When trying to communicate with clients, oftentimes there are barriers that prevent effective communication. Nonverbal barriers include facial expressions, posture, voice, and physical proximity to the client, while verbal barriers include inherently destructive verbal responses and counterproductive patterns of communication.

Inherently destructive verbal responses can be divided into eight sub-categories:

1. Moralizing and sermonizing
2. Premature advice or solution giving
3. Persuading, judging, or criticizing
4. Inappropriate interpretation
5. Sympathizing, consoling, and excusing
6. Sarcasm
7. Inappropriate humor
8. Threatening or warning

Persuading is where the counselor will inappropriately attempt to convince the client about something using logic or arguments. For example, a counselor may say to a client something like "We should look at the facts about alcohol." This will often make clients become defensive or argue back at the counselor, because they believe that the counselor is trying to undermine their freedom or individuality, causing power struggles. These power struggles will frequently lead to feelings of alienation, bitterness, and antagonism.

Judging or criticizing includes making judgmental, critical, and reproaching statements that cause damage to the helping process. An example of one of these statements is the counselor stating that the client is "not thinking clearly". This criticism will make the client become defensive towards the counselor, either producing a counterattack and possibly blocking all significant interactions, or causing the client to become internally bitter, strengthening the client's pessimistic self-perceptions.