Holding your own values internally and not allowing them to impact your work with the client describes which counseling skill?

• A. Countertransference Management
• B. Bracketing (core counseling skill)
• C. Self-Disclosure
• D. Transference Analysis

Answer: (B)

Bracketing is the practice of setting aside your own values, beliefs, and biases so they don’t influence how you view the client or how you conduct therapy. This helps you stay truly open to the client’s perspective, maintain neutrality, and honor the client’s own goals and world view. By actively suspending judgments about what you think the client should believe or do, you can better understand the client’s experience and support their autonomy.

This differs from countertransference management, which is about recognizing and regulating your own emotional reactions that arise from your past experiences and could color the session. Self-disclosure involves sharing personal information, not withholding values. Transference analysis focuses on the client’s feelings and expectations projected onto you as the therapist, rather than on your internal value system.