paraphrasing counselling skill

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.

[1]	J. Kuntze, H. T. van der Molen and M. P. Born, “Increase in counselling communication skills after basic and advanced microskills training,” vol. 79, no. 1, pp. 175-188, 2010.
[2]	R. Williams, M. Bambling, R. King and Q. Abbott, “In‐session processes in online counselling with young people: An exploratory approach,” vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 93-100, 2009.
[3]	M. Seehausen, P. Kazzer, M. Bajbouj and K. Prehn, “Effects of empathic paraphrasing – extrinsic emotion regulation in social conflict,” vol. 3, p. 482, 2012.

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Paraphrasing

What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is repeating back your understanding of the material that has been brought by the client in 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 list and make notes: you’re paraphrasing as you distil this down to what you feel is important.

The Power of Paraphrasing:

The speaker feels heard.
Helps the listener to adjust frame of reference.
Highlights areas of high importance.
Acts as an invite to explore deeper.
Can indicate an end to the current discussion.

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. If you do that accurately and correctly, and it matches where the client is, the client is going to recognise that and feel heard: ‘Finally, somebody is 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. Carl Rogers (1959, pp. 210-211) defines ‘empathy’ as 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’. In other words, we walk in somebody’s shoes as if their reality is our own – 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 – it’s not enough for us to be 100% in the client’s frame of reference and 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.

For example, if you watch a TV programme in which somebody achieves something that is really spectacular, you may find yourself moved for this person. You’re almost there with them on this journey, and as they’re receiving their award or their adulation, and the audience is clapping for what they’ve done, you may even be moved to tears. But the person on the TV cannot perceive your reaction – the empathy is empty, because it’s one-way.

So empathy is effective only if your client feels heard and understood – i.e. they sense that empathic connection. Using paraphrasing is a way of completing the empathy circle – a way of letting them know that we see and hear them.

Other Benefits of Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing also highlights issues by stating them more concisely. This is focusing down: it invites the client to go and delve deeper into part of what they have said. We can also use paraphrasing to check out the accuracy of our perception as a counsellor.

Below is an example of my use of paraphrasing to clarify my understanding of what was brought. This shows how paraphrasing affects the therapeutic relationship; because the paraphrase fits well for the client, she feels heard and understood. As this happens, the material deepens.

I really have a battle with doing things for the impression that others will have of me, or the approval that I will get from other people for what it is that I do. So much so that I will very often override myself, my family, so that I can gain the acceptance, I guess, of other people, whether friends, family or clients in a work situation. I will always favour what the action would be that would gain that acceptance, that would not bring up any sort of confrontation or maybe have a conflict situation arise from it.

So, I guess, I’m eager to please, wanting to make sure that all things are well and smooth – and that I’m liked and accepted with whatever the transaction or situation may be.

Counsellor:

As you’re saying that, it really feels like a lot of hard work. A lot of hard work, pre-empting whatever it is that they would have expected of you, and then ‘sacrificing’, I guess, is a word that came up for me – sacrificing your own wants/needs to be able to meet what you perceive is expected of you. Have I understood that correctly?

Yeah, the word ‘sacrifice’ really captures the feeling that comes up for me when I sort of reflect and look over that kind of situation. So often, I will sacrifice my own wants and my own desires…

In this example, the client really resonated with the word ‘sacrifice’, which the counsellor introduced as a paraphrase; she really felt understood. And it’s interesting to note that throughout the rest of this stimulated session, the word ‘sacrifice’ became almost a theme.

Another paraphrase in this example was ‘hard work’. Although the client hadn’t used this phrase herself, she was presenting visually as weighed down. Her shoulders looked heavy as she was bringing the material. So the counsellor was paraphrasing, not only the words of the narrative, but digging deeper, looking for the feelings and paraphrasing the whole presence of that client within that relationship.

Listening for ‘the Music behind the Words’

Here is another example of paraphrasing, from the same skills session. Try to see if you can hear, as Rogers would put it, ‘the music behind the words’, where the counsellor looks deeper than just the words the client is bringing, paraphrasing back their whole being.

Out of my own will or my own free choice, I would put that aside and favour what would be accepted – or what I think someone else would rather I do. And sometimes it’s hard. It leaves me with a situation of not knowing if they actually really realise what it is that I sacrificed, that I’ve given up, so that it can fall into what I think they would prefer in that situation.

It feels confusing to you in that situation of whether they even perceive what it is that you are sacrificing, what you’re giving up. That it almost feels like you’re giving up part of yourself to match what you think they may want or need from you. And I kind of got the feeling, as you were saying that you wonder if they even see that.

Yeah. As I was sort of verbalizing and talking through that, I actually realised that even within that sacrifice, it’s all my perception of what I think they might want me to do. And just saying that is actually a bit ridiculous. Because how am I to know what it is that they want or need to do? So here I am – disregarding my own desires, for lack of a better word – to do something I assume someone else would want me to do instead.

I thought it was really interesting that this client started off in what felt to me like an external locus of evaluation. She was confused, and wondering whether the people she refers to understood what she was giving up to meet their perceived expectations. Immediately after the counsellor’s paraphrase, this client experienced a moment of movement from an external to an internal locus of evaluation, where she realised it was all about her own perceptions and responsibility. In this way, she went from being powerless to having the power to change this situation.

Next Steps in Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is so much more than just repeating the client’s words back to them using your own words. Although it might feel very simplistic – and there’s often a tendency to paraphrase the narrative/story that the client brings, rather than their feelings/process – there’s so much more to it than that and so much deeper that we can go. There’s real power in paraphrasing.

I suggest that you:

Practice active listening and paraphrasing in your day-to-day life.
Practice paraphrasing in your own stimulated skills sessions.
Try to look for the full person when paraphrasing, e.g. not just the client’s words, but also their body language, facial expressions, and way of being within the counselling relationship.
Record these sessions (with your peer’s consent) and listen back to them.
Speak to your peers about paraphrasing.
Evaluate each other’s skills and explore how you might paraphrase more effectively.
Look whether you’re getting empathic connection within your paraphrasing.
Search out moments of movement when you paraphrase.
Ask how paraphrasing affects both the client and you, as a counsellor.

