So I think its important to have the goals and expectations aligned.

• Building rapport and trust — New clients may be guarded or skeptical, making it hard to establish the psychological safety needed for open sharing. Without trust, the relationship can feel transactional rather than collaborative.

• Unclear or vague presenting issues — Clients often struggle to articulate why they’ve sought help. They may describe symptoms rather than root causes, making it difficult for the counsellor to understand the full picture quickly.

• Managing client expectations — Some clients arrive with unrealistic ideas about how fast change will happen or what the counsellor’s role is, which can create friction right from the start.

2) Challenges in asking clients for their goals

• Clients don’t know what they want — Many clients come in distress but haven’t thought concretely about what a successful outcome looks like, making goal-setting feel premature or overwhelming.

• Fear of commitment — Naming a goal makes it real. Some clients resist this because failure to achieve it feels threatening to their self-esteem.

• Goals that are vague or externally driven — Clients may state goals like “I want my family to stop fighting” — outcomes outside their control — rather than personal, actionable ones, which makes progress hard to measure.

3) Possible solutions

• Use structured intake tools (e.g., brief questionnaires) to help clients reflect before the first session, easing rapport-building and clarifying issues early.

• Employ motivational interviewing techniques to gently explore ambivalence and help clients surface their own goals organically rather than feeling pressured to define them immediately.

• Use SMART goal frameworks collaboratively — guiding clients to turn vague wishes into specific, measurable, and personally meaningful goals they feel ownership over.

• Normalize the process by explaining that it’s okay not to have clear goals yet, reducing anxiety and resistance at the outset.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

• Difficult in Building trust and Rapport

  • Unresponsive to your questions

  • Unwilling to share personal information

  • Resistant to “going deep” with you

  • Adverse to following through with your treatment recommendations

  • 
    

    2) What are the challenges in asking clients for their goals?

    Client Resistance and Engagement: Clients may be reluctant, in denial, or forced into therapy, making it difficult to establish a productive alliance.

  • Slow Progress: Counseling is rarely a linear process; periods of intense emotion or lack of progress can discourage clients.

  • Misaligned Goals: Unspoken expectations or different communication styles can cause friction between the counselor and client.

  3) Suggest possible solutions to tackle 1) and 2)

• Building rapport and trust by showing empathy

• Using motivational interviewing techniques

• Exploring the underlying cause of the resistance

• Going back to the basics and providing about the benefits therapy can offer

2. Challenges in asking for their goals - clients thinks we are psychic. Solution - emotional relief > then be with client to attain self-awareness and clarity

• Juggling between Active Listening, Taking Notes and Building a Rapport - I love taking note, as memory probably not so good, but also don't want to ignore the client sitting in front of you, but at the same time trying to formulate something intelligent

• Picking out the key points to discuss - not tackling everything in one go

• Documentation

• Maintaining boundary especially when you have a client who has an experience that you resonant with

• Keeping track of time

• Not able to let go of the client's issues after session finishes

Challenges in asking clients for their goal

• Guiding them through without making suggestions

• Dealing with their silence if they are really zoning out

• Clarity as a counsellor to see the real potentials behind unspoken words

Possible solutions

- attend couselling sessions and learn from others

• experience?

1. Emotional Burden

Solutions:

Seek supervision from supervisor and peer support.

2. Losing direction in session

solution:

use a working model consistently

• Building the initial rapport

• Managing silence or resistance

Challenges in asking clients for their goals

• too vague

• client unsure of their own goals

Solutions

• Being present (focus on presence)

• using skilled helper model - build understanding first

Possible solution - Slowly build rapport, build trust, empathetic listening, ensure its confidential, provide them safe haven

2. Client don’t even know what they want, much less being able to communicate their goals.

Solution:

1. Don’t be too ambitious with first session. Being able to converse alone can be a good outcome for the first session. One step at a time, and expand towards intended goal slowly.

