Nowadays Thompson House offers continuing care, therapeutic respite care, rehabilitation and day support for people with neuro-disabilities. Thompson House includes people over 18 years of age and under the age of 65. Services include:
Neurology
- Medical services
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Physiotherapy
- Speech and Language therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Social Work
- Complementary Therapies e.g. aromatherapy
- Dentistry, Dietetics and podiatry services
Thompson House patient charter states:
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We will provide information to our patients and their families, that is clear and easy to understand in an accessible form.
- We will treat everyone with courtesy and respect and identify ourselves when contacting you.
- All patients will have a named nurse to help plan / co-ordinate care.
- All patients will have care reviewed at least once a year, involving everyone they wish to be included in this process.
- We will offer an environment that aims to promote comfort, choice and independence.
- All patients and their careers will have as much control as possible over their individual care and treatment. at Thompson House hospital and we will make every effort to offer opportunities for privacy and time on your own.
- We welcome comments, compliments and complaints about the service we provide. We will make every attempt to resolve issues immediately. Problems should be brought to the attention of any member of staff. If a complaint is of serious nature requiring investigation it will be acknowledged within two working days and a full written response within twenty days.
Staff communication is very important in Thompson House. Staff members communicate verbally, electronically, technologically and by documentation. During a normal twenty four hours there are three shift changes, at each shift change any changes in a patient are communicated by documents. Staff members also leave memos for each other an example of verbal communication between staff members could be during staff meetings at the beginning of each day.
All staff members are held to a contract of confidentiality, the confidentiality claws. Staff members are told if they have to discuss patient’s medical conditions it must be done in private. Limited information is given over the phone as a result of confidentiality. Patients can see their medical records but they have to apply and they may have to pay a fee. Confidential records are currently held on file, “under lock and key”. Access is only given to authorized staff members with a key to filing cabinets. As new conditions arise with patients the hospital records are updated by the office staff.
Thompson house makes patients feel valued by giving them responsibilities include organizing Christmas ballets and picking a location for their trip, which everyone will enjoy. When members of staff are talking to patients who are in wheelchairs they kneel down and talk to the patients at eye level.
If a patient wants to make a complaint they can proceed in one of two ways:- they can talk to a member of staff about the problem, this way the problem, in most cases can be resolved quickly and efficiently. The second procedure involves launching a formal complaint in writing to the trust. This method is much slower and can brand members of the trusts reputations within the trust.
Thompson house is defiantly a care setting which communicates care and understanding. Staff work well with patients and the communication between staff and patients is friendly, not too professional. From what I saw the relationships between staff and patients were friend based and not on a professional over the top level. This is important to patients as they see staff member’s everyday and build close bonds with them.
A requirement of unit 2 is to examine communication in a health/ social care setting, and the importance of communication on a one to one basis in valuing people as individuals.
Good communication in a care setting is extremely valuable to the client and therapist. The need for good communication has been recognised by the care sector consortium’s value base of care practice. The value base has adopted three value bases that care practitioners should follow. One important value base is recognising the importance of body language. Good communication is extremely important in a care setting; it’s the difference between a happy client and a depressed, sad and undervalued client. With good communication, clients will feel like they are with a friend and will open up more to the therapist and feel more relaxed. The core conditions by Carl Rogers are evident.
Rogers believed that people can continue to grow and develop according to Rogers “each person has within them the inherent tendency to continue to grow and develop” , he also believed “in order for an individual to experience total self-actualisation the therapist must express complete acceptance of the patient”, Rogers found this was best achieved through the method of “reflection” in which the therapist continually restates what the “patient” has said in an attempt to show complete acceptance and to allow the patient to recognise any negative feelings that they may experience, Rogers believed that the “patient” should be allowed to direct the session. Rogers created the core conditions:
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* * * * * * * * * * detrimental effects of inappropriate communication * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ***************
For the purpose of the interview I set up a role play scenario, I set up a therapy room in school and I provided a one-to-one communication with a pupil playing the role of an alcoholic. I asked another pupil to observe the communication, believing this to be useful as it gives me an unbiased opinion on the quality of my interaction.
To give me a powerful source of information for the purpose of judging my performance I videotaped the session. This gives me an edge when it comes to self analysis as I can see how nervous or unnerves I was and I can see if I was clicking a pen rapidly or doing something nervously. The video tape session also allows me to judge the use of my language and my posture. It also gives me an unbiased recording of how the interview went.
Craig Stevenson
Counselling Centre
Lisburn
Co. Antrim
BT283ID
Dear Mr Smith,
I regret to inform you that your counselling appointment for 14th August 2004 has been moved forward to December 19th 2004, Due to renovations being carried out on our facilities. I would be very pleased if you could attend on this date. If you are unable to attend on this particular date could you please contact a member of staff either Mrs Sloan or me. If you are unable to attend on this date I would be happy to arrange a more convenient date.
Mr Stevenson: 028 92 663338
Mrs Sloan: 028 92 676234
Yours Faithfully
Craig Stevenson
The level of communication in this letter is strictly professional. The reason for this is I want the client to feel they are getting professional help, where I the therapist know what I am doing. I am using paralanguage by using the clients first name rather than just their surname, by doing this I am conveying that I ado value her as an individual.
