling techniques

Plan

1. Listening techniques

2. Impact Techniques

In psychological counseling, the problem of linguistic means of communication is solved differently depending on the theoretical approach in which the process of counseling is carried out. However, verbal communication is the main element of any psychotherapy and counseling. It is difficult to imagine a successful and at the same time tongue-tied, non-speaking psychologist.

The only means of verbal communication is language. When dealing with a client, psychologists usually follow the rules of verbal following. This means that the psychologist "goes" after the client, his themes and tries to use the same language that the client uses. At the same time, it is important for the psychologist to listen carefully to what was said by the client, avoiding interrupting or changing the direction of the conversation during his story.

Attentive behavior , according to the views of most psychologists, is a central aspect of counseling (A. Ivey, C. Rogers, and others). Attentive behavior includes 4 points: visual contact, the required sign language, tone of voice, and verbal following the client's story.

Selective attention is a concept meaning that the psychologist selectively pays attention or selectively ignores some fragments of the client's speech. Very often in their stories, customers jump from one topic to another. Depending on the views of the psychologist on what is more important, he often chooses one of the alternatives. The stereotype of selective attention speaks more about the psychologist than about the client.

It is more important for a professional psychologist to fix his attention on the client, and not on the problem. Therefore, in cases where several topics were present in the client’s story, it’s more technically correct to list all the topics touched by the client and suggest that the client choose which topic he would like to work with.

1. Listening techniques

After establishing rapport, there is usually the task of identifying client problems. Stamps and momentum to help identify new facts, understand the behavior, thoughts and feelings of the client - these are listening skills.

One of the main places among the professionally important skills of a psychologist is the skill of asking questions. Questions are the main element of the conversation and the main means of obtaining information from the client. The ability of the psychologist to ask questions, selecting the appropriate wording, is one of the most important conditions for effective counseling.

Open questions usually begin with the words “what”, “how”, “why”, “could”, “and if”. They require a detailed response from the client, since it is difficult to answer “yes” or “no” to them. Open questions give us quite important information about the essence of the client's difficulties. (“Will you tell us what the conversation will be about?” - an open question allows the client to formulate his answer without any restrictions).

Using open questions, a psychologist can understand the following: a general picture of the situation; basic facts; the client’s emotional attitude towards these facts; customer judgment. At the stage of collecting information, the goal is to find out how the client understands the problem, as well as the facts, feelings and features of his thinking. The same questions can be used at the third stage of the interview (the desired result) to find out what the client’s goals are, what he thinks about these goals, etc.

The psychologist needs to maintain a sense of proportion when questioning the client. Questions why are particularly alarming and cause the client to want to protect themselves.

Closed questions usually include the Li particle. They contain the wording of the answer or its variants. They can answer "yes" or "no." Closed questions are used to gather information, as well as to figure out something, to focus attention, to narrow the scope of judgment. The closed question, as a rule, prevents the client from avoiding the topic of conversation. But with frequent use of closed questions can scare the customer.

When choosing one or another formulation of the question, it is necessary to take into account certain limitations. For example, closed questions create the risk of a significant narrowing of the range of possible answers. This is especially important to consider when working with easily inspired customers, with young children. At the same time, the use of closed questions can sometimes become a useful technique that helps the client to express socially disapproved attitudes. When alternative answers are given alongside, the form of the question itself may suggest to the client that they are both equally socially acceptable, for example: “Some people think about it this way (...), others like this (...).”

Without asking the client questions, information about him can be obtained using such microtechnicians as minimal reinforcement, support, retelling, reflection of feelings.

Minimal reinforcement (minimization of answers, non-interference) is microtechnique, which is a psychologist's use of those “minimal” means of communication that allow you to maintain a dialogue with a client. Psychologist's replicas allow the client to speak out without coercion, openly and freely. These include statements like:

I understand.

Go on, this is interesting.

Tell me more.

These cues contribute to the development and deepening of the consultative conversation. They relieve the tensions of the client, help the psychologist to express interest, understanding or express approval.

Repetition (support) is a direct repetition of what was said by the client, or short comments ("well, well," so "," yep "," tell me more "). This technique facilitates conversation and supports its main course, provides the least intrusive intervention of the psychologist in the world of the client. Replay or support is a direct way to show the customer what they hear. A. Ivy and co-authors believe that this technique is characteristic of professionally successful psychologists.

Paraphrasing is the formulation of a client’s thought in other words. Paraphrasing is always a certain risk for the psychologist, since you can never be sure that you understand another person correctly. The purpose of rephrasing is to check how accurately the psychologist understands the client. It is when the psychologist thinks that he understands the client exactly, it is advisable to use this microtechnique, since the illusion of understanding often arises when projecting one's own thoughts and feelings onto the client's story. There are standard statements that often begin rephrasing: "As I understand it ...", "You think ...", "In your opinion ...", "In other words, you think", "If I understood correctly, you say ...", etc. .

