Two silhouetted head profiles face each other with bidirectional arrows connecting them, illustrating communication exchange on a presentation slide titled 'Communication Skills: Lab Day' for SOWK 486w Fall 2026, taught by Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LICSW at Heritage University, focusing on conveying empathy, authenticity, verbal following, exploring, and focusing skills.
A course syllabus slide for Week Six of Communication Skills displays 'WEEK SIX PLAN AGENDA' on the left (check in about learning, teach empathy to clients, follow and implement skills, share following skills) and 'LEARNING OBJECTIVES' on the right (reflect on empathic communication, develop teaching strategies, apply verbal following skills, deepen connection with following skills, review substance use dependence practitioners' counseling approaches).
A presentation slide titled 'What We Have Been Learning: Checking In' displays a circular arrow icon labeled 'Working in Circles' alongside a Clifford (2013) quote about respectful communication: 'Respect the talking piece, Speak from the heart, Listen from the heart, Trust that you know what to say, Say just enough.' Three reflection questions prompt students to identify takeaways from the class, implement learned concepts in their lives, and determine skills needed to become better social workers. Slide footer indicates Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Communication Skills taught by Jacob Campbell, PhD. LICSW at Heritage University.
A presentation slide titled 'Observation of Your Conversations Last Week' with a green circular binoculars icon. Below, a teal section labeled 'What Happened?' contains two instructions: A) Observe how frequently people send empathic messages and how they influence conversations; B) Practice listening carefully and responding with empathic messages in interactions with family, friends, and students, noting how these responses create feeling tones.
A presentation slide titled 'Practice with Empathic Communication' displays an adult's quote: 'It's not that I have to drink all the time. It's that I am so tired of people telling me that I have a drinking problem and telling me what to do about it. They don't control me.' The slide is from Fall 2026 SOWK 486w course on Communication Skills at Heritage University by Jacob Campbell, Ph.D., LICSW.
An 80-year-old woman expresses anxiety to a social worker about relocating to an independent living complex, fearing isolation from her current neighbors who support her: 'Goodness, the more I think of moving, the more scared I get. I have neighbors here who look after me, and I won't know a soul there. I'm afraid I'll be all alone.' This slide demonstrates empathic communication practice in a social work educational context.
A presentation slide titled 'Practice with Empathic Communication' displays a case scenario featuring a 16-year-old male at a probation officer's weekly visit expressing frustration: 'I don't see the sense in having to come here every (expletive) week. I haven't been in any trouble now since I went to court a month ago. You should know by now you can trust me.' The slide is from a Fall 2026 communication skills course.
A presentation slide on teaching empathy features four bulleted instructions on the left: teach clients empathic responding paradigms, introduce affective words lists and Leads for Empathic Responses, intervene when clients fail to validate, and give positive feedback for listening. On the right, a photograph displays two red and white high-top sneakers connected by white laces against a dark textured background, suggesting connection and communication as a visual metaphor.
A presentation slide displays team instructions for designing an empathy-teaching intervention in white text boxes, with prompts about target populations and SUD treatment education, alongside a photograph of red and white canvas high-top sneakers on a gray textured background.
A presentation slide displays the heading 'Language Used in Community Education' with accompanying guidance in a green box: 'Use person-first or identity-first language, as clients prefer, in place of stigmatizing labels.' The slide is attributed to Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LCSW at Heritage University from a Fall 2026 Communication Skills course.
A presentation slide titled 'Following Skills' features a shopping cart icon on the left and lists seven communication skills on the right: Furthering Responses, Reflection Responses, Closed-Ended Responses, Open-Ended Responses, Providing & Maintaining Focus, Summarizing, and Seeking Concreteness. Course material from Fall 2026 SAWK 486w by Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LICSW at Heritage University.
A shopping cart filled with text displaying 'Following Skills: Furthering Responses,' with labels around it including 'Minimizing Responses,' 'Widened Responses,' and 'Probing Responses.' Three bulleted skill types appear on the right: nonverbal minimal prompts, verbal minimal prompts, and accent responses. A presentation slide on communication skills from Fall 2026 SOWK 486w.
A shopping cart filled with text labels represents reflection response skills on an educational slide about communication techniques. Two teal boxes define reflection types: 'Reflection of Content' emphasizing cognitive aspects of client messages, and 'Reflection of Affect' where social workers respond with accurate emotional reflections to help clients sort through their feelings. From Fall 2026 SOWK 486w at Heritage University.
A woman in a pink top stands amid a crowd of people, looking downward with a serious, contemplative expression. The title 'I am Home' appears above the image. This is a still from Freedom Writers (LaGravenese, R., 2007), presented in a Fall 2026 Communication Skills course slide at Heritage University.
