COMMUNICATION SKILLS PART 2 Flashcards
aim of basic counselling skills
To introduce the basic skills and techniques involved in good professional/clinical communication
goals of basic counselling skills
Provide support
Provide information
Help initiate behaviour change
Basics of counselling
Listening is not passive. It is important to indicate that the person is being heard
Good counselling skills means listening before acting to solve problems
VERBAL LISTENING SKILLS
Show interest Gather information Encourage speaker to develop ideas Communicate your understanding of ideas Request clarification of understanding Build the therapeutic alliance
Active listening
Active listening by the clinician encourages the client to share information by providing verbal and nonverbal expressions of interest
Active listening skills
Clarifying
Paraphrasing
Reflection of feelings
Summarising
what is attending
Attending is expressing awareness and interest in what the client is communicating both verbally and nonverbally
How does the attending help a client and a clinician
Attending helps the clinician
Better understand the client through careful observation
Attending helps the client
Relax and feel comfortable
Express their ideas and feelings freely in their own way
Trust the counsellor
Take a more active role in their own sessions
Attending involves what?
Proper attending involves the following:
Appropriate eye contact, facial expressions
Maintaining a relaxed posture and leaning forward occasionally, using natural hand and arm movements
Verbally “following” the client, using a variety of brief encouragements such as “Um-hm” or “Yes,” or by repeating key words
Observing the client’s body language
Proper listening posture
Squarely: Adopt a posture that indicates involvments
Open: Crossed arms and legs can lessen signs of involvement or availability
Lean forward: indicates greater interest
Eye Contact: Maintain (culturally) appropriate eye contact
Relax: Not fidgety movements or distracting facial movements. Use your body as a vehicle of expression
SOLER
How does paraphrasing helps a clinician and a client
Paraphrasing helps the clinician
verify their perceptions of the client’s statements
spotlight an issue
Paraphrasing helps the client
realise that the counsellor understands what they are saying
clarify their remarks
focus on what is important and relevant
Summarizing
Succinctly pull together ideas from a an interview
Serves to
Organize the structure of the interview
Check the accuracy of understanding,
Confirms to the patient that you have been listening carefully
How does summarizing helps a clinician and a client
Summarising helps the clinician Provide focus for the session Confirm the client’s perceptions Focus on one issue while acknowledging the existence of others Terminate a session in a logical way
Summarising helps the client
Clarify what they mean
Realise that the counsellor understands
Have a sense of movement and progress
how does reflecting feelings help a clinician and a client
Reflection of feelings helps the clinician
Check whether or not they accurately understand what the client is feeling
Bring out problem areas without the client being pushed or forced
Reflection of feelings helps the client
Realise that the counsellor understands what they feel
Increase awareness of their feelings
Learn that feelings and behaviour are connected
What is processing?
Processing is the act of the clinician thinking about his or her observations about the client and what the client has communicated.
“processing” takes place within the clinician, between listening to the client and responding to the client. This includes the clinician’s ability to mentally catalogue data—the client’s beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and expectations—and then categorise factors influencing the client’s judgement and performance
what is responding?
Responding is the act of communicating information to the client that includes providing feedback and emotional support, addressing issues of concern, and teaching skills
What is expressing empathy
Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another
what is probing?
Probing is the counsellor’s use of a question to direct the client’s attention to explore his or her situation in greater depth
How should probing be of any help
Probing helps to focus the client’s attention on a feeling, situation, or behaviour
Probing may encourage the client to elaborate, clarify, or illustrate what he or she has been saying
Probing may enhance the client’s awareness and understanding of his or her situation and feelings
Probing directs the client to areas that need attention
what is interpreting?
Interpreting is the clinician’s explanation of the client’s issues after observing the client’s behaviour, listening to the client, and considering other sources of information.
Effective interpreting has three components:
Determining and restating basic messages
Adding ideas for a new frame of reference
Validating these ideas with the client
Examples of bad listening
Makes little eye contact
Makes distracting movements
Faces away from speaker
Has a closed posture (ex.: arms crossed)
Interrupts speaker
Does too many other things while listening
Has a flat affect, speaks in a monotone, gives few signals of interest
