3 URGENT DISCUSSION REPLIES DUE IN 8 HOURS FROM NOW (200 WORDS EACH)

THESE DISCUSSION REPLIES ARE DUE IN EIGHT HOURS, EACH HAVE A 200 WORD MINIMUM. SO IN TOTAL 600 WORDS REQUIRED. ASKING FOR QUALITY; OUTSIDE SOURCES ARE NOT REQUIRED BUT IF USED INCLUDE THE REFERENCES. IT WOULD BE BEST TO USE REFERENCES BY ALREADY CITED AUTHOURS (FRANCE AND WEIKEL)

FIRST DISCUSSION TO RESPOND TO:

In Chapter 3 of Helping Skills For Human Service Workers, France & Weikel (2014) focuses on creating positive relationships using three interpersonal skills which are empathy, warmth, and genuineness (pp. 55-56). According to France & Weikel (2014), these three interpersonal skills are key in developing a therapeutic alliance between workers and clients in the human services profession. A therapeutic alliance is simply how the worker and the client connect and relate to each other which should result in positive and beneficial changes for the client. This alliance is developed through empathy, warmth, and genuineness as previously mentioned in this discussion.

Empathy, as defined by France & Weikel (2014), is understanding another person and communicating your understanding to the individual (p. 56). An alliance cannot be developed unless the client believe the worker truly understand their thoughts and feelings. The worker can use verbal and non-verbal methods of communication to effectively reflect empathy. The use of inverted funneling and brainstorming for alternate issue resolving options available to the client are additional skills to help develop a strong therapeutic alliance. I gather from Stewart, Zediker & Witteborn (2012) that empathetic and dialogic listening centers around the worker’s focus on the clients thoughts and feeling, and it also includes the willingness and ability of the worker to move beyond their personal ideas to the point of recognizing the validity of the clients ideas (p.193). The worker must realize that a conversation is given meaning by everyone who engages in the communication process; therefore, all participant input is valuable.

The skill of demonstrating warmth, according to France & Weikel (2014), is recognizing the client’s fundamental worth as a human being, separate from any evaluation of the person’s behavior (p.58). A person is not a worthless human being because they demonstrate unacceptable behavior. France & Weikel (2014) suggested workers demonstrate a willingness to listen to negative emotions instead of denying the existence of the negative feelings and trying to sweep them under the rug, so to speak (p.59).

France & Weikel said genuineness is significantly and positively related to a client’s progress (p.60). Clients cannot make progress is they are unable to rely on the honesty and integrity of the worker. According to France & Weikel (2014), genuineness is simply meaning what you say, being truthful in what you say to the client, and not hiding behind a professional facade (p. 60). Genuineness will compel the worker to ask questions when comments made by the client is not fully understood.

SECOND DISCUSSION TO RESPOND TO:

I understand firsthand how important empathy, warmth, and genuineness are needed in everyday life. These are behaviors that I look for in people working in all service areas. I am sure many of us can relate in some way because of our personal experiences. This is at least true for me. In 2012, I was in a car accident that changed my life and eight years later I have to see doctors on a regular basis. Prior to my accident I was always aware of how people treated me in any service industry. However, it became increasingly important that the doctors and nurses were empathetic, warm, and genuinely cared about me through my journey of healing. There has to be an understanding between the patient and the doctor in order to achieve the best results for the patient. “Clients generally experience greater improvement when there is a high level of empathic understanding from the worker, as demonstrated by reviews of empirical studies (France & Weikel, 2014, p. 56).” This is another reason communication is so important. I can’t tell you how many times I have experienced not being able to communicate my concerns to the doctor because he is out of the room just as fast as he came in the room or he is talking fast and running through my chart and the visit ends with no understanding. There should be a great emphasis on having genuine conversations with our clients. Conversation is the absolute foundation or base for everything humans do as social beings (Stewart, 2012). Can you imagine having a major surgery at the hands of someone who was apathetic, cold, ingenuine, and there has been a lack of listening and communication. I could not go through with the surgery if this was the situation. Unfortunately, I have had multiple experiences where the people I was receiving service from were cold, not empathetic, and genuinely did not care about my well-being.

The journey to a persons healing can be just that, a journey. It takes the right environment and definitely the right people. Through my journey I have developed a relationship with my neurologist and nurses that work in his office. When I go to my primary doctor there are particular nurses and aids that I will only deal with because they are warm and always genuinely attentive to my concerns. Most importantly they take the time to listen. I get frustrated when people do not listen! It reminds me of going through the fast food drive thru to make your order and the person on the other side will not be quiet long enough to listen to it or say the order back to you to ensure they heard what you said. “Not listening well causes a lot of unnecessary confusion and pain (Peterson, 2015, p.7).” If we don’t listen well, we can suggest people do things that will hurt them. This is important and makes a great difference in the healing process for others. I would not have been able to establish a therapeutic alliance with the medical professionals without them possessing skills of empathy, warmth, and genuineness. To me what stands out the most is how people working in the human service field, lacking these skills, can hinder people from getting help. Our text asks, “Why is the quality of the relationship between client and worker so important? and it states one reason is to gain the cooperation of clients (France & Weikel, 2014, p. 55).” Simply having empathy and being warm helps clients to release their guards and open up about what they are going through and what they need help with. These skills actually make our job easier because it creates an environment where clients are willing to cooperate.

THIRD DISCUSSION TO RESPOND TO:

I consider that establishing a healthy therapeutic relationship between client and provider is of great importance in the process of the well-being of an individual. France & Weikel (2014) explain that such a relationship is linked to the client’s improvement. According to research, such a bond has been described as crucial. (p.55) Thus, the purpose of the relationship is to gain the cooperation of clients and decrease the possibility of defensiveness (Frances & Weikel, 2014, p.55) Therefore, to achieve such relationship, the service provider must be willing to develop skills and enhance them; skills such as empathy, warmth, and genuineness. (Frances & Weikel, 2014, p.56)

According to Stewart, Zediker, & Witteborn (2012), to develop empathy or to listen empathetically, the provider must be receptive or sensitive to the full range of characteristics shared by the other person. (p. 195) France & Weikel (2014), define Empathy as understanding the other person and communicating your understanding to the individual. (p.56) Thus, developing the skills to listen empathically requires: focusing, encouraging, and reflecting skills. (p. 194) To be focused, according to Stewart, et al., (2012) the provider must: be aware of posture, have natural and appropriate eye contact, move responsively, and make responsive sounds that make the client aware that he or she is being listened to and understood. In addition, to encourage means to “ ‘pull’ more talk from the other person…to understand as completely as possible where another person is coming from…” (Stewart, Zediker, & Witteborn, 2012, p.196) To do this, the provider must be willing to mirror, clarify a question- by asking the person to explain further and ask open and closed questions. Finally, reflecting skills require the provider to be willing to paraphrase, add examples, and pursuing gently, verbal, and nonverbal inconsistencies. (Stewart, Zediker, & Wittebown, 2012, p.198-199)

Furthermore, Warmth, being another essential skill in the therapeutic relationships recognizes the client’s worth as a human being, it communicates care, yet establishes boundaries in the relationships. For, in this unconditional positive regard and acceptance, the providers must be willing to exert common sense, be willing to refer the client to another colleague or organization, and if appropriate, take responsibility and be open to discuss any negative feelings with the client. (France & Weikel, 2014) Finally, according to France & Weikel (2014) genuineness means that as a provider, you mean what you say, you are authentic in who you are and you do what you promise in an excellent and ethical manner.