importance of paraphrasing in counselling

Reflecting and Paraphrasing

Part of the ‘art of listening’ is making sure that the client knows their story is being listened to.

This is achieved by the helper/counsellor repeating back to the client parts of their story. This known as paraphrasing .

Reflecting is showing the client that you have ‘heard’ not only what is being said, but also what feelings and emotions the client is experiencing when sharing their story with you .

This is sometimes known in counselling ‘speak ‘as the music behind the words .

2 FREE Downloads - Get your overview documents that describe reflection and paraphrasing and how they are used in counselling.

Free handout download.

Click here to download your Reflection in Counselling handout

Click here to download your Paraphrasing in Counselling handout

It is like holding up a mirror to the client; repeating what they have said shows the client they have your full attention. It also allows the client to make sure you fully understood them; if not, they can correct you.

Reflecting and paraphrasing should not only contain what is being said but what emotion or feeling the client is expressing.

Let’s look at an example:

Client (Mohammed): My ex-wife phoned me yesterday; she told me that our daughter Nafiza (who is only 9) is very ill after a car accident. I am feeling very scared for her. They live in France, so I am going to have to travel to see her, and now I have been made redundant, I don’t know how I can afford to go.

Counsellor: So, Mohammed, you have had some bad news about your little girl, who has been involved in an accident. You are frightened for her and also have worries over money now you have lost your job.

Client: Yes, yes ... that’s right.

Notice that the counsellor does not offer advice or start asking how long Mohammed and his wife have been separated, but reflects the emotion of what is said : ‘frightened' and 'worries'.

Reflecting and paraphrasing are the first skills we learn as helpers, and they remain the most useful.

To build a trusting relationship with a helper, the client needs not only to be ‘listened to' but also to be heard and valued as a person.

"Reflecting and paraphrasing should not only contain what is being said but what emotion or feeling the client is expressing."

Definition of Reflection in Counselling

Reflection in counselling is like holding up a mirror: repeating the client’s words back to them exactly as they said them.

You might reflect back the whole sentence, or you might select a few words – or even one single word – from what the client has brought.

I often refer to reflection as ‘the lost skill’ because when I watch counselling students doing simulated skill sessions, or listen to their recordings from placement (where clients have consented to this), I seldom see reflection being used as a skill. This is a pity, as reflection can be very powerful.

When we use the skill of reflection, we are looking to match the tone, the feeling of the words, and the client’s facial expression or body language as they spoke .

For example, they might have hunched their shoulders as they said, ‘I was so scared; I didn’t know what to do.’

We might reflect that back by hunching our own shoulders, mirroring their body language while also saying ‘I felt so scared; I didn’t know what to do.’

Using Reflection to Clarify Our Understanding

We can also use reflection to clarify our understanding, instead of using a question.

For example, suppose the client says:

‘My husband and my father are fighting. I’m really angry with him.’

For me to be in the client’s frame of reference, I need to know whether ‘him’ refers to the husband or the father. So I might reflect back the word ‘ him ’  with a quizzical look.

The client might then respond:

‘Yeah, my dad. He really gets to me when he is non-accepting.’

So you can get clarification in this way. You can adjust where you are to make sure that the empathic bond is strong and that you are truly within the client’s frame of reference.

"When we use the skill of reflection, we are looking to match the tone, the feeling of the words, and the client’s facial expression or body language as they spoke".

Definition of Paraphrasing in Counselling

Paraphrasing is repeating back your understanding of the material that has been brought by the client, using your own words.

A paraphrase reflects the essence of what has been said .

We all use paraphrasing in our everyday lives. If you look at your studies to become a counsellor or psychotherapist, you paraphrase in class.

Maybe your lecturer brings a body of work, and you listen and make notes: you’re paraphrasing as you distill this down to what you feel is important.

How Paraphrasing Builds Empathy

How does paraphrasing affect the client-counsellor relationship?

First of all, it helps the client to feel both heard and understood. The client brings their material, daring to share that with you.

And you show that you’re listening by giving them a little portion of that back – the part that feels the most important. You paraphrase it down.

And if you do that accurately and correctly, and it matches where the client is, the client is going to recognise that and to feel heard: ‘ Finally, somebody is there really listening, really understanding what it is that I am bringing.’

This keys right into empathy, because it’s about building that empathic relationship with the client. And empathy is not a one-way transaction .

..."Empathy [is] the ability to ‘perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person, but without ever losing the 'as if' conditions." Carl Rogers (1959, pp. 210–211)

In other words, we walk in somebody’s shoes as if their reality is our reality – but of course it’s not our reality, and that’s where the ‘as if’ comes in.

I’ve heard this rather aptly described as ‘walking in the client’s shoes, but keeping our socks on’!

Empathy is a two-way transaction – that is, it’s not enough for us to be 100% in the client’s frame of reference , understanding their true feelings; the client must also perceive that we understand .

When the client feels at some level that they have been understood, then the empathy circle is complete.

Spotted out-of-date info or broken links? Kindly let us know the page where you found them. Email: [email protected]

Paraphrasing in Counselling

Table of Contents

In essence, paraphrasing is a micro skill that allows counselors to create an authentic bond with their clients  Together with encouraging and summarizing, paraphrasing plays a crucial role in therapeutic communication, making the client feel understood and listened to.  In other words, paraphrasing in counseling is what makes the client say, “ Finally, someone who understands what I’m going through.” Without this essential ingredient, counseling sessions would be nothing more than dull and impersonal exchanges of ideas.

What is the difference between reflecting and paraphrasing in Counseling?

Paraphrasing and reflecting are close synonyms for most people, both playing a crucial role in any form of communication.

Although paraphrasing and reflecting are fundamental counseling communication skills [1], these two processes can have slightly different connotations in a therapeutic context.

In essence, reflecting is like putting a mirror in front of your clients, helping them gain a better sense of the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors they experienced in a situation that has meaning for them.

Of course, this does not mean you have to parrot their message; simply highlight the link between different ideas and emotions and how one influences the other.

When reflecting, it is vital to match the client’s tone and even body language so that he/she knows that you’ve received the message and the feelings that accompany his/her story.

On the other hand, paraphrasing is about capturing the essence of their story with a brief statement that emphasizes the underlying emotional vibe.

This technique is particularly useful when clients know how ideas and emotions can merge to create a subjective experience, but you want them to feel understood and listened to.

In a way, we could argue that paraphrasing is a brief version of reflecting.

Let’s look at a brief example of paraphrasing in counseling:

Client: I had a huge fight with Andrew last night. At some point, he stormed out and didn’t come back ‘til morning. I tried calling him all night, but his phone was switched off. I was worried sick and thought he did something stupid. This whole thing was like a nightmare that I could not wake up from.

Therapist : It seems this unpleasant event has put you through a lot of fear and anxiety.

Now let’s take a look at reflecting:

Therapist : I can only imagine how terrifying it must have felt to see your partner storm out after a huge fight without telling you where he is going or when he’ll be back.

As you can see, both processes require active listening. But while paraphrasing is a short statement that highlights the emotional tone of the situation, a reflective response captures “the vibe” of the story, along with other essential details.

How do you paraphrase?

Start by listening.

Whether the purpose is to paraphrase or reflect, listening is always the first step.

Through active listening, counselors gain a better sense of what their clients have experienced in a particular situation. Active listening means looking beyond the surface and trying to connect with the client on an emotional level.

To achieve this level of emotional depth, counselors listen with both their ears and their hearts. That means putting themselves in their clients’ shoes and zeroing in on the emotional aspect of the experience.

Focus on feelings and thoughts rather than circumstances

When we listen to another person’s story, the most visible aspects are related to the actual events that he or she has gone through.

But details like names, dates, locations, or other circumstantial issues are less relevant than how the person interpreted and consequently felt in a particular situation.

When it comes to paraphrasing, counselors are trained to look beyond circumstances and identify why a client has chosen to talk about a particular event.

In almost every case, the reason is a set of emotional experiences.

Capture the essence of the message

Although people can experience a wide range of emotions in a given situation or context, there’s always an underlying feeling that defines how they react.

That underlying emotional vibe is the “golden nugget” that counselors are looking to capture and express through paraphrasing.

If done right, paraphrasing in counseling creates an emotional bridge that sets the foundation for authentic and meaningful interactions. This will encourage clients to open up and share their struggles.

Offer a brief version of what has been said

The last step is providing a concise version that highlights the emotional tone of the story.

Once this message reaches the client, it creates a sense of understanding that builds trust and authentic connection.

Long story short, paraphrasing is a valuable tool for cultivating empathy and facilitating therapeutic change.

How does paraphrasing help in communication?

Cultivating clarity (on both sides).

Any form of communication, whether it’s a therapeutic process, a negotiation, or a casual chat between friends, involves exchanging ideas.

And when people exchange ideas and opinions, there’s always the risk of confusion and misunderstanding.

By paraphrasing what the other person has shared, not only that you cultivate empathy, but you also let him/her know that the message has been received and understood correctly.

Research indicates that paraphrasing in counseling helps clients clarify their issues. [2] The more clients understand the inner-workings of their problems, the better they can adjust their coping strategies.

In a nutshell, paraphrasing eliminates ambiguity and paves the way for clarity.

Facilitating emotional regulation

One of the main functions of paraphrasing is to build empathy between two or more people engaged in conversation.

But the effects of paraphrasing on emotions extend way beyond empathy and understanding.

One study revealed that empathic paraphrasing facilitates extrinsic emotional regulation. [3] People who receive empathy through paraphrasing feel understood, and that prompts them to engage in a more intense emotional regulation process.

What starts as extrinsic emotional regulation slowly becomes intrinsic emotional regulation. This is the reason why someone who’s going through a rough patch can feel better by merely talking to a person who listens in an empathic manner and doesn’t necessarily hand out solutions or practical advice.

Paraphrasing can be a vital skill in heated arguments where two people have opposing views that result in emotional turmoil.

If one of them manages to exercise restraint over their intense emotional reactions and tries to paraphrase what the other shares, it could change the whole dynamic of the conversation.

What is the role of paraphrasing in listening?

As we discussed throughout this article, paraphrasing is one of the critical aspects of active listening.

It’s what turns a passive individual who listens only to have something to say when it’s his/her turn to speak into an active listener who understands and resonates on an emotional level.

Furthermore, paraphrasing is a means by which we provide valuable feedback on the topic of discussion, keeping the conversation alive.

It is also the tool that allows therapists to build safe spaces where clients feel comfortable enough to unburden their souls by sharing painful experiences and gaining clarity.

To sum up, paraphrasing in counseling is a vital micro skill that creates an authentic connection, providing clients with the opportunity to experience a sense of understanding.

Knowing there is someone who resonates with your emotional struggles makes your problems seem less burdensome.

