Communication Skills

Watch: Counselor: Basic Skills of a Counselor

Transcript

Hey guys, welcome to the Symmetrics video over the basic skills of a counselor. Research is continually proving that positive outcomes are less predicated on a certain type of therapy, as they are on the counselor's ability to be enthusiastic, confident, and present a belief in the patient's ability to change. We can't change people, However, we can be helpful in encouraging our clients to move towards change. It would appear that clients are more likely to achieve their goals when there is a healthy and trusting relationship that exists between the client and their therapist. Naturally, the way in which the counselor engages the client can be a very effective tool in the helping relationship. Today we'll talk about the nine most basic counseling skills. Number one, listening. Think about the people who you feel most heard and understood by generally. The reason we feel as though they're listening has a lot to do with their body language or posture towards us In counseling, this is called attending. Attending just means to position yourself to the patient in a way that lets the patient know you're aware of them, that you have their full undivided attention, and that you care about what they have to say, and in general, who they are. As a person, there are some important things to be aware of to make sure that you are attending. Make eye contact. Remove anything from the room that may distract you from focusing on your patient. Nod your head at appropriate times to confirm that you're hearing what they're saying or that you identify with what they're saying. Try not to move around a ton, though. You may not mean to. Moving around can suggest that you're antsy and ready for them to stop talking. You never want them to feel like you don't want them to be there or that you have better things to do. Make encouraging verbalizations. Try even to mirror their posture and language. This can make your client feel more comfortable and free. Lean forward, This shows your client that you are engaged. There are many other aspects of body language that may depend on that specific patient. Researchers suggest that 80% of communication actually takes place nonverbally. Attending is an important way that you communicate to your patient that you care about them. But just like with anything, we can go through the motions, do all the right things, but our minds and our hearts can be far off. We need to be sure that we're retaining and understanding the verbal and non verbal information conveyed by that patient. This is called observing or actually listening. Content and process are two main sources of information to draw from to make sure that we are understanding what our patient is communicating. Content refers to what is actually being said. Be careful to listen to not only what a person says, but also the words, expressions, and patterns the person is using, which can give you deeper insight. It may also be important to recognize what is not being said. Counselors should also develop an ability to remember what was said and to clarify with the patient what was said. Process refers to all non verbal communication, including how the content is being presented. You don't just want to be conscious about your non verbal communication, but an important part of listening is being aware of the patients as well. This can be recurring themes, body language interactions, et cetera. Skill number two, empathy. Empathy does not mean that you have to identify with the patient or share similar experiences. You may not actually know how they feel, but it's important to develop the ability to discern another's experience and then communicate that perception back to the individual to clarify what they have said. The main skills involved in communicating empathy are nonverbal and verbal. Attending, paraphrasing, what the patient has communicated, reflecting on how the patient feels, and also on implied messages. Now, we already talked about attending, but just to review, this involves our conduct which communicates to the patient that we are paying full attention to what they are saying in a caring and helpful way. Paraphrasing, you want to focus on keywords and main ideas that the client has communicated and communicate them back to your patient in a rephrase shortened form. This not only communicates to your client that you heard what they're saying, but also that you're trying to really understand them more deeply. Here are four tools to help you paraphrase, listen, and recall everything that the client expressed to make sure that you recalled everything and did not miss any significant details. Identify the content aspect of the information that the client has shared by deciding what event, situation, idea, or person the client is talking about. Remember, content refers to what is actually being said through words. Expressions and patterns. And oftentimes, even through what they omit, rephrase the entirety of what they've communicated yet as briefly as possible. Use the key words and main ideas that the patient has used to repeat back to them in a fresh way. Perception, check. This allows for the client to confirm or deny the precision of your paraphrase. You never want to put words into their mouth. So a helpful way to make a perception check is to do it in the form of a question. For example, it sounds like blank, or let me see if I understand this, Reflecting on the patient's feelings. You want to go back over what the client has communicated directly through words as well as through non verbal behaviors. In a respectful, open ended approach, you also want to make a fair deduction about what your client may be feeling emotionally. It is imperative for you, the counselor, to choose cautiously, the words you choose to communicate back to your client. That is why it is important to use the same or similar words that your client has used. You have to remember what your client is feeling is very real and oftentimes very deep. Wrong word choice can oftentimes be harmful to process skill Number three, genuineness. Be honest. Be yourself. Be comfortable. Your actions need to reflect the words you're saying. I talked about this briefly when I walked through listening. Oftentimes we can say all the right things, but our hearts and our minds are far off. We need to be genuine in the things that we say. What we say should be paired with our behavior. For instance, if you have expressed that, you are comfortable with helping them navigate through all issues, and you act surprised or uncomfortable when they talk about a more private or even intimate issue. This can be a stumbling block in growth process. Skill number four, unconditional positive regard. Regardless of what is said, there needs to be an endless amount of kindness and an expression of caring. You may disagree or see flaws in their reasoning, but your job is not to argue them to your side, but to gently encourage them to see things through the scope of reality. We all need encouragement and guidance to help us see things through the scope of reality. Affirming the patient in their hurt, happiness or confusion is a good way to convey to your patient that it is K to be experiencing these emotions. Skill number five. Concreteness is important to stay focused on specific and relevant facts and feelings. And to avoid getting off topic. Making sweeping statements or talking about the counselor rather than the client. Help the client to recognize and pursue growth in one specific area of the several presented. Reiterate the goal to the client and also the intent and structure of that specific session. Present questions and propositions to help the client clarify facts, terms, feelings and goals. Like a perception check, adapt a here and now focus. This means that addressing the material that emerges in the room becomes the focus. Skill number six, open questions. This is a helpful questioning method to get your client to clarify or explore thoughts and feelings. When asking open ended questions, you don't want to request a specific bit of information or limit the question to a brief answer, yes or no. The goal is to guide deep explorative thought. If the client is already doing this, you wouldn't need to assist them with an open question, ask intentional and purposeful questions. The goal is not to drill them. You don't want them to feel like they're being interrogated, but to help them work through the issue, you may want to follow up the patient's response with a paraphrase which may encourage the client to share more skill. Number seven, counselor self disclosure. This is when the counselor shares personal feelings, life experiences, or certain reactions to the client. As a common practice, it is safer not to self disclose unless for some reason there is no other way to meet a clinical need. In which case it should only include relevant content intended to build them up. But recall, empathy does not mean sharing the same experiences, but being able to communicate what the client is feeling and thinking in a caring and understanding way. Skill number eight, interpretation. This is any statement outside of what the patient has actually said or may even be aware of. When interpreting, the counselor is able to provide a new perspective, provoke thoughts or feelings, or present an explanation for behaviors. Interpretations may help patients connect things that they have compartmentalized, reveal patterns or themes, and it can offer a fresh way of thinking. You want to be sure not to over use interpretation because this can come across as assuming or even accusatory. Skill Number nine, information giving and removing obstacles to change. You want to humbly present facts, wisdom, resources, or answers to questions together with your patient. Identify possible problems that may be hindering their growth process. And think through possible solutions and alternatives. Thanks for watching this video over basic counselor skills. I hope it was helpful. Be sure to check out our other resources and subscribe to our channel. See you next time.