Helping Session

Transcript - Page 0 of 11

Helping Session Transcript

Haniyyah Bashir
University at Buffalo
ELP 520: Counseling for Student Affairs
April 15, 2015

Helping Session
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Helping Session Information:
Helpee:

19 year old female, sophomore at UB

Location:

UB North Campus, Hadley Village Community Center

Date/Time:

Saturday, March 28, 2015 1:00 pm

Session Length:

31 minutes

Space Set Up:

Two chairs next to each other in a conference room

Transcription was taken verbatim from both parties. The helpers speech is bolded. The helpees
speech is in plain text. The helpers nonverbal expressions are in italics. Transcription is in the left hand
column. Analysis is on the right hand side. This segment was taken from the beginning portion of the
conversation (between 0:0:11 and 0:11:35) so this transcription is about 11 minutes.
The name of the student has not been identified to protect confidentiality. The student and I have had
casual conversations, but never sat down to have an in-depth conversation. I asked her to participate in
this assignment to just talk about her life experiences and anything that is on her mind. This
conversation focuses on academics, adjustment to campus as a transfer, friendships, roommate
relations, and family expectations.

TRANSCRIPTION
Helper Posture: sitting with hands crossed on lap, leaned
forward.
Helpee Posture: sitting with hands crossed on lap, leaned
forward.

ANALYSIS/INTERPRETATION
I immediately embodied the helpees
posture once I sat down because its
important to mimic the helpees position
and speech, which also embodies the
Egans SOLER method (Parsons, 2004).

So whats going on?

Thats good. What made you switch your major?

I used this simple question to encourage

the helpee to begin to talk about her most
pending concerns for a sense of relief.
According to Parsons (2004), the value
of ventilation and that introductory
question is to give the invitation to
simply talk and to get it out (p. 39).

Umm I hated Bio. I thought I was going to like it but I dont like
it as much as I thought I would. Nursing is a better fit for me I
think because I want to take care of people. I want to help
people. And at first I didnt want to do nursing because I have a
lot of nurses in my family and I didnt want to be the same. But I

I used Approval-reassurance to provide

emotional support and empathize with
the client. (Hill, 2004) Even though I
noticed she mentioned this semester was
rough, I focused on the last feeling she

Umm.Schools good. Ummits been rough this semester. Its

been better than last semester I can say. I switched my major to
Nursing from Bio. And I like it so much better than last semester
so its good.

Helping Session
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think it fits me. So.

mentioned and explored that.

Yea. Thats good. Thats good. Was it like a moment in

biology when you were like nope this isnt for me?
All the labs. The labs and the exams. It just wasnt interesting. I
wanted to learn about the human body. I didntI dont want to
learn about fungus and protus and stuff like that. Like I wanted
to learn about the body and what it does and the systems. So Im
more interested in that.
Thats good. And then you are just going to have toremind
me of your year again?

Repeated my approval-reassurance
statements twice as I was thinking of
something to say. I asked a closed
question which, according to Hill (2004)
only requests a one- or two-word
answer to gather specific information.
(p. 174)

Sophomore
Sophomore. So you have kind of like an idea of what you
want to do after?
Ehh a little bit. It will probably change. I changed my major so
many times. So well see.
Really?
Yea.
So you only told me about one. (hand signal 1) What are the
other ones?
Umm well okay. So I switched out of bio and I went to health
and human services and my mom was like no dont do that. Try
nursing. But like originally I wanted to go to medical school
like that was my plan so that is why I did Bio but I cant. (shakes
head horizontally) Its not for me. I switched so many times and
I probably still might switch if I dont like nursing. I dont know.
Im very wishy washy. I cant make up my mind so.
So why do you feel like youre so indecisive?
(shoulder shrug) Cause I feel like Ill like something for a little
bit and then Ill get into it and I get bored with it and then I want
to switch to something new. So Im indecisive I dont know.

