Just Listening Services - Active Listening for individuals, couples and business.

	Years of work as a mediator demonstrated to me that many people who seek professional help with difficult situations have the answers & solutions within themselves. They just need a chance to articulate, or say aloud, what is troubling them, to come to solutions or greater understandings. Yet it is difficult to find a professional who will simply listen without feeling compelled to "do something."
	Therapists, counselors, attorneys & mediators work in ways that, consciously or unconsciously, tend to impose their values, or the values of those who trained them, on their clients. Such professionals typically use processes that are meant to "do something" to their clients, or to produce some result. These processes are usually based on the professional's world view, personal biases, and preconceptions about their client's needs.
	Just Listening is a low-level professional intervention that gives you the maximum opportunity to work through difficult situations in ways that make sense to you and are aligned with your deepest values. Just Listening reduces process to a minimum and still provides dynamic interaction through active listening.
	Just Listening gives you a chance to get off your chest whatever is bothering you, in a confidential and compassionate setting, without any pressure or expectation that you will change yourself or the situation.
	Besides a chance to be heard, Just Listening doesn't make any assumptions about what you need. You can use your Just Listening session however you like, for instance: to bear silent witness to a difficult conversation or negotiation; to try out ideas for dealing with conflict; or as a non-religious confessional.

You can meet with a professional listener by yourself, with your spouse or partner, or with a business associate -- whatever will work best for you. For an appointment in your office, home, or other convenient location, call 206-351-4724 or email us.

	Giving full attention to the person, not only their words but their tone of voice, emotional affect, and body language
	Waiting until the speaker has completed a statement before formulating a response.
	Providing feedback to ensure that the speaker has been heard completely and accurately.
	Asking open-ended questions to provide the speaker a complete opportunity to say what needs to be said.
	Asking specific questions to elicit additional details.
	Listening with an appreciation of the speaker's humanity and the difficulty of the situation with which they are struggling.
	Refraining from comment, analysis, or advice unless specifically requested by the speaker.
	Neutral and impartial, that is, having no stake in the outcome of the situation, nor preferring one person or point of view to another.

	Everything said in a Just Listening session is absolutely confidential, with this exception: statements that could be taken as a serious intent to commit a crime of violence, theft, or abuse may be reported to the appropriate authorities.
	No files are kept on Just Listening sessions.
	Any notes taken during a Just Listening session are solely for the purpose of aiding listening. Notes may be reviewed by you at any time. At the end of the session, you may keep the notes, or they are destroyed.
	The only record kept of your Just Listening session is a brief contract for services.