Deck 3: Empathic Presence and Responding Building a Mutual Understanding

Question 1

Non-verbal behaviours generally ____.

A)are not necessarily important as they can be faked
B)provide a window into the honest,true feelings of a person
C)provide some important information,but are not a key source of information in therapy
D)are only useful when the therapist engages in nonverbal behaviour

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Clients' stories tend to be a collection of their ____.

A)experiences and behaviours
B)thoughts
C)emotions
D)all of these

Answer 2

D

Question 3

One of the keys to mutual influencing is ____.

A)to take turns in the dialogue so the client and therapist share the talk time
B)for the therapist to have sympathy for the client,and vice versa
C)for the therapist to gain leverage
D)holding to the virtue of openness to others

Answer 3

D

Question 4

A client tells you the following: "I started my new job and right away,my boss starts giving me a hard time.I bet he is an unhappy and angry person.You know,when he hired me I had a sense he was unhappy.He told me that he was going on a business trip and that I would be unsupervised for the next two weeks." You notice that almost none of this communication has to do with the client.According to Egan,one useful way to think about this communication is ____.

A)to conclude that the client is actually the one who is unhappy and angry
B)to wonder about what the client is leaving out
C)to conclude that the client has a hard time fitting into new situations
D)to consider the symbolic meaning of 'boss'

Question 5

When therapists listen to their clients,it is important for therapists to ____.

A)listen to clients' thoughts and patterns
B)listen to clients' intentions
C)listen to clients' emotions
D)all of these

Question 6

How can helpers best avoid informational overload?

A)By identifying key messages and feelings
B)By taking notes
C)By asking the client to focus only on what is most important
D)By gently and respectfully asking the client to refrain from speaking too much

Question 7

When clients tell their stories,it is important for therapists to ____.

A)listen for what is missing from the story
B)attend to their feelings
C)make epistemic judgments in order to understand the client
D)both A and B

Question 8

What does Ickes mean by "empathic accuracy"?

A)The ability to appreciate the spirit of what another person is saying and feeling
B)The confirmation that the response given by the helper "hit the mark"
C)The ability to accurately infer the specific content of another person's thought and feelings
D)The confirmation of the helper's own feelings as expressed by the client

Question 9

The basic formula Egan suggests beginners use to deliver empathic understanding is ____.

A)"What I think I hear you saying is…"
B)"You feel…because…"
C)"Let's share highlights of your story…"
D)"This is very painful…makes me feel bad also."

Question 10

As presented by Egan,the four requirements for true dialogue in the helping process are turn taking; connecting; mutual influencing; and ____.

A)speaking with deep emotion
B)coming to agreement
C)cocreating outcomes
D)therapeutic progress

Question 11

Which of the following is not a useful way for helpers to respond to clients?

A)By sharing their understanding of what is going on in the session
B)By interpreting what the client has said to get at what he or she really means
C)By checking to make sure that they've got things right
D)By probing for clarity and summarising the issues being discussed

Question 12

Your text lists non-listening,partial listening,tape-recorder listening,and ____ as forms of inactive or inadequate listening.

A)texting
B)perceptual focus
C)diagnostic communication
D)rehearsing

Question 13

A helper has the sense that the client is not making wise decisions about her current romantic relationship,and tends to believe that the client will never be able to appreciate the thoughts and feelings of her partner.The client would like to stay with her current partner and says they are generally doing well,but that they are having communication problems about household chores.What is the best approach for the helper to take?

A)Attend to the client's strengths and misused opportunities.
B)Transfer the client.
C)Evaluate the client for personality disorders.
D)Ask the client to leave her partner.

Question 14

From the perspective of positive psychology,a helper should always listen to the client for ____.

A)comments that are optimistic
B)client strengths,opportunities,and resources
C)information that will lead to positive growth
D)comments that interrupt the flow of discussion

Question 15

What type of empathy should typically be central to the helping process?

A)objective empathy
B)subjective empathy
C)interpersonal empathy
D)intrapersonal empathy

Question 16

Non-verbal behaviour can punctuate verbal communication by confirming or repeating what is being said; denying or confusing what is being said; strengthening or emphasising what is being said; adding intensity to what is being said; and ____ what is being said.

A)controlling or regulating
B)eliminating
C)freshening or electrifying
D)erasing

Question 17

What does the E stand for in the acronym SOLER?

A)Maintain good eye contact.
B)Energise the client.
C)Express empathy.
D)Be edgy.

Question 18

According to Carl Rogers,empathic listening means ____.

A)entering the private perceptual world of the client and becoming thoroughly at home in it
B)being in control of the client at all times
C)reading the client's unconscious messages through their facial expressions
D)being genuine in your response to what you hear the client saying

Question 19

Which of the following is not an important factor in nonverbal communication between helper and client as presented by Egan?

