Communicate genuine concern and respect for the child. Below is a list of attitudes and behaviors that communicate respect and genuineness:

Attitudes:

• Being concerned for the person without judging them
• Leave the decisions and the consequences of those decisions to the child you are helping
• Believing that the child wants to and can change their behaviors

Behaviors:

• Using attending skills to show interest
• Keeping the focus on the person with the problem
• Communicating to the person that his or her feelings are okay
• Pointing out strengths and abilities that you see in the person
• Reinforce what the person is doing to try to work on the problem
• Keeping confidential information to yourself