Open-Ended Questions

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Open-ended questions became a strong part of the dialog with the client, especially towards the end of the 7 minute dialog. The open-ended questions gave the client more opportunities to express how they were thinking, especially when asked, what was keeping her in Alaska. According to Ivey, Ivey & Zalaquett, (2018), “effective questions encourage more focused client conversations with more pertinent details and less wandering” (p. 111). Using strong verbal and nonverbal encouraging skills prompted the client to continue talking. Although not always notated, both client and counselor were giving nonverbal cues like smiling and other positive facial expressions. Ivey,et al., (2018) points out, “silence, accompanied by appropriate nonverbal communication, can be another type of encourager” (p. 136). Silence was used appropriately with this client to encourage her to continue. This also …show more content…
We are reminded by Ivey, et al., (2018) that “summarizing encompasses a longer period of conversation than paraphrasing; at times it may cover an entire interview or even issues discussed by the client over several interviews.” (p. 138) This was successfully accomplished with the counselor reflecting back on previous sessions regarding her decision to move and her readiness for change, although the stumbling of words led to it not being clearly understood. There was also a point where the counselor laughed at the client. We must maintain a professional composure during a session. Laughing isn’t always professional, especially when discussing an action that the client made such as signing a year long contract, it is best not to laugh. Thankfully this client did laugh along with the counselor, but this could have gone horribly wrong and destroyed a new counseling