Skill Communication Skills2

8/13/2019 Skill Communication Skills2

1/12

Basic Communication Skills

PSY3960

January 27, 2005

Agenda

Getting Acquainted Exercise: Fantasy

Island

Lecture and Discussion on Basic

Communication Skills

Practice/Role Play

Questions/Feedback

Attending

Orienting oneself physically andpsychological

Conveys empathy

Encourages the other person to talk

SOLER


2/12

SOLER

S: Face the other Squarely

O: Adopt an Open Posture

L: Lean toward the other

E: Make Eye Contact

R: Be Relatively Relaxed

-----------------------------------------------------------

----

Tone of your voice

Rate of speech

Tracking the clients topic

Basic Communication Skills

Open-Ended Questions

Closed-Ended Questions

Paraphrasing

Reflection of Feeling

Summary

Closed-Ended Questions

Questions that the other can easily answerwith a Yes, No, or one- or two-word

responses

Are you going to have the test done?

Did you drink before you got into the car?

Do you drink often?

Do you exercise?

Do you like your job?


3/12

Open-Ended Questions

Questions that clients cannot easily

answer with Yes,, No, or one- or two-

word responses

Tell me about your family while you were

growing up

Why is that important to you?

How did you feel when that happened?

What did you do when she said that?

What are your reasons for saying that?

Closed vs. Open

C: Are you scared?

O: How do you feel?

C: Are you concerned about what you will do

if the test results are positive?

O: What do you think you might do if the test

results are positive?

C: Is your relationship with your husband a good one?

O: Tell me about your relationship with yourhusband.

Purposes of Closed-Ended

Questions:

To narrow the topic of discussion

To obtain specific information

To identify parameters of a problem or

issue

To interrupt an overtalkative client


4/12

Purposes of Open-Ended

Questions:

To begin an interview

To encourage client elaboration

To elicit specific examples To motivate clients to communicate

Paraphrasing

Restatement of a messages content

Example 1

Client: I know it doesnt help my depression to sit

around or stay in bed all day.

Counselor: You know you need to avoid staying in

bed or sitting around all day to help your

depression.

Paraphrasing (contd)

Example 2

Client, a 40-year-old woman: How can I tell

my husband I want a divorce? Hell think Im

crazy. I guess Im just afraid to tell him.

Steps

Recall the message and restate it to yourself

covertly

Identify the content part of the message

Wants divorce, but hasnt told husband because

he will think shes crazy


5/12


Select an appropriate beginning (see

handout)

E.g., It sounds like, You think, I hear you

saying, Translate the key content into your own words

E.g., It sounds like you havent found a way to tell

your husband you want to end the relationship

because of his possible reaction. Is that right?

Confirm the accuracy of the paraphrase


Purposes

Tells the client that you have understood what

they said

Can encourage the client to elaborate

Helps the client focus or get back on track

Helps the client clarify her or his thinking

Practice

Client 1, a middle-aged graduate student:

Its just a rough time for metrying to

work, keeping up with graduate school,

and spending time with my family. I keep

telling myself it will slow down someday.


6/12

Practice

Client 2, a 30-year-old woman:

My husband and I argue all the timeabout how to manage our kids. He says I

always interfere with his disciplineI think

he is too harsh with them.

Practice

Client 3, a 6-year-old boy:

I wish I didnt have a little sister. I know

my parents love her more than me.

Reflection of Feeling

Restatement of affect

Example 1

Client: I dont know. Maybe this marriage isnt

worth holding together any longer. Weve

already tried just about every option.

Counselor: You feel so frustrated and

overwhelmed trying to resolve your conflicts

without help from your wife. Its as if she had

already given up on your relationship and now

you are feeling hopeless and helpless.


7/12

Reflection of Feeling (contd)

Example 2

Client, a 50-year-old steelworker now laid off:

Now look, what can I do? Ive been laid off

over a year. Ive got no money, no job, and afamily to take care of. Its also clear to me that

my mind and skills are just wasting away.

[Said in a loud, critical voice, staring at the

ceiling, brow furrowed, eyes squinting]


Steps Listen for overt feeling words

Watch nonverbal behavior. What feelings are implied in the clients nonverbal

behavior?