Paraphrasing is definitely something that should be debated. I hope that this chapter will encourage you to go out there with a new passion for – and a new way of looking at – paraphrasing!

Alternatives to Questions

What else can we use when we’re not sure what exactly a client means? For example, if a client was speaking about his brother and father, he might say: ‘I really struggle with my brother and my father. They don’t get on, and at times he makes me so angry.’ Who does the client mean by ‘he’: the brother or the father? Not knowing who makes him angry means I cannot be fully within the client’s frame of reference.

I could ask: ‘Sorry, just so I can understand, who it is that you’re angry at – your father or your brother?’ This risks ripping the client out of that emotion (the anger). Instead, we could use reflection: ‘He makes you so angry.’ This invites the client to expand on what he has said. He might say: ‘Yes, ever since I was a young boy, my dad was always…’ In this case, I didn’t need to ask a question – we’re still in the feelings, and I’ve got what I needed in order to be fully in the client’s frame of reference.

Of course, the client might not reveal the information I need in his answer – for example, if he responded to my reflection: ‘He does. He makes me really angry – in fact, so angry that I don’t know what to do about it anymore.’ In that case, I would still need to put in a question: ‘Is this your dad or your brother that you’re referring to?’

Rogers, C, 1959. ‘A Theory of Therapy, Personallity, and Interpersonal Relations, as Developed in the Client-Centered Framework’, in S Koch (ed.), Psychology: A Study of a Science (Vol.3), New York: McGraw-Hill, 184-256.

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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!

3 Ways to Master Paraphrasing

Mastering Paraphrasing: 3 Key Techniques for Building Trust and Connection in Therapeutic Relationships

What is Paraphrasing?

Mastering paraphrasing is an essential skill for trainee counsellors. Paraphrasing is a form of rewording what the client has shared without losing the sense or meaning of what they are saying. It focuses on something that is significant for the client, or, as the counsellor or helper, you notice it as being significant for the client.

When applying active listening, there are many techniques we can use, and paraphrasing is just one of them. There is reflection, clarifying, and focusing. However, paraphrasing has an important role to play and can be incredibly powerful in enabling a therapeutic connection.

If we consider that a relationship between one person and another is started through connection, then paraphrasing is a demonstration of that connection. It is an integration of the client’s experience into our experience, which is then relayed back to them. While it may not seem evident, an exchange has taken place. This can be a useful and effective counselling skill, especially for those starting on a CPCAB level 2 counselling skills course.

#1 . Accuracy

It is critical to be as accurate as possible to the original intention, the meaning behind the client or helpee shared. This is important because it goes back to what I said above: it builds trust and shows you are actively listening to what the client or helpee is saying. Accuracy helps the client feel understood.

#2 . Neutrality

It is ideal that you keep your response as neutral and objective as possible. As counsellors or trainee counsellors, we are not looking to put our thoughts or feelings inside that paraphrase. As long as we are neutral, we provide the client a healthy and non-judgemental space which is essential to that therapeutic relationship.

#3 . Clarity

It cannot be underestimated that using clear and simple language is crucial to mastering this counselling skill. There is no reason to get florid or expand on loads of different ideas; keep the language simple. It is helpful as it shows the client you are paying close attention to what they are sharing, allowing them to feel understood.

Those are my three ways to improve your paraphrasing. Either in a therapeutic setting or in our day-to-day conversations, paraphrasing helps us connect and understand what the other person is going through. It radically improves your counselling skills and communication skills and forms a part of our CPCAB level 2 counselling skills course.

9 Core Counselling Skills

What are counselling skills?

Counselling skills are a set of abilities and techniques used by trained professionals to support individuals in dealing with their personal, emotional, and psychological issues. These skills are employed in various settings such as therapy sessions, support groups, and even everyday conversations.

The primary goal of counselling skills is to create a safe and empathetic environment in which individuals can explore their feelings, gain insights, and develop strategies to improve their emotional well-being.

Counselling skills can be broken down into nine overlapping techniques, which you can learn in or out of university. And it’s not just aspiring counsellors who can make use of these skills. Teachers, nurses, parents, HR… anyone can use them to create a safer, kinder, more responsive environment.

Unconditional Positive Regard
Genuineness
Active listening
Questioning
Paraphrasing
Summarising
Challenging

Skill 1: Unconditional Positive Regard

Unconditional Positive Regard is the skill or a way of being to accept the client as they are without judgement, regardless of what the client says or does, without any conditions.

Unconditional positive regard was expanded and popularised by the humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers in 1956, the concept was initially developed by Stanley Standal in 1954.

Skill 2: Empathy

Some people are more naturally empathetic. Others find it more of a challenge, especially if the person you’re talking to has had a very different life experience.

That’s okay. You can work to improve your empathy.

For instance, you can listen out for someone’s emotions when they are speaking. You can pay attention to their body language and look out for clues about how they’re feeling in the conversation.

Empathy is about walking with your client or being in their shoes when they explore their grief or anger etc.

Very well mind has a great page on empathy, including a list of tips to help you practice this essential skill.

Skill 3: Genuineness

Being congruent or genuine in a therapeutic interaction is really important since a client will be picking up on your body language.

Congruence, in the context of counselling, refers to the counsellor’s ability to be genuine, authentic, and transparent with their clients.

Rogers’ 3 Core Counselling Skills

The three core counselling skills mentioned above creates a trusting and empathetic connection that the speaker can freely express their thoughts and feelings. This is also known as building a rapport. There are many techniques for building rapport such as: active listening, immediacy, reflection, and a non-judgmental atmosphere.

Skill 4: Active Listening

Active listening requires your full attention, using non-verbal cues, listening to the client’s story, and noticing body language.

Techniques like nodding and using hm hm and mirroring body language, showcase active listening. Active listening within a counselling context requires a deep understanding of the spoken and unspoken signals given by the client together with a deep understanding of their emotional state and issues at hand.

Active listening requires your full attention, showing empathy, reflecting on the client’s story, and noticing non-verbal cues and listening in silence while the client speaks. Listening seems like an easy, obvious skill for a counsellor. Anyone can listen. However, listening requires you to be in silence while the speaker is telling their story. Silence is powerful and therapeutic, and paves the way for deep, meaningful communication.

