Counselling

She tends to make a big deal out of petty things . Now (long pause , client stares at the floor , I want to give up . I don 't know what to do . I could no longer bear the thought of working with her

Why are you confused

I used a closed probe and I found this ineffective . I should have used a challenge here and said You have probably misinterpreted her

Well , a part of me is telling me not to give up yet

It seems that you are not yet ready to give

up your work

I used an effective challenge here

You know , I understand her point . I know that we really are opposite personality wise . She is the person , who does everything in advance . She plans ahead all the time and her mood is greatly affected whenever the plan doesn 't turn out as expected

You said that you have understood that you are both opposite , but I wonder if you have not found this personality of hers a bit annoying

I used an advance emphatic highlight here and I found this effective

Uhmmm (pause ) yes . I have understood her but to be honest , I am really annoyed . You know , I am a person who beats into advance planning . I could easily adopt too if there are changes encountered along the way anyway

Now that you 've realized that you are both different , you feel that you have accepted her as she is

I used an empathic response here and I found it effective

Sometimes (pause ) yes , but the bitter feeling just keeps coming back every time she becomes unreasonable . She has a hard time trusting the people in the office and that doesn 't spare me . I believe that as her assistant , she should trust me because...