Ask The Right Question Paper

Ask.com states that open communication is a type of communication characterized by free exchange of ideas and objections without limitations of positional status. In counseling, clients are able to express their ideas openly without fear of direct/indirect consequences. Asking the right question is at the heart of effective communications and information exchange. By using the right questions in a particular situation, you can improve a whole range of communications skills: for example, you can gather better information, build stronger relationships, manage people more effectively and help others to learn too.
According to Chapter 3, at the first visit, the counselor may ask questions about a person’s life and how you 've been feeling during
the past year. The type of help you are offered by your counselor will depend on the information that’s disclosed and the kind of relationship that is developed. Initial interviews begin with the counselor establishing rapport and structuring the session so that the client knows what to expect from the counseling or therapy process. Secondly, information is gathered and the counselor defines the problem and identifies the client’s strengths by drawing out stories, concerns, problems, or issues. Next, mutual goals are set and the counselor determines what the client desires to obtain out of the session(s); then, the counselor generates alternatives, confronts the client’s conflict and incongruities, generates alternative resolutions for conflict, and helps the client create a new way of thinking, feeling, or behaving. Finally, the plan for the generalization of the learning that has occurred in the counseling interviews is created and the road to terminating the counseling relationship begins.
The text states that counselors use questioning techniques commonly known as open and closed questions to probe clients for information. A closed question usually receives a single word or very short, factual answer. For example, "Are you thirsty?" The answer is "Yes" or "No"; "Where do you live?" The answer is generally the name of your town or your address. Open questions elicit longer answers. They usually begin with what, why, how. An open question asks the respondent for his or her knowledge, opinion or feelings. "Tell me" and "describe" can also be used in the same way as open questions. Questions are a powerful way of learning, relationship building, managing and coaching, avoiding misunderstandings, de-fusing a heated situation, and persuading people.
Close-ended questions should typically be discouraged during a therapy session, as they do not allow a client to expand on statements or provide deeper information about themselves. Close-ended questions can be useful to clients that are experiencing loose associations. Loose associations occur when a client cannot logically connect one thought to the next. Close-ended questions can therefore act as a great therapeutic tool, as they bring the client back to the present and reduce the chance of responding with loose association.
The US is considered one of the more dynamic societies in the world.
What’s meant by this is there is constantly new influx of immigrants into our culture. Approximately 10% of the population was not born here. So in the US those new immigrants bring their cultural backgrounds into the interaction in the culture (Bressert, S. (2006). I believe that it is important to communicate respectfully with people from other cultures. It is okay to ask questions, but no one wants to feel like they 're a study-subject. One shouldn’t expect someone from another culture to speak for everyone else in the culture by asking sweeping statements about people from their cultural, racial, geographical, religious or sexual-orientation
group.
It is my strong belief that counselors should always keep in mind that "diverse cultures" does not just mean people of a different racial background, but also people of another sexual orientation, economic class, family structure, ability-level, etc.
Whether you’re Russian, Jewish, or Chinese, it’s crucial that the counselor demonstrates sensitivity to all cultural needs, and acknowledges differences in their experience and yours. A counselor can also gauge the effectiveness of their words by carefully observing the facial expression and eye contact of a client. If a counselor asks a question that the client may find embarrassing to answer, the client may lower their eyes, or their head, or look away. These gestures will tell the counselor that the client might be uncomfortable with that statement or question.
While questioning techniques can be used positively to draw out and clarify issues relevant to the counseling session, there is also the very real danger of over-using questions or using questioning techniques that can have a negative impact on the session. The wrong types of questioning techniques, at the wrong time, in the hands of an unskilled interviewer or counselor, can cause unnecessary discomfort and confusion to the
client.
I believe that it is important for counselors to refrain from asking too many questions; it may send a message to the client that the counselor is in control and may even set up a situation in which the client feels the counselor has all the answers. In determining effective questioning techniques it is important to consider the nature of the client, their ongoing relationship with the counselor and the issue/s at hand. In addition, it should be noted that care must be taken by the counselor when asking “why” questions because they can provoke feelings of defensiveness in clients and may encourage clients to feel as though they need to justify themselves in some way. All in all, the counseling process that involves questioning is an integral part of acquiring the necessary knowledge needed to adequately counsel patients.

References

Evans, D. R., Hearn, M. T., Uhlemann, M. R., & Ivey, A. E. (2008). Essential interviewing: A programmed approach to effective communication. (8th Edition.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks-Cole.

Bressert, S. (2006). What to Expect in Your First Counseling Session. Psych Central. Retrieved on April 25, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/what-to-expect-in-your-first-counseling-session/