FEELINGS…NOTHING MORE THAN FEELINGS…

How do you feel about feelings? Varied cultural or family norms

Importance Extent and ways of expressing emotion Meaning-weakness, out of control, unprofessional, Comfort level

Varied levels of familiarity/knowledge Ability to identify and name Limited range Transient, not permanent Experiences, not facts

Varied processing styles

Sensorimotor

Concrete

Abstract-Formal/Operational

Abstract-Dialectical/Systemic

General thoughts re: emotion1. Primary emotions: Sad, Glad, Mad,

Scared, Disgust, Surprise2. Linked to biological activity

Located in various parts of the brain Experienced physically

3. Often times, they result from our thoughts

4. Nonverbal expression may differ from verbal expression

Reflection of Feelings Purpose of reflection

Clarify emotions Make emotions explicit Validate client’s emotional experience

How to reflect Identify the important feeling Draw attention to it

How do you feel about that? I imagine you might feel angry… You sound angry about that… You are really really angry…

Check out

Practice… I called every day and told them what

was going on…I’m so angry because I have to take care of everything.

I feel so stressed out…I can’t keep up with everything and I’m doing a lousy job at what I try to do.

Role playing In triads, take turns exploring each other’s

weekend. (at least 5 minutes each) As the counselor,

Listen for something that occurred that was likely to provoke emotion. Ask “how did you feel about that?”

Listen for stated emotions and reflect back at least two.

Listen/observe for unstated emotion. Suggest or wonder about the cx’s emotion.

Debrief Your comfort? Your accuracy? Your empathy?