Sign up for your FREE e-newsletter

You’ll regularly recieve powerful strategies for personal development, tips to improve the growth of your counselling practice, the latest industry news and much more.

We’ll keep your information private and never sell, rent, trade or share it with any other organisation. And you can cancel anytime.

Encouragers, Paraphrasing and Summarising

A counsellor can encourage a client to continue to talk, open up more freely and explore issues in greater depth by providing accurate responses through encouraging, paraphrasing and summarising. Responding in this way informs the client that the counsellor has accurately heard what they have been saying. Encouragers, paraphrases and summaries are basic to helping a client feel understood.

Encouragers, also known as intentional listening , involve fully attending to the client, thus allowing them to explore their feelings and thoughts more completely. Paraphrasing and summarising are more active ways of communicating to the client that they have been listened to. Summarising is particularly useful to help clients organise their thinking.

The diagram below shows how encouragers, paraphrases and summaries are on different points of a continuum, each building on more of the information provided by the client to accurately assess issues and events.

Encouragers – Encouragers are a variety of verbal and non-verbal ways of prompting clients to continue talking.

Types of encouragers include:

• Non-verbal minimal responses such as a nod of the head or positive facial expressions
• Verbal minimal responses such as “Uh-huh” and “I hear what you’re saying”
• Brief invitations to continue such as “Tell me more”

Encouragers simply encourage the client to keep talking. For a counsellor to have more influence on the direction of client progress they would need to make use of other techniques.

Paraphrases – To paraphrase, the counsellor chooses the most important details of what the client has just said and reflects them back to the client. Paraphrases can be just a few words or one or two brief sentences.

Paraphrasing is not a matter of simply repeating or parroting what the client has stated. Rather it is capturing the essence of what the client is saying, through rephrasing. When the counsellor has captured what the client is saying, often the client will say, “That’s right” or offer some other form of confirmation.

Example: I have just broken up with Jason. The way he was treating me was just too much to bear. Every time I tried to touch on the subject with him he would just clam up. I feel so much better now. Paraphrase: You feel much better after breaking up with Jason.

Summaries – Summaries are brief statements of longer excerpts from the counselling session. In summarising, the counsellor attends to verbal and non-verbal comments from the client over a period of time, and then pulls together key parts of the extended communication, restating them for the client as accurately as possible.

A check-out, phrased at the end of the summary, is an important component of the statement, enabling a check of the accuracy of the counsellor’s response. Summaries are similar to paraphrasing, except they are used less frequently and encompass more information.

• July 21, 2009
• Communication , Counselling Process , Encouraging , Microskills , Paraphrasing
• Counselling Theory & Process

Comments: 23

Yeah,must say i like the simple way these basic counselling skills are explained in this article. More of same would be most welcome as it helps give a better understanding of the counselling process and the methods and techniques used within the counselling arena

I really find this information helpful as a refresher in my studies and work. Please keep up the excellent work of ‘educating’ us on being a better counsellor. Thank you!

Wonderfully helpful posting. Many thanks!

Thankyou so much. I am doing a assignment at uni about scitzophrenia and needed to clarify what paraphrasing truly meant. Cheers

So helpful to me as a counselor.

Thankx so much for these post. I’m doing Counselling and Community Services and I need to clarify what summarising and paraphrasing really meant. Once again thank you, this information it’s really helpful

Hello Antoinette friend and doing guidance and counselling need uo help about this question With relevent examples explain the following concepts as used in communicating to clients. (I;listening to verbal messages and using encouraged minimal prompts. 2)making use of non verbal communication and exhibiting attending behaviours using Gerald Eganis macro skill SOLER/ROLES. 3.paraphrasing 4.identifying and reflecting feelings and emotions from the clients story 5.summarizing 6.confrotation 7.counsellor self disclosure 8.asking open and close open ended concept 9.answering questions 10.clarifying

thanks I am doing a counselling community services at careers Australia

Really love the explanations given to the active listening techniques it was really useful and helpful good work done.

Helpful. Thanks!

I really like hw u explain everything in to simple terms for my understanding.

Hai ,thanks for being here .Am a student social worker,i need help an an able to listen to get the implied massages from the client.and to bring questions to explore with them .I love to do this work .What shall I do.how do i train my self in listening.

really appreciate.

You explanation of these three basic intentional listening are very helpful. Thank you for remained us.

very helpful indeed in making the client more open and exploring the issues more deeply

Very important cues.thanks

the article was helpful .thank you for explaining it in more clear and simple words.appreciate it alot .

I need to write about what counselling words mean ie I understand summarising and paraphrasing any more would be useful as I’m near the end of my course

I have a role play exam tomorrow on counselling and find above explanation very useful. thanks for sharing.

This explanation is clear and precise. Very easy to understanding than the expensive textbook. Please keep posting as this helps a lot. Thanks and God bless.

Pingback: Summarising In Counseling (a Comprehensive Overview) | OptimistMinds

One of the simple and memorable descriptions of this I’ve read, thanks so much!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

COUNSELOR ADVOCACY ALERT: The FCC has repealed net neutrality rules. This gives internet service providers (ISPs), like Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, and others, power to prevent websites (like this one) from loading. ISPs can now block access to websites that can't or won't pay them extra fees. In addition to threatening free speech, this has the potential to destroy the internet as we know it. We urge U.S. citizens to click here to locate and call/email your senators and representative to ask them to pass net neutrality legislation. Learn more about net neutrality at www.battleforthenet.com/

Reflecting Skills

Ensuring that you understand your clients, and that your clients feel understood by you is foundational to the counseling relationship. The skills on this page are particularly useful for building the counseling relationship by helping your clients to know that you are hearing and understanding what they are saying.

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, & Reflecting

Summarizing, paraphrasing, and reflecting are probably the three most important & most commonly used microskills. These skills can be used by counselors to demonstrate their empathy to clients, make the counseling session go "deeper", & increase clients' awareness of their emotions, cognitions, & behaviors. All three methods involve repeating back, in your own words, what the client has said. Counselors often go beyond simple repetition and include their own interpretations of the client's emotions or existential meaning to increase the "depth" of the session. These techniques can often be used in place of questions, as, like questions, they prompt the client to reflect or talk more. However, these techniques often have additional benefits of questions as they also demonstrate that the counselor empathizes with and understands each client. Summaries, paraphrases, and reflections can be described as:

• Broadest of the three methods for repeating information.
• Useful at the end or beginning of session. For example, summarizing the session to the client or reorienting the client to the previous session.
• Summaries can include condensed paraphrases & reflections.
• Not as broad as a summary, yet more broad than a reflection.
• Useful for pacing counseling sessions and for demonstrating empathy to clients.
• Paraphrases can contain condensed reflections.
• There are three broad types of reflection: Reflections of content, reflections of feeling, & reflections of meaning.
• Counselors can strengthen their reflections by constructing a reflection that integrates content, process, affect, and meaning. For example, "While talking about the loss of your dog (content) I experience you as alternating between anger and sadness (affect). That makes a lot of sense to me (self-disclosure), since you told me that seeing your dog at the end of a stressful day kept you grounded (meaning)".

Types of Reflections

Counselors can reflect a wide range of information, but reflections typically include one or more of the following:

• Reflecting content involves repeating back to clients a version of what they just told you. Reflecting content shows the client you understand and are listening to them. Typically, reflecting content alone is not as powerful as reflecting content with emotions and/or meaning.
• Reflecting a client's emotions is often useful for heightening the client's awareness of and ability to label their own emotions. It is important that counselors have a wide emotional vocabulary, so they can tailor their word choice to match a level of emotional intensity that is congruent with a client's experience. Feeling word charts are useful for reviewing a wide range of feeling words.
• As existential theorists observe, humans are meaning making creatures. Reflecting a client's meaning can increase the client's self-awareness while encouraging emotional depth in the session.

Emotional Heightening

Counselors can intentionally use language to increase or decrease the emotional intensity of their reflections, thereby altering a client's emotional arousal. Using evocative language and metaphors (e.g., "walking on eggshells") encourages clients to go deeper into a particular experience or emotion, which can heighten awareness and understanding. Conversely, a counselor might support a client in containing their emotions toward the end of the session, so the client is prepared to leave the session.

It is important that counselors attempt to match their reflections to the emotional intensity of the client's experience. Thus, intentionality is important when counselors reflect more or less emotion than the client expresses, as doing so can result in the client feeling misunderstood and not listened to.

An example of emotional heightening is:

• Client: "My wife and I can't stop fighting with each other, and things are really escalating."
• Counselor: "Your fights are becoming more explosive and hostile."

Reflection (Therapeutic Behavior)

• Reference work entry
• First Online: 01 January 2020
• pp 4344–4346
• Cite this reference work entry

• Kathryn N. Schrantz 3 &
• Alicia Lyon-Limke McLean 4  

901 Accesses

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Arnold, K. (2014). Behind the mirror: Reflective listening and its Tain in the work of Carl Rogers. The Humanistic Psychologist, 42 (4), 354–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/08873267.2014.913247 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Google Scholar  

Brammer, L. M. (1979). The helping relationship . Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

Elliott, R., Bohart, A. C., Watson, J. C., & Greenberg, L. S. (2011). Empathy. Psychotherapy, 48 (1), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022187 .

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., & Horvath, A. O. (2018). The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis. Psychotherapy, 55 (4), 316–340. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000172 .

Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy . Boston: Houghton, Mifflin.

Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2009). Clinical interviewing (4th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA

Kathryn N. Schrantz

University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, Edmond, OK, USA

Alicia Lyon-Limke McLean

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathryn N. Schrantz .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

Virgil Zeigler-Hill

Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

Patrizia Velotti

Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Cite this entry.

Schrantz, K.N., McLean, A.LL. (2020). Reflection (Therapeutic Behavior). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_841

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_841

Published : 22 April 2020

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-319-24610-9

Online ISBN : 978-3-319-24612-3

eBook Packages : Behavioral Science and Psychology Reference Module Humanities and Social Sciences Reference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Share this entry

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• Request new password
• Create a new account

Counselling Skills in Action

Student resources, video 3.3 reflecting, paraphrasing, summarizing.

These resources support you in exploring the core skills of therapeutic work and integrated frameworks for ‘active listening’.

Mick Cooper describes and gives examples of the skills of reflecting, paraphrasing and summarizing (07:05)

Discussion question

• What are the important things to bear in mind when using different skills of reflecting back?t

If only a preview is showing, please click here to access the full video.

Open Access is an initiative that aims to make scientific research freely available to all. To date our community has made over 100 million downloads. It’s based on principles of collaboration, unobstructed discovery, and, most importantly, scientific progression. As PhD students, we found it difficult to access the research we needed, so we decided to create a new Open Access publisher that levels the playing field for scientists across the world. How? By making research easy to access, and puts the academic needs of the researchers before the business interests of publishers.

