This week you will watch some videos which will allow you to watch 4 demonstrations of important basic counseling skills and watch 1 demonstration of what not to do when one is counseling another.  From these demonstrations, you will see how others use these basic skills and you will critique the demonstrations.
If you go on to a master’s program in some kind of counseling setting, you will have an opportunity to actually practice these skills.  In addition, you can use some, if not all, of these in building personal relationships – not for counseling purposes, but just to let another person know you are listening and understanding what he/she is telling you.

• Watch the 5 PowerPoint presentations found in the Resources.  Be aware that at times the narration indicates a role play that the student will be doing; however, this is no longer required, but knowledge and understanding of the skills will be required in order to write the paper.
  
• Watch the videos in the order that they are listed.
  
• Present a 3 page paper in which you will answer the questions below.
  
• A good paper will include evidence that you have watched all of the videos.  The answer to each question should include at least 2 examples from 2 different videos. 
  
• In addition to the text, you must include information from at least 2 academic, peer-reviewed journal articles as you assess the importance of these skills.  Academic, peer-reviewed journal articles are available by accessing the GCU library, click on databases, then click on Pro-Quest.  ARTICLES FROM THE WEB ARE NOT COUNTED AS ACADEMIC ARTICLES.

PLEASE ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN YOUR PAPER

1. Describe the setting in which the counseling took place – was it conducive to a feeling of openness?  If so, how; if not, why not?
2. Was confidentiality described in such a way that you believe it helped the client feel comfortable and safe?  If so, how; if not, why not?
3. Were there any other ethical concerns that you noticed in any of the videos?  Indicate any that you found.
4. Assess the effectiveness of questions, both open and closed. 
5. Give some examples of encouraging words and/or behavior.  How did this affect the client?
6. How effective were the times of summarizing/paraphrasing on the client?
7. Empathy is important in counseling – what examples did you see?
8. Did you see any examples of giving advice?
9. Some questions concerning how you would respond to the following:

• What would you do if the client’s problem conflicted with your values, e.g., wanting to divorce his/her spouse for non-biblical reasons or if the person was gay?
• These are secular role plays.  Choose 2 of the videos and indicate what you, as a Christian counselor, would include in the process.