Various techniques for responding to the client can be used not only in the initial building of a relationship with the client, but throughout the entire counselor/client relationship. Commonly used responses by counselors include:

1. Attending
2. Paraphrasing
3. Reflecting
4. Clarifying
5. Leading
6. Summarizing
7. Supporting
8. Approving
9. Confronting
10. Informing
11. Interpreting
12. Assigning tasks and contracting
13. Instructing

Leading is a response method where the counselor will request or encourage the client to discuss a specific aspect of his/or her self or experience. The counselor may directly invite the client to respond, or indirectly invite the client to respond. When the counselor invites the client to react indirectly then he/or she will have very extensive boundaries for expressing feelings and thoughts. An example of indirectly asking a client to continue a train of thought is where the client says something like "I am actually feeling good today for the first time in awhile", and the counselor responds with something general, such as "Please continue." On the other hand, a direct lead will involve the counselor identifying the subject matter of the topic, thought, or feeling, and encouraging the client to continue on that path. For example, the client could say, "My wife believes that my drug use is a cover so that I can avoid sharing my real feelings with her", and the counselor responds by saying, "How did you feel when she said that?"