I had a student today who was working on her journal and looking upset. I sat next to her and had her read her entry to me. She was writing about an ambulance that came to visit her house the night before. We had a discussion about what had occurred and she seemed to feel better afterwards. I did not use the "silent approach" in this situation because I felt that the more I talked and inquired, the more she would open up to me. It seemed to work.