Focusing Techniques for Counseling
Counseling requires patience, empathy and listening. Clients can sense when a counselor isn't focused, and an unfocused counselor can miss key elements of what a client is saying in a counseling session.
Positioning
Counseling sessions often are determined by how a counselor chooses to position the seats in the room. If a client is seated too far from the counselor, he may feel distant. Also, if a counselor faces away from the client or toward a clock, the client may feel uncomfortable. Either of these concerns can make it difficult for the counselor to focus on the client and the true meaning of the conversation. Sitting two feet apart with the chairs aligned slightly off center of each other is the best way to maintain positive positioning in a counseling setting.
Questions
When a counselor asks too many questions it can throw her off and put her in a position to merely be a question-asking machine. Effective counselors need to ask mostly probing and deeper-level questions. Questions about names, dates and other surface-level themes are interesting and sometimes important, but they can mostly serve to distract the counselor.
Mirroring
There are many times when a client will say something that a counselor will hope to focus on or expound upon. By reflecting a statement or idea in the client's words, a counselor can help to focus in on what the client said, and to find a truer meaning to the statement and refocus the conversation.
Confirming
Longer counseling sessions can wear a counselor down or lull him into leading the client. To remain focused on the client it is important to confirm to the client that the counselor is listening by nodding and nonjudgmentally accepting the flow of the conversation.
Tracking
During longer speeches by the client it is often difficult to track the main themes. To track a lengthy point, a counselor should remember key sections and reflect back each section. The client will often then dig deeper into whichever point stands out to her.
