lOMoARcPSD|4978814

5. Encouraging, Paraphrasing, Summarising

Counselling Skills (University of South Australia)

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WEEK 5 ENCOURAGING, PARAPHRASING, SUMMARISING
Active Listening
- Encouraging, paraphrasing, and summarising
are active listening skills at the cognitive centre
of the basic listening sequence and are key in
building the empathic relationship.
- When we attend, clients feel heard, open up
and become more ready for change.
- Active listening is a communication process
that requires intentional participation, decision
making, and responding to client conversation.
Encouraging
Encouragers are verbal and nonverbal
expressions the counselor or therapist can use
to prompt clients to continue talking.
SKILL: encourage with short responses that
help clients keep talking. They may be verbal
(repeating key words and short statements) or
nonverbal (head nods and smiling).
 ANTICIPATED CLIENT RESPONSE:
Clients will elaborate on the topic, particularly
when encouragers are used in a questioning,
supportive tone.
EXAMPLES:
- NON-VERBAL: Head nods and positive
facial expressions // Open gestures
- VERBAL: Minimal– “mmhhmm” or “Uh-
huh” // Repetition of key words from
last statement
lOMoARcPSD|4978814
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing /Reflection of Content
An accurate paraphrase usually consists of four
dimensions:
1. A sentence stem that may include
the client’s name. (I hear you
saying/ It sounds like/ It feels like/ If
I see this correctly)
2. The key words used by a client to
describe the situation or person.
3. The essence of what the client has
said in briefer and clearer form.
4. A checkout for accuracy. (Am I
hearing you correctly? / Have I got it
right? / Does that sound accurate?)
SKILL: shorten or clarify the essence of what
has just been said- but be sure to use the
client’s main words when paraphrasing. Often
fed back to the client in a questioning tone of
voice.
 ANTICIPATED CLIENT RESPONSE
Clients will feel heard. They tend to give more
detail without repeating the exact same story.
They also become clearer and more organised
in their thinking. If a paraphrase is inaccurate,
the client has an opportunity to correct the
interviewer. Important skill in cognitive
empathy.
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Not parroting: just repeating… annoying … likely to
get a negative response … “Didn’t I just say that?”
Summarising
-Summarizing pulls together and organizes
client conversation, supporting the brain’s
executive functioning.
-Summarizing is key to your ability to
“mentalize” the world of the client.
-Attend to client’s verbal and nonverbal
comments.
-Selectively attend to key concepts & restate to
the client accurately.
-Check out for accuracy at the end.
SKILL: summarise client contents and integrate
thoughts, emotions & behaviours. Similar to
paraphrasing but used over a longer time span.
 ANTICIPATED CLIENT RESPONSE
Clients will feel heard and often learn how their
complex/fragmented stories are integrated. A
summary helps clients make sense of their lives
and will facilitate a more centred and focused
discussion. Also provides a more coherent
transition from one topic to the next/ or a way
to begin & end a full session.