A woman you have been working with tells you her husband is really a dear. He has done many wonderful things for her, and she is feeling guilty about calling you, but he does keep her confined to the house and slaps her a lot. You use an I-message to express your concern and initiate an exchange of views. 

In the vignettes that above, you have a problem a concern about something affecting the client. For each of these situations, construct an I-message from you to the client. Be sure to follow the rules for bringing up your point of view. Make certain you sound tentative and ask for collaboration. Use several sentences to soften and put forth your ideas.