The therapist also displays good interaction skills by showing warmth and empathy towards the client According to Wondrat (1998 p29) warmth is ‘a prerequisite to enabling a relationship to grow’, it involves being kind and friendly towards the client. This encourages the client to become more relaxed and to open up to her more. The therapists also shows empathy. We are told by Dimbleby and Burton (1998 p83) that ‘in order to achieve this empathy one also has to pay close attention to the other person, to their apparent needs, to making sense of those needs.’ An example of this is shown when the client explains how she had an accident when she wasn’t wearing her alarm pendant. The therapist shows empathy in this situation by using a friendly tone and by using kind words. Ways in which the therapist could have conveyed more warmth towards the client would be to have asked her some more questions about her life, interests, etc and perhaps by using touch, if this was appropriate.
An important part of a therapists interaction skills is the non verbal communication used. One aspect of this is the body language that the therapist displays. The therapist sits at a 90° angle to the client so that they can make eye contact throughout the interview, without seeming too threatening. The therapist also uses very open body language during the interview, for example she keeps her arms open rather than crossing them, which would imply a more closed attitude. The therapist also does not cross her legs away from the client, which would again convey a very closed attitude.
Another aspect of non verbal communication that the therapist uses to a certain degree is her use of gesture. According to Knapp and Hall (1997 p251) a gesture is known as ’movements of the body(or some part of it) used to communicate an idea, intention or feeling’ . The therapist such as nodding, in order that the client may see that what she is saying can be understood. Often during the interview the therapist uses her hands to elaborate what she is saying, this allows her to emphasise her point and to draw attention to certain aspects. However the therapist could have used gestures to a much greater effect as she very rarely used any kind of gesturing, so could have used this more often to display more interest and emotion to her client, as we are told by Knapp and Hall (1997) that gestures can maintain attention, add emphasis and/or clarify speech.
The therapist shows her facilitation skills by the way that she structures the interview. In the beginning she shows this in the way that she ‘meet, greets and seats’ the client. The therapist introduces her self and explains what she does. The therapist then explains what is to be discussing during the interview which allows the client to feel more relaxed and at ease. The therapist has a clear structure to the interview, she introduces it, carries out the main part of the interview and then clearly concludes the interview. She clearly shows her interaction skills again at the end of the interview by communicating to the client the interview is ending ‘I’ve just got one more question to ask you’.
In the interview the client makes clear use of two models of communication. The first of these is the ‘values model’. The therapist takes into account the clients values when interviewing her, an example of this would be when then therapist wants to ask the client about personal care and asks her if she is ok with this. The therapist is also displays this by the way that she dresses. In a journal article by Davys, Pope and Taylor (2006) we are told that ‘Part of being a professional is to consider the impact that your self-presentation will have on the service user’ therefore the therapist dressed in a conservative manner, as the client is also dressed in quite a conservative and this may be what she expects of a professional.
The second model that the therapist takes into account is the ‘Human needs model’ by Maslow (1970) , in particular the bottom section which relates to physiological needs. This is shown by the type of questions that the therapist asks for example relating to cooking and personal care. These are basic needs that all people have in everyday life and the therapist is mindful that the client may need some extra help with these.
In conclusion, the therapist uses a wide variety of interpersonal skills throughout her interview to effectively learn about the client and her needs. The therapist uses a variety of different methods to do this, in particular her active listening skills and communication skills in general. All of these combined allowed the therapist to carry out a successful and useful interview.
References
Davys, D. Pope, K. and Taylor, J. 2006 Professionalism, Prejudice and Personal
Taste: Does it Matter What We Wear? British Journal of Occupational Therapy 69 (7) July, p339-341.
Dimbleby, R and Burton, G 1998 More Than Words : An Introduction to Communication [online book] Florence, KY, USA. Available from: [accessed 8th December 2008]
Hoppe, M. H. 2006. ). Active Listening : Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead. [online book] Greensboro, NC, USA: Centre for Creative Leadership. Available from
[accessed 8th December 2008]
Knapp, M. L. Hall, J. A. 1997. Nonverbal Communication In Human Interaction. 4th ed.
Harcourt Brace College Pub.
Maslow, A. H. 1970 Motivation and personality. Harper and Row, New York.
Purtilo, R and Haddard, A 2007 Health Professional And Patient Interaction. Saunders Elsevier, Pennsylvania.
Wondrat, R. F. 1998 Interpersonal Skills For Nurses And Health Care Professionals. Blackwell Science, London.
