Your client appears disengaged during the session. How can you rekindle their interest in the conversation?

I have found somatic strategies of benefit when helping clients engage and orient themselves during sessions. Clients are encouraged to sit comfortably prior to being guided through a "self checking" dynamic. Active listening helps the attunement between therapist and client, periodically checking for understanding or questions from the client, is also a valuable tool to keep clients engaged during sessions.

It is best to honest with your client to build trust. During the beginning of a conversation, if they appear to disengage, use the tone of their voice, their length of responses and their verbal cues to gauge if they appear at ease with your presence. When they are reluctant to engage in conversation earlier on, they may be uncomfortable talking to a stranger about their life. It is imprudent to inform them that everything they say is confidential and that they only need to share what they are comfortable sharing. The next step is to build rapport with the client for 2-3 minutes. Then, ask them if they have questions about the interview before moving on. Once they gain trust in the process and yourself, they will ease into the role.

Creating a comfortable environment is essential in Motivational Interviewing, especially in healthcare settings where clients may feel vulnerable. As an Occupational Health Clinic Director, I've seen that when clients perceive their surroundings as safe and supportive, they are more likely to engage in meaningful dialogue about their health concerns. This initial step not only fosters trust but also encourages clients to express ambivalence about their behaviors, leading to more productive conversations about change. Incorporating regular check-ins about comfort can further enhance this dynamic, ensuring clients feel heard and valued throughout the process.

The most common thing, I've seen in my practice is patient's discomfort is aligned due to multiple questions related to their condition, sometimes not able to own their scars, pain; and hesitant to know help is out there. Pt should be given time to get adapted to the environment, with the practicing professional, in the initial meeting should always be of education of how we as a healthcare professionals can help them out in their journey. Getting to know more of their insecurities and going through the whole path of their treatment which I've seen will definitely engage patient's attention span and proactively involving them in their betterment path.

This is an opportunity to stop and be sure that you are continuing to assess and understand what the issue is rather than assuming you know the diagnosis and explaining to the client what they’re experiencing. This is part of rapport building that gives the client confidence that you are treating them versus treating a condition, especially when there will be more than one session.

If I speak of my profession, I am a Physical Therapist. In our initial assessment session, we capture an insight of their chief complaints, objectively evaluating their functional status and discussing the plan of care, aligning their goals with Rx protocols. I am pretty sure other professionals are also following same route as well. In return visits, their functional/ objective goals are the priority which has to be addressed, however if the patient comes in with different concerns other than their primary chief complaint, we being a professionals cannot defer their concerns. If it has to be in our hands we try to focus on that concern, but if not I show them the possible ways and directions if I am aware of it.

Allow the client to talk about themselves out side of the recovery aspect aligning with there overall person becoming personable without transference because recovery is not always about the addiction, but their story of how they ended up being addicted. Empathy alone does not bring results but engagement from a counselor, who can have fore sight to understand the client, produces engagement from the client in a more positive manner of understanding that produces efficacy in a conversation to help them understand that addiction is not their disease alone but a generational addiction, resulting in more self awareness, solidifying why boundaries are important to their mental health , well being and functionality.

In therapy, fostering open communication is vital for progress. Clients often arrive with walls built from past experiences and fears. My role is to create a safe space where they feel comfortable sharing. Using open-ended questions invites clients to explore their emotions without pressure. For example, asking, "Can you tell me more about what’s been on your mind?" encourages deeper dialogue. When clients feel heard, it builds trust. Questions like, "What feelings have you been experiencing?" Ultimately, this collaborative approach transforms sessions into meaningful conversations, paving the way for healing and growth. Together, we navigate their experiences, fostering resilience and hope.

This should be used to make the client feel 'included' and allow for sessions to be discursive - it could be interesting to ask the client what their opinion on something in particular is, encouraging them to reflect on personal experiences etc.

A human after a while, definitely has a tendency to get bored and feels distracted from their goals. Open-ended questions can brain-storm them, and will start to take interest in the sessions. Not only for the purpose of actively involving in session, but also will get to explore their varied dimensional intrusive feelings, and their interests. Which might help a professional to do some different activity with the client which is of their preference/ likings.

The use of open ended questions when a client appears to have grown disengaged invites and welcomes them back into the space - or into it for the first time. It can serve as a reminder for the client that the space is being created for them to show up in authentically. This technique can also encourage/empower the client to process out loud, which would give them the opportunity to organize their unique thoughts about their own lived experiences, to reflect on their internal and external responses to their experiences, and to externalize the thoughts/energy by “hearing” it spoken aloud. It can also gently draw a timid or guarded individual out of their armor.

Feedbacks are important, but if the feedbacks are provided in an affirmative statement their ability to perform activity will be more effective. "No-Not-do not-wrong" such kind of words subtly create an impact in their mind, that they are not capable and might affect their reciprocity in the session. Whereas, appreciation/ affirmative statements without using any negative words will enhance their productivity and will be more proactive in a session.

We can steer the conversation towards a topic that the client finds enjoyable. Simply ask a few questions to understand their areas of interest. Their energy will shift instantly, and they will become much more receptive to our proposals.

When you sense a customer’s disengagement, recognize it as an opportunity to demonstrate deep empathy and recalibrate the conversation. The key is to listen intently, not just to their words but to the unspoken cues—acknowledging their needs, frustrations, and aspirations. Shift the dialogue to focus on what truly matters to them, showing that their perspective drives the agenda. By aligning the conversation with their values and vision, you transform a moment of disengagement into a powerful connection. Remember, great leaders don’t just sell products; they inspire belief in the possibilities those products unlock.