Variety is needed in my collection of

approval-reassurance statements. This is
the 4th time I have used the same Thats
good. I asked another closed question to
gather data.
Another closed question was not useful
in exploring especially since the helpee
already talked about her career path.
Helpers should reduce the number of
closed questions and use more open
questions, restatements, and reflections
of feelings. (Hill, 2004)
This question was inappropriate and I
think showed lack of confidence in my
helping ability.
This would have been a good time to
restate the one that she talked about
earlier to show that I was listening. I used
an illustrator to accompany the speech,
which was unnecessary but it was not
distracting in this situation. (Hill, 2004)

Helping Session
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That makes sense. I mean you are still figuring it out with the
classes that you are taking and then you still have so much
time to decide. So.
No. I dont feel like I do. I feel like Im behind. I feel like all the
kids in my like year already are far along in their program and
Im just starting in nursing so I feel like Im behind everybody
Like I dont know.
I mean people change their major all the time so as long as
youhave you like spoke to anybody about changing your
major when you did it or?

This why question, even though Hill

advises against it, was a way that I
reflected her feelings to help identify,
clarify, and experience feelings on a
deeper level. (Hill, p. 144, 2004)

I noted her feelings of uncertainty and

used more approval-reassurance
statements to provide reinforcement.

I spoke to some advisors umm and they got me on the right track
with like the right classes I need to take and everything. I want to
take a summer course this summer. Umm I have to take a math
class so I probably will take that. Umm I mean well see. I dont
know.
Well that makes sense. I understand. So what else is going
on?
Umm like family or like
I mean you can talk abouttheres lots of things you can
talk aboutYou can talk about family. You can talk about
you know your adjustment to campus.

I stopped myself from attempting to

solve her problems or giving advice.
Then I asked a leading question inferring
that if she did not already speak to
someone about changing her major that
she should.

Oh yea thats right. I am a transfer. I forgot. (laughs) oh yea. Im

a transfer. I went to Pace last year in the New York City. So
being in Buffalo is completely different. The city and Buffalo are
completely two different places. Umm I miss New York so much
I have a habit of using the same
and if I could go back to Pace, I would. I mean I love Buffalo but approval-reassurance statements to show
my heart is with the city so if I could go back I totally would.
empathy.
But umm I like Buffalo I think I probably should have came here
as a freshman instead of a transferred sophomore. Just because
its cheaper and I actually feel like Im learning more here than I
did at Pace. So I mean when I tell anyone whos asking me about
I repeated her willingness to discuss
schools or anything, I always tell them go SUNY because its
family even though that family approach
smart like dont go to a private school and have all these student is complex and intense that it can become
loans and debt up to your head that youre not going to be able to
overwhelming for the counselor, and

Helping Session
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pay for after you graduate like I would totally go SUNY before I
go to a private school anyway. If I could do it over.
I understand. I mean I did go to a private for my four years
(laughs) but you know its not for everybody and when
youre thinking about finances that is definitely something
that many people have to consider. So what was like your
some of your challenges that you faced when transitioning
here?

effective use of this approach requires

significant training and supervision.
(Reynolds, 2009) If she felt comfort
enough with our session to disclose that
information, I would have allowed her to.
Bringing up adjustment to campus was
a good discussion point that was raised
for helpee to respond to.

Umm this campus is huge so learning how to maneuver around a

huge campus and learning where buildings are and having to ask
for directions and everything like that. Thats hard. And then its
so big youre afraid youre not going to make friends like I was
so scared I wasnt going to have any friends but I met so many
people and I have such a great group of friends now so thats
good. Im glad I have the friends that I do have because I was
afraid I wasnt going to find any friends.
What ways did you go about making friends?
Umm going to like events, like school events like football games
and basketball games, and like the step troupe thing like I met
people through that. Umm and just parties like they just have
parties that you just meet people at so yea.
That seems cool. That seems cool. That seems like a really
good experience. You know definitely just going out and
getting involved and doing lots of good things. Thats good.
Thats good. Anything else thats happening? With the
transition or?
I guess actually like this year Im closer with my roommate than
I was last year at my other school. Like this year, my roommate
and I get along really well. We actually do things together
outside of the room. Umm one of my roommates did move out. I
live in a triple. One moved out because shes pregnant. But umm
yeah this year I actually really like my roommate. Last year we
had nothing in common. We didnt talk. She barely like even
spoke to me so its great to have a roommate thats actually my
friend outside of the room.

