Counselling questions to ask client

40 Counseling Interview Questions to Ask Therapy Clients

Empowering your patients and guiding them to realize their inner strengths to deal with life’s difficulties are some of the central goals of counseling.

Knowing which questions to ask patients at different points of the counseling process is vital, as your patients will be more inclined to reflect on their difficulties. Ultimately, this will ease distress and promote long-lasting change (Prout & Wadkins, 2014).

This article will provide specific outlines of how you can structure your counseling interview, with questions you can use in different stages of the process.

The aim of these resources is to help you develop a meaningful connection with your patients as they embark on a counseling journey toward self-understanding and meaningful change.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive CBT Exercises for free. These science-based exercises will provide you with detailed insight into positive Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and give you the tools to apply it in your therapy or coaching.

This Article Contains:

What Is the Counseling Interview? 2 Types
9 Useful Assessment Questions
Process of the Interview: Step-by-Step Guide
How to Use Open Questions: 9 Examples
17 Best Questions for Your Sessions
Helpful Resources From PositivePsychology.com
A Take-Home Message
References

What Is the Counseling Interview? 2 Types

Counseling interviews are multifaceted and can be structured or more fluid, depending on the therapeutic relationship stage at which it is conducted. The conversation should be characterized by respect, empathy, and active listening. The counselor should also be mindful of their affect and tone throughout the discussion (Prout & Wadkins, 2014).

In clinical practice, there are two types of interviews that a clinician uses to help understand the difficulties that bring patients to their practice (Kelly, 2020). Each interview serves a different purpose, but interviewing in general aims to give the clinician more information about their patients so that they can provide relevant treatment and guidance.

A structured clinical interview is a semi-structured guide outlined in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Each disorder classified in the DSM-V has a semi-structured guide of questions that clinical psychologists or clinicians trained in recognizing these disorders can ask to determine if a patient meets the diagnostic criteria for a particular disorder (Kelly, 2020).

Since these DSM-V questions are specific to a particular disorder, this interview style should only be used in a counseling interview if the patient wants to explore their predisposition to a particular disorder. Confirmation and further analysis from a clinical psychologist or doctor will be needed to diagnose the patient formally.

A clinical interview is more focused on facilitating conversation between the patient and the counselor. Even though there is still a focus on building a rapport with the patient, the purpose of this interview is to understand their life and what aspects of it are being affected. This type of interview is usually done during the first counseling session and is used to help determine the trajectory for the conversations in subsequent sessions.

5 Good questions for your first session

The first session is focused on understanding the presenting problem, which is the patient’s current level of functioning. In addition, the counselor may ask questions surrounding the history of difficulties that have brought them to counseling (Prout & Wadkins, 2014).

Since the first session with a client should be centered on what prompted them to seek counseling, the questions might be more focused and narrow so you can provide them with the support that best fits their needs (Prout & Wadkins, 2014).

The first question should always be, ‘What brings you here today?’ This gives you an opportunity to set the stage for further sessions and understand what is troubling the patient. A question like this will create a positive, supportive atmosphere where they are more likely to open up and be receptive to change.

To further explore the reasoning behind the presenting problem, it is important to understand the internal and external factors that are present in their lives. Questions that delve more into a patient’s past and present experiences include:

What was your childhood like? Can you tell me about your family growing up?
Are there any relationships (romantic or non-romantic) that have impacted your personal outlook or daily functioning?
When you encounter difficulties, what are your current coping mechanisms?
What do you think your strengths are? Describe an instance where you’ve used them.

Although there is no prescriptive order in which to ask these background questions, at some point in your first session, you should ask your patient what they would ideally like to get out of counseling.

Even if your patient does not have an answer right away, it is important that you work together to understand this, as it will allow both of you to have an optimal level of functioning to work toward in the sessions following.

9 Useful Assessment Questions

Alongside determining your patient’s intent for seeking counseling and how they want their life to improve as a result, it is also important to collect information that addresses the patient’s concerns and serves as a starting point for planning (Balkin & Juhnke, 2014).

Assessment is a process, not a means to an end in counseling, as it allows for counselors to decide what issues need to be addressed first and what kind of treatment and interventions should be implemented (Balkin & Juhnke, 2014).

Therefore, it is natural for the assessment portion of your session to be more formal and focused on assessing your patient’s mental and physical health, and could include topics such as:

History of hospitalizations – ‘How many times have you been hospitalized? What for?’
Medications – ‘Are you currently on any medication? If so, for what and what is the dosage?’
Previous therapeutic experience – ‘Have you ever had therapy before? If so, what kind of therapeutic interventions/practitioners have you seen?’
Suicidal ideation – ‘Have you ever had thoughts of killing yourself or attempted to kill yourself? What motivated or triggered these thoughts?’
Symptomatology – ‘What kind of symptoms have affected your daily functioning? Rate the severity and frequency of each symptom. ’

After you get a complete history of your patient’s mental and physical health, you can then narrow down the resources and formal assessment tools that can assist them in your sessions together.

