How to Coach Yourself and Others Empowering Coaching And Crisis Interventions

This book is in B&W, not color - Print page in Grayscale for Correct view! ■ asking evocative questions about disadvantages of the status quo, advantages of change, optimism about change, and intention to change ■ using scaling questions—for example, “On a scale of 1 to 10, where are you in terms of satisfaction with you r life?” ■ exploring the positive and negative consequences of the status quo ■ using elaboration skills (e.g., asking for clarification, examples, description, and further information) to elicit further change talk ■ querying extremes, such as, “Suppose you don’t make any changes. What do you think might be the consequences of this in the worst-case scenario?” ■ looking back to help clients remember how things were before and compare with the current situation ■ looking forward by asking clients to describe their hopes and goals for the future ■ exploring goals and values to target discrepancies between important goals and current behaviour (Miller & Rollnick, 2002, pp. 78–83) ■ helping clients understand their ambivalence to change using the metaphor of a seesaw—when the costs of continuing present behaviour and the benefits of change outweigh the costs of change and benefits of continuing present behaviour, change will occur. Roll with Resistance Rolling with resistance requires that counsellors not engage in power struggles with clients, with counsellors arguing for change and clients resisting it. Client resistance is seen as a message that the counsellor needs to do something different. Power struggles are likely when counsellors: ■ offer unsolicited advice from the expert role ■ tell clients how they should feel ■ ask excessive questions ■ order, direct, warn, or threaten ■ preach, moralize, or shame ■ argue for change ■ blame, judge, or criticize Success Tip “As long as your clients are going to resist you, you might as well encourage it” (Milton Erickson). Radical acceptance is a strategy that involves encouraging expression of statements that you tend to disagree with or philosophically oppose, for example: Client: I don’t see the point. The only reason I came today is the fact that if I didn’t show up, I’d be cut off welfare. Counsellor: I’m very glad you brought this up. Many people share views such as yours but won’t speak up, so I appreciate your willingness to be honest. Amplified reflection is a technique that exaggerates what a client has said with the hope that the client will present the other side of ambivalence. However, as Miller and Rollnick (2002) stress, “This must be done empathically, because any sarcastic tone or too extreme an overstatement may itself elicit a hostile or otherwise resistant reaction” (p. 101). For [email protected] Property of Bookemon, do NOT distribute 45

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