We are a community of more than 103,000 authors and editors from 3,291 institutions spanning 160 countries, including Nobel Prize winners and some of the world’s most-cited researchers. Publishing on IntechOpen allows authors to earn citations and find new collaborators, meaning more people see your work not only from your own field of study, but from other related fields too.

Brief introduction to this section that descibes Open Access especially from an IntechOpen perspective

Want to get in touch? Contact our London head office or media team here

Our team is growing all the time, so we’re always on the lookout for smart people who want to help us reshape the world of scientific publishing.

Home > Books > Counseling and Therapy

Verbal Communication in Counselling and Therapy

Submitted: 30 October 2019 Reviewed: 30 March 2020 Published: 09 September 2020

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.92316

Cite this chapter

There are two ways to cite this chapter:

From the Edited Volume

Counseling and Therapy

Edited by Simon George Taukeni

To purchase hard copies of this book, please contact the representative in India: CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. www.cbspd.com | [email protected]

Chapter metrics overview

1,917 Chapter Downloads

Impact of this chapter

Total Chapter Downloads on intechopen.com

Total Chapter Views on intechopen.com

Globalisation has many facets which affect individuals and families alike. One of the areas affected by globalisation is communication, which is no longer regarded as something that happens between two or more individuals in a physical setting, but in the twenty-first century, can take on a different form. Hence, through the use of media and technology, verbal communication has taken a back seat. Social media platforms have become children’s main mode of communication and in the process losing sight of the most important aspects that verbal communication entails, like how the message is communicated and received. It is sometimes forgotten that the message often carries thoughts and emotions proving that it is more than simply the translation of information. Communication is a symbolic process by which people create shared meanings. Thus, the absence of verbal communication in families has resulted in parents not really engaging with their children and being aware of what they are up to, thus leading to an unstable family environment which is not conducive to the positive development of children. This chapter will explore the importance of verbal communication for the creation of attentiveness in children and a stable family environment.

• verbal communication
• globalisation

Author Information

Zoleka ntshuntshe *.

• University of Fort Hare, East London, South Africa

Nokuzola Gqeba

Malinge gqeba.

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

1. Introduction

Communication is the act or process of using words, sounds, signs or behaviours to express or exchange information or to express your ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else (Merriam Webster). Communication also entails the use of verbal and non-verbal cues, and in the process often a big deal of information is passed, and sometimes misunderstandings can also occur. This is because you can share the words without really conveying the message because of poor communication. Alternatively you can share the wrong message because of poor communication. This is because communication can entail the use of verbal and non-verbal cues. There are many forms of communication, but for this chapter, we shall focus on interpersonal communication which is the most common form of communication between people. The most common of this type of communication is verbal interpersonal communication, which is also laden with its own subsections that go with it.

This chapter will explore verbal communication and why it so important as an effective method for the conveying of messages between two people. It is sometimes forgotten that the message often carries thoughts and emotions which proves that it is in fact more than simply the translation of information. Hence, Sadri-Flammia [ 1 ] sums up communication as a symbolic process by which people create shared meanings. So what is verbal communication? Verbal communication is about language, both written and spoken. Verbal communication is about spoken and written language. In other words human beings interact through the use of words or messages in the form of language (Oxford reference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803115457102 ).

Effective verbal communication skills include more than just talking. Verbal communication encompasses both how you deliver messages and how you receive them. Therefore, it goes without saying that for parent’s effective communication will automatically engage the use of both verbal and non-verbal communication. Communication is a very important skill and it’s one that is essential that every parent should have.

Parents who can convey information clearly and effectively are at a very big advantage as this means that children are in a position to interpret their messages and act appropriately on the information that they receive and have a better chance of executing their tasks and perhaps excelling at school as well.

2. Methodology

2.1 research methodology, 2.1.1 population.

The population of the study is young people that are having issues with their self -esteem. This is informed by the fact that the youth of today is easily influenced by external factors such as (television, the Internet, clothes, etc.).

2.1.2 Sample

Young people were purposely sampled for the study.

2.1.3 Research instrument

Given that the study is of a descriptive nature, the researcher collected data desktop analysis.

3. The concept of communication

A theoretical understanding of the concept of communication is important in order to understand the impact of globalisation on family communication. That is borne of the fact that the family is a unit of society and most importantly an agent of socialisation. Van Ruler [ 2 ] posits that even among scholars, there has never been an understanding of what “communication” or “to communicate” means. The study gravitates towards those scholars whose definitions of communication are similar with each other, purely for the purposes of the study.

Glare [ 3 ] argues that the word “communicate” comes from the Latin word “communicare” which means “to make generally accessible” or “to discuss together”. Meanwhile, Ezezue [ 4 ] posits that communication comes from the Latin word “communis” which he describes to mean “to share”. In this context and according to him, sharing can also be taken to mean “partake” and/or “cooperation” which therefore makes “communication” a social activity. If there is any synergy between the definitions from the two scholars, it is the fact that communication is a tool for bringing people together and it involves reaching out between two or more people.

Rosenberg [ 5 ] on the other hand suggests that, among other things, communication involves the process of creating meaning psychologically, socially and culturally. The definition by Rosengren also recognises the fact that communication is a social activity and adds the element of interpretation, decoding or creating meaning out of the message. To Rosengren, communication is “how” messages are understood intellectually and how ambiguity arises and gets resolved. The notion of communication involving meaning is supported by Littlejohn (1992) in arguing that “communication” does not happen without the creation of meaning and people create and use meaning in interpreting events.

From the agreements above, it can be deduced that communication is a social activity that involves decoding meaning to create a social, cultural and psychological meaning and context. The definitions above also acknowledge that communication is a complex activity or process that can lead to ambiguity or barriers to communication. A definition from Kelvin-Iloafu [ 6 ] encompasses all the above in stating that communication “is a crucial instrument of social interactions and a medium through which all relationships are established and maintained”. It follows therefore that for communication to be a success, there needs to be a common understanding from verbal and non-verbal symbols [ 7 ]. For communication to be understood well, the different types of communication should be discussed.

4. Types of communication

4.1 verbal communication.

Verbal communication is based on a face-to-face interaction. This may also involve the use of electronic devices like telephone and megaphone/loudhailer. The common thread in these communications methods is that a human voice is heard from the transmitter to the receiver. Verbal communication has been the main feature of family communication in their social role of socialising the young to the norms and values of the community. This form of communication happens from birth to death as the mother verbally communicates with the young even before they can be able to comprehend the message nor respond to it.

4.2 Written communication

Written communication involves the translation of oral messages into visible alphabetic symbols, words and symbols, thus making reading and writing necessary competences in written communication. Ever since the early days of civilisation, communication in writing has developed and taken new forms different from a paper to a computer and more recently to mobile phones. With the world becoming a global village, families have also relied on written communication to link up with each other from different parts of the world.

4.3 Non-verbal communication

Non-verbal communication involves the transmission of messages without the use of words, letters or symbols. This communication involves reliance on our physical environment, body movement, drawings and pictures including sign language. Family members are able to use body language to communicate with each other without losing meaning because they know each other well. This therefore means that there should be a common understanding between the transmitter and the receiver on what the movement and or the sign entails.

4.4 Kinesics

Kinesics involves the study of communication through body movement and facial expression. Posture and gestures are important features in this form of communication.

4.5 Proxemics

Proxemics involve the way people use physical space to convey messages between them. For instance people use the four distances in communication on a face-to- face basis. For very confidential communications, an intimate distance is used. In a conversation involving family and close friends, a personal distance can be adopted. For business transactions a social distance is used. Lastly a public distance is used when talking to a group in a room [ 6 ].

4.6 Insights to verbal communication

Language is what sets humans apart from another species in communication. Even though the use of symbols and body language may be useful in communication, language gifts human communication with three properties, semanticity, generativity and displacement, and these distinguish language from other forms of communication that other species have.

4.7 Semanticity

In human communication, signals and symbols have meaning. If a person consistently scratches one spot in their body, it indicates that they have an itch on their body. To an observer, the scratching might signal a skin irritation, but the scratching cannot express the word “itch” when expressed in words. Language is pivotal therefore in that even families rely on language to communicate even those things that cannot be adequately expressed through symbols.

4.8 Generativity

This can also be called productivity. Languages by their very nature can generate an endless number of meaningful messages. Languages enable symbols to be merged and recombined in ways that produce unique meanings, and as a result any competent language user is able to produce and make meaning of utterances that have never been uttered before but are immediately comprehensible to all competent language users.

4.9 Displacement

Language has an ability to explain or define things that are sometimes abstract or more remote in space and time or even things that exist only in imagination. Krauss [ 8 ] quotes Bertrand Russell in saying “No matter how eloquent a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his father is poor but honest.” Even in families, family members are able to communicate and even abstract things. Language is able to convey displaced messages that distinguish it from other communication modalities.

4.10 Four communication paradigms

Language functions as a medium of instruction in many ways. Krauss and Fusse [ 9 ] identify four models or paradigms of communication. The four paradigms are encoding-decoding paradigm, the internalist paradigm, the perspective-taking paradigm and the dialogue paradigm. For the purposes of the study, focus will only be given to encoding-coding.

4.11 Encoding and decoding

“Language often is derived as a code that uses words, phrases and sentences to convey meanings” [ 9 ]. Coding is a system that outlines a set of signals onto a set of important meanings. “The Encoding-Coding approach to language conceives of communication as a process in which speakers encode their ideas in words, phrases and sentences, and listeners decode these signals in order to recover the underlying ideas” [ 9 ].

4.12 Positive aspects of verbal communication

Verbal communication assists in getting the message across more effectively and quickly. In addition, tactful verbal communication skills are capable of dealing with disputes.

4.12.1 Verbal communication increases motivation

Through verbal communication, leaders and family heads are able to give word of appreciation. Emails can be impersonal, but words sound more personal and reassuring. Having regular in-person meetings with family or colleagues goes a long way to boost confidence. It also serves as a team-building session.

4.12.2 Verbal communication provides clarity

Some people are more prone to remember or retain information directly and verbally presented to them. For training, verbal communication comes handy as questions can be asked and answers provided immediately. Even within families, the value is that young people are able to learn quicker as they can ask information-seeking questions as they observe in growing up.

4.13 How to improve your verbal communication skills

For those who lack in communication skills, they can read books or go for professional and professional and personal development. A key component of communication is listening. This requires key issues like eye contact, facial expression and body language.

5. Barriers to communication

This serious barrier negatively affects communication. This is rife in families particularly when there are different generations living together. The younger generations are more likely to enjoy loud music and/or headphones that impede effective communication.