Process of the Interview: Step-by-Step Guide

After conducting the initial clinical assessments, each subsequent session with patients is viewed as an informal interview. Even though the interview may not be as structured as the initial assessments, each session is aligned with a staged counseling approach that is oriented toward guiding the patient toward workable action that will improve their quality of life.

Each stage of the interview process will help to build this connection between you and your patients. Depending on the time you have with your patients, these stages can be divided or executed based on time constraints. Below is an outline of the stages you should follow when trying to build a meaningful rapport with your patients (adapted from Cameron, 2008):

Step one – Making a connection
The first portion of the interview should be focused on building rapport with your patients, such as demographics, history, and the reasons counseling is sought (Ivey & Ivey, 2003). Questions should be open ended and aim to give each session a specific purpose. What brings you to counseling? What would you like to focus on in today’s session? What can we do today that will help you move forward?
Step two – Identifying individual strengths and goals
During this step, the focus is on getting a patient to recognize their strengths and acknowledge them through self-affirmation. To set the stage, counselors can ask patients questions that help draw out their inner strengths, such as, ‘Where do you think your strengths are?’ or ‘Tell me about a time when you felt good about something you did.’

After drawing out these scenarios, counselors can then move on to helping patients learn how to use positive self-affirmations to help increase their confidence and improve their perception of themselves.

Positive self-affirmations should be relevant to the patient’s struggle and help them achieve the goals they set out to achieve in their sessions. For example, if a patient has body image issues, they should focus the affirmations on praising their body (“I am beautiful”) and their strength (“I am strong and I can overcome”).

Step three – Actionable strategies for change
The last step is for you and the patient to make an actionable plan to help them change their behavior. In this final part of the session, you and the patient will work together to come up with a plan of action.

The goals should be clear, and there should be a plan set up to ensure accountability. Asking questions such as ‘How do you plan to apply what you’ve learned in today’s session in your everyday activities?’ and ‘How can we work together to make a plan so you continue to feel empowered?’ will help give patients workable strategies to help adjust their behavior.

How to Use Open Questions: 9 Examples

There are two broad approaches to questioning in counseling: open-ended and closed questions.

Closed-ended questions are less broad and are used to get very specific information from your patients, for example, medical information or living arrangements (Balkin & Juhnke, 2014).

Open-ended questions are more unstructured and are meant to give you more information about unique events and, when used strategically, can be formatted to gain specific insight about various parts of the patient’s life (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2009).

Specific ways that open-ended questions can be used in counseling sessions depend on what information you want from your patients. This section provides a general overview of how you can convert simple questions into open-ended questions to help get your patients to open up (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2009):

“How” questions enable patients to talk about their feelings – ‘How does this particular situation make you feel? How did this experience shape your current perspective?’
“What” questions help you get specific facts surrounding a situation that has shaped your patient’s perspective – ‘What happened here? What role did (person) play in this situation?’
“When” questions are centered around the timing when a situation or event occurred – ‘When did this happen?’
“Where” questions give specific information about the environment or place the event took place – ‘Where did this situation occur? Where did most of these difficult events happen?’
“Why” questions focus on the reasons leading up to the event or any information related to it – ‘Why did (person) react that way? Why did X happen at this particular time?’

Questions during the counseling session are meant to provide new areas for discussion and provide clarity for you when learning about the reason your patients sought counseling.

17 Best Questions for Your Sessions

A large part of knowing what and how to speak to your patients involves building a strong emotional bond. Emotional bonding between counselors and therapists could include compassionate and empathetic listening or humor. It could also involve just sitting with the patient while they are experiencing strong emotions (e.g., sadness or anger) and giving supportive, positive feedback (Meyers, 2014).

Giving your patients opportunities for evaluation and reflection on what techniques are working for them in your sessions together will allow you and your patients to understand how they are feeling throughout treatment and ensure that the questions being asked are relevant to their experience (Meyers, 2014).

This approach can also help develop the emotional bond between patient and counselor, as it allows for open communication and dialogue between the two parties.

Questions that can help facilitate reflection during your sessions include:

How are we doing?
Are these sessions helpful?
What do you want to work on?
What would you like to get out of today’s session?
Where would you eventually like to be?
Where do you think you can go?

