Choosing The Right Reflection Pt 1.

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Transcript

Welcome And Topic Setup

Linton 0:07

Hi there, you future therapist. Welcome to our licensure exam podcast. I'm Dr. Linton Hutchinson, and today, and this is Stacy's favorite counseling phrase, we're going to do a deep dive into something that you're going to really find helpful for your licensing exam and honestly in your practice as well.

Stacy 0:28

That's right, Linton. We're going to look at differentiating between the different kinds of reflections in counseling: reflection of meaning, reflection of feeling, and reflection of content.

Book Story Banter And Warm-Up

Linton 0:40

Well, before we get started, let me tell you about our previous three podcasts on neurodevelopmental disorders with Hannah Selazar, an incredible therapist who also does tutoring. The podcast covered autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and specific learning disorders, all three areas that you might need to know for your licensing exam and definitely for your practice. If you need some one-on-one, send Hannah an email at infoinfo at thegoodneuron.com. That's info at thegoodneuro.com. And I'm sure she'll get you up the speed. And Stacy?

Stacy 1:24

Yes, Lyndon.

Linton 1:26

I've got a question for you today.

Stacy 1:28

Oh boy. Okay, I'm ready.

Linton 1:32

How are you doing on your bookstory?

Stacy 1:35

My book story? I wish I had better news for you, Lyndon. I'm not doing well on my book story.

Linton 1:42

Oh no. What's going on?

Stacy 1:45

I've hit a mental block, if you will. How are you doing on your book story?

Linton 1:50

My book story? I'm done with my book story.

Stacy 1:54

Oh, of course. All right. Let's just brag all about it, my homie.

Linton 2:00

Okay.

Stacy 2:01

Well, do we get a little teaser?

Linton 2:03

Yeah, well, yeah, let me get that. Hold on a second. I'll see if I can pull it up here. I'm getting closer. You ready?

Stacy 2:12

Ready. I'm ready.

Linton 2:14

Did I ever tell you about Teddy? I was used to hearing his name whispered at my school. Teddy. Teddy Vanderbilt.

Stacy 2:22

Is that real or are you just making that up?

Linton 2:24

No, it's true.

Stacy 2:26

Oh. I forgot you went to school up north, didn't you?

Linton 2:28

No, I didn't. I went down here.

Stacy 2:31

Vanderbilt? Okay. All right.

Linton 2:33

It's true. It's a true story. So, anyways, we do a we do a book every year, and everyone adds to that book. And everyone does a little story. And this year, the book was about what childhood experience did you have that had an everlasting effect on your life.

Stacy 2:54

Yeah, they're cool because they they get you to really think about, you know, stuff stuff maybe you haven't thought about in a long, long time.

Linton 3:02

Well, when I was first going back to what we're talking about, what were we talking about?

Stacy 3:08

Back on the ranch.

Linton 3:10

Oh, yeah, but Teddy. No, really. You know, when I was first studying for my licensing exam way back in the day, um, they had just come up with the DSM3.

Stacy 3:20

Uh-huh. Wait, Linton, I gotta stop you there. The DSM three? I think you mean one.

Linton 3:25

No, no, Stacy. You know, cut me some slack. Just because I might have some silver hairs, um, I wasn't around when they treated mental illnesses with leeches. Come on.

Stacy 3:38

You know what? That would actually make a really good podcast episode about how they used to treat mental illness back in the day.

Why Reflections Matter For Exams

Linton 3:44

Yeah, they actually did. But, anyways, back to our topic again. Reflections is one of those areas that uh I thought that I really had down pat until Dr. Ballette, who was uh the professor at UCF at their counseling program, would give a practice question, and suddenly I wasn't so sure anymore. So today we're gonna break this down in a way that's gonna make it stick for you.

Reflection Of Content Explained

Stacy 4:10

Yes. Yes, we are. So we're gonna start off with the basics first. So when you're sitting across from a client, you are constantly making decisions about how to respond, right? And these three types of reflections that we're gonna talk about content, feeling, and meaning, they're like these different tools in your basic attending skills kit. So each one serves a really specific purpose. And when you use the right one at the right time, that's really what makes the difference between an okay session and a really therapeutic moment.

Linton 4:42

Yeah, okay, but you know, once again, these are all the kind of skills that that when you took your first counseling course that you went over and you knew what they were, right? So why are we going over this now, Stacy?

Stacy 4:59

Well, how long has it been since you were in your very first class in your counseling program, Linton?

