Developing Psychological Skills
This domain tests applied communication, observation, interviewing, and counselling skills, including ethical judgement. These are professional skills, not personality traits.
Communication and observation
Communication includes verbal and nonverbal channels; active listening uses attending, paraphrasing, reflecting, and summarising. Observation may be naturalistic or controlled; record behaviour, context, and frequency, and guard against observer bias.
Interviewing
Interviews can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured. Establish rapport, use open questions first, probe neutrally, avoid leading questions, and record accurately. Confidentiality and informed consent are ethical requirements.
Counselling and guidance
Guidance is broader and often educational or vocational; counselling is a helping relationship for personal, social, or emotional concerns. Core skills include empathy, genuineness, unconditional positive regard, questioning, and summarising. Counsellors do not impose advice; they facilitate decisions and refer when needed.
Worked example
A client says, “I’m fine,” but avoids eye contact and taps nervously. The counsellor notes the incongruence between verbal and nonverbal behaviour, reflects it (“You say you’re fine, but you seem tense”), and asks an open question. This invites exploration without accusing the client.
Traps
Advice-giving is not counselling; leading questions contaminate data; confidentiality is not absolute when there is risk of harm. Observation without recording is not evidence.