Counseling Skills: Open Questions

Описание: Open questions, typically starting with words like "how", "what", or "why", prompt clients to answer with deeper and more thoughtful responses. They elicit more meaningful answers. In contrast, closed questions, typically starting with words like "are", "does", or "is", elicit only short responses such as "yes" or "no". Closed questions can be helpful when the counselor wants to gather only very pointed answers, but are not typically helpful for provoking therapeutic exploration.

In this example, a client is struggling with depression and low energy. The unskillful counselor uses closed questions and finds the conversation lulling. The skillful counselor uses open questions, which prompt the client to engage with more meaningful answers.