Information giving or problem discussion? Formulations in the initial phase of web-based chat counseling sessions

In the course of counseling sessions, counselors use summaries/restatements (also called formulations) of clients' words. Online counseling literature advises counselors to use formulations more frequently than in spoken counseling. This article is based on a comparative research project on Dutch telephone and chat counseling. It appeared that the counselors used formulations in the early phase of the chat sessions, while they rarely did on the telephone. This article focuses on the formulations used in the initial phase of chat sessions to explore how they are embedded in the interaction and what they achieve. The data consist of 49 web-based chat sessions about alcohol and/or drugs; in 14 sessions the counselors used a formulation in the initial phase of the session. Two types of formulations were found, proposing two alternative activities as the current focus of the interaction: requesting and giving information (7 out of 14) or problem discussion (7 out of 14). While the first type solves equivocal help questions, the second explores if the client would like to disclose more about the problem implied in the question. The findings may be used to reflect on, and scrutinize the general recommendation to use formulations in online counseling.