Developing Psychological Skills
Developing Psychological Skills
This domain tests the practical skills of observation, interviewing, testing, counselling and ethical practice. Expect questions on rapport, communication, empathy, confidentiality, test standards and the difference between professional helping and casual advice.
Core rules
- Observation may be naturalistic or controlled; it must record behaviour, not infer motives without evidence.
- Interviews range from structured to unstructured; open questions encourage exploration, closed questions collect specific facts, and leading questions bias answers.
- Psychological tests require reliability, validity, norms, standard administration and informed consent.
- Counselling uses active listening, empathy, unconditional positive regard, congruence and confidentiality within legal and safety limits.
- Empathy is understanding the client's frame of reference and communicating that understanding; sympathy is feeling pity for the person.
- Ethical practice includes competence, informed consent, confidentiality, avoiding harm and referral when needed.
Worked example
A client says, 'I failed again; I am useless.' A sympathetic reply is 'Poor you, that is awful.' An empathetic reply reflects feeling and meaning: 'You sound deeply discouraged, and failing has made you doubt your worth.' The second response demonstrates empathic understanding without confirming the global judgement 'useless'. The counsellor might then explore evidence and alternative explanations. Reasoning: empathy communicates accurate understanding and opens exploration; sympathy focuses on the helper's emotional reaction.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing empathy with sympathy or with agreement.
- Using leading questions that suggest the desired answer.
- Treating a test score as a complete diagnosis.
- Promising absolute confidentiality when risk of harm exists.