COUNSELLING SKILLS

AND TECHNIQUES
Stages of the Counselling Process
1. Initial disclosure- Relationship Building
2. In-depth Exploration- Problem Assessment
3. Commitment to Action-Goal Setting
Core Conditions
 Empathy: Understanding what the client feels and

not just what you would feel.

 Genuineness: Being who you are without pretense

or hiding behind the “therapist” role.

 Unconditional Positive Regard: Accepting the

person for who they may be without putting

conditions on it or judgment.
COUNSELLING SKILLS
1. Attending Behaviour
 Orienting oneself physically and
psychologically.
 Encourages the other person to talk and conveys

empathy
 Involves two strategies
 SHOVLER and Listening Skills
SHOVLER
 S-Face the other Squarely
 H-Nod Heads
 O-Adopt an Open Posture
 V-Verbal Following
 L-Lean towards the other
 E-Make Eye contact
 R-Be relatively Relax
Active Listening Skills
 Most important counselling skill. Process of
‘hearing’ the other person.
 Involves three aspects.

I. Linguistic: Actual words, phrases and

metaphors.
II. Paralinguistic: Not words but accent, volume,
pitch, tone.
III. Non-verbal: Body language, facial expressions
and gestures.
2. Open and Close Ended
Questions

Open-Ended Questions
 Questions that clients cannot easily answer

with Yes or No or 1 or 2 word responses.

Purposes
 To begin an interview.
 To encourage and motivate communication.
 To obtain detailed information.
2. Open and Close Ended
Questions
Close-Ended Questions
 Questions that clients can easily answer with

Yes or No or 1 or 2 word responses.

Purposes
 To narrow the topic of discussion
 To interrupt an over-talkative client.
 To obtain specific information.
3. Paraphrasing
 Counsellor rephrases the content of the client’s
message.
Purposes
 To help client’s simplify, focus and crystallize

what they said.

 To provide a check on the accuracy of client’s

perception.
 Used when client presents many problems at

once.
4. Summary
 Collection of 2 or more paraphrases or
reflections that condenses the client’s
messages or the session.
Purposes
 To identify common theme or pattern
throughout the counselling stages.
 To ties multiple elements of client’s messages.
 To review progress.
5. Reflection
 Echoing back of the client’s last few words-
verbal response to client emotion.
 Used to bring out underlying feelings.
 Widely used in Rogerian counselling.
 Example, Client: We move back to Delhi From

US last year but nobody has settled down. My

family never did like living in a large city. I
found it difficult to get a job.....
 Counsellor: You found it difficult to get a job....
6. Responding
 Accurate responding allows the counsellor to
confirm with the client that they are being
heard correctly.
Purposes
 Used in all counselling stages to help the

counsellor clarify information.

 To teach clients when responding to others in

mediation.
7. Client Observation
 Skilled client observation allows the
counsellor to identify discrepancies or
incongruities in the client’s or their own
communication.
 Purposes
 To check for any behavioural, emotional,

cognitive changes.
 To have a better understanding of the client’s

feelings, actions, thoughts and emotions.

COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES
1. Spheres of Inference
 An Assessment tool for clients to see which
areas of their life may be impacting and
influencing them.
 Person’s job is to figure out which system

gives them strength and which gives them

stress.
 Some spheres of influence to consider are:

themselves, immediate family, husband or

wife, job or school. Community, religion and
any external influences.
2. Confrontation
 Not the client confronting the therapist or vice
versa. Confrontation is within the client.
 Used to assist client’s self awareness when the

counsellor observes mixed messages,

behaviours, feelings or thoughts.
3. Clarification
 Counsellor should often ask the client to
clarify their messages to make sure they
understand the situation correctly.
 This will help the counsellor avoid any

misconceptions or make any assumptions that

could hinder their feedback.
4. Congruence
 The counsellor should be genuine and honest
with their feedback and beliefs about their
client’s situation and progress.
 The more authentic and true counsellors are

with their counselling, the more that their

client and work grow and benefit from their
help.
5. Core Conditions
 Essential traits counsellor needs to integrate
for effective counselling such as positive self
regard, empathy, etc.
6. Capping
 Involves changing a conversation’s direction
from emotional to cognitive if counsellor feels
that client’s emotions needs to be calmed or
regulated.
7. Encouraging
 Being encouraging as a counsellor for your
client is an essential technique that will help
facilitate confidence and respect between both
parties.
 Counsellor focus on the client’s strengths and

assess to help them see themselves in a

positive light.
8. Focusing
 Involves the counsellor demonstrating that
they understand what their client is
experiencing by using non-judgmental
attention without any words.
 Focusing can help the counsellor determine

what the client needs to obtain next from their

services.
9. Immediacy
 Involves the counsellor speaking openly about
something that is occurring in the present
moment.
 This helps the client learn from their real life

experiences and apply it to their reactions for

other past situations.
10. Miracle Questions
 Technique of asking a question of this sort will
help the client see the world in a different way
or perspective.
 Example, “What would your world look like if

a miracle occurred? What would that miracle

be and how would it change things?”
11. Proxemics
 Technique where the counsellor study the
spatial movements and conditions of
communication that their client exhibits.
 By studying their client’s body orientation,

counsellor can determine mood, feelings and

reactions.
12. Self-Disclosure
 The counsellor takes notes when personal
information is disclosed at certain points of
therapy.
 This will help the counsellor learn more about

the client and use this information only to

benefit them.
13. Structuring
 When entering into counselling, the counsellor
should discuss the agenda, activities and
processes involved.
 This technique will help the client understand

their counsellor’s train of thought into

determining how this routine will work for
them.
14. Positive Asset Search
A positive technique used by counsellors to
help clients think up their positive strengths
and attributes to get them into a strong mindset
about themselves.
15. Hierarchy of Needs
 Involves the counsellor assessing their client’s
level of needs as based on the progress that
they are making.
 Needs to factor are: physiological needs,

safety needs, love and belonging needs, self

esteem needs, and self actualization needs.
 All these will determine if change needs to

take place in counselling.