CONVEYING EMPATHY & AUTHENTICITY VERBAL FOLLOWING, EXPLORING, & FOCUSING SKILLS COMMUNICATION SKILLS LAB DAY SOWK 486 Fall 2021 Jacob Campbell, LICSW Heritage University
AGENDA OUR TENTATIVE PL AN FOR WEEK FIVE • What’s you’ve learned so far • Teaching empathy to clients • Following skills • Sharing following skills • Practice with labeling empathetic levels • Practice implementing following skills Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
􀠎 OBSERVATION YOUR CONVERSATIONS THIS WEEK A. As you interact with others and observe others’ interactions during the week, notice how frequently infrequently people send empathic messages. Also, observe the types of messages that are sent and how these messages influence the course of conversations. B. As you interact with your spouse, parents, children, friends, and fellow students, practice listening carefully and responding with empathic messages when appropriate. Be alert to how empathic messages influence interactions and to the feeling tones that these responses create. Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING C HEC KING IN Working in Circles Respect the talking piece Speak from the heart Listen from the heart Trust that you know what to say Say just enough (Clifford, n.d.) Fall 2022 SOWK 486w • What are some things that you feel like you can take away from this class so far? • What are ways that you are implementing or incorporating things you have been learning in any of your classes into your life? • What do you need to be a better social worker as you progress through your education? Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
TEACHING EMPATHY HOW TO SHARE WITH CLIENTS • Teach clients the paradigm for empathic responding. • Introduce clients to the list of affective words and phrases and to the Leads for Empathic Responses list. • Intervene in sessions when clients ignore or fail to validate messages. • Give positive feedback when clients listen to each other. Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
Work in teams of three or four to design a planned intervention for teaching empathy. What population would you work with, how would you teach them empathy, what would some of the sessions look like? You will have about 15 minutes to come up with ideas, and then you will share back with the group.
FOLLOWING SKILLS FURTHERING RESPONSES REFLECTION RESPONSES CLOSED-ENDED RESPONSES OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES PROVIDING & MAINTAINING FOCUS SUMMARIZING SEEKING CONCRETENESS Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS IN S E S N A ESPO R M N O I T C & REFLE G O SP E N I N U ID - E N D E D VM RESP ONS M O E R S A P SEEKING R I CONCRETENESS Z IN G A T IN IN G FURTHERING RESPONSES O L C SE Fall 2022 SOWK 486w D EN D E D R S E O P N S S E • Nonverbal minimal prompts • Verbal minimal prompts • Accent responses Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS & M A IN A T IN IN G S E S N O P G S E R O SP E N I N I N G ERN D D E UT H I E D R M V RESP FU O M ONS E R S A P SEEKING R I CONCRETENESS Z IN G REFLECTION RESPONSES O L C S Fall 2022 SOWK 486w D E N E - D E D R S E REFLECTION OF CONTENT O P N S S E emphasize the cognitive aspects of client messages, such as situations, ideas, objects, or persons • Simple reflections • Complex reflections • Reframing Communication Skills REFLECTION OF AFFECT In reflections of affect, social workers relate with responses that accurately capture clients’ affect and help them reflect on and sort through their feelings (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS IN S E S N A ESPO R M N O I T C S E L E F E & S R N O P G S E O SP E N I N I N G R ERN D D E UT H I E D R M V RESP FU O M ONS E R S A P SEEKING R I CONCRETENESS Z IN G A T IN IN G CLOSED-ENDED RESPONSES Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Define a topic and restrict the client’s response to a few words or a simple yes or no answer. Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS IN S E S N A ESPO R M N O I T C S E L E F E & S R N O P G S E R N S U DEI R I N G I H T R M V U F O M R A P SEEKING R I CONCRETENESS Z IN G A T IN IN G OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES O L C S Fall 2022 SOWK 486w D E N E - D E D R S E O P N S S E Invite expanded expression and leave the client free to express what seems most relevant and important. Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS S E S N O P S E R N O I T C S E L E F E S R N O P S E O SP E N I N G R UT H E- ERN D E D R M RESP U F ONS M ES A SEEKING R I CONCRETENESS Z IN G PROVIDING & MAINTAINING FOCUS O L C S Fall 2022 SOWK 486w D E N E - D E D R S E O P N S S E Selecting topics for exploration 2. Exploring topics in depth 3. Managing obstacles to focusing Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS IN S E S N A ESPO R M N O I T C S E L E F E & S R N O P G S E O SP E N I N I N G R ERN D D E UT H I E D R M V RESP FU O M ONS E R S A P RI Z IN G A T IN IN G SEEKING CONCRETENESS O L C S Fall 2022 SOWK 486w D E N E - D E D R S E O P N S Checking out Perceptions S E Clarifying the Meaning of Vague or Unfamiliar Terms Exploring the Basis of Conclusions Drawn by Clients Assisting Clients in Personalizing Their Statements Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS IN S E S N A ESPO R M N O I T C S E L E F E & S R N O P G S E O SP E N I N I N G R ERN D D E UT H I E D R M V RESP FU O M ONS E R S A P RI Z IN G A T IN IN G SEEKING CONCRETENESS O L C S Fall 2022 SOWK 486w D E N E - D E D R S E O P N S Eliciting Specific Feelings S E Focusing on the Here and Now Eliciting Details Related to Clients’ Experiences Eliciting Details Related to Interactional Behavior Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS IN S E S N A ESPO R M N O I T C S E L E F E & S R N O P G S E O P E NIN I N G R R E D N E D I H E T D R V RESP FU O ONS E R S P SEEKING CONCRETENESS A T IN IN G SUMMARIZING O L C D E S Fall 2022 SOWK 486w N E - D ED E R O P S N S E S Highlighting key aspects 2. Making connections 3. Reviewing major focal points 4. Recapitulating highlights and progress Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS FURTHERING RESPONSES REFLECTION RESPONSES CLOSED-ENDED RESPONSES OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES PROVIDING & MAINTAINING FOCUS SUMMARIZING SEEKING CONCRETENESS Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
PRACTICE WITH EMPATHIC COMMUNICATION • Single woman, age 80 [to social worker concerning her request to move to an independent living complex provided for ambulatory older persons]: • 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. Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
PRACTICE WITH EMPATHIC COMMUNICATION • Male, age 16 [in weekly visit to social work probation officer]: • 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.” Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS • Reflection responses • Furthering responses DEBRIEF AFTER INTERVIEWER • Closed-ended responses • Open-ended responses • Seeking concreteness • Providing & maintaining focus • Summarizing Fall 2022 SOWK 486w • How did it feel as the interviewer to use the techniques • How did it feel as the interviewee • What did the observer notice OBSERVER INTERVIEWEE Communication Skills Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University
FOLLOWING SKILLS FURTHERING RESPONSES TEACHING THESE SKILLS REFLECTION RESPONSES CLOSED-ENDED RESPONSES OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES PROVIDING & MAINTAINING FOCUS SUMMARIZING SEEKING CONCRETENESS Fall 2022 SOWK 486w Communication Skills (Hepworth et al. 2022) Jacob Campbell, LICSW at Heritage University