Reflecting Feelings Billies MH31 Fall 2016

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence Go over Chp 6 Homework Definition of Emotion: feelings about a situation, person or object that involved changes in physical arousal and thoughts (feelings are an instinctive state of mind) Emotional Intelligence: the ability to monitor one’s own and other’s feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action (Salovey & Mayer 1990)

Goals of Reflecting Feelings Support client’s self awareness   Untangling emotional knots

Model for Reflecting FEelings Identify the client’s feeling Reflect the client’s feeling back to him/her/hir in a statement Basic: You feel ____________________________. (emotion word) Complete: You feel __________because _________________________. (emotion word) (fact or thought from story)

Example Client: I don’t know. I’ve just been in a good mood all day. I mean, work was fine, nothing special. Oh, and, guess what! I passed my math exam! I can graduate! Therapist: Basic: “You feel ____elated_____!” (emotion word) Complete: “You feel _elated________because ___you passed math___ ! (emotion word) (fact or thought from story)

Example #2 Client: My mom is really having a hard time. First, they cut her hours at work. Then, when she went to the doctor, they told her she has to have knee surgery and she’s already dealing with a lot of pain. Therapist: “You feel _____________because ______________________.” (emotion word) (fact or thought from story)