Making emotional bonding a central part of the counseling process means that instead of only relying on formal counseling techniques and interventions, you are also making an effort as a practitioner to ensure your patient is heard and that the sessions are moving at a pace they are comfortable with.

5 Questions for marriage and couples counseling

According to Gottman and Silver (1999), the central reason couples choose to seek marriage or couples counseling is because of difficulties in communication. When working with couples, it is important to develop an understanding of why they are seeking counseling and what they hope to get out of their sessions.

Start by asking questions such as:

How long have you and your partner been together?
What are you hoping to achieve in these sessions?
Can you tell me what has prompted you to seek couples/marriage counseling?
Tell me about how you met.
Do you have any issues outside your relationship with each other that cause difficulties in your partnership (e.g., in-laws, co-parenting with high-conflict exes, stepchildren, differing work schedules)?

After developing a baseline, it is important to help couples develop effective communication strategies. Counselors often emphasize active listening strategies, where couples learn to resolve their conflicts by using “I statements” to communicate how they are feeling.

However, therapy that is centered on conflict resolution has been shown to have a 35%-success rate, as couples who engage in these strategies can sometimes feel that their true concerns are not heard by their spouse (Gottman & Silver, 1999). It is important that you help couples develop a safe environment where they can communicate honestly and openly with each other.

Our Marriage Counseling Toolkit has a section entitled ‘key questions’ that allow couples to think about what is bringing them to therapy and consider the goals they have for their marriage.

Giving both individuals a copy of these questions to answer prior to the first session will allow couples to compare their perspectives in a neutral environment and give you a starting point to determine what techniques and interventions are necessary.

Best career and school counseling questions

Career and school counselors aim to help students and older individuals explore, understand, and execute career-related decisions.

While school counselors focus more on the steps that students need to take when pursuing specific career paths, career counseling gives both trained professionals and people just starting out in their careers guidance on how to explore, understand, and execute career-related decisions (Lent & Brown, 2012).

Open-ended discussion is an effective strategy for getting the most out of individuals who are seeking career counseling. Determining an individual’s goals and what they intend to get from the sessions, similar to other types of counseling, will allow you and your clients to get the most out of your sessions.

Some open-ended questions counselors can ask to help guide their clients include:

How long have you been in your chosen career?
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Do you still see yourself in this field, or do you think you want to move into another area?
Are you happy with your chosen career path? What could be better?
Think of a goal you have achieved. What are the steps you took to get there?

In school counseling, it is important to adopt a similar open-ended discussion format when talking to students about what they plan to do. Instead of focusing on their career, you want to focus on what they plan to achieve. Questions such as ‘What can you see yourself doing in the future?’ or ‘Where are your strengths/passions?’ can help students to think about what direction they want to go in.

Our career counseling article has a large selection of questions you can ask students just starting out on their career journey, as well as questions you can ask seasoned professionals who are further on in their careers. Speaking of career, here is an excellent resource on How to Become a School Counselor.

Helpful Resources From PositivePsychology.com

Our site has many tools and resources that can help enhance your counseling practice. Whether you are a clinical counselor, marriage and relationship counselor, or career counselor, our activities and worksheets are highly variable and can apply to a variety of different contexts in the counseling profession.

Assessing a patient’s mental status is an important aspect when moving forward in ongoing counseling sessions. These Brief Mental Status Exam and Mental Status Exam – Exploring Strengths worksheets can help counselors get a baseline before they start working with their patients.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others through CBT, check out this collection of 17 validated positive CBT tools for practitioners. Use them to help others overcome unhelpful thoughts and feelings and develop more positive behaviors.

A Take-Home Message

Building positive connections with your patients is a key part of the therapeutic process. How you respond to your patients’ feelings, needs, and goals will determine the strength of the clinician–patient relationship and, ultimately, determine how much your patients choose to open up to you about their difficulties in their sessions.

We hope this article provided you with several questions you can ask your patients, no matter what type of therapy your practice specializes in. In addition to the resources you are providing, make sure you are using the time with your patients to develop a strong relationship so that the sessions can be meaningful for both of you.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. For more information, don’t forget to download our three Positive CBT Exercises for free.

Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors. (2009). Counselling microskills: Questioning. Retrieved on October 8, 2021, from https://www.counsellingconnection.com/index.php/2009/07/10/counselling-microskills-questioning/
Balkin, R. S., & Juhnke, G. A. (2014). The theory and practice of assessment in counseling. Pearson.
Cameron, H. (2008). The counseling interview: A guide for the helping professionals. Palgrave-MacMillan.
Gottman, J. M., & Silver, N. (1999). The seven principles for making marriage work. Seven Dials.
Ivey, A. E., & Ivey, M. B. (2003). Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating client development in a multi-cultural society. Thompson, Brooks & Cole.
Lent, R. W., & Brown, S. D. (2012). Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Meyers, L. (2014). Connecting with clients. Retrieved on October 9, 2021 from https://ct.counseling.org/2014/08/connecting-with-clients/
Kelly, O. (2020). How clinical interviews help diagnose mental illness. Retrieved on October 9, 2021 from https://www.verywellmind.com/structured-clinical-interview-2510532
Prout, T. A., & Wadkins, M. J. (2014). Essential interviewing and counseling skills: An integrated approach to practice. Springer.

The Best Questions Therapists Ask Clients

2023 Therapist Guide | What Questions Do Therapists Ask?

Top 2023 Guide on the Best Counselling Questions to Ask Client During Therapy

Disclaimer

Getting clients to open up and be their true selves is one of the greatest challenges that therapists face. Whether it’s in-person one-on-one therapy or group therapy, therapists and mental health professionals may find it challenging to come up with counseling questions that will make the clients comfortable and also keep the conversation naturally flowing.

It’s essential to know what questions do therapists ask to help clients feel at ease and open up without resistance in order to make therapy and counseling sessions as productive as possible.

Therapy Questions to Ask Clients

This Social Work Portal article will cover different types of approaches and psychological questions to ask clients during counselling sessions.

Would you like to share counselling question examples used by your organization? Do you have clinical interview questions that work best for you that you’ll like to share with other therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals? If so, contact the Social Work Portal Team.

See Also: How to Become a Family Social Worker

Table of Contents: Best Counselling Questions Therapists Ask Clients

Keep on scrolling down this page to read each section or click any link below to go directly to that section.

What’s the Importance of Questions in Counselling?
Types of Counselling Questions
1. Open Ended Questions in Counseling
2. Closed Questions in Counselling
Counselling Questions Examples
1. Questions to Ask on the Phone
2. First Therapy Session Questions to Ask Clients
3. Therapeutic Questions to Ask Clients
4. Group Therapy Questions
5. Family Therapy Questions to Ask Clients
6. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Questions to Ask Clients
7. Gestalt Therapy Questions to Ask Clients
8. Questions Therapists Ask Depressed Patients
9. Questions to Ask a Resistant Client
10. Miracle Question – What is Solution Focused Brief Therapy?
Download Free Slides – Questions Therapists and Counselors Ask Clients PPT & PDF
Conclusion | Best Questions Therapists Ask in Counselling
FAQ | Questions Counselors Ask

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Would you like to share feedback on best counselling questions to ask client used by your organization? Is there a counseling questions to ask clients PDF that has provided great value to you that we can include in this guide for other therapists and counselors to leverage? If so, contact the Social Work Portal Team.

Counselling Questions and Answers | The Importance of Questions In Counselling

Asking the right questions in counselling is considered to be one of the basic counselling and therapy skills.

Well-thought-out, mindful counselling questions allow counsellors and therapists to learn more about their clients which is of great importance in the information gathering stage of counselling.

Furthermore, good therapy questions help with guiding the counselling conversation which may enhance client’s opening up and speaking their truth.

Questions counselors ask will vary depending on the scope of therapy, but regardless of the situation, they will allow you to learn more about your clients and set the tone for subsequent therapy sessions.

Related: Guide on How to Get Started As a Social Worker Child Welfare Specialist

Types of Counselling Questions | Open and Closed Questions in Counselling

So, what questions do therapists ask? There are two main types of counseling questions to ask clients in therapy:

Open Ended Questions in Counseling
Closed Questions in Counselling

While both types of questions are valuable, there is a big difference between open and closed questions in counselling.

What Questions Do Therapists Ask? | Open Ended Questions in Counseling

Open ended questions in counseling cannot be answered with a simple “Yes” or “No”. This type of therapy question to ask clients will encourage them to pause, think, and reflect before they answer.

Open ended questions in counseling begin the exchange between the counselor and the client and shift the control of the conversation from the therapist to the client. If the therapist is the only one in control of the conversation, it means they’re asking closed questions in counseling.

Open ended therapeutic questions to ask clients typically begin with:

Who
Why
How
What
Where
When

These are essential therapy questions to ask patients as they have no set or predetermined answers and they require a full response from the client.

Open and Closed Questions in Counselling

What Questions Do Therapists Ask? | Closed Questions in Counseling

Closed questions in counseling are questions that lead to “Yes” or “No” answers or questions that have only one correct answer.

While closed questions can be used to clarify on certain aspects of conversation if therapist or counselor asks a lot of these questions, client can quickly start feeling like they’re being interrogated rather than leading a constructive conversation.

