Therapy Questions: Open and Closed-Ended Questions
Open-ended therapy questions are posed to explore the respondents’ issues, while closed-ended therapy questions can be answered in very few words. However, the two types of therapy questions are a vital component of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), solution-oriented counseling, motivational interviewing, and career choices. A therapist can use words like why, where, who, what, and how to pose open-ended therapy questions. They can also opt for words like can, could, and woo them to answer the therapy questions, where they depict early signs of reluctance.
The respondent is expected to answer the question in detail rather than a simple yes or no answer. Closed-ended therapy questions, on the other and, use words like is, do, and apply in relationships based on trust to the high risk of the clients closing during the interview. As counselors gain experience, they tend to use a combination of the two with more dominance of the open-ended therapy questions, which press harder on more details from their clients. Empathy is essential to a counselor because it helps them understand the context of the clients’ answers; something cat comes clearly when the client is answering open-ended therapy questions.
Even through therapy questions vital in exploring the clients’ minds and their background, they might lead to stories that bring forth emotional reactions to events of the past. For example, a question about someone’s absentee parent, a pet they recently lost, or even a job opportunity might change illicit unwarranted emotions to the conversations.
This challenge can be resolved by asking them therapy questions that trigger good memories at the beginning of the therapy session and later ask the tough therapy questions when most of the session’s material is covered. The other challenges of therapy questions in a therapy session are when they are posed excessively, where the client tends to answer defensively and later eventually shut down. The therapist must be compassionate to understand to navigate the problems that may arise during the therapy sessions.
Therapists also make mistakes by posing therapy questions as statements, which confuse the clients and risks losing their trust or attention during the interview. By accurately observing the client’s non-verbal mannerisms, the therapist can gauge their reaction to the different therapy questions posed. The essential tool in a therapy session is thus effective verbal and non-verbal communication
Therapy Questions: Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence model
Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) uses the three concepts to understand human behavior and the various ways the person can make adjustments. The antecedent is the event setting that triggers the behavior, which can inform a familiar smell or a question that can trigger a given reaction. A good therapist can use antecedent by creating a safe environment and asking therapy questions that trigger a positive antecedent. Behavior, on the other hand, can be classified as pivotal, lively, or problematic. Positive behaviors have an excellent effect on the individual and their environment, while problematic behavior causes harm or exposes the individual and their environment around them to harm. Climacteric behavior creates a conducive environment for problematic behavior.
On the other hand, the consequence is the outcome of the behavior, whether positive or negative. ABC is an essential cognitive behavioral therapy technique that assumes that an individual’s belief of a given event significantly affects their reaction. Therapists use the model to challenge their clients’ cognitive distortion and irrational behavior, and its success occurs when the client’s behavior gets restructured, and their response to the antecedent becomes health. The ABC model is constructive in improving a person’s emotional and mental functioning.
Therapy Questions ABC model
The ABC model highlights all the facts relevant to an event and then suggests this is a consequence worth memorizing. On the antecedent, the therapist guides the client in laying out the events that preceded an event’s occurrence. They ask therapy questions like:
- How did it start?
- What happened earlier?
They then guide the client in observing their behavior by asking questions like:
- How did you react?
- How did you reply?
- What did she do?
Finally, the counselor can help their client see the results of the event. They can use questions like:
- How did it end?
- What did they do later?
The therapy questions are supposed to be short and concrete and should not necessarily elicit complete answers. They can ask the questions as they fill in the details to obtain the actual sequence of events.
Jordan Open Therapy Questions
- Why do you think they attached you?
- Why do you think they were keen to use that term during the attack?
- How did they do it?
- How did you react?
- How did it feel when the teacher came up?
Jordan Closed Therapy Questions
- Could you have provides them?
- Did you fight them back?
- Did you cry after the occurrence of the event?
Alicja Open Therapy Question
- Why do you think you get passed over?
- How are you performance at work?
- What do you think is the best course of action?
- How is your relationship with your supervisor?
Alicja Open Therapy Question
- Do you think that it is because you are a woman that you get passed over?
- Have you raised the issue with the Human Resource department?
- Are you angry are yourself?
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Jordan Open Therapy Questions
- Therapy Question: Why do you think they attacked you?
- Answer: I identify as queer, and I have informed my classmates, friends, and family. The three guys may be aware of that, and that is why they attacked me. If I had enough strength to defend myself, they would have a second thought. They are just cowards.
- Therapy Question: Why do you think they were keen to use that term during the attack?
- Answer: I think that they are just misguided people, so I think that my being queer is a bother to them.
- Therapy Question: How did they do it?
- Answer: They approached me from behind and pulled my back to the ground. I froze when I realized that I was under attack; I did not feel like I had adequate energy to defend myself. One of the guys pressed his food on my chest while the rest were beating me up
- Therapy Question: How did it feel when the teacher came up?
- Answer: The teacher saved my life because I thought I was going to die at some point during the traumatizing situation. I have forever been grateful to that teacher ever since.
Jordan Closed Therapy Questions
- Therapy Question: Could you have provoked them?
- Answer: No, I did not. I had not even noticed the three guys.
- Therapy Question: Did you fight them back?
- Answer: No, I did not. I froze.
- Therapy Question: Did you cry after the occurrence of the event?
- Answer: No.
Alicja Open Therapy Question
- Question: Why do you think you get passed over?
- Answer: I am highly educated and very hardworking, something that my immediate supervisor finds very threatening because I am a woman.
- Question: How are you performance at work?
- Answer: I perform exceptionally and am disciplined. My relationship with my colleagues, too, is very healthy.
- Question: What do you think is the best course of action?
- Answer: I will escalate the matter with the human resource department, and if nothing changes, I quit my job.
- Question: How is your relationship with your supervisor?
- Answer: He hates me, but I have nothing against him.
Alicja Open Therapy Question
- Question: Do you think that it is because you are a woman that you get passed over?
- Answer: Yes, I do think so.
- Question: Have you raised the issue with the Human Resource department?
- Answer: Not yet.
- Question: Are you angry are yourself?
- Answer: No, I am angry at the misogynistic society (Ivey et al., 2013, p. 126).
Therapy Questions References
Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., & Zalaquett, C. P. (2013). Intentional interviewing and counselling: Facilitating client development in a multicultural society. Nelson Education.
