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For counseling and social work students

OARS practice sheet: reflections, open questions, affirmations, and summaries

OARS is motivational interviewing's shorthand for four core listening skills: Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries. This sheet defines each one, works through examples with fictional clients, and gives you practice items to fill in, with sample answers on the last page.

A study aid drawn from public motivational interviewing (MI) sources, mainly SAMHSA's free TIP 35. It isn't MI training, and the sample answers are some of many reasonable responses, not a key to match.

The four skills

Open questions invite the person to reflect and say more, rather than answer yes or no. "What's been hardest this week?" opens; "Was this week hard?" closes. "Tell me about…" works as an open question too.

Affirmations recognize a real strength, effort, or value in what the person has said or done. They are specific and genuine, which is different from praise. Starting with "you" rather than "I" keeps the focus on the person.

Reflections say back what you understood. A simple reflection repeats or rephrases. A complex reflection uses different words for the meaning or feeling underneath. Two named kinds: a double-sided reflection joins both sides of mixed feelings with "and", ending on the side that leans toward change; an amplified reflection overstates the person's position slightly and is used sparingly.

Summaries pull several things the person said together, then hand the conversation back. They can collect, link ideas, or mark a move to a new topic. End by asking what you left out.

In the 4th edition of their book (2023), Miller and Rollnick describe four tasks of MI: engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning.

Sources: (SAMHSA TIP 35 ch. 3, pp. 41–47; Miller & Rollnick)

Habits worth practicing

Offer more reflections than questions. TIP 35 suggests following an open question with at least one reflection, preferably two or three, before asking another. A string of questions can feel like an interview.

Say reflections as statements. "You're worried about your job." is a reflection; "You're worried about your job?" turns it back into a question.

Notice the urge to fix. Miller and Rollnick's term for the impulse to jump in and direct the person toward a change is the "righting reflex." Reflect first.

Keep it short. One idea per reflection is easier to hear and easier to correct.

Sources: (SAMHSA TIP 35 pp. 42, 47, 120)

Worked examples

Fictional clients. Each response shows one skill and what it does.

Dana, 34, referred by her doctor after a health scare. She's talking about drinking.

Client: “Everyone's on my case about the wine. It's two glasses at night. It's how I unwind after the kids are down. But after what the doctor said, part of me wants to cut back.”

Open question
“What does an evening look like for you, from when the kids go down?” Invites her description without arguing about the amount.
Simple reflection
“It feels like everyone has an opinion about your evenings.” Stays with her words and doesn't take a side.
Complex reflection
“Those glasses are one of the only parts of the day that's just yours.” Guesses at what the wine means to her, which she can confirm or correct.
Double-sided reflection
“Part of you is tired of being told what to do, and part of you wants to cut back after what the doctor said.” Holds both sides of her ambivalence, putting the change side last.
Affirmation
“You're willing to talk about cutting back even though the pressure from others is frustrating.” Recognizes the willingness she expressed, without inventing an effort or judging the drinking.

Marcus, 20, a college sophomore at the counseling center.

Client: “I'm failing chem. My parents think I'm doing fine. I haven't told anyone.”

Simple reflection
“You're carrying this by yourself right now.” Picks up the "haven't told anyone" part.
Complex reflection
“Keeping it from your parents is starting to feel heavier than the class itself.” Continues the thought one step; a guess, so tentative wording is fine.
Open question
“What makes it hard to tell them?” Follows his lead rather than jumping to study tips.
Affirmation
“Telling me took some courage, given you haven't told anyone else.” Specific to what he just did.

Ruth, 71, recently moved into her daughter's home, meeting with a social work intern.

Client: “I don't want to be a burden. My daughter has enough going on. I just stay in my room most of the day.”

