Deck 5: Empathic Responding: Work at Mutual Understanding

Question 1

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 a client said to get at what s/he really means
C) By checking to make sure that they have gotten things right
D) By probing for clarity and summarizing the issues being discussed

Answer 1

By interpreting what a client said to get at what s/he really means

Question 2

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

A) Objective empathy
B) Subjective empathy
C) Interpersonal empathy
D) Intrapersonal empathy

Answer 2

Interpersonal empathy

Question 3

What does Ickes mean by "empathic accuracy?"

A) The ability to appreciate the general spirit of what another person is saying and feeling
B) The confirmation by the client 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 an understanding of the helper's own feelings as expressed by the client

Answer 3

The ability to accurately infer the specific content of another person's thought and feelings

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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

A) family of emotions and the correct emotional expression
B) family of emotions and type of cognition
C) family of emotions and the correct intensity
D) intensity and duration of emotional expression

Question 7

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

Question 8

Because clients express feelings in 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 to identify the feelings
B) By focusing on the emotions implied in the client's statements about behaviors
C) By focusing on the emotions implied in the experiences the client is discussing
D) These are all correct ways Egan says helpers can communicate understanding

Question 9

According to Egan, which of the following indicates how a helper might express empathy toward clients?

A) Respond accurately to clients' feelings, emotions and moods.
B) Respond subjectively to clients' dreams.
C) Respond subjectively by assessing the veracity of clients' stories.
D) Respond accurately to clients' formal histories.

Question 10

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 11

Which of these is not noted among ways to check whether 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 behaviors.
D) Note if clients move forward in the helping process.

Question 12

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

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

Question 13

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 14

Read the following, noting that Counselor A responds one way to the client and Counselor 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 gets me anytime 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 mad because the way she picks on you seems unfair.
Why is Counselor B's response more effective than A's?

A) A uses too many words and too long words.
B) B uses the right number and length of words.
C) A uses language that is too direct and explicit.
D) B responds in a way a 12-year-old can appreciate.

Question 15

According to Egan, the use of sympathy is ____.

A) denoting agreement rather than empathy
B) synonymous with the use of empathy
C) a central tenet of being an effective helper
D) particularly useful in counseling

Question 16

Which of the following responses from the shadow side most implies that the helper's theoretical orientation is more important than expressing understanding of the client's feelings and key messages?

A) Clichés
B) Interpretations
C) Faking it
D) Parroting

Question 17

Define the terms responding skills, empathic relationships, and empathic responses, and discuss their importance in the therapeutic relationship.

Question 18

Identify, discuss, and provide examples of the three dimensions of responding skills. What is the "basic formula" for responding with empathy? Briefly note the key issues involved with the following guidelines for responding accurately to clients:
• Discuss the need for the right family and intensity of emotions.
• Distinguish between expressed and discussed feelings.
• Discuss reading and responding to emotions that are expressed nonverbally.
• Explain the importance of sensitivity in naming emotions.
• Identify different ways to respond to feelings and emotions.
• Discuss the importance of neither overemphasizing nor underemphasizing feelings, emotions, and moods.

Question 19

How can a counselor respond accurately to a client's experiences, thoughts, and behaviors? Consider the following examples and propose possible responses.
a. Tina had been mugged and, as a result, was very fearful of leaving her apartment. Meeting with her counselor required Tina to leave her apartment and take a bus to the counseling center. Tina arrived, in typical fashion, with alcohol on her breath and acknowledged that drinking alcohol enabled her to leave home. After several weeks, Tina arrived without alcohol on her breath and commented, "So, I finally did it. I finally made it here without drinking, which I consider to be progress."
b. Paulo decided to come out to his family as gay. He was concerned about how they would take his news, so he and his counselor role-played several possibilities. When he arrived for his counseling session after coming out to his family, he laughed and said, "They said they knew along and were just waiting for me to realize it!"

Question 20

Identify and discuss the principles, guidelines, and tactics for responding with empathy. Outline the process for the counselor to recover from an inaccurate understanding and response.

Question 21

List and provide examples of responses from the "shadow side" of responding. For each example of a "shadow side" response, provide an example of a more therapeutically useful response.