2. All the more should employ skilled helper model. (1) Develop current picture by helping client to understand external problems and internal barriers. (2) develop preferred picture by expanding their perspectives and options. (3) develop way forward by evaluating options and strengthen their confidence and agency.

In this situation, allow the client space and their own pace to start the session... when they are ready to share. We can gently facilitate engagement and reduce their anxiety by saying, “A lot of people find it difficult to start talking about this and it’s completely OK. What would feel easiest to start with? ... Perhaps share about how was your day? " this might help lighten the mood.

• Building rapport with the new client:

  Getting to a stage where the client feels that there is a safe space for him to share freely. Client may be reluctant to open up, hence counselor is unable to get to the root cause of the issue

• Client may feel that the counsellor has to fix his problems and have unrealistic expectations of the counsellor. The counsellor may also feel stressed to make the client's money and time worthwhile and thereby overwhelm the client with too many questions or provide solutions that are not necessary

Challenges:

• Ethical boundaries could be crossed

• Loss of trust

• Client could feel that counseling is ineffective

Possible Solution:

• Adopt Egan's Skilled Helper Model

Secondly understand client main issue- Clients often arrive with multiple, problems or may struggle to articulate what they are feeling or needing.

2) Clients Lack Clarity or Direction- Many clients seek counselling because they feel stuck, confused, or overwhelmed. They may know they are unhappy but have not yet identified what they want to achieve or change.

Communication Barrier- Differences in background, language, or values can affect how goals are understood and expressed.

3) Active Listening and Observation- Focus on being present. Use open questions, reflection, and summarising to show you are listening.

Challenges 1. unclear or vague goals-clients may express feelings,not objectives2. fear of commitment or failure.3. unrealistic expectations-clients may expect clients may expectintant change

Solutions1. Guide them with gentle questioning, start with small short-term goals. 2. Normalize that goals can evolve, use scaling questions, reassure progress over perfection. 3.Reframe goals into achievable steps, align expectations with the counselling process.

1. Building Rapport and making a connection

2. Not being able to get the client to open up

3. Culture / Orientation that i'm not familiar with or have biases against

4. Being nervous

Steps to take to deal with it

1. Use SOLER

2. Recognise that silence isn't necessarily bad.

3. Familiarise myself with the client's culture / orientation

4. Stay calm and trust my skills

Challenges in asking for their goals

1. If the client is overwhelmed or emotional, they may not be able to think of their goals. In a place of negativity, they may think all goals are unreachable or unrealistic

2. I may not agree with the goals they have set i.e either too low a bar or too high

Solutions:

1. Remind them that there's always hope, even though they may not see it now

2. Keep an open mind and be unprejudiced

• fear of failure

• mismatch of perspective

solution:

Wait for readiness and have regular reviews

-Building enough rapport for clients to open up to share

-Resilience

Challenges

-Clients not sure of what they want to achieve

-Complex issues, dont know where to start

Solutions

-Effective questions to probe questions to understand better and perhaps allow clients to be able to view in another perspective

-Build rapport and trust

a) Building Rapport and Trust:

Building trust is essential since clients often feel anxious at the start of counseling, fearing judgment or confidentiality breaches, which can hinder open communication and delay a strong therapeutic relationship.

b) Client Resistance:

Many clients desire help but aren't fully prepared for change. They may downplay their issues, avoid specific topics, or provide brief answers, making it difficult for therapists to grasp the underlying problems early on.

2) Challenges:

a) Clients may not not know what they want:

Clients may lack clarity about their desires. Many clients haven't reflected on their objectives and may only feel distress without knowing what change looks like, complicating goal-setting.

b) Fear of commitment or expectations. Clients may find goal-setting intimidating, fearing failure, disappointing their therapist, or accountability, which leads to vague or cautious goals.

c) Mismatch between therapist/counsellor and client expectations: Therapists/counsellors often want measurable goals, while clients may just seek emotional support, leading to tension or confusion.

