The study case will examine the connection between nonverbal expressions and metacommunication, in order to understand the scheme of general verbal or nonverbal expressions, to discover structures at various levels of awareness. The behavioural analysis of the videotapes that have been taken will offer evidence to support the assumptions that nonverbal communication can have a positive impact on the counsellor - client relation. A primary goal of this paper is to initiate the project of understanding whether metacommunication and nonverbal communication have something common and what kind of connection can lead to new findings. With this aim in view, the paper focuses on the concept developed by Ekman and Friesen (1969) (classification of nonverbal behaviour: emblem, illustrative, affect-display, regulator and adapter) and the idea that people are almost continuously communicating about communication both nonverbally or verbally, and not only because humans are able to communicate ideas and facts, but because it’s in their nature (being social beings) to communicate with each other. Interpersonal communication, which can take place in the form of human language and representation, visual or audible signals and nonverbal expression, is a natural and essential part of the counselling session. It can be assumed that in a counselling session the counsellor’s and client’s nonverbal behaviors are to be seen as a contact of interpersonal exchange through eye contact, facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures or posture and that during a counselling session a client is using not only verbal communication, but he can also use metacommunication at both levels: verbal and nonverbal. This research is based on testing the idea that nonverbal language and metacommunication have a significant importance as a unit in notifying the congruent communication role in the process of a counselling session. This assumption relies on relevant studies in the literature concerning nonverbal communication and metacommunication. The aim of this dissertation is to perform research on verbal and nonverbal communication, to identify a possible way to observe if congruent communication occurs and if so which new findings can lead to the assumption that they underline the therapeutic alliance in the counselling session.weiterlesen