It’s up to the therapist to recognize and best determine when to use open and closed questions in counselling. However, therapists are more likely to get the constructive conversation going if they’re asking open ended questions in counselling.

Even if a therapist or counselor has a closed question in mind, they can rearrange it into a more open ended one. See the below table with some examples of open and closed questions in counselling, and how counselors can rearrange them to make the questions in counselling more engaging.

Closed Questions in Counselling	Open Ended Questions in Counseling
Are you feeling better today?	What’s on your mind?
Do you have any siblings?	What can you tell me about your family?
Is everything going well at your new job?	How are you liking your new job role/position? or Why did you choose this field?
Is that your typical behavior?	How do you normally handle that situation?

Popular Article: Psychosocial Questions & Examples of Psychosocial Evaluation

Do you have any questions about what questions do therapists ask or information on the best counseling questions to ask clients PDF? Do you have feedback on key questions to ask a client in a first therapy session? If so, contact the Social Work Portal Team.

Questions Therapists Asks | Counselling Questions Examples

With so many psychological questions to ask clients, we’ve divided this section into different categories so it’s easier for you to find the exact type of therapy questions to ask clients.

Questions to Ask on the Phone | Counselling Questions to Ask Clients

Most counsellors and therapists will offer clients a complimentary phone call so they can get a sense of each other before the first therapy session.

Here are some questions to ask on the phone:

What made you consider therapy now?
Have you been in therapy or counselling before?
What has worked/not worked for you in the past counselling sessions?
What are you looking for in a counselor or therapist?
Do you have any questions for me?
Do you want to schedule an in-person appointment?

Read More: What Does a Social Worker Substance Abuse Job Description Look Like?

Are you looking for free social worker templates & forms? You can download all our free social worker tools here.

First Therapy Session Questions to Ask | Counselling Questions Examples

While every therapist and counselor has their own unique approach, there are some common questions to ask client in first therapy as an introduction.

Typically, the majority of the first therapy session will be dedicated to clinical interview questions or therapy intake session questions to gather pertinent information about the client. Below are some of the most common questions to ask client in first counseling session:

Why made you seek therapy/counselling now?
What do you expect from therapy/counselling?
How have you been coping with problems that made you seek counseling?
Have you been in therapy/counselling ever before? What was that experience like?
What do you hope to accomplish in therapy/counselling?
How is your relationship with your family?
How do you cope with stress?
What are some of your strengths?

Group Therapy Questions | Counselling Questions Examples

Group therapy is a form of therapy where one or more counselors or therapists will be working with several different people at the same time.

Group therapy questions will vary based on the type of group (i.e., Psychoeducational groups, Cognitive-behavioral/problem-solving groups, Support groups, etc.)

Therapy Session Questions

Regardless of the main focus of the group, majority will revolve around discussion type of group therapy questions such as:

Is it your personal decision to come here, or did someone else encourage or force you to do so?
What do you like best about group therapy session?
What coping strategies are you using to cope with and manage your addiction/behavior triggers?
What are you grateful for in life and why?
What are some things that make you feel stressed? How are you coping with stress?
What are 3 things you like about yourself? Explain why.
Discuss goals you want to achieve in group therapy.
What are three bad habits that you’d like to replace with good ones?
What are the good habits you can replace the bad ones with?

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Using the CRAFFT Questionnaire

Are you looking for psychological questions to ask the clients and patients? Do you have any questions about therapeutic questions to ask clients or best therapy session questions in general? Click here to contact the Social Work Portal Team.

Family Therapy Questions to Ask Clients | Counselling Questions Examples

As the name itself suggests, family therapy is a type of counselling that helps families address and solve conflicts and improve communication.

While family therapy questions will vary based on each family’s history and issues, we have prepared some of the family therapy questions that therapists and counselors ask:

Why are you seeking family therapy?
What changes do you want to see within your family?
What do you expect from the family therapy?
What are you willing to do to make the changes happen?
What have you done as a family so far to improve the situation?
Does everyone in the family therapy session agree that changes need to happen?
What will be different if the family decides to make the changes?
What do you want to see improved for each family member?
How is each family member progressing?
How do you think you can rebuild the relationship?

These are just basic family therapy questions and the list will grow as the family progresses through counseling. Based on specific reasons the family is in counselling, therapist will determine what other family therapy questions need to be asked.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Questions to Ask Clients | Counseling Questions to Ask Examples

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of therapy where therapist or counselor works on producing change by helping unlearn behaviors that don’t serve them and helping them relearn specific behaviors.

