Page 69 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

positive attitudes and solutions.
It is necessary to differentiate and understand both the content and the feelings of the client’s remarks. To

determine the content, you may ask yourself, “What is this person telling me or thinking?” Feelings may be
classified as positive, negative, or ambivalent, and these may change as the interview progresses.

Paraphrasing, discussed in Chapter 2, checks your understanding. It is part of empathy which refers to the
professional’s attempt to accurately experience the person’s world and communicate that understanding to the
interviewee. It reflects the content of what the client said in your words to ensure that communication is
understood. To verify understanding, use the following sentence in paraphrasing. The answer may be inserted
into a format.

EXAMPLE “I think I hear you saying that you feel. . . because. . .”

To avoid overuse of the same phrase or sounding mechanistic, the phrase can be varied.

EXAMPLE “Do I understand correctly that you feel. . .?”
“You seem to be saying that you are feeling. . .”
“I gather that. . .”
“You sound. . .”
“In other words, you are feeling. . .”

Interviewee responses that suggest feelings about an event may provide an important key to the person’s
behavior. How clients feel about their lifestyles, food habits or choices, or their health is critical to dietary
adherence. Food behaviors may be influenced by psychological, cultural, and environmental variables that are
important to understand.

Job applicants may also express feelings about previous work experience, relationships with superiors and
subordinates, and activities and interests. Preceding a statement with “I feel . . .,” “I think . . .,” or “I believe . .
.” gives a signal that the statement expresses opinions, beliefs, attitudes, or values. Possible follow-up probes
are included in the following examples:

EXAMPLE “Can you explain more about your feelings?”
“What do you think about that?”
“What do you think causes that?”

Some men may find exploring feelings and emotions difficult and some cultures may value restraint of
feelings.

Probing Responses

The probing response is helpful in clarifying or in gaining additional information as people recall details. In
dietary interviews, for example, details about food quantities, added ingredients, food preparation methods,
and snacks are probed frequently. Probing implies that the person should give more information so that the

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