User:EtherealPink/Reflective listening

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Reflective Listening
Reflective listening is a communication strategy involving two key steps: seeking to understand a speaker's idea, then offering the idea back to the speaker, to confirm the idea has been understood correctly. Reflective listening is a more specific strategy than the more general methods of active listening.

Form of Empathy
Reflective listening arose from Carl Rogers' school of client-centered therapy in counseling theory. It is not just repeating back word for word what was said, but reflective listening is a practice of expressing with genuine understanding. Empathy is at the center of Rogers' approach. Reflective listening takes practice, and there must be a sincere interest while listening to the speaker in order for them to truly express themselves.

Fisher's Model
Dalmar Fisher, an associate professor at Boston College, developed a model for Reflective Listening that includes the following elements:


 * Focusing upon the conversation by reducing or eliminating any kind of distraction.[citation needed]
 * Genuinely embracing the speaker's perspective without necessarily agreeing with it. By engaging in a non-judgmental and empathetic approach, listeners encourage the others to speak freely.[citation needed]
 * Mirroring the mood of the speaker, reflecting the emotional state with words and nonverbal communication. This requires the listener to quiet his mind and focus fully upon the mood of the speaker. This mood will become apparent not just in the words used but in the tone of voice, posture and other nonverbal cues given by the speaker. The listener will look for congruence between words and mood.[citation needed]
 * Summarizing what the speaker said, using the speaker's own words rather than merely paraphrasing words and phrases, thereby mirroring the essential concept of the speaker.[citation needed]
 * Responding to the speaker's specific point, without digressing to other subjects.[citation needed]
 * Repeating the procedure for each subject, and switching the roles of speaker and listener, if necessary.[citation needed]
 * During the reflective listening approach, both client and therapist embrace the technique of thoughtful silence, rather than to engage in idle chatter.

Style of Communication
'''Reflective listening is one of the core skills of motivational interviewing, a style of communication that works collaboratively to encourage change. When reflecting on the words of the person speaking, keep their tone and other nonverbal clues in mind to create a reflection. '''

'''There will be times in daily life that reflective listening can be helpful. For example, if a loved one is suffering from depression and is not being honest about their feelings, using reflective listening could be an effective strategy to help them open up. Dr. Xavier Amador suggests if your partner claims they are doing fine, then you could respond with, “What you’re telling me is that there’s nothing wrong, is that correct? Can I tell you what I’ve noticed?” These questions can allow the other party to feel valued, as they sometimes just want to be heard and not given advice immediately. '''

'''Reflective listening is a crucial component in various occupations that require direct communication with others. Failure to understand the needs of the person speaking can result in consequences.'''

Additional Application
Reflective listening has been found to be effective in a therapeutic setting. '''Using empathy to actively listen allows for better understanding of the context between both parties. ''' Subjects receiving reflective listening from a counselor have reported better therapeutic relationship and more disclosure of feelings. With a positive relationship between both parties achieved my reflective listening, there is an increase chance of recovery.

Cognitive content is one of the two main options that a counselor has for reflecting the client's previous communication in the counseling session.[citation needed] This form deals with people, places, problems, situations, and things.[citation needed] Cognitive content can play a role in help with problem solving.[citation needed] Incorporating cognitive content in problem solving makes it easier for clients to identify and work through issues. If neither the counselor nor the client can identify a problem that the client has, there is no need to problem solve and there is no need for counseling. Similar to problem solving where one initially identifies the quandary, counseling calls for identification of the fundamental issue in order to successfully change the client's behaviors or thought patterns.

'''Students that are entering the counseling field took part in a qualitative study that utilizes music, specifically song lyrics, to enhance their reflective listening skills. By interpreting the emotions and feelings behind the words of a song, these participants are able to recognize hidden messages which is a skill they can transfer to listening to their future clients. '''