Ирина Архипова – English for Psychotherapy and Counselling: Handbook. Английский для психотерапии и консультирования: практическое руководство (страница 10)

• I work with clients on Mondays and Wednesdays.

• Clinical psychologists don’t prescribe medication.

• Do you feel comfortable discussing this topic?

Present Continuous:

• For actions happening now, at this moment

• For temporary situations

• For describing what is currently happening in a session

Form:

• Affirmative: Subject + am/is/are + main verb-ing

• Negative: Subject + am/is/are + not + main verb-ing

• Questions: Am/Is/Are + subject + main verb-ing?

Examples from therapy practice:

• I am listening carefully to what you’re saying right now.

• The client is describing their recent experiences.

• We are working together to identify your goals today.

• Are you feeling anxious at this moment?

Key differences in therapeutic context:

Exercise 1: Choose the correct tense

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets:

1. In our first session, we typically _______ (discuss) what brings you to therapy.

2. Right now, I _______ (explain) how confidentiality works.

3. Most therapy sessions _______ (last) between 45 and 60 minutes.

4. At this moment, the client _______ (share) very personal information.

5. Clinical psychologists _______ (assess) clients using various methods.

6. I _______ (listen) carefully to what you _______ (say).

7. We _______ (not make) major decisions in the first session.

8. _______ you _______ (feel) comfortable talking about this now?

9. Therapists _______ (build) rapport from the very first meeting.

10. I _______ (think) about what goals we should focus on.

Exercise 2: Correct the mistakes

Find and correct the mistakes in these sentences:

1. I’m usually working with adolescents and young adults.

2. Right now, I explain the limits of confidentiality to my client.

3. Are you understanding what I’m saying about boundaries?

4. The therapeutic relationship is building over time.

5. What do you feeling about starting therapy?

6. I’m believing that the first session is very important.

7. We are typically discussing informed consent at the beginning.

8. The client is seeming nervous in every first session.

9. Do you currently experiencing any major stressors?

10. I work on establishing rapport with you at this moment.

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B. Question Formation in Therapy

Asking the right questions is essential for building rapport and gathering information. In therapy, we use both closed questions (yes/no answers) and open-ended questions.

Closed Questions (Yes/No):

• Present Simple: Do/Does + subject + main verb?

• Present Continuous: Am/Is/Are + subject + verb-ing?

• Present Perfect: Have/Has + subject + past participle?

Examples:

• Do you feel ready to start therapy?

• Are you experiencing anxiety right now?

• Have you been in therapy before?

Open-ended Questions (encourage detailed responses):

Use question words: What, Where, When, Why, How, Who

Examples:

• What brings you to therapy today?

• How are you feeling about being here?

• What would you like to achieve through therapy?

• How do you usually cope when things are difficult?

• What made you decide to seek help at this time?

Exercise 3: Form questions

Create appropriate questions for a first therapy session using the prompts:

1. (you / ever / see / therapist before)

_______________________________?

2. (what / bring / you / here today)