Chapter 5 Building Blocks of Communication Conveying Empathy and Authenticity PDF

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Notes from Chapter 5 about Building Blocks of Communication Conveying Empathy and Authenticity from Professor Haranis's class....

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Building Blocks of Communication: Conveying Empathy and Authenticity Direct Social Work Practice Chapter 5 Notes ● Roles of the participants ○ Clients often have unclear idea about what to expect from SW ■ Especially when they have been referred or mandated for service ○ Guidelines that will assist in achieving positive results in role clarification ■ Determine your client’s expectations ● Sensitively exploring expectations and modifying SW’s role are critical ● When client’s explain their specific expectations spontaneously you have the opportunity to deal with unrealistic goals ● But sometimes you need to elicit their expectations ● Must first establish rapport because the client’s request can sometimes be an intimate revelation ○ Seeking disclosure too soon can put a client on the defensive ○ Try to make it more natural ● “How do you hope (or wish) I (or the agency) can assist (or help) you?” ● “When you thought about coming here, what were your ideas about the kind of help you wanted?” ● When client didn’t seek service, describe/ask in these ways: ○ “We have explored the reasons why you were referred/required to seek our service. But I would like to know what you hope to gain from this process.” ■ SW signals from beginning that they are working with the client, but not acting as the agent of the referring source ○ Briefly explain the nature of the helping process and define the client-social worker relationship as partners seeking a solution to the client’s difficulties ■ Clients often hope SWs will give them advice that they can implement immediately ■ This is unrealistic, so it’s important to clarify how you can actually be of help ■ Convey your intentions and take time to explore their expectations so they don’t think you are not concerned about them ● Help clients modify their unrealistic expectations and clarify your respective roles by saying: ○ “I can sense the urgency you feel in wanting to solve your problems. I wish I could give advice that would lead to an easy solution. You’ve probably already had plenty of advice, because most people offer advice freely. I has

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been my experience, though, that what works for one person (couple or family) may not work at all for another.” ○ “As I see it, our task is to work together in considering a number of options so that you can decide which solution best fits you and your situation. In the long run, that’s what will work best for you. But finding the right solution takes some time and a lot of thought.” ● Role clarification has these essential elements: ○ Acknowledging and empathizing with the client’s unrealistic expectation and sense of urgency ○ Expressing the SW’s helpful intent ○ Explaining why the client’s unrealistic expectation cannot be fulfilled ○ As part of the SW’s expertise, clarifying the helping process and defining a working partnership that places responsibility on the client for actively participating and ultimately making choices as to the courses of action to be taken ● When couples seek help for relationship problems, they commonly view the partner as the source of difficulties ○ Have the unrealistic expectation that the couple’s counselor will influence the partner to shape up ● To focus on the client’s role of communicating openly, make these points ○ SW: for you to get the help you are seeking, I want to encourage you to be as open as you can be with me. That means not holding back troubling feelings, thoughts, or events that are important ○ I can understand you and your difficulties only if you’re open and honest. Only you know what you think and feel; I can know only as much as you share with me. ○ Sometimes it’s painful to share certain thoughts and feelings, but often those are the very feelings that trouble us the most. If you do hold back, remind yourself that you may be letting yourself down. ○ If you’re finding it difficult to share certain things, let me know. Discussing what’s happening inside you--why it’s difficult--may make it easier to discuss those painful things. ○ I’ll be open and honest with you, too. If you have any questions or would like to know more about me, please ask. I’ll be frank with you. I may not answer every question, but I’ll explain why if I don’t. Emphasize client responsibility ● When you have ongoing client contact, it’s important to emphasize