While you actively listen , you offer the other person your full and undivided attention, showing a genuine interest in their thoughts and feelings. You can show this through eye contact, open body language, and a sympathetic and responsive countenance.

In some ways, active listening is an umbrella, encompassing many of the other core counselling skills, such as empathy, reflection and unconditional positive regard.

You might be a parent or a support worker, a teacher or a certified counsellor – active listening should be a vital part of your skillset. It builds stronger connections, fosters trust and encourages people to explore their problems more deeply. Active listening helps build a strong connection, fosters trust and encourages clients to explore their issues more deeply.

Non-verbal Communication is actively listening

We’ve mentioned nonverbal cues before. Gesture, tone of voice, posture…These give you a glimpse of someone’s emotional experience.

They also provide context for spoken words. You might be a counsellor whose client is struggling to express themselves, or a parent with an uncommunicative teen. Their body language and tone of voice can contradict, reinforce, or add nuance to what they’ve said, giving you a much better idea of their emotional state.

Nonverbal communication can include:

Eye contact
Facial expression
Tone of voice

Responding to the other person’s signals requires genuiness, empathy and sensitivity. Once you’ve correctly identified them, you can acknowledge them or steer the conversation towards them.

Non-verbal communication can be key to understanding your clients, and to building a strong, trusting relationship

Skill 5: Reflection

Reflection is at the heart of a good counselling relationship. Done well, it makes the other person feel truly heard and understood.

This is one of the most important counselling skills, where the counsellor listens and then restates the speaker’s emotions, words, or experiences. They might just repeat them, or they might paraphrase to demonstrate the depth of their understanding.

This gives the client feelings of validation and affirmation, which can come as a huge relief.

It also paves the way for thoughtful introspection, helped by reflective open-ended questions like ‘What do you like/dislike about this situation?’

When you use this skill effectively, you create an emotional space rooted in understanding and support, where clients gain insights about themselves.

You also help them to feel empowered to make changes that could transform their lives.

Skill 6: Questioning Techniques

There are other counselling skills that help clients to gain insight – for example, smart questioning.

When you pose an open-ended question, you create an opportunity for a longer response, which articulates more of the speaker’s thoughts and feelings. You can gather information, delve into their perspectives, and encourage self-discovery.

However, you can also use close-ended questions to establish clarity.

You should aim for a balance between open and close-ended questions, favouring open-ended to facilitate exploration and reflection.

Smart questioning goes hand-in-hand with the three core counselling skills, creating a more meaningful counselling experience.

Skill 7: Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing purpose is to repeat what the client said to provide an overview of their story.

Paraphrasing is vital when exploring someone’s feelings or experience, as it helps you both to understand the main points discussed. It also makes it easier for you both to identify and reflect on recurring patterns.

Skill 8: Summarising

Good summarising uses simple language, highlights key points, making sure that nothing important is forgotten when the session comes to a close.

Skill 9: Challenging

This skill is important to identify incongruence with the client’s emotional state, body language and storyline.

Rogers postulated that a state of incongruence might exist within the client, meaning there is a discrepancy between the client’s self-image and the reality of their experience.

Learning and applying the 9 Core Counselling Skills

No matter your setting or your profession, you can create deep and meaningful changes using these 9 Core Counselling Skills .

We offer you the chance to learn with two online courses in counselling skills, created by experienced counsellors and accredited by NCFE.

Our Courses:

NCFE CACHE level 2 certificate in counselling skills

NCFE CACHE Level 3 Award in Counselling Skills and Theory

You can study completely online, fitting your learning around your schedule, with the option of in-person days to practice to your growing skills.

If you hope to qualify as a counsellor, this is an excellent first step, as the Level 2 & 3 Courses prepare you for the Level 4 Diploma, which qualifies you to being a practicing counsellor.

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Summarising

Summarising in counselling.

Feltham and Dryden (1993: 186) define ‘ summarising ’ as ‘accurately and succinctly reflecting back to the client, from time to time within and across sessions, the substance of what she has expressed’.

Summarising is therefore a counselling skill used to condense or crystallise the main points of what the client is saying and feeling.

Summarising in counselling is condensing the essence of what the client is saying and feeling.

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.

The summary ’sums up’ the main themes that are emerging.

Purpose of Summarising in counselling

When summarising, the counsellor is ‘reflecting back’ the main points of the session so that the client has the opportunity to recap, and to ‘correct’ the counsellor if any parts of the summary feel inaccurate.

Summaries are therefore useful for:

clarifying emotions for both the counsellor and the client
reviewing the work done so far, and taking stock
bringing a session to a close, by drawing together the main threads of the discussion
beginning a subsequent session, if appropriate
starting the process of focusing and prioritising ‘scattered’ thoughts and feelings
moving the counselling process forward.

While the above uses are all in keeping with a person-centred approach to counselling, other uses may also be more relevant in more directive modalities. For example, in CBT, summarising may be useful for:

enabling ‘the client to hear what she has expressed from a slightly different perspective’
offering ‘an opportunity for structuring counselling, especially with clients who have difficulty in focusing on specific topics and goals’
providing ‘a useful orientation towards homework and future sessions’ (Feltham & Dryden, 1993: 186).

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The Skill of Summarising Explained

Summarising at the End of a Session

Kelly (2017: 10)) outlines how important the skill of summarising is, as a way of respectfully bringing the session to a close, while giving the client an opportunity to correct any misconceptions the counsellor may have.

Note how he uses the term ‘a neat package’ as a metaphor to indicate that the client leaves with a summary of their material, feeling understood and ‘heard’:

It can be useful to summarise what has been brought to give the client a ‘neat package’ that they can go away with, feeling understood because the summary matches their material. Equally, the summary is an opportunity for the client to say, ‘No, it’s not like that; it’s like this.’ This too is great for the counsellor, because it allows you to realign where you are and be fully within the client’s frame of reference.

Kelly (2017: 10) describes the use of summarising in ending the therapeutic hour as follows:

About five or ten minutes before the end of the session, it’s important to let the client know that the time is coming to an end, so they have time to ‘pack up’. It allows them to ‘change gear’ and gives you, as the practitioner, the chance to close everything up before they leave, making sure they’re safe to ‘re-enter the world’.

