Louise about during the final interview session. This is the first-time seeing Louise for a counseling session A) Jane is 64-year-old female and she has b) anxiety because of her sickness. Lately she has been experiencing nausea, rapid heartbeats, and fear of dying. Her husband has asked her to seek counseling because it is affecting their relationship as she tends to panic at every situation in life. They have two grown children who have been to jail or prison, and they are drug addicts or recovering drug addict. Louise had a major accident with brain injury and a stroke at the same time. During the session we discussed Louise level of stress and anxiety. We also briefly talked about her relationship with her husband and children. Additional Louise almost died from Covid-19. Louise is always going to doctor to get tested for Covid-19 or some other illness. Currently I am her pastor, and she is a member of my church. This week, students will demonstrate the following skills/behaviors in their counseling skill demonstration session: • Body Language & Appearance. Maintain open, relaxed, attentive, confident posture. Wears professional attire (text-p.66) • Eye Contact. Maintain appropriate eye contact (text-p.66) • Vocal Tone. Use vocal tone that communicates caring and connection (text-p.67) • (Minimal) Encouragers. Use verbal (e.g., uh huh, okay, right, yes) and nonverbal (e.g., nods and body gestures) skills to let the client know you heard them (text p.73-74). • Appropriate/Attentive Silence. A subtle pressure for a moment of quiet to allow a client to process their thoughts (text-p.67) • Verbal Tracking. Stay on the topic that client presents and creates phrases for focused direction in the session (Week 2 Skills Guide). • Selective Attending. Selectively attend to key aspects of client’s communication (Week 2 Skills Guide). • Focusing. Stay with topic as long as productive (Week 2 Skills Guide). • Observation Skills/Non-verbal Tracking. Notice nonverbal language and gestures (Week 3 Skills Guide). • Pacing. Matching volume and tone to that of the client (text-p.67) • Encouraging Client to Talk (Furthering response statements). Use statements (e.g., describe… tell me more about, etc.) that facilitate specific aspects of his/her communication (Week 2 Skills Guide). • Reflection – Basic Empathy. Use statements to selectively attend to expressed emotions (text-p.101-116). • Summarizing. Make statements at key moments in the session that capture the overall sense of what the client has been expressing (includes both content and affect discussed over time (text-p.134-137). • Paraphrasing (Reflection of Content). Engage in brief, accurate, & clear rephrasing of content expressed by client. With a purpose toward meaning (text-p.85-96). • Reflection – Advanced Empathy. Use statements to identify emotion implied in client’s statements; demonstrate empathy to generate deeper reflections (text-p.101-116). • Minimal Interrogation/ appropriate use of questions: Counselor uses open and closed questions as appropriate and avoids the over use of questioning. Avoid asking too many questions (text-p.72-78) • Immediacy. Make statements describing here-and-now feelings and experiences of the client and/or myself (text-p.163-164). • Challenging/Pointing out Discrepancies. Express observations of discrepancies between non-verbal and verbal, plans and behavior, desires and actions (text-p.147-169) • Observing Themes and Patterns (Thematic Summary). Identify recurring patterns of client acting, thinking, or behaving (“In ______ situations, you regularly do _____ [or think______ or feel _____] which seems to lead to” _________ (text-p.136) • Exploring Meaning and Values. Use questions or metaphors to explore meanings; use statements to highlight key meaning and value words of the client (129-134). • Utilizes Counseling Theory. Clearly demonstrate the application of a counseling theory; use skills and conceptualizations consistent with that theory. • Utilizes Humor/Metaphors when appropriate. Recognize and integrates the use of natural communications via humor or metaphors as a change agent (text-p.166-167 & 260, 261) Keep in mind: In your week five assignment you will reflect on key aspects of your session. In particular, in the week five assignment you will reflect on your goals for your counseling skills/approach, goals for the session, mock client goals, personal strengths, mock client strengths, areas for improvement, progress, and multicultural awareness. To clarify, you will reflect on your session in your week four assignment, you do not need to reflect on your session here. However, when you submit your Yuja recording of your counseling demonstration to the discussion board area as an initial post, you will include a brief session descriiption and time stamps for when you used your skills.
Students will submit:
1) Recorded counseling demonstration session
2) Session descriiption
3) Skills time stamps