A shopping cart illustration contains vertically-overlaid text representing four progressive reflection concepts (minimizing, G responses, added response criteria). The slide presents 'Following Skills: Reflection Responses' with two categories—Reflection of Content and Reflection of Affect—followed by three definitions: Simple Reflections restate client language; Complex Reflections add meaning beyond what's stated; Reframing suggests new thinking by highlighting strengths or possibilities. Attribution: Fall 2026 SOWK 486w, Communication Skills.
A slide titled 'Following Skills - Closed-Ended Responses' presents a shopping cart illustration with rotated text labels on the left, paired with a rust-brown text box on the right defining: 'Define a topic and restrict the client's response to a few words or a simple yes or no answer.' The slide footer credits Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2023) and Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LICSW at Heritage University.
A presentation slide showing a shopping cart illustration filled with communication-related terms, with a text box explaining that open-ended responses invite expanded client expression by leaving them free to express what seems most relevant and important. The slide is titled 'Following Skills' and labeled as Fall 2026 SOWK 486w, Communication Skills.
A shopping cart filled with text about responses and criteria illustrates 'Following Skills: Providing & Maintaining Focus' on an educational presentation slide. The three listed skills are: 1) Selecting topics for exploration, 2) Exploring topics in depth, 3) Managing obstacles to focusing. From a Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Communication Skills course at Heritage University.
A shopping cart overflowing with communication-related text including 'minimizing responses,' 'understanding responses,' and 'added responses/criteria' appears on the left side of a slide titled 'Following Skills Summarizing.' To the right, three numbered points outline summarizing skills: highlighting problems, strengths, and resources; clarifying lengthy messages; and facilitating transitions. The slide is from a Fall 2026 Communication Skills course (SOWK 486w).
A presentation slide titled 'Following Skills: Seeking Concreteness' displays five interviewing techniques in a bulleted list: Check Perceptions, Clarify Vague or Unfamiliar Terms, Elicit Specific Feelings, Focus on the Here and Now, and Elicit Sequence of Events. A shopping cart illustration filled with text occupies the left side. Footer indicates Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Communication Skills course at Heritage University, cited from Hepworth et al. 2023.
A presentation slide titled 'Following Skills' poses the question 'What do we do with these and ambivalence?' with 'SUD (k)' marked in a green box, accompanied by a shopping cart icon. The right side lists seven response types: Furthering Responses, Reflection Responses, Closed-Ended Responses, Open-Ended Responses, Providing & Maintaining Focus, Summarizing, and Seeking Concreteness. From a Fall 2026 Communication Skills course at Heritage University.
A presentation slide titled 'Following Skills & Initial Interview' from a Fall 2026 SOWK 486w course shows a skills assessment framework on the left listing interview activities (exploring client concerns, explaining rights, paraphrasing, using prompts, etc.). The right side displays a 'Before' brainstorming prompt and an 'After' debrief structure with three perspectives—Observer, Social Worker (SW), and Client—asking how the interview felt to each party and what feedback the observer noted.
A presentation slide titled 'DEMONSTRATION' instructs BASW students that they have been referred to meet with a field practicum placement adviser to determine their practicum placement for the coming year. Footer indicates Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Communication Skills course by Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LICSW at Heritage University.
A presentation slide titled 'ROLE PLAY SESSION 1' describes a counseling training scenario for a freshman college student experiencing sleep difficulties and anxiety referred to a counseling clinic. The scenario details the client's concerns about the referral, homesickness, and increased drinking for social coping. On the right, a role diagram shows three positions: Observer, Social Worker (SW), and Client, establishing the role-play structure for this communication skills training exercise.
A presentation slide titled 'Role Play Session 2' displays a domestic violence intervention scenario where a conflicted person was referred to services by a concerned friend but feels marriage is sacred and things will work out, despite acknowledging violence. A diagram on the right shows three roles: Observer (teal square), SW/Social Worker (green circle), and Client (burgundy circle), labeled 'Before Interview After.' This is from Fall 2026 SOWK 486w Communication Skills at Heritage University.
A presentation slide titled 'Role Play Session 3' displays a scenario where a homeless client, recently separated and couch surfing, meets with a case manager and therapist for housing assistance and coping skills. A diagram on the right shows three role positions: Observer, Social Worker (SW), and Client, arranged before an interview.
A presentation slide titled 'FOLLOWING SKILLS' featuring a shopping cart illustration on the left with text 'TEACHING THESE SKILLS.' The right side lists response techniques: Furthering Responses, Reflection Responses, Closed-Ended Responses, Open-Ended Responses, Providing & Maintaining Focus, Summarizing, and Seeking Concreteness. Footer credits: Fall 2026 SOWK 486w, Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2023), Jacob Campbell, Ph.D. LICSW at Heritage University.