5.2 Perception

This happens when the receiver of the message interprets the message in a manner that suites them far from the intended meaning. The perception of the receiver might be far from the intended meaning and thus distort the real meaning and interpretation of the meaning.

5.3 Emotions

When the transmitter of the message appears to be emotional when conveying a message, objective and effective listening gets affected; thus, the assimilation of information is hampered. Emotional states that lead to this involve anger, fear, sorrow, happiness, etc.

5.4 Source credibility

The extent to which a source of information is trusted and credible affects the receivers’ perception of the message. Lack of credibility can lead to distortion or doubt on the side of the receiver.

5.5 Information overload

Given the spread at which the modern world moves and the amount of data produced in the global village, information becomes overloaded, and interpretation gets difficult.

5.6 Dangers of lack of communication

Mokeyane [ 10 ] posits that healthy communication between a parent and a child strengthens the relation between them. It is therefore critical for parents to cultivate a culture of healthy, open and mutually respectful communication between the two.

5.6.1 Weak emotional bond

Healthy communication strengthens the emotional bond between parent and child and the rest of the family. The child feels free and secure. While lack of communication creates distance, trust issues and emotional problems that later lead to mental illness. The bond between the child and a parent lays the foundation for future relationships and behaviour. Healthy communication reassures the child that the parent or the family is there for them and it shows interest in them as individuals [ 10 ].

6. Behavioural problems

Children who lack the necessary verbal communication skills to express difficult emotional issues are more prone to face behavioural issues. A child who cannot verbally express their emotions may tend to use force or aggression to express emotions.

7. Conflict resolution

Teaching a child to verbally express their emotions helps the child to develop effective ways of dealing with conflict. Role modelling ways of verbally resolving conflict (by parents) through open and respectful communication creatively equips the child to act out that behaviour in dealing with conflict.

8. Basic verbal communication skills used in counselling

Basic verbal communication skills in counselling include using counselling microskills which are specific skills a counsellor can use to enhance their communication with clients. Counselling microskills enable a counsellor to effectively build a working alliance and engage clients in discussion that is both helpful and meaningful. We shall explore a few of these skills:

9. Encouragers, paraphrasing and summarising

These microskills mean that the counsellor is attentive to what he/she has been saying. In this way the client feels understood and acknowledged.

Encourager is a strategy in which a counsellor uses to encourage a client to talk and open up more freely. In this way both counsellor and client are able to explore issues in greater depth. This skill also informs the client that the counsellor is attentive to what he/she has been saying. In this way the client feels understood, acknowledged and valued. On the other hand, paraphrasing and summarising are more active ways of saying to the client that they have been listened to. Summarising also assists the client to organise their thinking. The following paragraph will take a closer look at each of the three ways of communicating.

Encouragers are a variety of verbal and non-verbal ways of urging clients to continue talking. The different types of encouragers include non-verbal minimal responses such as a nod of the head or positive facial expressions and verbal minimal responses such as “I hear what you’re saying”. There can also be brief invitations to continue such as “Tell me more”. What this means is that encouragers are simply a way of encouraging the client to keep on talking. In order for a counsellor to have more influence on the direction in which he wants to steer the conversation, he would need to make use of other techniques as well.

Paraphrases: In order to be able for the counsellor to paraphrase, he needs to choose the most important details of the conversation and reflects them back to the client. How does this happen? These paraphrases can be in the form of a few words or one or two brief sentences. Important to remember is that paraphrasing is not a matter of simply repeating what the client has stated but rather capturing the essence of what the client has said. If the counsellor has captured what the client is saying, then the client will give out a signal as some form of a confirmation. In a way it is reaffirming what was said earlier on that; it is a way to acknowledge that the client is heard.

Summaries can be brief statements of longer excerpts. It entails attending to verbal and non-verbal comments from the client over a period of time and then pulls together key parts of the extended communication and restating them for the client as accurately as possible. Summaries are similar to paraphrasing, with the exception that they are used less frequently and encompass more information.

10. Questioning

Questioning is another skill which can yield good results if used properly. The purpose of using questions during the counselling session is that they can help to open up new areas for discussion. They can also assist to pinpoint an issue, and they can assist to clarify information that at first may seem ambiguous to the counsellor. The type of questions to use for instance may encourage clients to reflect on some information and the client’s own actions. Thus counsellors need to familiarise themselves about the different types of questioning techniques they can use while also knowing the direction in which the questioning is taking. However, caution should be exercised in overusing this technique as it may send out the wrong idea that that the counsellor is the one in charge of the situation.

The counsellor can use two main types of questions: (1) open and (2) closed questions.

Open questions give the client the opportunity to speak as much as possible, while on the other hand, the counsellor gets the opportunity to collect as much information as possible. Questions such as what, why, how or could can be used.

“How” questions encourage the client to talk about their feelings and/or process. “What” questions more often lead to the collection of facts and information. “When” questions bring about information regarding timing of the problem, and this can include events and information preceding or following the event. “Where” questions may reveal the environment, situation or place where that the event took place, and “why” questions usually give the counsellor information regarding the reasons of the event or information leading up to the event.

It is important to note that care must be taken by the counsellor when asking “why” questions as these type of questions may provoke feelings of defensiveness in clients and may encourage clients to feel as though they need to justify themselves in some way.

Closed questions normally begin with is, are or do and may be answered by a simple yes or no. It is important to note that while questioning techniques can be used positively to draw out and clarify issues relevant to the counselling session, there is also the very real danger of overusing questions or using questioning techniques that can have a negative impact on the session. For instance, the use of the wrong types of questioning techniques, at the wrong time, in the hands of an unskilled interviewer or counsellor, can cause unnecessary discomfort and confusion to the client.

11. Reflection of meaning

This type of strategy helps clients to reflect and find meaning into their life experiences. Hence, the skill of reflection of meaning is to assist clients to explore their values and goals in life, by understanding the deeper aspects of their experiences.

12. Reflecting and clarifying

Reflecting is the process of retelling the other person your understanding of what has been said. In other words it may involve paraphrasing the message communicated to you by the speaker in your own words. This means that the counsellor needs to try and capture the essence of the facts and feelings expressed and communicate your own understanding back to the speaker. It is a useful skill to the counsellor because it tells whether the counsellor has in fact clearly understood the message conveyed to him ( skillsyouneed.com/ips/verbal-communication.html ).

13. Importance of verbal communication in counselling

This chapter has demonstrated that communication can impact counselling in a variety of ways; such effective communication skills have been highlighted through the different modes of communication as well as the effective communication skills counsellors can utilise. On the part of the counsellor, reflecting and clarifying are a particularly important listening skill, and in this process, empathy is communicated to the patient. According to Carl Rogers, empathy is considered a basic condition in counselling and can be seen as communicating a sense of caring and understanding. According to this definition, empathy involves not just caring but being perceived as caring This again is validation that the patient is heard and his/her feelings are acknowledged and seen as valid. The patient needs validation of experience, which is crucial for emotionally sensitive people. The patient needs to get recognition and acceptance that the experience the person has just gone through was a valid one [ 11 , 12 ]. When it comes to achieving psychological well-being, validation plays an important role. Validation from others is one of the best tools to help emotionally sensitive people manage their feelings effectively. Validation primarily consists of two aspects: that one’s inner experiences, i.e. thoughts, emotions, feelings and behaviours, will be acknowledged, understood and accepted by other people. On the other side, one’s identity is accepted by others as well. To validate someone’s feelings means first to accept someone’s feelings. Following this is to understand and eventually to nurture them.

Validation entails listening. Therefore, painful experiences that are expressed, acknowledged and validated by a trusted listener will diminish [ 11 , 12 ]. On the other hand, painful feelings that are ignored will gain strength. Communicating when one is overwhelmed with emotion is most often very difficult, and being able to trust someone enough to share one’s feelings with is a great achievement. Thus, the absence of verbal communication in families has the potential to result in problems such as parents not really engaging with their children and being aware of how they are responding to them.

14. Therapeutic strategies for effective verbal communication

The concept of therapeutic communication has been defined by scholars to with the purpose of decoding its complexity. They do this by defining each word separately. “Therapeutic refers to the science and the art of healing, of or pertaining to the treatment or beneficial act (Miller and Keane, 1972; Potter and Perry, 1989). Similarly, Rogers (1961) refers to the helping relationship “which is one that promotes growth and development and improved coping with life for other person”. Furthermore, some scholars have defined “communication” as having definitions that emphasise either the message or the meaning. Mohan et al. (1992) posit that communication is “the ordered transfer of meaning: social interaction through messages: reciprocal creation of meaning: sharing of information, ideas or attitudes between or among people”. Similarly, De Vito (1991) posits that communication is whereby one or more people send or receive messages that have a potential of being disturbed by noise and occur within a “context, have some effect and provide some opportunity.”

To convey information/opinion, for example, “this is the doctors rooms”.

To request information/opinion/behaviour, for example, “is the doctor available at this present time?”

To give social acknowledgement, for example, “doctor is available from Monday to Saturday”.

Sibiya argues that it is possible that these three major types of messages can be combined into different ways to form an interaction or conversation. In the case of nurses, their communication with their patients is consciously and purposely meant to be therapeutic. Families can also adopt this approach and focus of conversation (verbal communication) as a therapeutic strategy for effective communication. Families that adopt this type of therapeutic communication stand a chance of cementing relations among family members. In addition, young members of the family learn to trust. Trust is critical for families who sometimes find themselves spatially located in the global village. Trust makes them open up when they are overwhelmed by the challenges of globalisation. Therapeutic communication tends to mend rifts in terms of conflict and play a proactive role in averting conflict.

15. Conclusion

This chapter has explained in detail what verbal communication is, its many facets and forms and how the message often carries thoughts and emotions which proves that it is in fact more than simply the translation of information. Verbal communication is important to clarify misunderstandings between any two parties as well as creating trust, validation and empathy, therefore highlighting the advantages and importance of verbal communication for the creation of attentiveness in children and thereby building a safe environment where children can openly discuss and share their thoughts and emotions.

