Therapeutic Approach In Counseling

within the client’s mind, through interpreting these ideas “as if” they were then therapist’s own thoughts and feelings. The key in Rogerian thought circles was to never lose the “as if” quality.
Another key aspect of acceptance of the client was the absolute respect for the client that allowed the client the “complete freedom to be and to choose” (Rogers, 1980). The final component of acceptance includes affirmation, acknowledging the person’s strengths and efforts. There is a difference in this component between merely appreciating the client, by saying something like, “wow, you’ve really had it hard” and instead speaking with the client about the difficulties he has faced. The MI therapist wants to explore with the client why he views
The client may well want to change, and probably has tried a number of different approaches in efforts to change. One truth of counseling a client, though, is the recognition that the client’s best efforts have failed in the past, and they are searching for a solution to a problem that has previously eluded them. In the true sense of MI, the client has a goal, an objective, but requires assistance in clearly identifying the change desired. The client requires help in iterating the goal, and may need help in planning the steps to realize the objective (Rosengren, 2009). The therapist acts along the way to pay attention to positive successes in the client’s life, remind him/her of those successes, and works to help the client incorporate into their will to change the past accomplishments that may help support change. The therapist likely will encounter client ambivalence along the way. Ambivalence portrays the in-between state of the client, aware of a change that she or he might want to make and, at the same time, seeing reasons not to make that change. “Ambivalence is simultaneously wanting and not wanting something, or, wanting both of two incompatible things” (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). This dual citizenship of thought is present in each individual somewhere in the decision-making process. This dialectical thought is summed up in the statement: “Arguments both for and against
Decoding the words the client provides and attempting to interpret the intent of the heard words make up a reflection. Typically this short phrase or sentence is stated back to the client. The statement back to the client reflects the therapist’s best guess as to the client’s meaning and allows the client to correct or clarify the story. Reflective listening is the primary skill on which MI is built (Rosengren, 2009). This microskill of reflective listening is one of four microskills heavily utilized by MI practitioners. Open-ended questions are the backbone of the information gathering process. Moving beyond information gathering to more meaty discussions may be aided in using an MI technique that combines a reflection with a question. This preamble reflection allows for context and provides guidance for the answer to help develop a