Simple reflection
“You don't want to burden your daughter.” Rephrases her stated concern without adding an interpretation.
Complex reflection
“Being careful not to be a burden has left you pretty alone.” Links her two statements and names a possible feeling.
Open question
“What was a usual day like before the move?” Opens up what she has lost and what mattered to her.
Affirmation
“You care a lot about your daughter's well-being.” Names a value, not just a behavior.

A worked summary

Using only what Dana has said above, a collecting summary might sound like this:

"Let me see if I've got this. Wine helps you unwind after the kids are down. You're tired of people commenting on it, and after what the doctor said, part of you wants to cut back. What did I miss?"

It collects her points, ends on the change side, and hands the conversation back with an open question.

Practice: closed to open

Rewrite each closed question as an open question.

  1. 1. Are you sleeping okay?

    Open:

  2. 2. Did the argument upset you?

    Open:

  3. 3. Do you want to cut back?

    Open:

  4. 4. Is work stressful?

    Open:

Practice: client statements

For each fictional client line, write a simple reflection, a complex reflection, and one affirmation or open question.

  1. 5. "My probation officer said I had to come. I'm fine."

    Simple reflection:

    Complex reflection:

    Affirmation or open question:

  2. 6. "I keep telling myself I'll start applying for jobs next week. It's been four months."

    Simple reflection:

    Complex reflection:

    Affirmation or open question:

  3. 7. "My son finally called me back. We talked for ten minutes. First time in a year."

    Simple reflection:

    Complex reflection:

    Affirmation or open question:

  4. 8. "I know vaping is bad. But it's the only thing that gets me through a shift."

    Simple reflection:

    Double-sided reflection:

    Open question:

  5. 9. "Honestly I don't see the point of talking about it. Talking doesn't change anything."

    Simple reflection:

    Complex reflection:

    Open question:

Practice: a summary

A fictional client, Lee, has said: "I moved here for this job." "I don't really know anyone." "I used to run every morning, now I just scroll." "I think I want to feel like myself again."

  1. 10. Write a collecting summary that ends with an open question.

    Summary:

Sample answers

Many responses work. Compare yours for what it does: does it stay with the client, add meaning without overreaching, and avoid advice?

  1. 1–4."How have you been sleeping?" · "How did the argument leave you feeling?" · "What, if anything, would you like to change about that?" · "What's work been like lately?"
  2. 5.Simple: "Coming here wasn't your choice."Complex: "You'd rather be the one deciding what you need."Open: "What would make this time worth something to you, given you have to be here?"
  3. 6.Simple: "Next week keeps moving."Complex: "Every week it slips, it gets a little harder to start."Affirmation: "You haven't stopped caring about getting back to work."
  4. 7.Simple: "After a year, you finally talked."Complex: "Those ten minutes meant a lot."Open: "What was it like to hear his voice?"
  5. 8.Simple: "Vaping gets you through the shift."Double-sided: "Vaping helps you get through a shift, and you're aware of its harms."Open: "What else has helped you get through a hard shift?"
  6. 9.Simple: "You don't see how talking would change anything."Complex: "You want something to be different, and you're doubtful talking will get you there."Open: "What would need to happen for this to feel worth your time?"
  7. 10."You moved here for the job, you don't know many people yet, and the morning runs that used to be yours have turned into scrolling. Underneath it, you want to feel like yourself again. What does feeling like yourself look like?"

Rehearse reflections with a fictional client

Practice responding to the next client line. SeatTime is a text-only practice simulator: you type to a fictional AI client, then read AI-generated feedback on what you did. No account or card is needed for the free exercise.

Start the free practice exercise

Text-only practice with fictional clients, for adult learners (graduate students and early-career practitioners). Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong. It's optional practice outside your program and doesn't count toward any program, placement, or licensing requirement. Use fictional details only.

Practice these skills with a fictional client: getmoreseattime.com/try. Text-only practice with fictional clients, for adult learners (graduate students and early-career practitioners). Feedback is AI-generated and can be wrong.

Sources

Links checked October 2026. Codes and laws change; check the current text and your state’s rules.