According to Hill (2004), this is a selfdisclosure for exploration that reveals

personal, nonimmediate information
about the helper. (p. 178) My selfdisclosure statement was pointless and
did not enhance the helping session in
any way. I summarized the gist of what
the helpee was saying and also refocused
the conversation back on her
experiences.

This open question was used to

demonstrate that I was listening, tracking
what the client said, and interested
enough to encourage the client to keep

Helping Session
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Are you guys going to be roommates again next year or?

talking. (Hill, p. 118, 2004)

No. Shes going to get an apartment with her boyfriend.

Oh okay.
Yea.
So like hows the housing process working out for you?

So many repetitive approval-reassurance

statements in this segment. Closed
multiple questions when I could have
asked a simple, Are there any other
challenges that you have faced or are
facing now?

I wanted an apartment. Like I would have loved to come to

Hadley but they ran out like the first day so Im back in Fargo
again.
Oh okay. So are you going to live with the same roommate?
Uh-uh. No. Random.
Random. Same here. Ill be living in Hadley again.
Oh you will?
Yea. I have no idea who Ill be living with but Im not too
concerned about that. You know. So.
Mmmm okay.
(laughs) Yea so that will be exciting for us to figure out who
our new roommates are.
Yea and you meet new people that way too. Not living with the
same people over and over again.
Exactly but I definitely did consider trying to you know find
an apartment and if I actually wanted to do that and decided
to just like stick it out here instead of trying to move off
campus or get my own apartment so
Yea thats what my roommates doing. She wants off campus or
whatever. But I dont see how they are going to do it if they
dont have a car. Like dont you have to have a car?

Another closed-ended question used.

Parsons (2011) advises against those type
of questions not only because they have
their limitations, but also because it
creates a pattern of communication that
places all the responsibility for structure
and direction on the helper (p. 76).

An open-ended question is posed to

express interest and clarification.
(Parsons, 2011)

The same question is asked twice but in a

different way demonstrates poor listening
skills.

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I mean I guess it depends on which off campus apartment
that you look for. Uh cause I know there are a lot of
apartments like right off of south campus and thats not hard
to maneuver. You can just walk to the bus or walk to the
stampede or like even the apartments outside of Hadley like
the South Lake one across the street. So even those like I
mean I considered it but I didnt really know what finances
would be like at that point. You know

This is a self-disclosure of similarities

with roommate and housing situations to
show support so the helper felt that she
was not alone.

Yea I cant afford it. (laugh) I am barely like Im scraping along

now. I feel so bad because I feel like school is so expensive and
Im such a burden on my parents because they like I have no
way of paying them. Its all my parents and all financial aid. All
of my friends dont even get financial aid so I dont know how
their making it. I honestly dont.
Well makes you think that you are a burden on your
parents?
Because its just so expensive. And theres like pressure to do
well and to do exceedingly well because its like you dont want
to disappoint them. They shelling out all this money and its like
you cant come home with grades that arent exceptional. So its
just like if you dont pass or you dont do well you feel like
youve failed your parents because they are sacrificing so I feel
that pressure every day.

One of the precautions of using selfdisclosure statements are that the focus
shifts from the clients to the helpers.
(Hill, p. 178, 2004) I can see that starting
to happen here.

