• Counselors must inspire trust in clients.A businessman an businesswoman having a conversation image by sumos from Fotolia.com
  
  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) lists twelve traditional therapies including psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and client-centered therapy. Most therapies involve counseling or communication between a therapist and a client, and most therapists employ many of the same techniques for effective communication, regardless of what type of therapy they practice. Challenges can arise for the therapist when using some of these counseling techniques.
  
  

Questioning

• Questioning the client is a necessary communication technique. Besides questioning to obtain general personal information, the counselor will question the client about the presenting problem. Resistance to questioning can arise early in the course of therapy, especially if the client is not willingly seeking help and feels forced to participate. The counselor may be able to overcome this resistance by asking open-ended questions (questions that require more than a yes/no answer) and listening attentively, respectfully, and empathetically to the client's answers.
  
  

Listening

• Active listening techniques include body language, tone of voice, and verbal responses. Body language and tone are much more important than the counselor's verbal responses. Clients read more from how the counselor acts than from what the counselor actually says. One challenge to active listening is the client who rambles on about subjects unrelated to his reason for being in counseling, in an effort to divert the counselor from obtaining useful information. A counselor must maintain respect and empathy for the client while at some point re-directing him back to his reason for being there.
  
  

Reflecting

• Reflecting is saying back to the client what the counselor believes the client has just said. This helps clarify communication for both the client and the counselor. For example, a client might say, "I'll never take medication. I don't know anyone who takes medication." The counselor might reflect this statement back to the client as, "So are you saying that you can't imagine ever taking medication for any reason?" The client might challenge the reflection by giving the closed-ended answer, "No." The counselor might choose to roll with the resistance and go on to other topics, or rephrase the question.
  
  

Affirming

• Clients are distressed and may not often be affirmed in their personal lives. Counselors can build trust by affirming positive client actions and statements. For example, a client may say, "I can't seem to do anything right. I wish my kids had a stable home, but I can't stop drinking." A counselor could affirm the client's desire to provide a stable home for his children.