The document discusses confrontation and challenging skills used in counseling. It defines confrontation as gently bringing awareness to something a client may be avoiding or overlooking. The goals of confrontation include increasing client awareness of blind spots and developing new perspectives. There are three steps to confrontation in counseling: identifying mixed messages, bringing awareness to clashes, and evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention. The document provides guidance on what to challenge, such as inconsistencies, irrational beliefs, problems being avoided, and opportunities being ignored.

1. Confrontation and Challenging
Skills
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2. MeaningofConfrontationandChallenging skills
Generally speaking the term confrontation means
challenging another person over a disagreement.
However, confrontation as a counselling skill is an
attempt by the counsellor to gently bring about
awareness in the client of something that may
they may have overlooked or avoided.
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3. Confrontationand Challenging skill
• Goals
To increase participation in the counseling process
 To increase client’s awareness of blind spots and develop new
perspectives
 To identify responsibility for problems and unused potential
 To enhance the client’s problem solving ability
 To challenge distortions, excuses, games
 To explore consequences of client’s actions
 To move beyond discussion and lethargy into action
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4. • A client will not perceive your efforts as confrontational.
• Invite clients to challenge themselves to change ways of thinking
and acting that keep them stuck in problem situations and
prevent them from identifying and developing opportunities.
• If they do not accept the invitation, then challenge them directly
to change. Examine what the benefits and costs (logical
consequence) there are for the client if they do not choose to
make change.
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5. Challenging is a logical step in listening:
Attending listening understanding
Challenging curious empathy
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6. First step:
Involves the identification of mixed or
unrelated messages (expressed through the client’s
words or non-verbals).
Second step:
Requires the counsellor to bring about
awareness of these clashes and assist the client to
work through these.
Third step:
Involves evaluating the effectiveness of
the intervention evidenced by the client’s change and
growth.
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7. • What to Challenge
• Between what is said now vs. earlier
• “Earlier I thought I heard you say that you did not want to quit your job, now I am
hearing you say that you are planning to quit.”
• Between verbal and nonverbal cues
• “I hear you say that you are not angry with him, but I can’t help but notice that your fists
are clenched, you are talking faster, and you are using strong words when you talk
about him.”
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8.  What to Challenge (cont.)
 Between what the client says s/he wants and what s/he is doing to
achieve it
 I understand that you want to not be dependent on your parents any longer,
however I don’t see that you are planning to get a job to make this happen.
 Blindspots
lack of awareness
self-deception
knowing but not caring
choosing to stay in the dark
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9. What to Challenge (cont.)
• Disputing Beliefs when thinking is distorted, irrational, or illogical
• Help the client explore underlying beliefs that might be leading to self
defeating patterns
• Listen for exaggerated, hyperbolic language (e.g.,
“never”, “always”, “only”)
• Listen for absolutes
• Listen for sense of entitlement
• Listen for overgeneralizations
• Listen for “musts” and “shoulds”
• Listen for shirking of responsibility
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10. What to Challenge (cont.)
 Problems they are avoiding
 Opportunities they are ignoring
 Things they are overlooking
 Things they are refusing to see
 Things they don’t want to do
 Assumptions they are making
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11. Activity
Practice challenging these clients:
 A woman who takes care of everyone else
except herself
 A student who says she plans go to university but her Z.score is
not enough.
A client who professes to hold strong religious
values, but disparages people of other racial
and ethnic groups
 A client who is crying while stating that
everything is fine
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12. Skill: Immediacy
Immediacy – using a moment in counseling to deal with an issue, whether it be
b/w you and the client or you are challenging the client
Situations for Immediacy
 lack of direction
 tension
 trust
 diversity
 dependency
 counterdependency
 attraction (be very careful in this discussion)
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13. Where can be usedConfrontationand
Challenging Skill
 Client with depression (S)
 Client with OCD
 Client with Traumatic experience
 Addiction
 Client with Behavioral issues
A good confrontation is gentle, supportive and
accurately reflects what the client has shared
with you.
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14. ConfrontationandChallengingSkills
Thank you,