Foundation Social Work Practice I: Communication Techniques, Tools, and Barriers

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary related to communication techniques and barriers in social work practice.

Empathy

The basis of active listening and the emotional connections between people. Required self awareness and emotional regulation.

3 stages of role preparation

1. determine your clients expectations for the helping process.

2. Discussing the helping process.

3. Discussing informed consent, confidentiality, and agency policies.

Adopt a sporting of collaboration and a strength based perspective.

Establishes the foundation for a trauma informed approach.

Empathic communication

Perceiving the feelings of the client and appropriately communicating an understanding of those feelings.

Use of self

How you show up for your clients - your personality, attitudes, values - ability to empathize - self awareness.

Providing feedback

Key role of social worker in the change oriented phase of the helping process. Intended to further the change process. Use authentically. Involves risk that client will misinterpret motives. Clarifying your helpful intent may help.

Requests for social workers opinions, views, and feelings.

Social workers must consider the motivation behind these questions and respond accordingly. SW in this situation commonly seek to learn more about clients deeper concerns before providing an authentic response.

Responding to and giving positive feedback

1. SW need to model the same receptivity to positive feedback as they ask their clients to demonstrate in their own lives.

2. For of authentic responding that reinforces client strengths.

3. Positive feedback can reinforce the potential for change and hope for the future.

Verbal Following Skills

Communication strategies that encourage clients to share information. Use with emphatic and authentic responses to strengthen relationships that facilitate the helping process.

Reflective responses

Bedrock of active listening.

Restate for the client what they have communicated, both in content and emotion.

Signals that you are listening carefully and provides clients the chance to correct misunderstandings.

Role Preparation

The process of developing shared expectations between social workers and clients, which often includes clarifying the purpose of the intervention, defining the roles and responsibilities of each party, and establishing the foundation for a trauma-informed approach.

Nonverbal Communication

Behaviors such as body language that influence interactions and must align with verbal communication.

Active Listening

A communication technique that involves reflecting back what the client has communicated and demonstrating attentiveness.

Open-Ended Questions

Who, what, when, where, how. Not yea or no. Questions designed to elicit detailed responses rather than simple yes or no answers. Encourages sharing / nuance.

Closed ended questions

Useful for soliciting factual information.

When overused can be interrogation like.

How do you elicit relevant Feelings?

The helpfulness of feedback is enhanced when it relates to the clients immediate experience. Focus on the feelings as they occur to observe first hand reactions.

High in concreteness

Compassion Fatigue

A state of emotional distress arising from empathic engagement with others, leading to diminished capacity for empathy.

Furthering Responses

Statements or actions that communicate attentiveness and encourage clients to elaborate.

Perspective Taking

The ability to understand a client’s feelings from their specific viewpoint.

Client Rights

Entitlements that clients have during the helping process, including confidentiality and informed consent.

Reassuring, sympathizing, consoling, or excusing

1. Well times reassurance can engender much needed social support.

2. Glib reassurances can make the SW appear out of touch.

3. SW need to convey that they hear and understand their clients difficulties as the y experience them.

4. Positive and useful responses can come from reflecting that you hear and understand.

Inappropriate use of sarcasm and humor

1. Untimely humor can be distracting and may keep the content of the session on a superficial level.

2. Sarcasm often comes from unrecognized hostility that may provoke counter hostility in clients.

Judging, criticizing, or placing blame.

1. Not useful and counter productive

2. Could be useful in some circumstances to help the client reflect about actions that might be a danger to themselves or others or about violations of the law!

Stacking questions

Don’t do this, it diffuses the focus and confuses the clients.

Also this is inefficient

Asking leading questions

Don’t do this either, hidden agenda designed to persuade clients to ate their with a particular solution or view.

be authentic and it will enhance the likelihood that clients will be receptive!

Interruptions

frequent untimely interruptions annoy clients, stifle spontaneous expression, and hinder problem exploration.

Appropriate interruptions can occur if you want to convey that you have heard what the client has said. Needs to be purposeful and timely.