3) Possible solutions:

a) Emphasize relationship-building and safety: Utilize empathy, active listening, and a non-judgmental approach to foster a secure environment. Basic techniques such as reflecting emotions and normalizing client experiences can assist clients in feeling acknowledged and more inclined to share.

b) Implement gentle inquiry rather than direct pressure: Rather than directly asking, "What are your goals?" therapists/counsellors might consider softer inquiries such as:

"What would you like to feel differently after a few sessions?"

"What would make your visits here feel beneficial?"

This approach alleviates pressure and promotes gradual understanding.

c) Acknowledge uncertainty and ambivalence:

Reassure clients that it is acceptable not to have specific goals at the outset. This can lessen anxiety and resistance, allowing clients to participate more openly in the process.

d) Develop goals collaboratively over time

Goals do not have to be established during the initial session. Therapists/Counsellors can work together with clients to shape goals as insights evolve, ensuring that the objectives remain relevant and centered on the client.

-          Self-doubt and patience: if there is no result or progress after the first few sessions

-          Too much empathy: client starts to cry and the counsellor also tearing up

ð  Self-journalling , self reflection

ð  Prepare the sessions before hand

2)      challenges

-          Clients are not clear or doesn’t know their goal

-          Fear being judged

ð  Take time and use rapport to clear the thoughts, reflect and structure the goal

ð  Small steps at the time, short-term goals that can be met easily

Resistanace or hasitation- client avoid some sensitive topic or refuse to talk into deep

2 Client dont know their goals of the theraphy which cause couselling difficult to construct.

Client fear of being judge,make goal become unclear.

2.Clients demand to have solutions immediately. It takes a few sessions/ time to identify clients’ root causes of the issues and him/her preferred solutions but they have desire to end suffering or stress quickly.

3.Counsellor has a clear planning before the session. Read the client’s personal details before the session start. Perhaps the counsellor should have a rapport building checklist but also be flexible to suit the client’s personality and culture.

4.Set small goals with the client in each session. Let the client knows the small goals help to tackle the big/main issue.

• Building rapport and trust - new clients may feel anxious, guarded or reserved, they may fear of being judged by the counsellor.

  Solution: use empathic listening and non-judgmental attitude

• Clients unsure about their issues - some clients may feel "something is wrong" but they can't really state the exact problems clearly

  Solution: use open-ended questions, summaries and clarify

Challenges in asking clients for their goals

• Clients may not know their goals - clients may feel confused or unclear about their goals

  Solution: start with short-term goal

• Clients may set unrealistic goals - some clients may set goals based on others' expectation

  Solution: help clients reframe goals into realistic and achiavable goals

1.1. Build the trust & rapport, 

1.2. multiply issues to need to settle and clients want to resolve everything together.   

2) What are the challenges in asking clients for their goals? (Identify and briefly explain 2-3) 

2.1. When the client is not self willingness to attend the counselling, eg: forced attendance by court-ordered or family members. The client doesn't feel that he/she is required to set any goals. 

2.2. When the client fears having any changes, fear to set any goal. 

3) Suggest possible solutions to tackle 1) and 2)

For Q1.1: Build trust & rapport

Creating a safe physical environment, makes them feel soundproofed to protect their confidentiality. 

For 1.2: Multiple issues, we may request them to think of the most important issue or the most urgent issue which they would like to solve first. 

Or which issue triggers or affects them the most. 

For Q2.1: by force to attend the counselling

Get the client to identify his or her own personal values and intrinsic motivations. 

For Q2.2: May suggest the client to start from small and simple goal, which are easily achievable to build their confidence and slowly increase the challenge goal.

Boundary issues-difficulty to say no and over involvement (as willing to help),

Applying theory in real life- beginning therapist may struggle or feel lost when things go not as expected.

2 Challenges.

Client don't know what they want

Trust issues.

3 Solutions

Maintaining clear ethical boundaries

developing practical skills: active listening, paraphrasing.

Using open ended questions to find out more.

Creating empathic, non-judgmental environment so client feel safe to open up.