Which of the following is a disadvantage of using open-ended questions in counseling?

Open-ended questions are designed to encourage clients to share their thoughts and feelings in detail, promoting deeper exploration of issues. One significant disadvantage of using open-ended questions is that they can lead to a situation where clients provide lengthy, verbose responses that may deviate from the specific focus of the session. If a client becomes too expansive in their storytelling or explanation, it may divert attention from the key issues that need to be addressed.

This can disrupt the flow of the therapeutic process, making it challenging for the counselor to maintain a structured session. The counselor might find it difficult to steer the conversation back to the primary concerns or goals of therapy, which can hinder progress. Thus, while open-ended questions are valuable for obtaining rich information, there is the potential for the therapeutic process to become unproductive if the client tends to elaborate excessively on less critical points.