There are 3 most commonly asked cognitive behavioral therapy questions to ask clients are also known as the “Three Rational Questions” technique.

Therapist instructs the client to ask themselves the following 3 cognitive behavioral therapy questions:

Is the thought I’m having based on fact?
Does that thought help me achieve my goals?
Does that thought help me feel the way I want to feel?

If the client’s response is a “No” to at least two out of these three cognitive behavioral therapy questions to ask clients, then they know the thought they’re having is irrational.

CBT counselling questions and answers examples:

Thought: I am going to lose my job if my boss finds out about my anxiety.

Is this thought based on fact?
Answer: No.
Does this thought help me achieve my workplace goals?
Answer: No. (This way of thinking won’t help me become a better colleague or employee.)
Does this thought help me feel the way I want to feel?
Answer: No. (This way of thinking makes me feel insecure and incompetent.)

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Gestalt Therapy Questions to Ask Clients | Counseling Interview Questions For Clients Examples

Gestalt therapy is a humanistic, individual-centered type of therapy that focuses on person’s present issues vs digging into their history of issues and experiences.

Gestalt therapy questions to ask clients will be focusing on what is currently going on in client’s life.

The point in Gestalt therapy questions to ask clients is for therapist to guide them toward better understanding of the life they’re currently living. Since this type of therapy focuses on “right now” vs “past”, Gestalt therapy questions to ask clients are “what” and “how” types.

Here are some of the best Gestalt therapy questions to ask clients:

How are you feeling now?
What are you thinking right now?
How does your body feel at the present moment?
What mood is evoked now?
How should I support you?
What are your body language and facial expressions saying right now?

Therapeutic Questions for Depression | Questions Therapists Ask Depressed Patients

There are many different types of therapist questions for depression that therapist or counselor may ask their clients.

Questions therapists ask depressed patients will vary but some of the most common therapeutic questions for depression are:

What are the issues or problems that brought you to therapy?
What’s your family history?
Have you attempted harming yourself?
How is your relationship with others around you?
Therapeutic questions for depression revolving around client’s medical history and mental state

These are just some of questions therapists ask depressed patients. Most counselors, therapists, and mental health practitioners will conduct one of many types of depression screening questionnaires to best determine what depression symptoms client has been experiencing.

Do you have any questions about therapist questions for depression described above? Click here to contact the Social Work Portal Team.

Questions to Ask a Resistant Client | Examples of Questions Counselors Ask

Client-counselor relationship is all about collaboration, but even the best counselors will encounter a resistant client.

Resistance usually comes when a particularly distressing and uncomfortable issue is brought up during a therapy or counselling session.

When such issue arises, what questions to ask a resistant client? Or what not to ask?

It is widely recommended that instead of thinking about what questions to ask a resistant client, therapists and counselors should aim to use statements that encourage clients to open up.

Guiding clients to explore their own ability reason, desire, and need to change is far more effective in reaching resistant client than pondering on what question to ask a resistant client (and potentially causing even more distress).

Miracle Questions | What is Solution Focused Brief Therapy?

Solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a type of therapy based on building solutions rather than problem solving.

So, what is solution focused brief therapy in practice?

In practice, SFBT therapist serves as a skilled conversation facilitator that approaches the sessions from the position of “not knowing” rather than presenting themselves as an expert.

SFBT therapist will use the so-called “Miracle Questions Technique” to help clients think outside the box.

Good therapy questions using this technique will let the client imagine what things will be like once they get rid of their problems.

Here are a few examples of therapy questions to ask patients using this technique.

Imagine that one night the miracle occurs and your depression is entirely gone! When you wake up in the morning:

How do you know that this miracle has truly happened?
What’s different in how you feel?
What’s different about your life?
What will others notice about your new self?

By allowing the client to visualize themselves depression free, clients can create some space between themselves and their depression. In return, this method allows them to distance themselves from their depression and allows them to set future goals.

Popular Article: Depression Questionnaire and Scoring Guide

Download Best Questions Therapists and Counselors Ask Clients

Below you can find free slides PPT and PDF with the best questions therapists ask clients that are designed to help therapists and counselors with basic questions relating to client needs so they can better support them.

We have organized questions into the following categories:

Questions to Ask on the Phone
First Therapy Session Questions to Ask
Group Therapy Questions
Family Therapy Questions to Ask Clients
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Questions to Ask Clients
Gestalt Therapy Questions to Ask Clients
Therapeutic Questions for Depression
Questions to Ask a Resistant Client
Miracle Questions

Download Your Questions Therapists & Counselors Ask (PPT & PDF Versions)

Do you have feedback on best questions to ask client in first counseling session? If you are a Clinical Therapist, do you have a list of more questions to ask a client in therapy that you would like to share? If so, contact the Social Work Portal Team.