Use of Summarising in Beginning a Session

Summarising can also be used as a way into the next session, reminding the client (who may have come from a busy week of everyday life, not necessarily recalling the nuances of their previous week’s therapy) of the key themes covered then.

When reviewing the client’s notes, before they arrive for the session, you might like to draw out the key theme (or a few themes – perhaps a maximum of three) that they brought to their previous session, and summarise these at the start.

This can help the client ‘settle in’ to the session; it also shows them that you have a clear memory of their material, which helps to build and consolidate the therapeutic relationship.

For person-centred counsellors, using a summary at the start of a session in this way doesn’t go against the principle of the client being free to bring what they wish to each session: you can still convey the client’s absolute freedom to choose to develop any of that work or to bring something entirely different this time. The choice is theirs.

How do you feel when someone has clearly listened and understood you?

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Feltham C & Dryden W (1993) Dictionary of Counselling , Whurr

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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.

What Are The Benefits Of Paraphrasing In Counseling

Table of Contents

What are the benefits of paraphrasing in counseling?

In client-centered therapy, Carl R. Dot Rogers coined the term active listening, which is a method of responding empathically to another person’s emotions by paraphrasing what they said while concentrating on the core of what they felt and what was significant to them. Paraphrasing is different from reflective listening in that you are only summarizing what the victim has said. Reflective listening involves more than just summarizing; it also involves identifying feelings that the other person may not have acknowledged, but that are nonetheless indicated by their words and attitudes.Instead of copying someone else’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks, you can paraphrase. When integrating sources into academic writing, paraphrasing is typically preferable to direct quotation. It reads more fluently, maintains the focus on your own voice, and demonstrates your understanding of the original source.The fact that students frequently express other people’s ideas without sufficiently altering the words makes paraphrasing challenging. As a result, the student’s assessment’s words closely resemble the ones they have read in the original.When it comes to SEO, paraphrasing has some special advantages as well as disadvantages. It makes a topic easier to understand and decreases the likelihood of plagiarism. A rewriter, on the other hand, is not always accurate and might violate someone’s copyright.Using different words and phrases to convey the same ideas is known as 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 direct quotations.

What are paraphrasing’s three benefits?

You can avoid overusing direct quotations by paraphrasing, which can also be shorter than quoting. It can be beneficial to paraphrase in order to better comprehend and consider the source material. You are made to consider what the other person is really saying when you rephrase their idea. Reframing or summarizing is a little more complicated than paraphrasing because it involves organizing a variety of thoughts, emotions, facts, and/or concerns into one overarching theme, frequently leading the group in a more positive direction. Reframing is a strategy for connecting dispersed and disparate statements.If you want to rephrase text or speech without changing its meaning, you must use your own words. Reducing something to its bare minimum means summarizing it. Both methods can be used to make complex information or concepts more understandable and concise.When should I summarize and when should I paraphrase? To summarize a work is to condense it down to its key ideas and present it in a concise manner.According to the Cambridge Online Dictionary (COD), paraphrasing means to state 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 in your own words is referred to as paraphrasing.

Why are summarization and paraphrasing crucial?

It is highly recommended that you 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. Instead of using the author’s exact words, paraphrasing enables you to focus on the concepts in the source materials that are most relevant to your term paper or essay. Additionally, it enables you to clarify difficult concepts and occasionally rephrase sentences in order to use language that is easier for your reader to understand.In academic writing, paraphrasing is a powerful technique for reiterating, condensing, or elaborating on the points made by another author while simultaneously lending authority to your own analysis or argument. Successful paraphrasing is crucial for effective academic writing, and unsuccessful paraphrasing can lead to unintentional plagiarism.One effective way to paraphrase is. Original—paraphrases should be written using your own unique words, phrases, and sentence structures rather than those from the source. Respectful of your source’s ideas, tone, and emphasis—paraphrases must accurately reflect these elements.A paraphrase (/prfrez/) is a restatement of a text or passage’s meaning in new words. The word itself is derived from the Ancient Greek word (paráphrasis), which means additional manner of expression, via the Latin verb paraphrasis. Paraphrasis is another name for the process of paraphrasing.The authors are introduced and the ideas are put in their voice with the use of the fundamental signal phrases. It faithfully reproduces the authors’ ideas.

What role does summarizing play in counseling?

In addition to letting the client know that the counsellor has heard and understood, summarizing helps the client organize their thoughts and determine what is most crucial. Noticing only what the client has said is insufficient; it’s also critical to note what is absent. The other person can better organize their thoughts by summarizing important details, concepts, and ideas without introducing their own presumptions and opinions. By empowering others to choose the best course of action, this can help to better understand the situation.In addition to helping the client clarify their thoughts and decide what is most important, summarizing communicates to them that the counsellor has heard and understood them. Observing the client’s words alone is not enough; it’s also critical to pay attention to what is absent.In counseling, there is a difference between paraphrasing and summarizing. Because summaries typically cover a wider time period than paraphrases do, using them differs from paraphrasing. Summarizing can therefore be used later, perhaps around the middle or end of a counseling session.

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Psychotherapy, personality, how to use summarizing in counseling (9+ important benefits).

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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.

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 counseling, summarising aids in the following ways:

How to summarize

Summarising vs paraphrasing, 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.

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

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.

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?

What are some counseling techniques.

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.

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20 Basic Counseling Skills to Become an Effective Therapist

When combined, such competencies support clients through treatment and help them reach their goal of overcoming the pressures of modern life and leading a more fulfilling existence (Tan, Leong, Tan, & Tan, 2015).

Various counseling skills can be learned and developed to foster and maintain the psychological process, including good communication, problem solving, and goal setting, and introduce coping techniques such as self-talk and visualization (Nelson-Jones, 2014; Sommers-Flanagan & Sommers-Flanagan, 2015).

This article introduces and examines counseling skills and techniques for supporting the psychological process underpinning therapy and setting and achieving counseling goals.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Strengths Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help your clients realize their unique potential and create a life that feels energizing and authentic.

