PSY 3182 Case Study 1
Sophia Yan
PSY 3182
Questions Drawing Out Strengths with Difficult Clients
1. What are some questions that you might use as part of the interview to acquire John’s worldview and bring out his strengths and weaknesses?
There are two types of questions that would be essential to most theories and styles of counseling/therapy, open and closed questions. Open questions are those that cannot be answered in a few words. They are more extensive and encourage clients to talk more in order to provide maximum information. Open questions usually begin with what, how, why, or could. Closed questions can be answered in very few words and can help obtain specifics. It helps provide critical information, but the flow of the interview relies heavily on the therapist. Closed questions usually begin with is, are, or do.
In order to acquire John’s worldview and bring out his strengths and weaknesses, I would have to use both forms of questions. After I build an alliance with John, I will try to inquire about John’s worldview by asking him what his cultural background is. If it is similar to mine, I may be able to use questions freely. However if his background differs from mine, it would prove to be a bit more difficult but not impossible. For example if I ask John, “what is your ethnic background?” and he identifies as African American I would not make assumptions, learn about his culture from other sources, admit ignorance, look for similarities, and be sensitive to his expectations and needs.
Clients sometimes have difficulty discussing their strengths and weaknesses. I can begin to identify John’s strengths/weaknesses by examining his feelings, ability of knowledge and skills, and actual performance. Some questions I can ask are: “what are your hopes/dreams?”, “what are you passionate about?”, “what do you do well?”, “do you adapt to change quickly?”, “what do other people look to you for?”, “what would you consider are your strengths and weaknesses?”, and “what can you do to
PSY 3182
Questions Drawing Out Strengths with Difficult Clients
1. What are some questions that you might use as part of the interview to acquire John’s worldview and bring out his strengths and weaknesses?
There are two types of questions that would be essential to most theories and styles of counseling/therapy, open and closed questions. Open questions are those that cannot be answered in a few words. They are more extensive and encourage clients to talk more in order to provide maximum information. Open questions usually begin with what, how, why, or could. Closed questions can be answered in very few words and can help obtain specifics. It helps provide critical information, but the flow of the interview relies heavily on the therapist. Closed questions usually begin with is, are, or do.
In order to acquire John’s worldview and bring out his strengths and weaknesses, I would have to use both forms of questions. After I build an alliance with John, I will try to inquire about John’s worldview by asking him what his cultural background is. If it is similar to mine, I may be able to use questions freely. However if his background differs from mine, it would prove to be a bit more difficult but not impossible. For example if I ask John, “what is your ethnic background?” and he identifies as African American I would not make assumptions, learn about his culture from other sources, admit ignorance, look for similarities, and be sensitive to his expectations and needs.
Clients sometimes have difficulty discussing their strengths and weaknesses. I can begin to identify John’s strengths/weaknesses by examining his feelings, ability of knowledge and skills, and actual performance. Some questions I can ask are: “what are your hopes/dreams?”, “what are you passionate about?”, “what do you do well?”, “do you adapt to change quickly?”, “what do other people look to you for?”, “what would you consider are your strengths and weaknesses?”, and “what can you do to