“Empathic communication involves the ability of the social worker to _______ accurately and sensitively the inner feelings of the client and to __________ his or her understanding of these feelings in language attuned to the client’s experiencing of the moment” (Hepworth et al., 2010, p. 95).
Perceive
communicate
What are the three components of “clarifying expectations”?
Discover your client’s expectations
Explain the nature of the helping process
Define the client’s role
Explain the nature of the helping process
Acknowledge and empathize with unrealistic expectations
Explain why unrealistic expectations cannot be fulfilled
Express your intent to be helpful
Define the nature of the working “partnership”
Emphasize your intent to help client focus on strengths
Clarify your intent to assist them in overcoming obstacles
Define the client’s role
Importance of keeping appointments
Flag likelihood that work may be difficult at times
Clarify terms of payment
Caveats in the beginning sessions
Avoid probing too far
Avoid giving advice
Defer self-disclosure in the beginning
Normalize client’s interest and discover why the client harbors a question about you
3 facets of empathic communication
1.Empathic recognition
Tune into subtle cues
Facial expressions
Tone of voice
Tempo of speech
Step into another’s shoes
2.Accurate reflection of feelings
Avoid stating “I understand how you feel”
Instead, reflect what you hear and understand
Convey interest and curiosity
These skills earn trust and reduce defensiveness, especially with distrustful or non-voluntary clients
3. Empathic actionDeveloping perceptiveness to feelings
Know when you are using your own word vs. a word that resonates with the client’s vocabulary
- Both can be powerful
- Especially when working with clients who are from a socio-cultural background different from yours
Your words are each small acts of interpretation
Your words, when accurate and poignant, can increase the client’s own emotional subtlety, depth, and imaginativeness
Using the client’s words can add humor, foster alignment, and secure trust
Developing perceptiveness to feelings
Know when you are using your own word vs. a word that resonates with the client’s vocabulary
- Both can be powerful
- Especially when working with clients who are from a socio-cultural background different from yours
Your words are each small acts of interpretation
Your words, when accurate and poignant, can increase the client’s own emotional subtlety, depth, and imaginativeness
Using the client’s words can add humor, foster alignment, and secure trust
Levels of empathic responding
Level 3: Reciprocal
Level 3: Reciprocal
Accurate
Deeper feelings and meanings are not added
Focuses on message and does not reflect conceptualization
Levels of empathic responding
Level 4: Moderately high
Somewhat “additive”
Identify client’s implicit understanding of problem
Illuminates subtle or veiled facets of the client’s message
Levels of empathic responding
Level 5: High Level
Reflects emotional nuance
Responds to full range of intensity of both surface and underlying feelings
Responds to goals embodied in the message
“Additive” empathy should be used sparingly
When is confrontation appropriate?
When clients are contemplating actions that are unlawful or dangerous
When such actions conflict with the goals and values a client has expressed for oneself
When a client is overtly hostile
emerely reinforces their passivity
Deliver confrontation in an atmosphere of warmth, caring, and concern
What can confrontation communicate positively?
- Confrontation can be used to help clients desist from engaging in self-defeating behaviors.
- Intervening during or immedi-ately following dysfunctional communication is a powerful means of enabling clients to experience first-hand the negative effects of their dysfunctional behaviors (e.g., interrupting, attacking, claiming, or criticizing).
- enable clients to receive direct feedback about how their behavior offends, alienates, or engenders defensiveness in others,
How can empathy be modeled (p. 112)?
- teach clients the paradigm for empathic responding
- introduce clients to list of affective words and phrases and to leads list
- intervene in sessions when clients ignore or fail to validate messages-
- give positive feedback when you notice clients listening to each other
What does it mean to be an “authentic” professional?
Verbalize sentiments that are congruent with actual feelings and thoughts
Assume responsibility for expression of feelings
Be non-defensive
Admit errors
Model humanness and openness
Avoid hiding behind mask of professionalism
Does not mean indiscriminately disclosing feelings
Always targets the betterment of the client
What are constraints to authentic responding?
Use self-disclosure discreetly
Maintain focus on clients’ problems and needs
“Keep in mind that the purpose of relating authentically is to facilitate growth of clients, not to demonstrate one’s own honesty or authenticity” (p. 114).
What is the difference between self-involving statements and personal self-disclosing (p. 114)?
- self-involving refers to messages that express the social worker’s persona reaction to the client during a session
- self-disclosing centers on struggles and problems the social worker is currently experiencing or has experienced that are similar to the client’s problems
Questions to ask when the impetus emanates from the client’s request for self-disclosure:
Is the client being sociable?
Is the client trying to assert control? Why?
Do you have questions regarding the client’s motivation?
How can you best address what you suspect might be their underlying concern?
When is it appropriate to decline to answer?
Occasions for self-disclosure
Disclosing past experiences (used most sparingly)
Sharing perceptions, ideas, reactions, and formulations
Openly (and tactfully) sharing reactions when put on the spot
Experiencing discomfort in sessions
Sharing positive feedback
Relating assertively
When clients are contemplating actions that are unlawful or dangerous
When such actions conflict with the goals and values a client has expressed for oneself
When making a firm request (p. 125)
When maintaining focus and managing interruptions
When clients do not observe the “contract”
What can good boundaries communicate
What is a client advocate?
works with the client to obtain resources and services that would otherwise not be available