I have constructed this counselling room especially for the purpose of one-to-one therapy. I have put the clock on a very visible wall, this stops clients constantly referring to their watch’s for the time, I also have a small desk to allow me to get as close to the client as I can this stop the client from feeling of less value than the therapist. I have also used bright colours for the walls and I have bright flowers on the table, this can lift client’s spirits. The clients chairs are big and comfortable, they also have armrests, this gives clients somewhere to place there arms to stop them feeling out of place and awkward. The telephone has an emergency button for my safety in case a client gets violent. My back is also to the door so that in the event of a client getting violent I can get out of the room easily and quickly.
A councillor’s appearance is very important, it is important not to overdress and make the client feel of less value than you. It would be a good idea to wear casual wear when dealing with middle class clients, but when dealing upper class clients it would be advisable to wear a suit to make the client feel like they are in a professional environment. It is also important to remind the client that anything they say is kept confidential. Tone of voice is also very important, it is important to keep it level and not raise it.
For the purpose of Unit 2 one-to-one communication I have set up a role play scenario of a therapy situation. I played the role of a therapist and another student played the role of a client. I set up a room in school and began the counselling session. I asked an observer to rate me based on evidence seen e.g. eye contact, facial expression, tone of voice ….etc believing this to be useful for evaluating myself, and giving myself ways of improving my technique.
Me: Come on in.
Me: Would you like to take a seat?
Client: Yes.
Me: What would you prefer to be called?
Client: Julie.
Me: So why do you think you are here?
Client: I’ve had a few problems with drink. I’ve been drinking really heavily.
Me: How often do you drink?
Client: Every night.
Me: Would you drink alone or with friends?
Client: Alone, but if there’s somebody around I’ll drink with them.
Me: Is your drinking alone due to no-one else being their or do you choose to drink alone?
Client: I chose to drink alone.
Me: Why do you think you drink?
Client: I don’t know, I started drinking when my first child was born I think it was because of depression but I don’t know.
Me: Do you still have the child?
Client: Yes.
Me: Do you get on well with the child?
Client: Well I have begun to hit my children when I’ve been drinking.
Me: Is your drinking affecting your relationship with your children?
Client: It makes me not a very nice person to be around.
Me: How many children do you have?
Client: Two.
Me: What do they think about the drinking?
Client: Well my eldest child doesn’t talk to me very much.
Me: How old is he?
Client: fourteen.
Me: ok.
Me: Well you’re here now and together we’ll sort this problem out.
While playing the video of my therapy situation back I was able to analyse myself. To start the session I was very welcoming “hi, would you like to come in?” “Would you like to take a seat?” this makes the client feel welcome and more comfortable. I asked the client her name; I shook her hand which makes her feel we are equal. I kept good eye contact and tilted my head; I offered support and talked about steps towards stopping her alcoholism. Within the first ten minutes I congratulated her for coming to the therapy session herself and recognising her problem. Throughout the session I kept my body language open. Towards the middle of the session I moved the topic on towards her family and the effects her drinking has on her family. I provided the client with leaflets from support groups and gave her general information on where they are located. I suggested ways for her to talk to family about her problems. Towards the end of our session we began to talk about the future and her plans “what are your plans for the future?”, I suggested how she could get out of vulnerable situations, I then told her the duration of the session is coming to an end and is there anything else she would like to talk state? “Well we only have 10 minutes left is there anything else you would like to add?” I then said goodbye “goodbye, I’ll look forward to seeing you again next week”
From my interview feedback I have been informed that I kept good contact throughout the session “Craig kept good eye contact and tilted his head to the right” this statement also states that I tilted my head, unfortunately my facial expressions expressed sympathy and I avoided contact with the client, my tone of voice stayed flat for the duration of the session, I kept the proximity of the client and I close. I dressed in black trousers and shoes, suggesting professionalism and I wore a polo neck t-shirt so I didn’t seem too professional and unapproachable.
I encouraged the client “well-done you’ve taken the first step coming here, it can be quite scary” I reflected what she had said earlier in the session and used her children as prompts to give her the motivation to stop her drinking. I used questions to develop the subject further or move on “you said earlier you drink alone, have you always done that or is that quite a new thing?” One thing I would like to change would be the speed at which I talk, sometimes I talk to fast.
I used paraphrasing to show the client that I understand what she is talking about. I also used her first name. I regret not holding her hand or patting her shoulder to communicate warmth: Again paraphrasing can show that I am sincere so can saying goodbye “goodbye, I’ll look forward to seeing you again next week”
Throughout the session I treated the client no differently due to her sexuality or culture.
There were some barriers to communication. One major barrier was I don’t want to ask her questions she doesn’t want to answer e.g. questions about her background. Another barrier was her being nervous about her first therapy session, she sat back in her chair with her arms folded, suggesting she was being protective of herself, as the session progressed she gradually opened up more to me and became more comfortable. The client was not concerned about confidentiality as I reminded her “anything said within these walls stays within these walls”
The interviewee told me after the role play that she felt comfortable but was aware of my eye contact, she said I made her feel equal to me and said I made her feel welcome and she left feeling welcome and comfortable she also stated “if it was a real therapy situation then the goodbye statement would make her come back next week.
I am very pleased with the counselling session it has made me more aware of “body language”; it has also highlighted some of my better points. From the feedback from the observer and the interviewee I have the knowledge to improve my technique. I really enjoyed the therapist experience and I hope I won’t forget it in a hurry.
If I was to redo the “therapy situation role play” I would have made more physical contact with the client, a welcoming handshake when the session was coming to an end I would ask the client hw she thought the session went, I would get her feedback.
This was only a practise and it was the first time I had ever done anything like this and I think this was quite apparent. I believe that practise makes perfect and I have had little practise with more practise I could defiantly improve my technique.