Conclusion | Best Questions Therapists Ask in Counselling

Best psychological questions to ask in therapy and counseling can be of enormous help when conducting your own therapy intake session questions.

Questions to ask a client in therapy (or not to ask) can make a huge difference in therapist-client relationship.

While not all of the questions counselors ask will apply to every therapist’s sessions, it is essential to be aware of different types of clinical interview questions as you never know where life can take you.

If you’re not a therapist yet, but you’re intending to start a career in therapy or counseling, it is essential that you develop and consistently improve your own counseling interview questions for clients.

Whatever the situation may be, if you have any feedback on clinical interview questions or questions counselors ask, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Social Work Portal Team.

See Also: Guide: What Are the Best Screening Tools for Depression and Anxiety?

FAQ | Questions Counselors Ask

What are the main types of therapy questions to ask patients?

There are 2 main types of counseling questions:
•Open Ended Questions in Counseling
•Closed Questions in Counselling

Which are the best questions to ask client in first therapy session?

The best first therapy session questions are clinical interview questions or therapy intake session questions that gather pertinent information about the client.

What counselling questions to ask client?

It will depend on the type of counseling, but the best questions will be open-ended questions as they lead to an open conversation that strengthens the bond between the therapist and the client.

What are the most common therapist questions for depression?

The most common therapist questions for depression are:
•What are the issues or problems that brought you to therapy?
•What’s your family history?
•Have you attempted harming yourself?
•How is your relationship with others around you?
•Therapeutic questions for depression revolving around client’s medical history and mental state

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15 Consulting Questions to Ask a Client (with Tips) • BUOM

June 17, 2021

One of the key skills of consultants is communication as they often meet and talk with their clients. Asking consulting questions is a great way to show potential clients your expertise and understand the challenges they face. If you are a consultant, knowing how to ask important consulting questions can help you improve your relationship with clients and communicate more effectively with them.

In this article, we'll explain what consulting questions are, discuss the benefits of consulting questions, provide a list of 15 great consulting questions you can ask your clients, and explore tips for communicating effectively with clients.

What are consulting questions?

Consulting questions are questions you can ask potential clients during an interview with a consultant. By asking the right consulting questions, you can learn more about the client and determine how you can serve them. Consulting questions cover topics such as the client's clients, concerns, and goals to help you understand their situation and suggest a course of action.

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What are the advantages of consulting questions?

Consulting questions can benefit both you and your clients in many ways, including:

Show your client your expertise. By asking good questions, you can show the client that you are knowledgeable and qualified to work with them.

Find out what you need to know about your client

By asking consulting questions, you can also learn what you need to know about your client to be a great consultant. You can ask questions about your client's issues, goals, clients, and other topics to get the information you need to develop a strategy.

Strengthening your relationship with a client

Another benefit of consulting questions is that they can help you strengthen your relationship with a potential client. You can ask questions to get to know your client better and move your relationship forward.

15 Consulting Questions to Ask Your Client

Here are 15 Consulting Questions to Ask Your Clients:

1. What is your main goal for this year?

By asking about a client's priorities for the near future, you can learn more about the client and start thinking about how you can help them achieve their goals. You can also use the client's primary goal to help keep them on track throughout the project.

2. How is your business different from your competitors?

You can ask your customer what makes them different from the competition to help you understand your customer's value proposition and competitive advantage. You can use this information to develop your own unique strategy.

3. Who is involved in making decisions and implementing this project?

Finding out the key contacts for a project can help you make sure you know who to contact when working with a client. Knowing exactly who to contact can help you save time and increase productivity.

4. What is the main reason you are looking for a consultant?

You can also ask your client to explain the main reason they hired a consultant. By asking this question, you can determine exactly what the client wants from your relationship. This can help you set goals and expectations for your client work.

5. What are the most pressing problems you face with this project?

By asking your client about their problems, you can better understand the problems that you can help solve through counseling. It can also give you an idea of what specific issues you need to prioritize in order for your client to see results.

6. What options have you already tried?

It is also important to ask clients what options they have already tried. This way you know what new solutions you can implement or how you can improve on solutions they have already considered.

7. Can you tell me about your target client's profile?

You can also ask your client to explain their target client, including their demographics and any issues they face. This information is important to help you develop a strategy that works for your client and make client-centric decisions.

8. How prepared is your organization for change?

Another question you can ask your client is how ready they are for change. This question is important in assessing how ready your client is to implement your solutions and get results.

9. How does this project relate to your organization as a whole?

Asking how a project relates to an organization can help you understand how that particular project fits into the client's overall goals and plans.