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that clients can speed their progress by working on difficulties between appointments ● The content of sessions is not as important as how the clients apply the information gained from them ● Messages clarify this aspect of client’s responsibility ○ SW: We’ll want to make progress toward your goals as rapidly as possible. One way you can speed your progress is by working hard between our sessions. ○ That means carrying out tasks you’ve agreed to, applying what we talk about in your daily life, and making mental notes or actually writing down thoughts, feelings, and events that relate to your problems so we can consider them in your next session. ○ Actually, what you do between sessions is more important in accomplishing your goals than the session itself. We’ll be together only a brief time each week. The rest of the week you have opportunities to apply what we talk about and plan together. ● Another aspect of the client’s role involves keeping appointments ○ SW: As we work together, it will be critical for you to keep your appointments. Unforeseen things such as illness happen occasionally, of course, and we can change appointments if such problems arise. ○ At other times, however, you may find yourself feeling discouraged or doubting whether coming here really helps. You may also feel upset over something I’ve said or done and find yourself not wanting to see me. ○ I won’t knowingly say or do anything to offend you, but you may have some troubling feelings toward me anyway. The important thing is that you not miss your appointment, because when you’re discouraged or upset, we need to talk about it. ○ I know that may not be easy, but it will help you to work out your problematic feelings. If you miss your appointment, you may find it even harder to return. Emphasize difficulties inherent in process ● Difficulties are inherent in the process of making changes ● Clarifying this reality prepares clients for mixed feelings they will inevitably experience ○ SW: We’ve talked about goals you want to achieve. Accomplishing them won’t be easy. Making changes is seldom possible without a difficult and sometimes painful struggle. ○ People usually have ups and downs as they seek to make

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changes. If you understand this, you won’t be disappointed. I don’t want to discourage you. I am optimistic about the prospects of you attaining your goals. ● Clients have reported that they appreciated receiving these kinds of explanations during the initial session Clarify your own role ● Stressing that you will be a partner in helping clients understand their difficulties more fully ● You will help them weigh the alternatives, but your desire is to see clients develop their strengths and exercise their capacities for independent action to the fullest extent possible ● You will be encouraging your clients to learn the recognize their own strengths and grow independently ● Clarify your intention to assist them in anticipating obstacles they will encounter in striving to attain their goals and your willingness to help them formulate strategies to surmount these obstacles ● Develop productive working relationships between SWs and clients in mandated settings - special obstacle to overcome ○ Client: I didn’t like the earlier workers because they came into my house telling me what I can and can’t do. One thing I don’t like is someone telling me what I can do with my kids and what I can’t. ○ SW: It sounds like you had a negative experience with earlier workers. ○ Client: Yeah, I did. I did not like it at all because they were telling me what I should do. ○ SW: I’m going to take a different approach with you because I don’t feel that I know it all; you know best about the situation occurring in your own family and in your own life. I will want you to tell me about the problems you are concerned about and how we can best resolve those together. ○ Client: Okay. ○ SW: My job will be to develop a case plan with you. I won’t be the one to say, “This is what you need to do.” I want you to have input in that decision and to say, “Well, I feel I can do this.” I will be willing to share ideas with you as we decide what to work on and how to do it. I will need to include any court-mandated requirements, such as our need to be meeting together, in the agreement. However, I want you to have a lot of say in determining what we work on and how. Children as participants ● Role expectations need to convey accurately what the child can

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expect from the SW and what will be expected ○ SW: My name is Julie and I am the school SW. That means that I talk to kids who may have problems at school or at home and I help them think about ways to solve their problems. Communicating about informed consent, confidentiality, and agency policies ○ Encounter between SW and client exists within a context of limits, possibilities, and rights ○ SW must share rights and limits to communication, discuss confidentiality and its limits, obtain informed consent, and share agency policies and legal limits ○ Discussion should embody the spirit of informed consent ○ With children as clients, such explanations of privacy and confidentiality need to be conveyed in a way that the child can understand Facilitative conditions ○ SWs use communication skills to help develop a productive working relationship with clients ○ Facilitative conditions (or core conditions) in helping relationships - three skills ■ Empathy ■ Unconditional positive regard ■ Congruence ○ Facilitative conditions are foundational skills that help create positive client-SW relationship Empathic communication ○ Ability of the SW to perceive accurately and sensitively the inner feelings of the client and to communicate their understanding of those feelings in language attuned to the client’s experiencing of the moment...