To do well for them or

Yes!
Just to make sure because you know they are the ones
thats paying the bill?
Both! Yea because I dontlike last semester I didnt do well in
Chemistry. Im retaking chem this semester and I felt so bad like
I was so disappointed in myself because I was like my parents
are doing so much and you couldnt pass chemlike really?
Um-hmm.
So I justI feel so much pressure this semester to like get an A

The focus shifted from the helpees

exploration to the helpers experience too
much. Discussing financial situations and
suggesting that she understood opened up
a new conversation that I initiated.

Helping Session
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just so I can show them that I can do it. You are not wasting your
time. Youre not wasting your money like this is a good
investment. Like its so much pressure. So much pressure.
Right. I see how that can be difficult. I think the shift is kind
of like when you stop like trying to worry about like trying to
please them and you really want to just like okay so this is
difficult and understand that it is difficult but in the same
sense do well and so its a lot. And I can see how that can be
overwhelming.
It is.

Although parents are discussed and this

could lead to the focus being on them
and not the helpee, the focus is placed on
the feelings of being a burden. Hill
(2004) suggests keep the focus on the
client rather than on other people. (p.
125)

But I mean youre taking it again so thats a good step in the

right direction and you know well see whatever happens
with that.
Ill let you know. (laughs) Yea.
So what else?
Umm I dont know what else you want to know. Im trying to
think. UmmI dont know what else you want to know.

This is a closed-ended question for

clarity purposes and for paraphrasing
purposes for the helpee to hear the
message received. (Parsons, p. 58, 2011)

Umm so I guess we can talk abouta little bit about umm

the expectations that your parents have? So
So I guesswell I dont know maybe its me putting like the
expectations on myself but like my mom went to school well she
just like she just graduated. She just went back ummAfter my
parents split; she went back to school and got a degree because
she didnt go before they got married. Ummand my dad didnt
go to school. So he constantly pushed us to like do well, go to
school, get a job, you know be financially stable, support
yourself, you know dont depend on anyone but you because you
are doing it for you and your family so I mean I guess its just
like they expect us to do well so its just like I dont want to
disappoint them because my mom like her going back with two
kids like being a single mom like if she can do it. I should be
able to do it. I dont have the stress on me that she had and then
thats with my dadI dont think he wentI dont know why he
didnt go but like he justIve seen him struggle because he

This minimal encourager, Um-hmm, is

used to acknowledge what the client said,
communicate attentiveness, provide
noninvasive support, monitor the flow of
conversation, and encourage clients to
kept talking. (Hill, p. 105, 2004)

A new approval-reassurance statement is

used: I see how that can be difficult.

Helping Session
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didnt go and I know he doesnt want that for us so hes just like
go so you dont have to deal with what I dealt with. Like you
dont have to live paycheck to paycheck like I did if you just go
to school and get a degree and do well for yourself. So I just
dont want to disappoint them if that makes sensedoes that
make sense?
Yes that makes complete and total sense! I totally
understand

Helper is talking in circles and lost the

helpee. Ends the statement in an
approval-reassurance statement.

Helper follows up with the academic

challenges and shows interest in a
follow-up.

Open-ended question is used to allow

helpee to continue to talk through
experiences.

Wrong way to go about the question. The

question could have been asked a
different way where the focus was placed
on the helpee instead of the subject who
was not in attendance.

Helping Session
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Great approval-reassurance statements.

Helper used this opportunity to
summarize to bring the discussion
around a particular theme to explore
thoroughly. (Parsons, p. 87, 2011)

Helping Session
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References
Hill, C. E. (2004). Attending and listening. In Helping skills: Facilitating exploration, insight,
and action (pp. 99-116). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Hill, C.E. (2004). Reflection of feelings. In Helping skills: facilitating exploration, insight, and
action (pp. 143-166). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Hill, C.E. (2004). Additional skills for the exploration stage. In Helping skills: facilitating
exploration, insight, and action (pp. 169-184). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Parsons, R. D. (2011). Fundamentals of the helping process (2nd ed.). Long Grove, IL:
Waveland Press.
Reynolds, A. L. (2009). Helping college students: Developing essential skills for student affairs practice. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.