This Article Contains:

What are counseling skills, 3 real examples of good counseling skills, 20 basic counseling skills: a checklist, counseling microskills explained, effective techniques used by counselors, how to improve your counseling skills, assessing counseling skills: a scale, 3 books to foster your counseling skills, tools from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Most therapists and counselors would agree that a good counseling relationship is fundamental to being effective with clients. Such alliances build on several counselor-offered qualities, core conditions , and skills , including “empathic understanding, respect and acceptance for clients’ current states of being, and congruence or genuineness” (Nelson-Jones, 2014, p. 9).

While psychological practitioners recognize the importance of the counseling relationship , they also agree on the need for interventions using skills directed by their theoretical orientation.

When viewed as a relationship with core conditions and a selection of interventions , counseling is recognized as a psychological process, usually with the goal of “altering how people feel, think and act so that they may live their lives more effectively” (Nelson-Jones, 2014, p. 10).

Various counseling skills underpin the psychological process and are required to become an effective therapist. They have five different goals (Nelson-Jones, 2014):

Supportive listening Clients feel heard, understood, and affirmed.
Managing a problem situation Clients often need help tackling a specific, problematic situation.
Problem management The individual requires support in overcoming more general problems, such as feeling depressed.
Strengthening insufficiently strong skills Clients can develop or replace the weak and deficient skills that cause them to face the same problems repeatedly, such as broken relationships or challenges at work.
Enhancing skill strength goals Clients do not always seek help in resolving specific problems; sometimes, they simply require the skills to function better.

The therapist’s skills help the client achieve one or more of the goals above, overcome the problems they face, and acquire techniques to support new ways of thinking and behaving.

While there are various skills, the following are practical examples requiring positive and specific counseling skills.

Creating visual images

Visual images can be powerful tools for entering and understanding a client’s frame of reference (Nelson-Jones, 2014).

When a client explains their situation and the challenges they face, it can be helpful to form a mental representation of what life may be like for them. Visualization can provide insight into how they interpret events problematically, using their personal experiences and beliefs to shape their internal representation (Nelson-Jones, 2014).

Creating self-talk

Self-talk is a valuable intervention for clients learning to cope with stress and anger (Nelson-Jones, 2014). Skilled therapists help clients with self-talk in the following ways:

Highlight negative self-talk Clients often rely on damaging, negative self-talk. Skilled therapists can show clients how to explore their statements in problematic situations, such as presenting at work or forming relationships.
Educate clients about coping self-talk Clients can learn positive self-talk as a helpful coping strategy, supporting an internal dialogue that calms nerves and focuses on the task at hand.
Capture helpful self-talk Clients can discover how to capture positive self-talk and use it at the correct time.

Crisis counseling

Therapists may occasionally counsel clients in potential or immediate danger. While their influence may feel limited, “counselors’ primary source of influence to keep clients safe through situations of imminent danger is the therapeutic relationship they form with each client” (Cochran & Cochran, 2015, p. 201).

Strong therapeutic relationship skills, such as the following, help manage client crises:

Acceptance While tempting to see only the dilemma faced, it is crucial to know the person and accept them. It is imperative to connect with the client and make your understanding visible.
Empathy Empathy is essential within any therapeutic relationship yet may need to be increased during times of crisis. It must be communicated clearly to the client so that they are aware of the connection formed.
Explain what is going on If the therapist is distracted, perhaps listening for and assessing danger signals, they must tell the client. Otherwise, if the client senses anything less than the therapist’s full attention, they may assume judgmental and critical thoughts or even boredom.
Carefully state feeling Clients may not always be aware that the therapist cares for them. Stating that they want the clients to be safe, well, and happy and sharing concern for their wellbeing can help justify a request to plan, complete an assessment, or follow a course of treatment.
Therapeutic listening and reflection Therapeutic listening and reflection throughout each session show caring and connection.
Making plans Planning for a client’s wellbeing and safety requires agreeing with the client what steps they will take and actions they are willing to put in place.

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The following checklists contain skills that a therapist or counselor would typically possess or be working toward to help their clients reach their therapeutic goals effectively.

Listening and communication skills

While “good therapeutic listening is extremely rare,” effective therapists should develop the following skills (Cochran & Cochran, 2015, p. 25):

Focus on what a client is telling them for at least several minutes with total concentration.
Summarize the core content of what is said (without their own belief bias) while avoiding missing key details or adding judgments or opinions.
Recognize when they are adding in their own, uncommunicated thoughts.
Be aware of their body language as a listener and recognize feelings physically and emotionally.
Remain comfortable with silences and encourage the client to own them.

Good verbal communication is a valuable skill in therapy. Statements such as “I understand what you are saying” or “I can see you are in pain” can significantly affect the client’s confidence in the therapeutic process and the therapist.

Skilled therapists should ask themselves (Nelson-Jones, 2014):

Is the language appropriate to the situation and the client? The client may have little or no therapy experience or may have limited vocabulary skills.
What does the content of what is being said refer to? The therapist must tune in to what is being said and about whom; for example, “I just don’t seem to care anymore.”
How much is being said? Too little speech may indicate client shyness or difficulty talking about a sensitive subject; too much may be a tactic to avoid sharing what is really wrong. Similarly, there is a problem if the therapist is talking more than the client or regularly interrupting.
Ownership of speech The pronoun ‘you’ can sound judgmental. Using “I” to talk about how the speaker feels can be less confrontational and more engaging.

Reflection skills

Reflection is complex, requiring considerable therapist skills to communicate with clients that they are striving to understand (Cochran & Cochran, 2015).

An effective therapist must become skillful in the art of reflection and able to demonstrate the following (modified from Cochran & Cochran, 2015):

Reflect their version of what the client has communicated.
Use declarative statements when they believe they understand what has been said.
Keep reflections concise.
Focus on the main point of what has been shared, particularly the most emotionally laden statements.
Accept corrections to what they have said.
Interrupt a client with a reflection only when it assists clarity or to avoid being overwhelmed.
Use reflections to encourage the client’s communication without damaging the conversation flow.

Helping skills

Helping skills typically include specific verbal skills taught to students who are training to become mental healthcare professionals, including (Hill & Lent, 2006):

Open questions Helping clients elaborate on their internal frames of reference (such as, ‘Tell me about that’ ).
Reflections of feelings Being aware of more profound emotional messages and showing that the therapist is attuned to the client.
Interpretations Uncovering the meaning behind what is said.
Direct guidance Setting realistic and achievable expectations for goals and appropriate behavior.

