{"id":17754,"date":"2025-11-11T15:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2016\/04\/core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-reflective-listening\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T18:58:17","slug":"core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-reflective-listening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/cfar\/2025\/11\/core-interviewing-skills-in-mi-reflective-listening\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflective Listening"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflective listening<\/strong> is another effective communication technique, and is often considered the most important, because the counselor uses statements and not questions to make sure the client knows and feels that you understand them\u2026both how they are feeling and\/or what they are saying. This technique also keeps the conversation going and allows more information to be gathered from the client.<\/p>\n

Bill Miller and Stephen Rollnick (founders of MI) talk about reflective listening as statements that make a guess as to what the person means\u2026and that if the client you are listening to balks, you know you have jumped too far too fast\u2026and if it feels like you\u2019re going around in circles, the reflections are probably too simple.<\/p>\n

We could continue to simply ask open ended questions, but instead, by reflecting back to the client, we attempt to make sure they know we understand them and their experience.<\/p>\n

And there are different levels of reflection, mostly divided into two categories, as either a simple<\/strong> reflection or a complex<\/strong> reflection:<\/p>\n

Simple:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Repeating or rephrasing<\/i>:\u00a0Substitutes synonyms or phrases; stays close to original statement<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Complex:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Paraphrasing<\/i>:\u00a0Makes a major restatement inferring the speaker\u2019s meaning
\n\u2022 Reflection of feeling<\/i>:\u00a0Emphasizes emotional aspects through feeling statements
\n\u2022 Double-sided reflection<\/i>: Presents two sides of an issue: \u201cOn the one hand\u2026and on the other hand\u2026\u201d
\n\u2022 Summarizing<\/i>:\u00a0Reflects multiple points, tying them together<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Example:<\/i><\/strong>
\nClient: <\/strong>My doctor referred me here but I am not sure if this is what I need<\/p>\n

\u2022 Repeating<\/i>: \u201cYour doctor referred you here today but you are not sure if this will be helpful\u201d
\n\u2022 Paraphrasing<\/i>: \u201cYou believe it\u2019s important to listen to your doctor but you may not always agree with his\/her recommendations\u201d
\n\u2022 Feeling reflection<\/i>: \u201cYou\u2019re feeling somewhat confused and frustrated about being referred here\u201d
\n\u2022 Double-sided reflection<\/i>: \u201cOn the one hand, you don\u2019t always agree with your doctor, but on the other hand, you\u2019re also a little concerned\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When using reflections, by simply saying \u201cyou\u201d and then the statement-it keeps you from asking a question and keeps the conversation going\u2026so statements may sound like \u201cyou are really frustrated that you have to come to see me\u201d\u2026or \u201dyou\u2019re wondering if I am going to keep this conversation confidential.\u201d<\/p>\n

And you may have to be careful using starter phrases such as, \u201cit sounds like\u201d and \u201cwhat I hear you say is that\u201d too much because many of these starter phrases can make the client feel like they are hearing \u201ccounselor speak.\u201d It is great to normalize participation in counseling but we need to be aware of using them too much, to make sure we do not turn them off or where they tune us out.<\/p>\n

Again, the importance of these reflective statements is to make sure the client knows that we understand how they are feeling and what they are saying, and again, these statements keep the conversation going and allows the client to tell you more about them and their experiences.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more information about Motivational Interviewing resources, contact Eunice Akinyi Okumu, by phone (919) 843-2532, or by email, eunice_okumu@med.unc.edu<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reflective listening is another effective communication technique, and is often considered the most important, because the counselor uses statements and not questions to make sure the client knows and feels that you understand them\u2026both how they are feeling and\/or what they are saying. 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