Assignment task: Complete the table below by identifying which counselling microskill (encourager, paraphrase, reflection of feeling, or summary) is being used in each of the counselling examples. (Note: Each microskill may be used more than once.)
Example Microskill
a) Client: "I'm here to see you because I'm really lost."
Counsellor: (nodding head) "Uh-huh..."
b) Client: "There are just so many problems going on with my family; it's all too much."
Counsellor: "It feels overwhelming..."
c) Client: "I've told my wife that I've decided to move to Sydney for this new job and she was upset. She doesn't want to move."
Counsellor: "I see. You've decided to change jobs and move to Sydney, but your wife doesn't want to."
d) Client: "Like I said last week, there is this new job in Sydney and I want to move but my wife isn't happy about it. So I haven't talked to her about it since last week. It's also because there's no guarantee that I'll get the job, plus we are having a lot of family issues right now. My son is in his last year of high school and he doesn't want to move, so he is rebelling at the moment. My youngest daughter is sick and a new environment would not be ideal for her. I need to sort these out before discussing it with my wife again".
Counsellor: "Last week we talked about the possibility of you moving to Sydney with a new job. Today you've mentioned various family issues to sort out before you're able to make that move and you have agreed to hold off discussing it further with your wife until you know for sure if you have the job or not. Is that right?"