Helping skills can be learned through instruction or by modeling experts .

Attending refers to how the therapist presents to the client physically, psychologically, and emotionally. The therapist must be present, available to the client, and, rather than turning up with a fixed agenda, flexible and prepared to put themselves in the client’s situation.

Therapists should maintain an open and relaxed posture, including uncrossed arms and legs, and eye contact while following the conversation closely.

Listening relates to the importance of understanding the client’s narrative. Empathy is key to good listening. Being capable of seeing the world from the client’s perspective can create a growth-promoting therapeutic environment.

Together, microskills combine to form an effective counseling conversation (Tan et al., 2015).

Basic skills of a counselor – Mometrix Academy

Counselors combine several techniques to be effective with clients, including challenging and reflecting feelings.

Challenging skills

Challenging clients’ existing perceptions can help offer new perspectives, reframing how they see problems or previous events (Nelson-Jones, 2014).

The following guidelines can help develop the skills of challenging without confronting (modified from Nelson-Jones, 2014):

Reflecting thoughts Begin by showing the client that they have been heard and understood.
Helping clients challenge themselves Sending mixed messages or asking clients to back up their arguments encourages clients to question their internal frame of reference.
Challenges should not be put-downs Avoid messages that begin with “you” that can be taken negatively.
Avoiding strong challenges Challenging too hard can create resistance.
Avoiding threats Avoid verbal or nonverbal threats, such as pointing or a raised voice.
Leaving the client responsible Let the client choose if they move forward with the challenge.
Neither overdoing nor avoiding challenges Challenging can be valuable, pushing toward client change. Too much can create the perception of an unsafe emotional climate.

Reflecting feelings

“Reflecting feelings, rather than reflecting thoughts alone, can establish a climate for initial and subsequent sessions where clients share rather than bury feelings” (Nelson-Jones, 2014, p. 102).

Unlike paraphrasing, reflecting feelings involves picking up both verbal and nonverbal messages and requires skills as both a receiver and a sender (modified from Nelson-Jones, 2014).

Receiver skills include:

Understanding the client’s face, body, vocal, and verbal messages.
Being in tune with their own emotional reactions.
Considering the context of the message sent.
Being aware of both the surface and deeper messages from the client.

Sender skills include:

Responding to the client, showing awareness and understanding of feelings.
Using expressive responses rather than wooden replies.
Confirming the accuracy of understanding.

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Mental health professionals need to become their own best counselors; if therapists truly believe in their approach when applied to clients, it should also help them “lead happier and more fulfilled lives” (Nelson-Jones, 2014, p. 483).

Trainees may find it helpful to consider undergoing therapy themselves. The experience will benefit their personal growth, empathic understanding, and knowledge of the psychological process and therapeutic relationship (Nelson-Jones, 2014).

Once trained, mental health professionals should assume responsibility for their continuing professional development. Such training will keep therapists up to date with new developments in their field and advances in technology that support them professionally (Nelson-Jones, 2014).

Other ways to improve your counseling skills include being supervised, presenting at and attending conferences, and reading professional counseling books and articles.

In addition, for more guidance on your discussions with clients, we share 40 counseling interview questions to make the onboarding process and ongoing conversations easier.

Therapists, particularly students and trainees, should regularly reflect on their skill set and recognize opportunities for development and growth.

While there are limited instruments to assess the skills of mental health professionals directly, the following resources are helpful for therapists or supervisors:

Skill Evaluation Form – Kent State University has produced a Counseling Skills and Techniques measure that while developed for students, can be relevant for trainees and more experienced therapists.
American Counseling Association Code of Ethics – This Code of Ethics includes details of the competencies required for a counselor along with ethical considerations and standards for the counseling relationship.
Psychotherapy Process Q-Set – This 100-item questionnaire is used to score therapy sessions and classify the overall therapy process.

While there are many books available on counseling skills, the following are three of our favorites.

1. The Heart of Counseling: Counseling Skills Through Therapeutic Relationships – Jeff Cochran and Nancy Cochran

This valuable and detailed guide helps students and trainees build on their existing knowledge and develop the qualities and skills required to form effective therapeutic relationships and deliver on treatment outcomes.

The book includes case studies, clear guidance on applying theoretical concepts in therapy, and supporting videos.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. Practical Counselling and Helping Skills – Richard Nelson-Jones

Now in its sixth edition, this book by Richard Nelson-Jones provides a detailed, step-by-step guide to applying his three-stage model (relating, understanding, and changing) to counseling.

This thorough and practical book helps the reader develop the skills to become an effective counselor and deliver treatment goals.

3. Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice: Skills, Strategies, and Techniques – John Sommers-Flanagan and Rita Sommers-Flanagan

This comprehensive guide presents all the key counseling and psychotherapy theories and how to apply them in clinical practice.

Including chapter outlines, graphics, tests, charts, and links to videos, this is a valuable resource for students and teachers.

We have many tools that support the counseling and therapy process, including worksheets that help improve communication and empathy.

Why not try out the following free worksheets?

From My Way – No, My Way to OUR Way This worksheet helps pairs explore their conflicting approaches or points of view and co-create a shared norm or solution to a problem.
Listening Accurately Worksheet This handout presents five simple steps to facilitate accurate listening and can be used to help establish communication norms at the beginning of a therapeutic relationship.
TRAPS to Avoid and TIPS for Success This handout puts forward a range of suggestions to facilitate better conflict resolution.
Levels of Validation This short self-assessment helps therapists and counselors consider the level at which they typically validate the feelings and experiences of their clients, ranging from mindfully listening to radical genuineness.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop their strengths, check out this collection of 17 strength-finding tools for practitioners. Use them to help others better understand and harness their strengths in life-enhancing ways.

17 Exercises To Discover & Unlock Strengths

Use these 17 Strength-Finding Exercises [PDF] to help others discover and leverage their unique strengths in life, promoting enhanced performance and flourishing.

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Becoming and persisting as an effective counselor requires expertise and a rich and diverse set of skills (Hill, Spiegel, Hoffman, Kivlighan, & Gelso, 2017). These skills can be developed through education, training, practice, experience, and supervision.

