A Counseling Skills Primer

3-Minute Microskills Videos for the Visual Learner

Index of Video Demonstrations

Microskills Worksheet

Client Monologues

  1. Client Monologues Video

MICROSKILLS

Nonverbal Skills

  1. Physical Attending Behaviors: SOLER
  2. Vocal Tone and Verbal Pacing
  3. Facial Expression
  4. Proxemics
  5. Minimal Verbal and Nonverbal Encouragers

Listening Microskills

  1. Reflection of Content
  2. Summarization
  3. Reflection of Feeling
  4. Reflection of Meaning

Questions

  1. Open Questions
  2. Contract Questions
  3. Consequence Questions
  4. Closed Questions
  5. Scaling Questions
  6. Checkout Questions

Influencing Microskills

  1. Validation
  2. Touch
  3. Reference to the Nonverbal Communication of the Client
  4. Interpretation
  5. Reframing
  6. Interruption
  7. Redirection
  8. Confronting Contradictions
  9. Silence
  10. Sharing Information with Clients
  11. Directives
  12. Here and Now Self-Disclosure
  13. Feedback to Client Self-Disclosure
  14. Personal Self-Disclosure
  15. Professional Self-Disclosure
  16. Client Reflection
  17. Self-Generation of Homework

MESOSKILLS

  1. Greeting the Client
  2. Informed Consent and Limits of Confidentiality
  3. Orienting a New Client to Counseling
  4. Opening a Session
  5. Broaching Diversity Issues
  6. Developing and Maintaining Rapport
  7. Contracting for Change
  8. Focusing the Session
  9. Closing the Session
  10. Calming the Client
  11. Building Subsequent Sessions
  12. Closing the Counseling Relationship