Latest / Professor Peterson’s Psychology Classroom
The Power of Silence: Why Waiting Changes Therapy
This episode explores the role of silence in counseling—why allowing pauses after questions (try counting to 20) helps clients process information, access feelings, and give authentic responses. It covers brain processing times, cultural biases toward immediacy, and practical ways counselors can use silence.
Listeners will learn the functions and benefits of silence for both client and counselor, tips for staying fully present during pauses, and how silence supports empathy, autonomy, and therapeutic change.
The skinny
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