Maintains Presence5 min
Staying Present with Strong Emotions
Practice staying grounded when the client expresses frustration, sadness, or anger instead of trying to fix it.
Example
Client says: 'I'm so angry at my boss, I could scream!'
✓Effective
'I can hear how frustrated you are. What's underneath that anger?'
✗Less Effective
'Let's try to look at this objectively and find a solution.'
Why? Acknowledging emotions shows presence. Jumping to objectivity dismisses their experience.
Tips for This Exercise
- 1Name the emotion you observe: 'That sounds really frustrating'
- 2Don't try to calm them down or fix the feeling
- 3Stay curious about what's beneath the emotion
- 4Your comfort with their discomfort builds trust
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