Only for Amanda Rosemary
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support_and_empathy_1.pptxSupport and Empathy
Skills so far …
Opening lines*
Attending (psychological and physical)
Listening
Non-verbal communication
Getting the client story
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Carl Rogers
Unconditional Positive Regard
Genuineness
Acceptance
Empathy
Support
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Genuineness
Genuineness or Congruence
Means: “the therapist is willing to express and be open about any persistent feelings that exist in the relationship.” – Carl Rogers
Clinicians need to avoid fake smiles, counterfeit approval, and false reassurance.
Genuineness (Congruence) continued
There is a difference between genuineness and total honesty—selectivity of our remarks considering effect on clients
Accompany the client in their experience
Do not try to be a mind reader
acceptance
Acceptance
Unconditional positive regard is the appreciation and affirmation of clients as people of worth.
This is done by the clinician communicating nonjudgmental acceptance and genuine care for the client.
Acceptance
Awareness of personal values & how influence responses in ways that may leave clients feeling unaccepted.
Can be hard to accept client’s story when:
Conflicts with societal norms
Conflicts with personal values
Which story would you find hardest to accept?
Woman having an abortion
Mother who is drug addicted
Religious zealot
Husband who is abusing his wife
Man who makes racist statements
Clergy person sexually involved with someone they are counseling
Others?
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Helping with Acceptance
Be dedicated to being nonjudgmental
Have diverse experiences with diverse persons that are meaningful
Remember that acceptance is NOT the same things as agreement
Remind self it is the client’s story; not your story
Others?
Validation of Client’s Story
Validation occurs when we endorse and appreciate the realities of client’s story
Universalizing or Normalizing clinician verbally places client in a community of people sharing similar feelings, experiences, or opinions
Recognizing Strengths
Strengths model
Clients have resources needed to resolve their issues
Positive, uplifting approach
Effects can be negated if we ignore client’s pain
Combined approach is helpful
Warmth and Caring
Warmth and caring extremely high when asked to list attributes want in a potential clinician, mentor, or adviser
Clinicians may find it difficult to decide how to show caring.
2MTB
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Empathy
Experiencing the world from the client’s perspective while maintaining the perspective of an outside observer
Different from perspective taking
Requires me to separate my experiences from yours
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Role play
A) Janelle – 23 year old African American mother of two children who just moved to a new neighborhood
B) Frank – 78 year old widower whose daughter has told him it would be best if he lived in a nursing home
C) Rosalie – Woman being stalked by her ex-boyfriend
D) Arthur – A gay man whose partner has been diagnosed with AIDS
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Challenges to Empathy
Harder when taking on negative or uncomfortable feelings or discredited identity
Client’s experiences arouse unfinished business or personally charged issues for clinician
Clinicians need to guard against projection and overidentification with clients
Communicating Empathy
Supportive sounds
Mirroring
Reflection of content
Reflection of affect
Empathic echo
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Supportive Sounds
Brief utterances and encouragements that mark the clinician’s active listening
Includes: “ohhh,” “mm-hmm,” “uh-huh,” “yes,” “ah,” and “I see.”
Mirroring
Physical: match the client’s posture, facial expression, and gestures, careful not to mimic or parrot.
As rapport and synchrony build between interviewer and client, their postures often become more congruent.
Reflection of Content
Interviewing for that job was an awful experience! I was tense and the person interviewing me was rude. I got flustered and gave really bad answers to his questions. I really blew it.
Summarizing words of the client
You were nervous and felt like you didn’t connect with the interviewer so the whole thing went badly.
Paraphrasing content or meaning
Sounds like a really stressful experience.
Reflection of Affect
May be a reflection of feeling language used by client
I am so upset with my mom. She treats me like I am a little kid
You are really mad at your mom
May put into words a “best guess” of feelings exhibited by the client
It sounds like you are disappointed with how things turned out and discouraged about what will happen next time.
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Empathic Echo
Verbal reflection of both content & affect within a client’s story, to signal that the clinician is attending closely to what the client says & does in the moment.
Remember too many repetitions can dull liveliness of spontaneity and make clinical conversation feel too far removed natural conversation
Warmth and Caring Activity
Between now and next time we meet see how you look when attempting to demonstrate warmth and caring.
Complete this by looking in a mirror or watching a video of yourself as you listen to someone’s story and try to enact warmth and caring.
Jot down your observations and bring them with you to class next time.