Good counseling skills are vital to building robust and positive therapeutic alliances, delivering on agreed goals, and achieving successful outcomes as part of the psychological process.

By investing time and energy, it is possible for counselors to grow new and develop existing skill sets and help people move closer to how they wish to live by changing how they think, feel, and act.

While open communication and showing empathy are vital, so too are sharing the tools needed by the client to solve their problems. Once empowered, they can overcome new and existing difficulties.

Explore the skills discussed within this article and identify the support you need to develop them further. It is ultimately beneficial to you and your clients that you become the most skilled counselor possible.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Strengths Exercises for free .

Cochran, J. L., & Cochran, N. H. (2015). The heart of counseling: Counseling skills through therapeutic relationships . Routledge.
Hill, C. E., & Lent, R. W. (2006). A narrative and meta-analytic review of helping skills training: Time to revive a dormant area of inquiry. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training , 43 (2), 154–172.
Hill, C. E., Spiegel, S. B., Hoffman, M. A., Kivlighan, D. M., & Gelso, C. J. (2017). Therapist expertise in psychotherapy revisited. The Counseling Psychologist , 45 (1), 7–53.
Nelson-Jones, R. (2014). Practical counselling and helping skills (6th ed.). Sage.
Sommers-Flanagan, J., & Sommers-Flanagan, R. (2015). Counseling and psychotherapy theories in context and practice: Skills, strategies, and technique s. Wiley.
Tan, C. T., Leong, J., Tan, A., & Tan, D. (2015). Essentials of counselling competencies: A practical guide . Write Editions.

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Microskills: paraphrasing vs. summarizing in counseling practice.

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CounselingExam How often have you found yourself caught between paraphrasing and summarizing, unsure of the fine line that differentiates them? Don't fret! Stacy Frost and Dr. Linton Hutchinson are here to sweep away confusion and shed light on these two essential counseling skills in a way you've never encountered before. As hosts of Licensure Exams, they masterfully unpack the intricacies of paraphrasing and summarizing, demonstrating how paraphrasing involves capturing the crux of a client's specific message, while summarizing is about compacting the main points, problems, or themes over a session, or multiple sessions. As Stacy and Linton weave their unique perspectives into this enlightening conversation, you'll learn how effective paraphrasing can demonstrate understanding of a client's sentiment, and summarizing can aptly encapsulate an entire session into key points. Get ready to challenge yourself in an interactive session where they play a game of identifying whether a statement is a paraphrase or a summary. Plus, there's a contest for the listeners, with the first to correctly respond to a Facebook post winning a personal Zoom call with them. By the time you're done with this episode, you'll not only understand paraphrasing and summarizing like never before, but also be fully prepped to employ these skills in your practice. Ready to take your counseling skills up a notch? Tune in now!

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Hey, there you incredible therapists. Welcome to our podcast here at Licensure Exams. I'm Stacey Frost and I'm with my co-host, the man, the Mystery, the Legend.

Dr Linton Hutchinson hey.

Hi from hot and sunny Florida. Today we're talking about the differences between paraphrasing and summarizing two very important counseling skills that you will probably need for the exam. You'll be tested on a variety of skills and these two are often confused because they share some similarities.

Exactly and there are also some subtle differences. But before we get into that, let's start by defining each. So paraphrasing is the restatement of a specific message or an idea that has been expressed by the client, and the goal is to capture the essence of the client's statement, using different words but retaining the original meaning.

Right and summarization is a condensed version of a larger piece of information that they've given you, so it may span the entire session or even multiple sessions, and it's used by you to capture the main points, issues or themes discussed over a period of time.

Right. So paraphrasing and summarizing are similar in that they both involve repeating or restating a client's thoughts and feelings, but they're different in that paraphrasing is about restating a specific message or idea expressed by the client, while summarizing involves condensing several ideas that have been expressed by the client.

Yeah, that's right, Stacey. Well, I guess it's time to provide everyone with a couple of good examples.

Let's say, a client tells you I feel like I'm stuck in a dead-end job and it's really taking a toll on my mental health.

Okay, so paraphrasing this could sound something like you're trapped and your current career is affecting your well-being.

Yeah, good one. So with that statement, you've taken the client's sentiment and rephrased it, demonstrating your understanding of what they're trying to communicate to you. Now let's contrast this with a summarization.

At the end of the session, you might say something like you've discussed your feelings of stagnation in your job and how this is negatively impacting your mental health. With that, you've condensed the conversation from the entire session by focusing on the main points of discussion where number one the client's feeling of stagnation in their job and two, how it's impacting their mental health. Your summarization tells the client that you understand what's been discussed with them in the session.

Yep. Thank you very much, Linton, for summarizing that so clearly.

Right. Well, here's another example.

During the beginning of the session, your client says I'm feeling really overwhelmed by all the expectations that I have for myself these days. I just don't feel like I can keep up.

Well, you could respond by saying it sounds like you're feeling a lot of pressure from your own expectations and that it's really difficult for you to deal with the stress. What does that sound like to you, stacy? Is it a paraphrase or is it a summarization?

Well, this one is a little tricky, but I'm leaning toward a paraphrase.

Yes, Stacy, and why is that?

Well, the response focuses on a specific statement that the client made. You, as a therapist, are restating it in different words, while still capturing that main point they're trying to make. You're not condensing multiple conversations or a lot of different ideas, like a summarization would.

If this was an episode of Wheel of Fortune, I'd ring a bell at this point.

I used to watch that show all the time with my grandma. That and Jeopardy Good ones, all right. So yay, I get to move on to the next round. You got any more examples, lyndon?

Sure, how about this one?

A client says I don't know if I can trust my boyfriend. He lied to me last week.

Well, you could respond to him by saying it seems like you're finding it difficult to trust your boyfriend after being misled. Is that a paraphrase or a summarization?

Well, that one also sounds like a paraphrase. You've captured the real essence there of what the client said and you expressed it back to them in different words.

You got it All right, let's try this one.

The client says to you I'm not sure how to handle this conflict with my sister. We've been arguing a lot lately and it's really just been getting worse and I don't know what to do. She never listens to me, no matter how hard I try to get her to listen. My parents are always taking her side, so nothing ever changes.

