Client Counseling and Client Needs: The Unspoken and Unknown Needs
Date:
Jan. 15, 2026
Time:
We know the surface level needs that clients have. Are they and you aware of their below-the-surface-level needs? Some of these needs are not spoken and some are unknown to the person. A simple example of such a need for about 25-35% of all Americans is avoiding conflict. There are multiple levels of unspoken and unknown (U&U) needs. To examine one relevant level, we'll use research on what clients want because these wants are actually needs. We'll look at needs from a trauma perspective, also. In both cases, we'll identify some client counseling techniques you can use to identify and address these U&U needs. Addressing these needs with a gentle approach can give the client both a better perceived outcome and an unexpectedly rich and rewarding experience.
For the trauma perspective, we will look at the trauma-informed care (TIC) frameworks in the TIC article on Wikipedia. Participants may wish to scan the article and note the sections describing the many types of trauma, TIC frameworks, and the general techniques including family law attorney Sarah Katz's adaptation. If you do DV work, there is a section specifically for that.
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