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

Summarizing is a very effective method for responding to a client by connecting several of the topics and feelings that the client mentions together. Summarization should center on the topics and themes that the client mentions more than once, connecting several components of a message or one familiar theme from multiple messages. Summarizing can be effectively used to focus a counseling session if the client is rambling or quickly going over too many issues.

An example of using a summarizing response is the client saying, "It's hard for me to be friendly with my boss because he's always bossing me around. Because of this, I drink during lunch breaks. I can do my job better than he can. It's not fair. And this isn't the first time it's happened - it has happened at every job I've had." The counselor summarizes this by saying, "Bosses who wield power over you seems to be the major difficulty you have with jobs."

In this example, the counselor summarizes past statements as well as several components from the client's current statement.