• 1. Sadri HA, Flammia M. Intercultural Communication: A New Approach to International Relations and Global Challenges. The Continuum International Publishing Company; 2011
• 2. Van Ruler B. Communication theory: An underrated pillar on which strategic communication rests. International Journal of Strategic. 2018; 12 (4):367-381
• 3. Glare PG, editor. Oxford Latin Dictionary. London, UK: Oxford University Press; 1968
• 4. Ezezue BO. “Effective communication” an essential tool for organization growth and sustainability. Nigerian Journal of Management Research. 2008; 3 (1):93-99
• 5. Rosenberg KE. Communication, An Introduction. London, UK: Sage; 2000
• 6. Kelvin-Iloafu EL. The role of effective communication in strategic management of organisations. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science. 2016; 6 (12):93-99
• 7. Donnolley IH, Gibson I, Vance Rich IM. Fundamentals of Management. Texas: Business Publication Inc.; 1984
• 8. Krauss RM. The psychology of verbal communication. In: Smelser N, Balters P, editors. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Science. 2002
• 9. Krauss RM, Fussell SR. Social psychological models of interpersonal communication. In: Higgins ET, Kruglanski A, editors. Social Psychology: A Handbook of Basic Principles. New York: Guilford; 1996. pp. 655-701. Available from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication
• 10. Mokeyane NK. The Effect of Lack of Communication between Parent & Child. 2006. Available from: www.living.thebump.com/effects-lack-communication-between-parent-child-17771-html
• 11. Hall K. What is validation and Why Do I Need to Know? Psych Central. 2012a. Available from: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/emotionally-sensitive/2012/02/levels-of-validation
• 12. Hall K. Validation of experience. Psychology Central. 2012b. Available from: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/emotionallysensitive/2012/02/levels-of-validation
• 13. Sibiya NM. Effective communication in nursing. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences. 2018; 8 :1-7

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Continue reading from the same book

Published: 09 September 2020

By Simon George Taukeni

1238 downloads

By Mohd Zarawi Mat Nor

1709 downloads

By Hector Chiboola

2053 downloads

Pleasefireme.com

Your good mood for every day

What is paraphrasing and Summarising in counselling?

Table of Contents

Difference between paraphrasing and summarising in counselling. Using summaries is different from using paraphrasing, as a summary usually covers a longer time period than a paraphrase. Thus, summarising may be used after some time: perhaps halfway through – or near the end of – a counselling session.

What are encouragers in counseling?

Encouragers – Encouragers are a variety of verbal and non-verbal ways of prompting clients to continue talking. Types of encouragers include: Non-verbal minimal responses such as a nod of the head or positive facial expressions. Verbal minimal responses such as “Uh-huh” and “I hear what you’re saying”

What is an example of summarizing in counseling?

Summarization is also used as a way to close a session. For example: Client: “I really feel guilty about marrying her in the first place. It wasn’t really for love.

How is Summarising used in counselling?

Summarizing lets the client know that the counsellor has heard and understood, and also enables the client to clarify thoughts, identifying what is most important. It is not sufficient just to notice what the client has said; it is also important to notice what is missing.

What is an example of paraphrasing in counseling?

The following are some examples of accurate paraphrasing: One moment she’s really friendly, and the next time 1 see her she’s totally cold.” Counselor: “You haven’t experienced her as being very consistent.” Client: “Every moment there is something new to do.

Why paraphrasing is important in counseling?

In essence, paraphrasing is a micro skill that allows counselors to create an authentic bond with their clients Together with encouraging and summarizing, paraphrasing plays a crucial role in therapeutic communication, making the client feel understood and listened to.

What is an encourager?

Encouragernoun. one who encourages, incites, or helps forward; a favorer.

How can counselling improve paraphrasing skills?

let the client know that you are listening and understand what they are saying, 2. clarify confusing content, 3. highlight issues by stating them more concisely, and 4. check out the accuracy of your perceptions as the counselor.

What is paraphrase in counseling?

Paraphrasing or active listening (coined by Carl R. Rogers in Client-Centered-Therapy) is a form of responding empathically to the emotions of another person by repeating in other words what this person said while focusing on the essence of what they feel and what is important to them.

How is paraphrasing used in counselling?

Why paraphrasing is important in counselling.

What is Summarising paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas. To paraphrase text: Read and make notes.

How would you explain summarizing and paraphrasing?

A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly. Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s).

What is the role of an encourager?

Encouragers see people as storehouses of untapped potential because they don’t see you where you are, but have a vision of where you can go. By looking at people as a work-in-progress they provide coaching, feedback and mentoring that enables the discovery and development of your unique gifts and talents.

What type of word is encourager?

verb (used with object), en·cour·aged, en·cour·ag·ing. to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence: His coach encouraged him throughout the marathon race to keep on running.

Why is Summarising and paraphrasing important?

Summaries leave out detail or examples that may distract the reader from the most important information, and they simplify complex arguments, grammar and vocabulary. Used correctly, summarizing and paraphrasing can save time, increase understanding, and give authority and credibility to your work.

How do you teach paraphrasing and summarizing?

Key strategies for paraphrase

• Read the portion of text you want to paraphrase.
• Make sure you understand it.
• After you’ve read the text, make notes of what you read, without using the author’s words or structure.
• Using only your notes, write all of the important ideas of the text using own words.

What is the meaning of encourager?

1. To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence. 2. To give support to; foster: policies designed to encourage private investment. 3.

What makes a good encourager?

Encouragers actively listen with empathy. Meaningful encouragement is grounded in understanding—being able to accurately interpret what other people are saying. Great encouragers consistently seek to understand people. They are as comfortable with your fears and failures as they are with your hopes and dreams.

Related Posts

What size is the electra townie 7d, does blendtec have a lifetime warranty.

Communication Skills in Counseling & Therapy: 17 Techniques

Such connections build on effective communication: what we express and how we express it (Wachtel, 2011).

Establishing empathy with clients requires a high degree of insight and a strong sense of shared understanding (Norcross, 2011).

Thankfully, communication is a skill that can be monitored and improved through awareness, education, and practice.

This article explores the importance of communication in therapy and counseling, introducing several vital skills and techniques and providing a set of worksheets to improve communication both inside and outside sessions.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free . These science-based tools will help you and those you work with build better social skills and better connect with others.

This Article Contains:

Communication in therapy and counseling, why is communication important in therapy, 5 skills of effective therapists and counselors, 17 communication techniques for your sessions, a look at nonverbal communication in counseling, 6 worksheets & activities for improving communication, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

A task force set up by the American Psychological Association reviewed research on what makes therapeutic relationships most successful. Based on 16 meta-analyses, they found the following to be vital (Angelis, 2019):

• Agreeing therapy goals
• Getting client feedback
• Repairing ruptures (breakdowns in the therapeutic alliance)

With the therapeutic relationship as essential as the treatment method, communication and collaboration become increasingly valuable to the overall outcomes of therapy and counseling (Angelis, 2019).

Wachtel (2011, p. ix) highlights the importance of communication in the therapeutic technique and the need to “move from understanding the patient or client to putting that understanding into words.”

Communication may differ depending on the situation and the approach, yet it remains central to both talking cures and behavioral interventions. As a result, both seasoned professionals and those new to counseling or therapy will benefit from focusing on what they say and how they say it (Wachtel, 2011).

Framing effective therapeutic comments and achieving a fuller understanding of what is being said are skills that rely on awareness, good technique, and practice.

Communication can be subtle and multi-layered; an overt message often conveys a secondary meta-message. While we may not be conscious of the latter, it has considerable potential to affect therapeutic transformation – and failure. With that in mind, mental health professionals must care about what  they and the client say and how they say it (Wachtel, 2011).

They have the power to significantly impact the therapeutic alliance and outcome (Wachtel, 2011).

Our communications are more than simple interventions; they shape “the climate of the relationship and the tenor of the alliance” (Wachtel, 2011, p. 3). Even subtle changes in communication style and content can alter the client’s experience of the relationship, their progress, how they see themselves, and their potential for change.

Download 3 Communication Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients with tools to improve communication skills and enjoy more positive social interactions with others.

Download 3 Free Communication Tools Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

• Email Address *
• Your Expertise * Your expertise Therapy Coaching Education Counseling Business Healthcare Other
• Email This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

There are at least five essential communication skills for use in counseling and therapy, including the following (Nelson-Jones, 2005).

Verbal communication skills

Messages sent using words, such as “I understand. Please tell me more.”

Trained and empathic listening professionals should consider:

• Is the language too formal or informal?
• What are the content and focus of what is being said?
• How much is said? It is usual for the client to talk more than the professional.
• Who owns the speech? The pronoun “you” should be used carefully; it can suggest judgment.

Vocal communication skills

How we talk can signify what we are really thinking and how we truly feel.

Messages sent through the voice are influenced by the speaker’s:

• Articulation
• Speech rate

Each factor must be considered, tuned to the situation and subject, and modified to add variety to the conversation.

Bodily communication skills

Sometimes we forget to consider our whole body when we communicate, yet it can significantly affect communication, adding to or distracting from what we are saying.

Touch communication skills

When appropriate, a gentle touch to the arm or shoulder can communicate as much as and function alongside other communication skills.

However, physical contact risks over-familiarity or inappropriate interest and must be considered carefully.

Taking action communication skills

Communication is not always face-to-face. Reminders may be sent before a session or as a follow-up, including homework, such as further reading or exercises.

Communication boundaries are required to ensure that contact remains professional and through agreed methods.

The following communication techniques are equally helpful in therapy and counseling, improving overall communication.

Repairing ruptures

Many factors can lead to a breakdown in the alliance between the mental health professional and the client, including misunderstanding, mistrust, and disagreement on treatment goals (Angelis, 2019).

Good communication and related techniques can repair ruptures and lead to better outcomes (Saffran et al., 2011).

• Outline the therapeutic rationale at the beginning of the treatment and then reiterate it throughout.
• Respond to disagreements by modifying behavior to something more meaningful to the client; for example, use validation rather than challenge.
• Clarify misunderstandings early. When the client appears to withdraw, explore what is happening and acknowledge their feelings.
• Exploring the themes related to the rupture can help uncover more general problems, issues, and concerns.
• Link ruptures in the alliance to other areas of the client’s life. For example, concerns regarding lack of control during treatment may exist in other life domains.

Communication can successfully strengthen relationships in therapy and counseling by gathering feedback from the client and incorporating it into treatment. Taking note of feedback is likely to improve therapeutic outcomes and reduce client dropout (Angelis, 2019).

Several interventions can boost feedback in sessions and improve communication, including (Lambert & Shimokawa, 2011):

• Asking for and providing feedback on the therapeutic relationship
• Discussing shared experiences
• Increasing empathic engagement
• Offering more positive feedback
• Openly discussing readiness for change with the client
• Discussing the consequences of changing and not changing

When communicating with a client, displaying empathy strengthens the therapeutic alliance and promotes client openness (Elliott et al., 2011; Angelis, 2019).

As an essential element of emotional intelligence , empathy promotes change and is a vital aspect of therapy and counseling.

The ability and capacity to understand and share client feelings can be encouraged through several techniques, including (Elliott et al., 2011):

• Talking at a slower pace with periodic check-ins
• Actively listening to the client and reflecting back to them for their consideration
• Closely following the moving focus of the conversation as the therapy progresses
• Using empathic affirmation, such as, “Yes, it must be hard being pulled in all directions”
• Individualizing responses to clients so that they are relevant and personal
• Using evocative language to bring clients’ experiences alive

Empathic responses and the use of silence – Kelly Allison

“Nonverbal behavior exists in the interface between nature and culture” (Rimondini, 2011, p. 110). Its function in communication is to create meaning (Eaves & Leathers, 2018).