E.g., disgust, anger, upset, frustration, resentment,disillusionment, discouragement

Verbally reflect the feelings back to the client

What is a good choice of affect words thataccurately describe the clients feelings?

Anger and discouragement


Start with appropriate sentence stem E.g., I see you, its clear to me that you, or from

where Im looking you

Add the context or situation around which the

feelings occur

Loss of job, no resources, no job prospects in sight

Reflection: From where Im looking, you seem

very upset about having your job and stability

taken away from you.

Assess the effectiveness of your reflection


8/12


Purposes

Helps clients feel understood

Encourages clients to express more feelings

Helps clients manage feelings

Helps clients discriminate among various

feelings

Practice

Client 1, an 8-year-old girl:

Im telling you I dont like living at home

anymore. I wish I could live with my friend

and her parents. I told my mommy that

one day Im going to run away, but she

doesnt listen to me. [Said in level,

measured words, glancing from side to

side, lips drawn tightly together, flushed

face]

Practice

Client 2, a middle-aged man in maritaltherapy:

As far as Im concerned, out marriage

turned sour last year when my wife went

back to work. Shes more in touch with her

work than me. [Said in a soft voice tone

with downcast eyes]


9/12

Practice

Client 3, an adolescent:

Now look, we have too damn many rulesaround this school. Im getting the hell out

of here. As far as I can see, this place is a

dump. [Said in loud, harsh voice]

Summary

A collection of two or more paraphrases or

reflections that condenses the clients

messages or the session

Summary (contd)

Example- Client, a 10-year-old girl At the beginning of the session:

I dont understand why my parents cant livetogether anymore. Im not blaming anybody,but it just feels very confusing to me. [Said ina low, soft voice with lowered, moist eyes]

Near the middle of the same session:

I wish they could keep it together. I guess Ifeel like they cant because they fight aboutme so much. Maybe Im the reason they dontwant to live together anymore.


10/12

Summary

Steps

Recall key content and affect messages Key content: wants parents to stay together

Key affect: feels sad, upset, responsible

Identify patterns or themes She is the one who is responsible for her parents breakup

Use an appropriate sentence stem and verbalize thesummarization response

e.g., I sense, or You are feeling

Summarize e.g., Earlier today you indicated you didnt feel like blaming anyone for

whats happening to your parents. Now Im sensing that you are feelinglike you are responsible for their breakup

Assess the effectiveness of your summarization

Summary (contd)

Purposes To tie together multiple elements of client

messages

To identify a common theme or pattern

To interrupt excessive rambling

To start a session

To end a session

To pace a session To review progress

To serve as a transition when changing topics

Practice

Client 1, a 30-year-old man who has beenblaming himself for his wifes unhappiness:

I really feel guilty about marrying her in the

first place. It wasnt really for love. It was

just a convenient thing to do. I feel like Ive

messed up her life really badly. I also feel

obliged to her. [Said in low, soft voice tone

with lowered eyes]


11/12

Practice

Client 2, a 35-year-old woman who

focused on how her life has improved

since having children: I never thought I

would feel this great. I always thought

being a parent would be boring and terribly

difficult. Its not, for me. Its fascinating

and easy. It makes everything worthwhile.

[Said with alertness and animation]

Practice

Client 3, a 27-year-old woman who has

continually focused on her relationships with

men and her needs for excitement and stability:

First session: Ive been dating lots and lots of men for

the last few years. Most of them have been married.

Thats great because there are no demands on me.

[Bright eyes, facial animation, high-pitched voice]

Fourth session: It doesnt feel so good anymore. Its

not so much fun. Now I guess I miss having some

commitment and stability in my life. [Soft voice,

lowered eyes]

Role-Playing

Designed for practicing new counseling skills

Valuable in the beginning stages of learning

Can be uncomfortable at first

Think of the experience as a play

Should NOT be used as an opportunity to

resolve personal problems

Present realistic problems

Do not overdo being a difficult client


12/12

Documents

Skill Communication Skills2