A)Body behaviour
B)Facial expressions
C)Routinely shaking hands at the beginning of each helping session
D)Physical closeness or distance in the helping space

Question 20

According to Egan,the communication skills involved in responding with empathy have three dimensions.These are ____.

A)know-how,tact,and discretion
B)perceptiveness,know-how,and assertiveness
C)openness,agreeableness,and sensitivity
D)openness,sympathy,and tact

Question 21

Because clients express feelings in a number of different ways,helpers can communicate an understanding of feelings in a variety of ways.Which of the following are ways suggested by Egan for helpers to communicate their understanding of the client's emotional state?

A)By using single words and/or different kinds of phrases
B)By focusing on the emotions implied in the client's statements about behaviours
C)By focusing on the emotions implied in the experiences the client is discussing
D)All of these

Question 22

Which of the following is not a tactic identified by Egan for responding to clients with empathy?

A)Respond quickly to client communications.
B)Gear your response to the client,but remain yourself.
C)Use short responses.
D)Give yourself time to think.

Question 23

In identifying emotions during a helping situation,the helper should use the right ____.

A)family of emotions and duration of emotional expression
B)family of emotions and category of cognition
C)family of emotions and intensity
D)intensity and duration of emotional expression

Question 24

Read the following: CLIENT: I don't even know where to start.(He slumps in his chair and falls silent).
HELPER: It's pretty clear that you're feeling miserable.Maybe we can talk about why.
CLIENT: (after a pause)Well,let me tell you what happened....
Which of the following best describes what the helper has successfully done to help the client to continue talking?

A)The helper has identified the family of emotions that the client was feeling.
B)The helper has identified the intensity of emotions that the client was feeling.
C)The helper has read and responded to feelings and emotions that were explicitly expressed.
D)The helper has read and responded to feelings and emotions embedded in client's nonverbal behaviour.

Question 25

Empathy ____.

A)is only encouraged early in the helping process.
B)can slow down client self-challenge
C)should be used throughout the helping process.
D)should be limited when choosing actions to accomplish goals.

Question 26

When working with clients it is important for helpers to consider their own boundaries.Which statement best describes what boundaries are within the helping profession:

A)Boundaries are disclosures that the helpers make to clients
B)Boundaries are there to protect the client from becoming too involved with the helper
C)Boundaries make helpers feel in control and in power of the client's goals.
D)Boundaries are mutually agreed limits to ensure that both client and helper feel safe

Question 27

Which of the following techniques from the shadow side most implies that what is really important is hidden from the client?

A)clichés
B)interpretations
C)faking it
D)parroting

Question 28

Which of the following is not noted as a way to evaluate if a helping response was accurate?

A)Use the experiential recapitulation process.
B)Use an empathic response to check a perception.
C)Evaluate verbal and nonverbal behaviours.
D)Note if clients more forward in the helping process.

Question 29

According to Egan,the use of sympathy ____.

A)denotes agreement rather than empathy
B)is synonymous with being empathic
C)is a central tenet of being an effective helper
D)is particularly useful in counselling

Question 30

Helpers often need to make decisions within the helping relationship when responding to clients.Which of the following is essential for helpers to think about when making these decisions?

A)Helpers need to fake it at times to appear competent
B)Helpers need to be ethical and principled
C)Helpers need to have the right answer
D)Helpers need to think about the client's experience of the helping relationship

Question 31

According to Egan,which of the following indicate how a helper might express empathy towards a client?

A)respond accurately to clients' feelings,emotions and moods
B)respond subjectively to clients' dreams
C)respond subjectively with an assessment of the veracity of the clients' stories
D)respond accurately to clients' formal histories

Question 32

When a helper would like the client to listen to him/herself in order to break the client's chain of thinking,what questions would be best suited to ask?

A)I don't understand what you are saying,can you please repeat that
B)Are you saying that… ?
C)Let me see if I've understood
D)I guess that you are saying…

Question 33

Which of the following is not one of the principles for responding to clients with empathy?

A)Respond selectively to core client messages.
B)Use your responses to express your own emotions about the client's situation.
C)Respond to the context,not just the words.
D)Use your responses as a mild social-influence process.

Question 34

Read the following,noting that Counsellor A responds one way to the client and Counsellor B responds in another: 12-YEAR-OLD CLIENT: My teacher started picking on me from the first day of class.I don't fool around more than anyone else in class,but she tells me off every time I do.I think she's picking on me because she doesn't like me.She doesn't yell at Bill Smith,and he acts funnier than I do.
COUNSELOR A: This is a bit perplexing.You wonder why she singles you out for so much discipline.
COUNSELOR B: You're angry because the way she picks on you seems unfair.
Why is Counsellor B's response more effective than A's?

A)A uses too many words.
B)B uses the right number of words.
C)A uses language that is too direct and explicit.
D)B gears the response in a way that a 12-year old is likely to appreciate.