Nonverbal factors add to verbal communication by improving its accuracy and efficiency. Feelings and emotions are often more fully and accurately revealed nonverbally (Eaves & Leathers, 2018).

“When both speaking and listening, counselors, trainees, and clients disclose themselves through how they create their bodily communication” (Nelson-Jones, 2005, p. 22).

Nonverbal communication factors to consider include:

• Gaze – useful for coordinating speech and collecting feedback.
• Eye contact – crucial for showing interest and empathy.
• Facial expression – are we showing shock, disgust, or understanding?
• Posture – turning your body toward the speaker shows interest and engagement.
• Gestures – used to frame or illustrate what is being said or heard.
• Physical proximity – too close, and it can be awkward; too far, and a lack of connection may be felt.
• Clothes and personal grooming – appearing professional is vital, but so too is being able to connect, especially with a young person or group.

The following worksheets focus on multiple aspects of communication, enhancing awareness, and improving practical use.

Practicing verbal communication skills for therapists and counselors

Creating a safe environment for practicing communication skills is helpful for therapists and counselors new to the profession and the more experienced wishing to hone their skills.

Use the Practice Verbal Communication Skills worksheet in a group setting to practice verbal communication and reflect on skills you could improve.

Assess Vocal Communication Skills

Often, we are either unaware of our verbal skills or fail to reflect on them.

Use the Assess Vocal Communication Skills worksheet to both self-assess and receive feedback from others regarding key factors in vocal communication.

Consider what went well, not so well, and what you could do differently next time.

Active listening in therapy and counseling

We listen most effectively and form greater understanding when we actively listen to what is said.

Use the following questions in the Active Listening in Session worksheet to reflect on a recent session with a client and the vital factors of active listening.

• Did you use open-ended questions?
• Were you attentive?
• Did you seek clarification?
• Did you summarize what was said?
• Did you observe nonverbal as well as verbal communication?
• Did you use reflection (repeating back what you understood for confirmation)?
• Reflect on the answers you gave to each question and consider where you could improve or add additional focus in the future.

Being present for communicating in therapy and counseling

Awareness and being present are vital for effective communication in both counseling and therapy (Westland, 2015).

Use the prompts in the Being Present worksheet to increase awareness of what is happening inside your mind, body, and the environment.

• Describe your subjective awareness at that time. What physical sensations did you experience (e.g., tension, tingles, pressure)?
• Describe your outer awareness at that time. What did you sense in the environment (e.g., noises, smells, touches, tastes)?
• Describe your awareness of fantasy at that time. What mental processes took you out of the present moment into planning, explaining, and thinking?

Reflecting on each answer will help you increase understanding and awareness of your inner and outer world and improve your communication and understanding of the client.

Under- and over-involvement for communicating in therapy and counseling

Two kinds of reaction in therapy can significantly affect and even harm communication: under-involvement and over-involvement. “The under-involved psychotherapist is aloof, cool, and insufficiently responsive. The over-involved psychotherapist has lost touch with boundaries and become submerged in the client’s world” (Westland, 2015, p. 95).

Use the Under- and Over-Involvement in Communication worksheet to become more aware of what being too much and too little engaged with a client can be like.

Consider each of the following reactions:

• Neutral – remaining present without any particular type of reaction or engagement.
• Over-involved – over-engaging yourself with the client; feeling fully and emotionally involved in everything they have to say.
• Under-involved – disengaging yourself from what the client is sharing; physically and mentally distancing yourself from what the client shares; gazing out the window or thinking about a recent event.

Types of speech during communication in therapy and counseling

Depending on their personality, the treatment, and what is being discussed, the client may use one or more talking styles during a session (Westland, 2015).

Use the Types of Speech worksheet to become more aware during counseling by identifying and reflecting on the different styles used by the client and considering what they may mean.

Reflect on a recent session with a client and consider the following:

• Did the client talk at any point in a monotone – a single note?
• Did the client talk at any point on the horizontal, meaning their words were monotonous and seemed to fill the space?
• Did the client talk in an enticing and enthralling way?
• Did the client talk in a friendly yet circular way, never getting to the point ?
• Did the client talk like a runaway train ?

17 Exercises To Develop Positive Communication

17 Positive Communication Exercises [PDF] to develop help others develop communication skills for successful social interactions and positive, fulfilling relationships.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Good communication is essential to the process and outcome of therapy and counseling, and we have many resources that will help.

Why not download our Positive Psychology Coaching Manuals or our On Becoming a Therapist guide for a wealth of information regarding the skills, practices, and training that will help you excel in your career as a counselor or therapist?

Other free resources include:

• Nonverbal Mood-Spotting Game A fun activity for engaging children and adults in using and spotting nonverbal communication.
• Matching Nonverbal and Verbal Communication A set of questions to examine communication and attitudes during a recent engagement or session.
• Interpreting Body Language A practical worksheet for helping adults and children become more familiar with body language and its impact on communication.
• Body Communication Competence Using SOLER Use these helpful questions to reflect on your own and others’ body language using the SOLER acronym.

More extensive versions of the following tools are available with a subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit© , but they are described briefly below:

• Listening Without Trying to Solve

This valuable tool promotes listening without trying to problem-solve.

During this group exercise, participants pair up to explore two different scenarios:

• Sharing a problem while being listened to
• Sharing a problem while being offered advice and solutions

Taking turns, each member of the pair considers which listening approach is more beneficial.

• Mindful Versus Mindless Listening

Mindfulness encourages moment-to-moment awareness of the speaker’s message rather than becoming distracted.

Through teaming up with a partner, each person takes the role of both speaker and listener and adopts mindful and mindless listening.

The experience is evaluated with a series of questions, including:

What was it like being the storyteller/listener using mindful listening? What was it like being the storyteller/listener using mindless listening?

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others communicate better, check out this collection of 17 validated positive communication tools for practitioners. Use them to help others improve their communication skills and form deeper and more positive relationships.

While essential in all aspects of our lives, effective communication is particularly valuable in therapy and counseling, impacting the treatment alliance and outcome.

Direct, clear, and positive communication can help confirm treatment goals, encourage and provide feedback, and repair breakdowns to the overall process.

Reflecting on verbal and nonverbal communication can help us remove misunderstandings while clarifying the needs and meaning behind clients’ actions and identifying the changes they wish to make and the goals they want to set.

Whether you are new to the field or have years of experience, it is valuable to take time away from your busy schedule to consider what you say and how you say it . When treated as a craft, communication skills can be learned and improved through knowledge and practice to improve the client’s treatment experience.

Why not review the article and try out some of the communication worksheets? Reflect on where improvements can be made to your approach and style and how you can further enhance your skills to improve the therapeutic process and outcomes.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free .

• Angelis, T. (2019). Better relationships with patients lead to better outcomes. Monitor on Psychology , 50 (10), 38.
• Eaves, M. H., & Leathers, D. G. (2018). Successful nonverbal communication: Principles and applications . Routledge
• Elliott, R., Bohart, A. C., Watson, J. C., & Greenberg, L. (2011). Empathy. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patients (pp. 132–152). Oxford University Press.
• Lambert, M. J., & Shimokawa, K. (2011). Collecting client feedback. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patients (pp. 203–223). Oxford University Press.
• Nelson-Jones, R. (2005). Practical counselling and helping skills . Sage.
• Norcross, J. C. (Ed.). (2011). Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patients . Oxford University Press.
• Rimondini, M. (2011). Communication in cognitive behavioral therapy . Springer.
• Saffran, J. D., Muran, C., & Eubanks-Charter, C. (2011). Repairing alliance ruptures. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work: Therapist contributions and responsiveness to patients (pp. 224–238). Oxford University Press.
• Wachtel, P. L. (2011). Therapeutic communication: Knowing what to say when . Guilford Press.
• Westland, G. (2015). Verbal and non-verbal communication in psychotherapy . W.W. Norton & Company.

Share this article:

Article feedback

What our readers think.

Please when I download the free PDFs it is asking for payment. Could you please provide he free PDFs

Our apologies for the confusion! If you check your inbox, the three free PDFs will be there. If you cannot find them, be sure to also check your spam/promotions folder.

– Nicole | Community Manager

we thought you might like to download our three Positive Communication Exercises (PDF) for free. The site is requesting payment of $17.

hello! im in middle school and im wondering what type of colleges would i have to attend in order to receive degrees for therapy?

Hi Ophelia,

You’ll find more information on what’s involved in becoming a therapist in our dedicated blog post . In general, you’ll need to complete a Bachelor’s degree in a related field (e.g., psychology), and then a Master’s degree in therapy or psychology. Lots of universities will have these programs if you search through their course guides online 🙂

I hope this helps!

– Nicole | Community Manager

Let us know your thoughts Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related articles

Conflict Resolution Training: 18 Best Courses and Master’s Degrees

All humans have some things in common. We all need air to breathe and water to stay alive. We are all social beings, and if [...]

How to Foster Positive Communication: 9 Effective Techniques

Can you recall a really good conversation you’ve had? What was memorable about it? Was it the topic, the words, or just a feeling it [...]

How to Practice Active Listening: 16 Examples & Techniques

Are you a good listener? Do you wonder if you could be better? Good listeners can stay present and engaged with what is being said. [...]

Read other articles by their category

• Body & Brain (48)
• Coaching & Application (57)
• Compassion (26)
• Counseling (51)
• Emotional Intelligence (24)
• Gratitude (18)
• Grief & Bereavement (21)
• Happiness & SWB (40)
• Meaning & Values (26)
• Meditation (20)
• Mindfulness (45)
• Motivation & Goals (45)
• Optimism & Mindset (34)
• Positive CBT (27)
• Positive Communication (20)
• Positive Education (47)
• Positive Emotions (32)
• Positive Leadership (17)
• Positive Parenting (0)
• Positive Psychology (33)
• Positive Workplace (36)
• Productivity (16)
• Relationships (49)
• Resilience & Coping (35)
• Self Awareness (21)
• Self Esteem (37)
• Strengths & Virtues (30)
• Stress & Burnout Prevention (34)
• Theory & Books (46)
• Therapy Exercises (37)
• Types of Therapy (64)

• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Clinical psychology

• Anxiety disorders
• Feeding and eating disorders
• Mood disorders
• Neuro-developmental disorders
• Personality disorders
• Affirmations
• Cover Letters
• Relationships
• Resignation & Leave letters

Psychotherapy

Personality.

Table of Contents

How to Use Summarizing in Counseling? (9+ Important Benefits)

As a BetterHelp affiliate, we may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided.