Retelling is a concise statement of the main words and thoughts of the client. They convey the objective content of the client's speech, reformulated by a psychologist, and the most important words and phrases must be used. Retelling helps the psychologist to clarify, bring together different moments of the conversation. The retelling technique often has a therapeutic effect, since the client can once again hear key thoughts and phrases aimed at clarifying the essence. Retelling, in essence, is the use of the paraphrase technique for large amounts of information.

Reflection of feelings. This technique is similar to the retelling, but the retelling refers to the facts, and the reflection of the feelings - to the emotions associated with these facts. It is important that a psychologist is able to celebrate emotions for himself. Reception of reflection of feelings can be divided into parts: to say the name of the client (this personalizes the reflection); emotional pronouncing of words: sentences-stamps (“It seems that you feel ...”, “It seems to me that you feel ...”). The context of this experience is often added (“You get angry when your husband lingers”). The “pure” reflection of the senses does not include the context of the experience.

Clarification (clarification, clarification) is a microtechnique that helps to make a client's message more understandable for a psychologist. The psychologist addresses the client with a question or request to clarify what he said. I. Atwater recommends using the following key phrases:

Do not you repeat again?

I do not understand what do you mean.

Explain, please, again.

It is not quite clear to me what you are talking about.

I did not understand.

What do you mean?

Would you explain this in more detail?

To clarify the message, you can use closed questions, for example: “Are you offended?”, “Would you like to change the situation?”, “Is that all you want to say?” At the same time, you should be aware of the limitations associated with the use of closed questions. Closed questions sometimes activate client protection. Open questions or statements like “I did not quite understand you,” etc. are more preferable. In this case, the psychologist does not introduce his own interpretations, remains neutral to the message and expects its more accurate transmission.

Awareness of the meaning (meaning) is connected with the study of what this situation means for the client. When the meaning is understood, deep, hidden meanings of words are identified. The client re-interprets his experiences. Awareness of meaning goes along with interpretations that relate to microtechnologies of influence. Interpretation gives the client alternative constructions, with the help of which this problem can also be considered. When realizing the meaning, the client is able to find a new interpretation or meaning of the old facts and situations.

The summary (summing up) allows the psychologist to summarize the main thoughts and feelings of the client. Summary - microtechnology, which allows to “combine” in the semantic unity of the client's idea, the facts from his life, the feelings experienced, the meaning of the problem situation. The psychologist analyzes everything said before himself and the client, and then presents to the client in complete form the main points regarding the content of the dialogue between them.

The summary gives the psychologist the opportunity to check the accuracy of the client's message. Building a resume includes streamlining the complex content of the client's statements. A resume is usually formulated by a psychologist in your own words, but standard introductory words can be used, for example:

What you told me about ...

As I understand from your story ...

The key ideas of your story are ...

The summary is useful to use at the end of the consultation session, when you need to briefly summarize everything that the client was talking about.

Focus analysis is an important microtechnical hearing. In the focus analysis, the psychologist reflects the main theme enshrined in the structure of the sentences used by the consultant and the client. The following areas of focus selection are possible when working with a client:

1. Focus on the client (personal treatment, appeal to the thoughts and feelings, the client's wishes for themselves).

2. Focus on another person.

3. Focus on the problem.

4. Focusing on the psychologist. Focusing on yourself is useful as a method of self-disclosure or feedback, helps develop a client's sense of trust. Rapport is developing successfully, but this technique should not be abused.

5. Focusing on community: “we are the focus.” (“What have we achieved?”, “I like the way you act”).

6. Cultural contextual focus: “This is worrying many women. The life of a modern woman is very complicated. ” Customer problems are often based on real stories of their interaction with the political and social system. But, according to A. Ivy, in general, psychologists tend to ignore the cultural and social context.

Listening skills are organized into a system called “the main stages of listening . ” This sequence does not include an awareness of the meaning, which appears rather as a consequence of the use of this sequence of listening, and is not part of it.

Based on the above, microtechnicians distinguish several types of hearing by a client psychologist.

Non-reflective listening (passive listening, the principle of silence) is the most basic form of listening. It consists in the psychologist's ability to remain silent, while remaining attentive and not interfering with the client’s story. Passive this process can only be called conditionally, since it requires attention from a psychologist. The conditional concept is also “non-reflexivity”, since in this case the psychologist remains in contact with himself, with his feelings.

During a non-reflective hearing, a psychologist can express understanding, approval, support, use the microtechnique of minimal reinforcement.

Reflexive (active) hearing is used by a psychologist to more accurately understand the essence of the client's message. Most of the words in our language are ambiguous, many have synonyms. This creates certain difficulties of understanding, since the same word can be perceived differently by the speaker and the listener. Thus, the psychologist needs to “decode”, “decrypt” the client's message.