10. If you could change one thing about this project, what would it be?

It may also be a good idea to ask clients what they would change about the project if they could. This can give you an idea of what specific solutions you can implement for the client to see results.

11. What results do you expect from this project?

It is also important to ask clients what results they expect from a project, as achieving these results is essential to client satisfaction. Try to understand your client's results in concrete terms, including any key numbers or timelines you need to know.

12. Is there anything else I should know?

This general question can help you collect any additional information about the client. This question is important to ask because it can help you get any information that you didn't learn by asking other questions.

13. Will the [proposed solution] help you reach your goal?

This question gives you the opportunity to suggest a potential solution or course of action to your client. Your suggestion might be to create a plan, develop a new process, or adopt a different plan of action. This question can entice a client to buy your consultation, strengthening your relationship.

14. Do you have any questions for me?

You can also give the client the opportunity to ask you any questions they have. This is necessary so that your client gets everything that he expected from the conversation. It can also make them more likely to feel comfortable choosing you as a consultant.

15. When should we schedule a meeting to discuss our plan?

It's also important to end the conversation with a call to action to move your relationship forward. This question confirms that you want to continue working with the client and ask the client to choose a convenient time for the meeting.

Tips for communicating with clients

Here are some tips you can use to improve the way you talk to clients:

Do your research and be prepared

ready to talk. You can explore your client's website, social media, and news to get as much information as possible before the call. You should have a general understanding of:

The name and role of the person with whom you talk
Product or client service
Clients of client
Main competitors of client
2 You can also improve communication with clients by using active listening skills. Active listening skills will help you show clients that you appreciate what they have to say. Active listening includes eye contact, attention to body language, and feedback.

Build relationships

Another tip for communicating with clients is to make an effort to build relationships with each client. You can connect with the person you are talking to by starting the conversation with a warm greeting and speaking in a friendly manner. This can help you maintain a relationship with your client.

Take notes about your conversation

Taking notes while talking is another key tip for communicating with clients. By taking notes, you can jot down important information from a conversation to use when developing a strategy. It can also show the client that you are listening carefully to what they have to say and paying attention to their needs.

20 questions you should ask clients

Many product managers never leave the office. They are too busy with their projects, holding meetings - and almost never talk to consumers. Ultimately, when making product decisions, they rely entirely on their intuition (or the opinions of colleagues), rather than sound data.

You do not need to be a professional researcher to carry out a remote customer survey and draw conclusions based on it. This method is especially suitable for those product managers who do not have time to conduct large-scale research. You just need to understand what to pay attention to.

The three stages of product improvement are described below, each of which involves a series of questions to the direct consumers of the product - your customers.
- How to understand what customers want?
Stage 1: Testing a New Idea

Before you can develop a complete solution, you need to carefully study the problem and how your customers are currently solving it. This will help you better understand your target market, and it will also help you avoid wasting money on tools to solve problems that don't exist. Ask your users the following questions:
- what do you want to do?
- what problem are you trying to solve?
- how do you solve this problem?
- what do you like about this way of solving a problem? what don't you like?
- how much would you be willing to pay for ___ to solve your problem?
Stage 2: Product-to-market fit

Once you've started working on a complete solution, it's important to gather user feedback as quickly as possible. This will help you determine if you are on the right path. If, as a result of the survey, it turns out that you need to drastically change your strategy, then you will save time and money on development. In addition, the feedback received will help you work more fruitfully with the project designers.

User feedback during the development phase will help you determine if you're on the right track

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At this stage, ask your customers the following questions:
- looking at the product prototype, what do you think of it?
- What options will you have after purchasing this product?
- what would be the first action you would take?
- If you had a magic wand, what changes would you make?
If you have two versions of a design, you should also ask:
- which of these two versions do you feel most comfortable with?
Surveys like these will, among other things, help you conduct competitive analysis. Chances are, you've already tried competitors' products yourself, but looking at how your users interact with solutions from other companies, you will draw much more conclusions for yourself. Below is a list of questions to ask:
- Have you used this product before?
- what do you like about this product?
- what's not to like?
- If you had a magic wand, how would you change this product?
- Do you know of other companies producing similar products?
- How do you assess whether your product meets the expectations of the target market?
Stage 3: Optimization

Once you have tested all your ideas, you can start creating or removing product features. Interactive prototypes are very useful at this stage, as they allow you to observe users as they interact with the product. Ask your clients the following questions:
- what features should be added?
- Which of the existing features do you find most useful?
- which features do you think are useless?
- does anything seem out of place to you?
As you monitor users, also pay attention to what features they don't use.
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