The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter.  The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.

In this brief guide, we will be discussing the topic: summarising in counseling. We will be exploring the meaning of summarising, its difference from paraphrasing, the steps involved in summarising, the need, and the way to summarise the beginning and end of a session. By the end, we will also be answering some questions related to summarising and counseling skills. 

Summarising in counseling

Summarising is one of the skills in counseling used by the therapist to accommodate the feelings, emotions, and thoughts of the client in a nutshell. In other words, summarising is used when the therapist wants to condense, crystallize, the main points that the client conveyed through his words and body language. 

Summarising is almost like a recap of a lesson that is already taught. The therapist provides the client with a chance to reflect on their last session and the lessons they might want to take away front their previous sessions, before continuing with the following sessions. Summarising is carried out at the beginning and the end of a session, mostly. 

If one is to give an accurate definition for summarising, then it would be best to choose the one by Feltham and Dryden. According to Feltham and Dryden, “summarising is accurately and succinctly reflecting back to the client, from time to time, within and across sessions, the substance of what she has expressed. 

The importance of summarising

th e summarising skill used by the therapist in a counseling session helps both the therapist and client to move forward sans confusions and misunderstandings. It reveals the current standing position of the process of therapy and allows the client to explore the varied dimensions of their progress to the given point. 

In summarising, the therapist aims to “reflect” to the client, the important and desirable points of a session. It makes the client feel understood and encourages them to open up and talk about their issues comprehensively and with clarity to the therapist in the further sessions. Summaries of any kind are useful for anyone, to gain clarity and insight into the subject matter of concern. 

In counseling, summarising aids in the following ways:

• Accurate and efficient clarification of the emotions for both the counselor and the client. This helps both the parties to understand the underlying emotional state involved in each session and its influence on the progress of the session.
• A complete review of the work done so far, especially by the client himself/herself. The client is the core element of the process of counseling , who has to take a major effort in facing their issues at hand and coming to terms with them. Hence, summarising comes as a great aid for the clients for the required progress in each session.
• Summarising help in bringing each session to a closure, without leaving loose ends or unnecessary assumptions. It helps in drawing together the main threads of the discussions between the client and the therapist. 
• Summarising also helps in initiating a subsequent session, if the situation and timing are appropriate. 
• Usually, clients arrive in counseling with a series of scattered and vague thoughts and emotions. However, as the sessions proceed, the process of summarising helps the client in bringing about order and understanding of their vague emotions and thoughts which they could not comprehend in the beginning. It helps them to prioritize these thoughts and emotions and make their way through them, slowly.  
• Most importantly, summarising is the skill that enables the counseling process to move forward. It provides a wholesome meaning to the counseling relationship and the nature of each session. 
• It enables the client to open up to new perspectives. When the therapist summarises each session, it’s put forward in a slightly different manner, to allow the client to reflect on their words and emotions expressed in the session. 
• Summarising helps the therapists to provide a specific structure to the counseling process that is especially important for those clients who find it difficult to keep their focus on one topic or area of issue. 
• Summarising gives a good orientation towards the type of homework that needs to be given to the client and also an idea about the future sessions and what they will comprise. 

How to summarize

The following steps can be followed to summarize a session:

• Try to summarize at the end of a session
• Confirm the authenticity of the summary with the client and once that is done, decide the focus of the next session, and assign homework for the client for the next session
• Ask the client to give their version of the summary for the session to make them feel more involved and eager in the process of summarising.
• Jot down the points added by the client during the process of summarising. 

Summarising vs paraphrasing

Summarising and paraphrasing are not the same. They differ in their structure, purpose, and timing. A summary is provided for the client to reflect on their words and emotions and to let them take the lead. However, paraphrasing on the other hand is done to clarify and move forward in the session without any kind of assumptions, confusion, or misunderstandings.

A summary usually covers a longer time period than a paraphrase. Summarising is usually used at the end of a session, before winding up the session. paraphrasing , on the other hand, is usually used during the session to move the session forward smoothly. 

The end of a session

Summarising is the key process for winding up the session. It brings the session to a clear close, without any misconceptions. It is an opportunity provided to the client for clearing any confusion and to make sense of the happenings of the session. It also provides the counselor with an assurance for their efforts taken and to continue with the subsequent sessions.

The summary at the end of a session must match the material of the session and must help the client feel understood and at peace. It allows the client to deny something if they feel is not right or give a better modulation to the words used by the therapist in the summary, if the need arises. This leads to a complete realignment of the session and also shapes the future ones. 

Summarising should begin around five to ten minutes before the session comes to a close. The therapist should hint to the client that the allotted time is nearing a close and start with the process of summarising, once the client is ready to begin. Make sure to include the most relevant thoughts, emotions, and opinions expressed by the client and how they perceive them, int the summary. 

The beginning of a session

Summarising can also be used at the beginning of a session. It helps the counselor to gain clarity on the direction of the session and it enables the client to decide on the themes of discussion for the current session. The therapist can put forward a summary comprising the themes of previous sessions and how far have the duo come to manage them. 

Summarising at the beginning also allows the client to feel settled before the actual session starts. It gives them an idea of their current standing and what they could expect from the ongoing session. This enhances the strength and consolidation of the therapeutic relationship between the client and the therapist.

While summarising at the beginning of a session, the counselor/therapist must keep in mind to give the client complete freedom to take the lead for the session and decide the key theme of discussion. They should not feel evaluated or judged while the process of summarising is going on. This form of summarising is mostly used by person-centered counselors and therapists since it does not go against any of their core principles. 

The counselor can also jot down, in a notepad the points brought up by the client at the end of the summary, which can be used for the next session as well. 

In this article, we discussed the topic: summarising in counseling. We looked at the meaning, nature, importance, steps involved, and conduction of the process of summarising during the beginning and end of a session. We also examined the difference between paraphrasing and summarising. 

FAQs: summarising in counseling

Why is summarising an important skill.

Summarising is an important skill in the field of academic writing. It allows you to grasp the most relevant points from a source of the text and rewrite them, using your own words. It lets you create a brief version of the original content and for quick reference. A good summary also indicates your ability to evaluate your understanding of the source and to turn it around the way you want it. 

What are the five counseling skills?

The core counseling skills are as follows:

Attending( refers to completely attending to the client and their issues without getting lost in thoughts or being in dissonance). Silence(aids in providing control to the content, pace, and objectives of the sessions). Reflecting and paraphrasing (helps the counselor to keep away misunderstandings with the client and to help the client reflect on their words and feelings expressed during the sessions? Clarification and the use of questions (helps the counselor in asking open questions to clarify the feelings of the client) Building good rapport (helps in building a sense of connection with the client) Focusing (helps the client to decide the key theme to be discussed during a session. It helps to filter out the unnecessary or the less important issues) Summarising (provides a meaningful and clarified summary of what the says during the sesion) Immediacy. ( helps to focus on the immediate environment or in other words, the here and now relationship between the client and the therapist) Active listening (the client feels heard and understood by the therapist)

What are some counseling techniques?

Some of the most popularly used techniques are as follows:

Psychodynamic counseling: this is one of the most well-known approaches to counseling and is based on the Freudian theory of psychodynamics. It focuses on the development of strong therapist-client alliances. 

Interpersonal counseling: interpersonal counseling is mostly diagnosis based and the disorder of the client is considered as a medical condition that requires appropriate intervention. The focus of this technique is on the attachment of the mental health outcomes to the well-being of the client. It is a time-limited counseling approach that helps the clients to identify the environmental stressors that are causing their issues. 

Humanistic counseling: this approach was developed by Carl Rogers and works on the belief that humans have an innate ability and willingness to be self-actualized. It encourages curiosity, humility, intuition, and genuine acceptance. It is also called client-centered therapy, which helps the client realize their full potential.

https://counsellingtutor.com/basic-counselling-skills/summarising/

https://askinglot.com/what-is-summarizing-in-counseling

https://www.stepnotesinc.com/Blog/ArticleID/1/Counseling-Clients-Session-to-Session-Summarize-to-Strategize

Was this helpful?

Find hope and healing through online counseling on betterhelp.

At some point in our lives, we all face challenges that can feel overwhelming and difficult to overcome.

BetterHelp offers accessible, affordable, and confidential online counselling that can provide you with the support and guidance you need to navigate life’s ups and downs. Our licensed therapists specialize in a variety of areas, including depression, anxiety, relationships, and more, and can provide you with personalized therapy that fits your unique needs and circumstances.

Don’t struggle alone – sign up for BetterHelp today and start your journey towards healing and growth with the help of a compassionate and experienced therapist.

Related Posts

How to tell your therapist you want to take a break, betterhelp negative reviews, does talkspace take medicaid (+3 advantages).

What Is An Example Of Paraphrasing In Counseling

Table of Contents

What Is An Example Of Paraphrasing In Counseling?

The following are a few precise paraphrasing examples:Counselor: You haven’t found her to be very consistent. Client: Every moment there is something new to do. Counselor: There are a lot of activities for you to choose from. There must be ten different things happening at once. By trying to analyze and comprehend the information that was spoken, paraphrasing is an example of mindful listening. Facts can be distilled using paraphrasing, and consensus can be reached during crucial discussions. To make sure that all the details were covered and accepted during a business meeting, use this technique. The following describe an effective paraphrase: it restates the original passage using your own words and sentence constructions. includes the main ideas and supporting details from the original passage. usually equals the length of the original passage. An example of paraphrasing in daily life: o You tell the person taking your order what you want, item by item. o They give you a repeat of what they said. o You correct the error if they misunderstood something you said. Usually, they will repeat that to you once more, hopefully with accurate information. It’s generally accepted that you shouldn’t repeat more than four consecutive words from the original text when paraphrasing or summarizing, though some authorities have set a limit of three consecutive words. It is crucial to paraphrase because it demonstrates that you have a thorough understanding of the source material. Additionally, it provides you with a potent substitute for the sparingly employed direct quotations.

What Are The Effects Of Paraphrasing In Counseling?

Paraphrasing has several positive effects on the client-counselor relationship, starting with the client’s sense of being heard and understood. The client comes with their material and dares to share it with you. And you demonstrate that you are paying attention by returning a small amount of that, specifically the portion that feels most significant. The two main kinds of summaries are descriptive and evaluative. Not all summaries will perfectly fit into one of these categories, as is the case with many types of writing, but these descriptions can give you some direction when beginning to write a summary. By combining two or more of the client’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors into a single general theme, the counselor creates a summary. When a counselor wants to make connections between two or more topics, they will typically use summarization as a skill during the choice points of a counseling interview. The counselor summarizes the client’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors by fusing two or more of them into a single, overarching idea. When a counselor wants to make connections between two or more topics during choice points of a counseling interview, they typically use summarization as a skill. The counselor can ensure that they are accurately understanding what the client is saying by actively listening techniques like encouraging, paraphrasing, and summarizing. These techniques also motivate the client to tell their full story. There are three main categories of informative summaries: outlines, abstracts, and synopses. A written material’s “skeleton” or overall plan is presented in an outline. Outlines display the relationship and order of the various parts of the text.

