Summarising is a counselling skill where the counsellor reflects back what the client has expressed in a session.
The counsellor should aim to be accurate and concisely reflect back on the client’s material, crystalising the main points that have surfaced.
This is a helpful skill in allowing the client to reflect on the key themes they have raised.
Summarising can also help establish a better relationship with the counsellor and client, clear any misconceptions, place focus, and promote structure in the session.
Difference between summarising and paraphrasing
Summarising is a form of paraphrasing in that the counsellor is reflecting back what the client has said using their own words.
However, it differs from paraphrasing in that it generally spans a larger portion of content from the client.
Paraphrasing will generally occur after a short amount of material where the counsellor reflects back what the client has said in their own words.
A counsellor would summarise by taking elements of material throughout parts of the session or from a previous session to highlight the points that have been made by the client.
Summarising is more likely to be used in the second half of a session or towards the end, whereas paraphrasing is more likely to be used throughout.
However, a counsellor might summarise to open a session and highlight what has been mentioned previously. We will look at this further in the purposes of summarising.
Example of summarising
This short video from The University of British Columbia shows an example of using summarising in a session alongside attending and paraphrasing:
Purpose of summarising
Like other counselling skills, summarising can have a lot of different purposes within a session.
Primarily, it helps the client to hear back what they have said from a different perspective.
However, it goes further than this. This section will look at some of the different purposes of using summary in counselling.
Clarifying meaning
Summarising offers the opportunity for the client and the counsellor to clarify points to ensure they are on the same page.
For example, the counsellor provides a summary of the clients material. This invites the client to correct the counsellor or clarify a point that may have been hazy or incorrect from the counsellor.
As summarising is done using the counsellors own words, there is a degree of interpretation that might be made. As such, this can give clarity to the client on what the counsellor might be thinking.
In both examples, this offers clarity for both parties, ensuring the client and counsellor are on the same page.
Summarising can help build the therapeutic alliance in this sense as it provides opportunity for a shared understanding of the client’s issues.
Closing a session
Summarising can be used to close a session by reflecting back on the material that has come up.
Using summary to close a session is a respectful way to move towards the ending while still providing opportunity for the client to correct the counsellor.
I find it a gentle approach in that it allows the counsellor to take control of ending the session while still sitting with the client and their issues that they have brought.
Summarising at the end also conveys that you have been listening to the client.
Starting a session
Alongside closing a session, summarising can also be used to start a subsequent session.
In this capacity, summarising outlines the main themes that had been discussed in a past session.
This can help the client to settle into a session and remind them of the work that has been covered with the counsellor previously.
Summarising at the start might remind the client of thoughts that had come up in a previous session.
It can give the client an opportunity to carry on from where they left off in a previous session or bring something new to the current session.
Summarising at the start of a session can again show active listening from the counsellor and can build on the relationship. This is because it can convey that the counsellor has listened to the client previously, but remembered also what was discussed.
Reviewing material
A summary can be helpful for taking stock of progress within the therapeutic environment.
Summarising the work you have done with the client allows you both to review what has been covered and can help set a roadmap, implicitly or explicitly.
Focusing
As with reviewing material, summarising can establish different themes and put focus on any underlying issues that arise.
It can be helpful to the client to hear the main themes established in sessions and focusing on what is at the heart of their material.
Likewise, some clients might be quite scattered in their thinking and telling of their experiences.
Summarising in this case can highlight all the different topics that have been discussed. The counsellor and the client can then put focus on whichever area might be most pressing to discuss.
Making connections
By condensing the main themes discussed, the counsellor can make connections between two or more issues that might seem separate to the client.
For example, the client may have said that they are struggling to sleep but don’t know why. Separately, they also discussed a difficult relationship with their parents and later say that there is an event coming up where they have to see their parents.
By summarising, the client might be able to see that their sleep is being affected by anxiety surfacing from the upcoming event.
The counsellor may have not explicitly said, “this is why you are sleeping poorly.” Instead, they have simply reflected back the key points more concisely, allowing the client to make those connections themself.
Summarising can be particularly helpful here if the client has lots of problems at once.
It can also be helpful if thoughts appear to be quite scattered with no noticeable connection between them.
Reflection
With all of these purposes above, one of the main themes in all of them is reflection.
In summarising, you are reflecting back what the client has said to you in your own words.
This can help the client to look back on their material from a slightly different perspective.
It can also help them to approach their issues through hearing them in a more condensed form, especially if their thoughts are quite scattered.
Summarising promotes the therapeutic alliance between the client and counsellor to look back at their problems and work through these issues together.
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