So let's say that you continue talking about this issue with the client and at the end of the session you say we've discussed your conflict with your sister and how it's escalating, as well as the fact that neither of you are being heard. Your parents always seem to take her side, which has made the situation even more frustrating for you.

Okay, so this one pretty clearly to me seems like a summarization. You've got these multiple conversations that you've talked about during the session and ideas that you both discussed, and now you're presenting the client with a really condensed version of all those points.

Right Using. This is just a really great way to provide closure for the client on all the important topics that you covered during the session.

Exactly so, linton. I got the answers right. Is there a prize?

Yeah, absolutely, but the prize isn't for you, stacey, you're already the prize.

Aww, all right. Well, that sounds good to me. Let's go ahead and pay it forward then. So the first person to respond to this post on Facebook outlining the differences between paraphrasing and summarizing, like we've talked about in this episode, is going to get a Zoom call with me and Linton, and we'll answer any questions that you might have as you are studying for your exam.

All right. So, to recap, we talked about paraphrasing and summarizing. Paraphrasing is about restating a specific message from the client with slightly different words, while summarizing is about condensing multiple conversations or ideas in order to capture the main points discussed.

Well, I think that's about all we have for today. Thanks for joining us and make sure to tune in next time, Until we meet again, remember it's in there.

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COMMENTS

Reflecting and Paraphrasing • Counselling Tutor
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 ...
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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 ...
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Practice active listening and paraphrasing in your day-to-day life. Practice paraphrasing in your own stimulated skills sessions. Try to look for the full person when paraphrasing, e.g. not just the client's words, but also their body language, facial expressions, and way of being within the counselling relationship.
How Can Paraphrasing Be Used in Counseling? (3+ Main Indications)
Paraphrasing refers to one of the counseling skills which holds paramount importance in the process of counseling. It is that skill which the counselor uses to repeat what the client has said at the present moment using fewer words and without any intention of changing the meaning of what the client conveyed through his words.
Encouragers, Paraphrasing and Summarising
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
Reflecting & Listening Skills
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.
Improve Your Counselling Skills in 60 Seconds: Paraphrasing ...
In this short but effective video we explore how the use of Paraphrasing & Summarizing in therapy can help clients feel understood.Narrated by Senior BACP Co...
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Paraphrasing is one of the most powerful counselling techniques you can use... I'm going to share with you what I think is the most important counselling skill.
Basic Counselling Skills explained [PDF Download] • Counselling Tutor
When working with clients, counsellors draw on a number of basic counselling skills. They include: • Attending • Use of Silence • Reflecting and Paraphrasing • Clarifying Questions • Focusing • Rapport Building • Summarising. Click to download your PDF on the Basic Counselling Skills Explained.
3 Ways to Master Paraphrasing
Mastering Paraphrasing: 3 Key Techniques for Building Trust and Connection in Therapeutic RelationshipsWhat is Paraphrasing? Mastering paraphrasing is an essential skill for trainee counsellors. Paraphrasing is a form of rewording what the client has shared without losing the sense or meaning of what they are saying. It focuses on something that is significant for the client, or, as the ...
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In this video we demonstrate the counselling microskill of paraphrasing. When the counsellor is paraphrasing, they rephrase or restate what the client has sa...
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Skill 4: Active Listening. Active listening requires your full attention, using non-verbal cues, listening to the client's story, and noticing body language. Techniques like nodding and using hm hm and mirroring body language, showcase active listening. Active listening within a counselling context requires a deep understanding of the spoken ...
Summarising • Counselling Tutor
Summarising is therefore a counselling skill used to condense or crystallise the main points of what the client is saying and feeling. 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.
Paraphrasing/Tone
Paraphrasing (link to Integrative Counselling Skills in action by Sue Culley, Tim Bond) is when you, the listener, restate succinctly and tentatively what the speaker said - conveying empathy, acceptance and genuineness. Since we cannot read our client's mind and we've been given a lot of extraneous material, it's good to learn how to rephrase briefly and acknowledge that this is what we ...
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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)
What Are The Benefits Of Paraphrasing In Counseling
You can avoid overusing direct quotations by paraphrasing, which can also be shorter than quoting. It can be beneficial to paraphrase in order to better comprehend and consider the source material. You are made to consider what the other person is really saying when you rephrase their idea. Reframing or summarizing is a little more complicated ...
Basic Counseling Skills: Paraphrase, Reflection of Feeling ...
Paraphrase, reflection of feeling, and summarization are basic counseling skills. What are they and how are they used? Watch Drs. Jim Cook and Laura Harrawoo...
PDF Reflecting Skills
Counseling Skill Cheat Sheet 1 Reflecting Skills Skill Example Reflecting content: Brief statement reiterating content from the client. "Your husband and you got into three fights since our last session." Reflecting affect/emotions: Brief statement connecting client's emotions to content from the session. "You feel scared right now ...
How to Use Summarizing in Counseling? (9+ Important Benefits)
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.
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Effective counseling and therapy require many skills; they combine to build and maintain the therapeutic relationship and improve the likelihood of a positive outcome from the psychological process (Cochran & Cochran, 2015; Nelson-Jones, 2014).. While there are various skills, the following are practical examples requiring positive and specific counseling skills.
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In this lecture I talk about the twin skills of paraphrasing and reflecting feelings. I quote from Mearns, D. and Thorne, B. (2007) Person-Centred Counsellin...
Microskills: Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing in Counseling Practice
As hosts of Licensure Exams, they masterfully unpack the intricacies of paraphrasing and summarizing, demonstrating how paraphrasing involves capturing the crux of a client's specific message, while summarizing is about compacting the main points, problems, or themes over a session, or multiple sessions. As Stacy and Linton weave their unique ...
Paraphrasing Skills in Counselling
The document discusses paraphrasing and reflection skills in counseling. Paraphrasing involves restating what a client has said using fewer words while maintaining the original meaning. This shows the client you are listening and can clarify or highlight key issues. Reflection mirrors back what a client said through repeating or selecting their words to match their tone and feelings. Both ...
PDF CCU Writing Center Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing One of the most important skills in college-level writing is paraphrasing, which involves restating a passage from another text in different words. A good paraphrase will capture the meaning of the original passage without repeating the phrasing. Instructors often encourage their students to rely more on paraphrasing than quoting.