Why Is Paraphrasing Important?

Paraphrasing is significant because it demonstrates that you have understood the source material well enough to write it in your own words. Additionally, it provides you with a potent substitute for the sparingly employed direct quotations. You can avoid overusing direct quotations by paraphrasing, and it can be shorter than quoting. You can better understand and process the text you are paraphrasing by thinking about it. Rephrasing someone else’s idea makes you consider what they are actually saying. How to paraphrase Read the original text until you understand its meaning, then put it aside. Using your memory, jot down the key ideas or concepts. Don’t copy the text exactly. The opening, the sentence order, the length of the sentences, etc. can all be changed to alter the text’s structure. Effective Paraphrases Have the Following Four Qualities: Originality—Your own unique words, phrases, and sentence structure should be used, not those of your source. The following characteristics of an effective paraphrase are original: You must use your own words, phrasing, and sentence structure. Represents the ideas and tone of the original source accurately. Complete: The paraphrase must include every significant concept from the original source. Techniques for paraphrasing Write down your thoughts without consulting the source material. Change the word order or substitute synonyms in your sentence. Verify that your interpretation is consistent with the original by comparing the two. Make a note of the source information so you can easily cite it later. What are the differences between paraphrasing and summarizing in counseling? As a summary typically covers a longer time period than a paraphrase, using summaries differs from using paraphrasing. As a result, summarizing may be used later—possibly halfway through or near the end of a counseling session. Using your own words to express someone else’s ideas is known as paraphrasing. A source must be reworded while the original meaning is kept in mind when doing a paraphrase. It’s not necessary to copy someone else’s exact words and place them in quotation marks when you can simply paraphrase. Summarizing entails expressing an idea succinctly, whereas paraphrasing entails expressing an idea fully in your own words while retaining the majority of the original source’s information and the meaning of the original. Short text segments, such as phrases and sentences, are used when paraphrasing. You can incorporate evidence and source material into assignments by using a paraphrase instead of a direct quotation. In addition to taking notes, paraphrasing can be used to explain information found in tables, charts, and diagrams. Important Takeaways To paraphrase is to rephrase text or speech in your own words without altering its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. Both methods can be used to make complex information or ideas more understandable and concise.

What Is Paraphrasing And An Example?

According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary, paraphrasing is the act of stating something written or spoken in different words, especially in a shorter and simpler form to make the meaning clearer. A restatement of someone else’s ideas or thoughts into your own words is referred to as paraphrasing. A technique for presenting the same ideas in a different way is called paraphrasing. Short passages of text, like phrases and sentences, are used when paraphrasing. You can incorporate evidence and source material into assignments by using a paraphrase instead of a direct quotation. In academic writing, paraphrasing is a useful technique for reiterating, condensing, or clarifying the ideas of another author while also lending authority to your own thesis or analysis. We strongly advise you to write in your own words because it will help you learn and show that you understand the material. Summarizing and paraphrasing are much more frequently used than direct quotation because they demonstrate your ability to clearly communicate your understanding of the subject. If you don’t properly credit the original author, paraphrasing is considered plagiarism. If your text is too similar to the original text (even if you cite the source), paraphrasing is considered plagiarism. A sentence or phrase should be quoted rather than being copied verbatim. When you rewrite a sentence in your own words, you are said to be paraphrasing. We paraphrase sentences when we need to use them in our own writing. In other words, we use the same idea(s) in that sentence but write it differently. We employ different grammar in addition to different words.

What Is The Skill Of Paraphrasing?

When you paraphrase, you use your own words to express something that was written or said by another person. Putting it in your own words can help the message become clearer, more relevant to your audience, or more impactful. ye.commastmastmastmastmastmas, and. Don’t Too Closely Paraphrase Taking passages of text from one or more sources, citing the author(s), but only making ‘cosmetic’ changes to the borrowed material, such as changing one or two words, merely rearranging the order, voice (i.e. e. , active versus passive. This does NOT constitute paraphrasing. Both mechanical and constructive paraphrases are used. The rewriting of the text using synonyms is what distinguishes a mechanical paraphrase. Recognizing and clarifying with a phrase. to condense and arrange someone’s thoughts. To “shift level of abstraction” is to change one’s way of thinking to one that is more abstract. Give your own interpretation of the author’s main point; paraphrases should not exceed one sentence in length. The source of a paraphrase must also be mentioned. The material that has been paraphrased is typically shorter than the original passage because it has been condensed. When you summarize, you only include the main point(s) and put the main idea(s) into your own words.

What Differs A Summary From A Paraphrase?

A paraphrase is a restatement of someone else’s ideas in your own language with roughly the same level of detail. To summarize is to condense into a more manageable form the key ideas of someone else’s work. In order to define a situation and choose how to respond to it, people use a thought process called framing. Reframing is simply repeating this process in a different way. As an illustration, consider deciding a conflict can be approached in a positive (or win-win) manner rather than a negative (or win-lose) manner. Reframing or summarizing is a little more complicated than paraphrasing because it involves grouping ideas, emotions, information, and/or concerns into a single overarching theme, which frequently steers the group in a more positive direction. Reframing is a technique used to connect dispersed and disparate statements. A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) technique called “reframing” is used to spot automatic thoughts and swap them out for more sensible ones. Redefining a challenge as a problem is an illustration of reframing. A new way of being is brought about by such a redefinition. Problem has a weighty feel, whereas the idea of a challenge is stimulating. Another illustration and a crucial chance for reframing occurs during a heated exchange.

Related Posts

What is a thinking error, which mental condition results in catastrophizing, how does psychology define personalization, why is personalization too intense, what is a good illustration of overgeneralization, how do you stop categorizing cognitive bias, what does the questionnaire on cognitive distortions mean, how are cognitive biases measured, why is cognition distortion a crucial concept to comprehend, leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Please enter an answer in digits: fifteen + fourteen =

3 Benefits of Paraphrasing: The Skill for Learning, Writing and Communicating

Paraphrasing is the underrated skill of reinstating, clarifying or condensing the ideas of another in your own words. By paraphrasing, you can curate credible and well-developed documents, and arguments. But there’s more to paraphrasing than the final result, the process of paraphrasing engages your ability to learn actively, write well, and communicate creatively.

Paraphrasing allows you to share another’s ideas in your own words. This powerful technique is useful in both written and verbal communication, and acts as a tool for conveying information effectively. Paraphrasing is an underrated skill that is beneficial to a variety of individuals from students and writers to employees and business owners. In any setting, sharing information well is the key to good quality work and results. The process of paraphrasing itself also has a number of benefits, making you a better learner, writer and communicator. 

Paraphrasing: The Active Learning Strategy 

Paraphrasing requires you to think about the information you want to convey. You need to understand the meaning in order to reword and restructure the idea, and share it effectively. The process of paraphrasing encourages you to get to the core message, and improves your understanding of the material. In this way, you are actively engaging with the material . Instead of passively reading, you are breaking down the ideas and concepts. Rather than slotting information into your writing, you’re reworking and tailoring it to your needs and your audience. 

Paraphrasing can improve your memory by encouraging you to engage with the information. The 5-step approach to paraphrasing suggests writing your first paraphrase without looking at the original material. This engages your ability to actively recall information from memory, and think of new ways to write it out, rather than simply trying to memorise what you read word for word. After your first draft, you’ll revisit the original material to check if your work conveys the same meaning, this part of the process can further strengthen memory. You’re again revisiting the material in a way that is active and assessing your understanding. Likewise, the practice of paraphrasing improves your ability to convey information, ensuring that it is well-written and tailored to your audience.

This learning method is particularly useful for exams. You’ll learn the material well, developing a deep understanding and continue to refine this as you paraphrase the information. You’ll also be practising your ability to share this information in a way that is well-written, avoids plagiarism and engages your audience. This means, you’ll be able to easily add these ideas into your assignments or exams, having already taken the time to understand the ideas deeply and even practised sharing this information. You’ll be able to show the depth of your learning through paraphrasing, proving you understand the bigger picture and the finer details. 

Paraphrasing: The Technique for Improving Writing Ability

Once you’ve understood the concept well, the process of paraphrasing can improve your writing ability in a variety of ways. You’ll improve your vocabulary by making use of synonyms and identifying key words. You might also switch between word categories, using a noun instead of a verb or changing  adjectives into adverbs. Overtime, this will make you a better writer. Paraphrasing is more than changing a few words and can involve switching between the active or passive voice, this can improve your ability to distinguish between the two. Effective paraphrasing also involves playing around with sentence structure, you might utilise shorter or longer sentences to convey the idea at hand. 

These benefits can still be found even when using paraphrasing tools . You’ll still have to test your understanding by assessing the paraphrase the tool produced. Likewise, you’ll be exposed to new ways of writing things, new words, sentence structures, and organisation. You’ll learn how to pick out the paraphrasing styles that do or don’t work for your writing. Beyond the more technical aspects of writing, paraphrasing can also teach you how to communicate more clearly. You might rearrange the information to emphasise a particular point, or simplify the language to make it accessible to your audience. This improves your ability to clarify the ideas of the original material, and make ideas that might be overly complex, easier to digest. 

Paraphrasing: The Skill for Better Communication 

Finally, paraphrasing can make you a better and more creative communicator. By engaging in the process of paraphrasing, you’re developing your ability to share one idea in a variety of ways. For this to be engaging, you have to get creative. You might play around with the tone, switching between formal, informal, casual, or persuasive. Imagine a business launching a new product, communicating the idea to various internal teams, and customers, each would require a different approach and yet the meaning behind the information would remain the same. 

You might ask questions such as, how can I tailor this information to my audience? How can I bring this aspect of the idea to life? This highlights how paraphrasing can really exercise your ability to communicate creatively. Similarly, paraphrasing can teach you how to share ideas in your own personal way. Whether you’re sharing an idea with a friend, or on social media, you’ll find you can share information in your own personal style while still retaining the original meaning. This can make ideas more accessible and relatable to those in your circle. Additionally, this can prove to be a useful skill in your career, studies or creative endeavours.

Do you want to achieve more with your time?

98% of users say genei saves them time and helps them work more productively. Why don’t you join them?

About genei

genei is an AI-powered research tool built to help make the work and research process more efficient. Our studies show genei can help improve reading speeds by up to 70%! Revolutionise your research process.

Articles you may like:

Find out how genei can benefit you