Linton 5:06

So you say this might be something that might show up on a licensing exam for sure.

Stacy 5:11

Yes, this is the basics.

Linton 5:13

Okay, well, first up, let's get to it then. Reflection of content, or another way of phrasing it, is paraphrasing. It's basically when you restate the facts and events that your client has just shared with you. It's pretty easy. So you focus on the what of the story, what happened, when it happened, and who was involved. It's it's sort of like being a mirror for the factual information of what they're telling you. And I know it sounds simple, but actually it's like really important because it shows your client that you're tracking them and you're following their story and you're paying attention.

Stacy 5:54

Yes. And when you're thinking about whether or not to use reflection of content, you want to look for certain behavioral indicators. So your client might be giving you these detailed narratives about situations, and they're using really concrete descriptive language. And their body language is usually pretty neutral, maybe steady eye contact, minimal gestures, composed facial expressions. They're really in like a storytelling mode, basically. And this type of reflection works really well early in sessions when you're still building that foundation of understanding, or when your client's thoughts are really scattered and you need to help them organize what they're trying to communicate to you.

Linton 6:34

No, the second type of reflection is reflection of feeling. So reflection of feeling is when you identify and verbalize the emotions that your uh client is talking to you about, whether they're explicitly stating what they are or not. Sometimes, in fact, oh, most of the time, clients don't directly say, I'm angry or I'm sad, but instead you need to pick up on changes in their vocal tone, their body language. Maybe they're using emotional words indirectly. So, like this is frustrating me when something happens.

Stacy 7:10

Mm-hmm. Yep. And the behavioral indicators here are different from that reflection of content. So we we're going a little deeper.

Linton 7:16

Okay.

Stacy 7:17

Watching for changes in vocal tone, pitch, or pace. Maybe their energy level shifts when they start talking about certain topics. So physically, you might start to see facial expressions that are showing some kind of emotion, right? Their eyebrows may be narrowed, their their fists are, you know, clenched, and maybe you see tears forming in their eyes. Their posture might change. So they might be slumping, you know, when they're sad, getting kind of rigid and and kind of tight when they're angry. And sometimes you'll notice physiological responses, like maybe their face starts to turn red or they start to shake a little bit. And these are all telling you that there's emotion present that needs to be acknowledged.

Reflection Of Meaning Explained

Linton 7:55

Right. And the third type of reflection, and this is the one that I think is probably the trickiest, is reflection of meaning. This is when you identify and articulate uh the deeper significance, basically their values and beliefs or purpose that underline what your client has gone through or is experiencing. In other words, it's not just about what happened or how they felt about it, but what it means to them, to their core. And that's probably the best indicator of who they are as a person and the problems that they're having.

Stacy 8:33

Exactly. And you're looking for opportunities to reflect meaning. You're going to be listening for value heavy language, words like should or must or important. And your client might be referencing their like a kind of life philosophy or a worldview, or they might be expressing confusion about their life direction. So sometimes they're asking these big why questions. Why does this matter so much to me? Why can't I let this go? And physically you might notice more maybe like a thoughtful expression, or or they start kind of slowing down, maybe they're trying to take their time, or maybe they're, you know, they're just kind of, I don't know, just sort of in a wondering kind of uh a mode. They're not really sure.

Linton 9:18

So, like on a licensing exam, if they described how the client was acting, and then you had to determine what kind of reflection it was, how would you know?

Reading Behavioral Clues On Tests

Stacy 9:33

So, like what kind of reflection that you might use with them? Right. So that's a good question. And that's what we've you know kind of been covering a little bit here is that reflection, it's a little bit hierarchical. So reflection of content is really at the baseline, it's pretty superficial stuff. Reflection of feeling, like if you start to notice their behavior is changing, that's when there's some feelings at play, maybe, that you need to start getting in tune with.

Hierarchy Of Reflections And Wrap

Linton 9:59

And then when you start hearing, when you're really listening to them and you start hearing things that are more relate to their values, uh-huh, more thoughtful expressions or there's they slow down with their speech. So then that would give you a clue to what that answer to that question was, right?

Stacy 10:15

So keep practicing, keep observing, trust yourself, you've got this. And thanks for joining us in this episode on reflections and therapy. And we'll catch you next week when we explore another topic and find out if Linton has recovered from that extra help in a rassabi.

Linton 10:33

The wasabi's still working on me there, but until next time, try to remember it's in there.