What are microskills? Why are they important to counseling?

What will be an ideal response?


Microskills are the foundational skills of effective helping relationships. When counselors use these skills, it helps create the necessary conditions where positive changes occur. Microskills include:
• Attending – communicate to the client that you are attending to their story through nonverbal and verbal acknowledgement
• Listening – pay attention to the client’s story to accurately capture their thoughts and emotions
• Silence – pause after the client’s statement to help them elaborate more on the story and/or to provide a brief moment for the client to reflect on their story
• Restatement – rephrase the client’s primary statement or response to let them know you are listening and paying attention
• Reflection – reflect the expression, emotion, and/or feelings associated with a particular event or story that the client tells you
• Summarizing – capture the content (thoughts or emotions) or identify themes or patterns associated with the client’s story in order to keep the therapeutic conversation focused and to promote clarification
• Probing – ask open-ended questions to facilitate the client’s understanding and exploration of their story

Counseling

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According to social cognitive career theory, which of the following could be a proximal influence to choice behavior?

a. goal b. outcome c. self-efficacy d. support

Counseling

Relative to matching client problem with intervention strategy, which is correct?

a. Clinicians should always maintain one theoretical approach to be consistent throughout the relationship. b. Ethical guidelines do not address the importance of keeping up on skills to assure optimal treatment. c. It is best to have an array of intervention strategies so that the optimal technique can be matched to the client problem. d. Treatment plans should consider the kinds of strategies that match the client's problem. e. a and b f. c and d g. All of the above

Counseling

Which of the following statements is not true of REBT?

(a) People have inborn drives toward self-actualization and irrational thinking. (b) REBT clinicians are more likely to rely on persuasion and teaching than are cognitive therapists. (c) REBT is not appropriate for group and family counseling. (d) Establishment of mutual liking and rapport is less important in REBT than in many other treatment approaches.

Counseling

Addressing recurrent themes heard from clients in counseling is part of __________ advocacy

a. client b. systems c. social/political d. None of the above.

Counseling