The purpose of reflexive listening is to be as accurate as possible to what the client is saying. It is assumed that the thoughts and feelings of the client in the process of the story can change so that he himself can solve his problems, survive the insight, find his own answers to his own questions, overcome his internal contradictions.

The psychologist uses mainly the skills of clarification, support, paraphrasing, reflection of feelings, summary.

Empathic listening includes the ability to respond to another person (client) by the emergence of empathy. Empathy is the psychologist’s deep penetration into the client’s inner world, the acceptance of the content that the client is trying to grasp and realize.

Empathy is characterized by experiencing a special relationship to another person. The basic rule of empathic listening is not sympathy, but co-experience, that is, the creation of an emotional resonance to the client's experiences. The purpose of empathic listening is to understand the feelings of the client as precisely as possible. In this case, the psychologist does not diagnose and assess the client, since the main purpose of empathic listening (according to K. Rozhers) is to be in the world of the feelings of another person, and not to impose his own feelings on him. Empathic listening involves the psychologist understanding the client’s feelings and transmitting this understanding to the client. In empathic listening, the same methods are used as in the reflexive: support, verbal follow-up, refinement, paraphrase, summary.

2. Impact Techniques

Some psychologists believe that you can succeed using only listening techniques. However, this makes the process long and tedious. When a psychologist actively participates in a conversation, he can productively influence the rate at which the client realizes the nature of his problems and how to resolve them.

Impact is the active involvement of a psychologist in the process of solving the actual life problems of the client. All theories of counseling are based on the fact that the psychologist acts as an agent of change and personal growth. By his presence, he already has an impact on the client. In the case when the psychologist is active during the consultation, changes can occur faster.

Impact techniques are closely related to listening techniques. When influencing the client (as well as when listening to him), the psychologist maintains visual contact, uses non-verbal signals (nods, gestures, changes spatial arrangement, etc.). Techniques of influence (influence) are usually divided into a series of microtechnique communicative practices, such as directive, confrontation, interpretation and self-disclosure (A. Ivey).

Interpretation is the main method among all impact techniques. The starting point for interpretation is the psychological theory on which the consultant bases his work. Interpretation is used infrequently, 2-3 for one consultation. This is a challenge to the client’s point of view, so an “overdose” leads to client resistance.

The directive is the strongest of the impact techniques. When using the directive, the psychologist tells the client what action he should take. Within the framework of different theories, various types of directives are used, for example:

free associations: “Remember and tell with what moments

from your childhood this feeling is associated ... "; Gestalt method of working with polarities: “Imagine that your

girlfriend sitting in that chair. Tell her everything you think and feel.

Now transfer to this chair and answer yourself on her behalf "; fantasy: “Imagine that you are back in the past, in your

childhood ... Before you - a girl 5-6 years old. This girl - you ... come closer to her ... Look at what she is wearing, what she looks like ... You can ask her something important ... "paradoxical instruction:" The next time you experience fear,

do not try to suppress it. On the contrary, strengthen your fear, tell others about it ... It is advisable that you experience at least three bouts of fear a day ... "relaxation:" Close your eyes ... Feel your body ... Relax

muscles of the face ... "wish:" Now I suggest you do the following ... "homework:" During the week you have to write the following questions every evening ... "," For our next meeting, fill out this questionnaire ", etc.

The psychologist can give instructions to the client, suggesting certain changes in behavior (training behavioral skills), language changes (“should” to “want” and “do not want”), involving him in group work (changing the spatial position of family members). It must be remembered that the use of directives is possible only after establishing contact with the psychologist with the client.

Confrontation is a complex method that includes retelling, interpretation and other microtechnics. In a confrontation, the client is confronted with the fact that he says not what he thinks, and does not what he says. The concepts of “mismatch” or “incongruence” are important for understanding confrontation. The client gives double messages during the interview. ("Yes ... but"). In the proposal, the client gives two sendings in the same sentence or phrase, showing mixed feelings and thoughts. The psychologist points out to the client these double messages and thereby puts the client in the face of the facts. The purpose of counseling is the identification and confrontation of the main contradictions of the client.

Psychologists often use the following sentence: “On the one hand, you think (feel, act) ..., but on the other hand, you think (feel, act ...”). In this model is the essence of confrontation.

Self - disclosure is a technique of influence, based on the fact that the psychologist shares personal experience and experiences or shares the feelings of the client. It is associated with the feedback technique and is based on the psychologist's “manifestations”.

Different systems of psychotherapy and counseling use different microtechniques in various “proportions”. The psychologist's qualifications consist of an understanding of the general structural model of counseling and competence in microtechnics, as well as the ability to apply all this taking into account the individual and cultural characteristics of the client. Before the client should "reach" what the psychologist transmits to him.