Throughout this module, I have studied many different theories, the one that I have been most interested in is Rogers’ Person-Cantered Approach. I have been interested in this because of his three core conditions, these conditions are; the therapist is congruent with the client, the therapist provides unconditional positive regard and the therapist shows empathetic understanding. To be congruent means to be genuine, therefore this means that the therapist/service provider should be genuine with their client. They should be open and honest about what service they will provide. Showing unconditional positive regard to the client with show that they accept them for who they are, despite what they may have done. The service provider may not agree with some of the things the client has done, however they accept them for who they are. An example of this may be if a service provider is working with someone who has been in prison for something, they must provide support and rehabilitation no matter what has happened. Empathetic understanding is what I will focus on most, this is the ability to understand how the client feels and understand this accurately. Being empathic means understanding and viewing everything from the client’s point of view and not your own. You put yourself into their shoes and see their situation how they see it, not viewing it from your mind. Empathetic understanding is something I have struggled with without knowing, however the information from this module has highlighted this for me. I realised that I have often acted incorrectly in situations where empathic responses would be required. For example, I have shut people down or asked to many questions because I was not completely aware of how to be empathetic. However, now that I have studied Rogers and his three conditions I can provide friends, family or future service users with empathetic responses when they are required.
I have demonstrated this approach throughout this module but not in a professional setting. Some of my friends have gone through certain experiences which have required me to be empathetic towards them. I now have a better understanding of how to handle an emotional issue rather than shut a person down or ask too many questions, which doesn’t provide the support a person may want or need. I have seen situations from another point of view, rather than imagining myself in that situation and seeing it this way. I now see that this is not that effective and does not give an accurate view on the person’s situation. One of my friends went through the break-up of a relationship and rather than reacting in a way that I would have before, either acting from my own perspective or trying to stop them from talking about it, I tried to be empathic. I saw the situation from their perspective and understood how they would be feeling about it rather than take my own emotions into account which is what I often do. I also found that I can often try to shut people down without realising it, I can do this by hugging the person on placing my arm around them. I realised that I could be shutting them down and not allowing them to express themselves fully so I ensured that this didn’t happen. Another friend was feeling upset and struggling to cope with the fact that she had just found out she was pregnant. In this case I wasn’t empathic as such, but I was genuine with my response (Rogers’ first core condition). I didn’t try to make it seem like everything was okay, instead I offered her honest advice and told her how to handle things. I was also empathic when she told me that she was having problems with her relationship, and advised on how to handle it and what services she should try to access to get more professional help.
I have experienced some barriers when I try to communicate with people who are going through a difficult situation. I always feel that I need to get to the bottom of something and this means I will become very inquisitive and ask many questions. This usually doesn’t help a service user therefore this becomes a barrier when I try to help someone with whatever they are facing. The client may feel uncomfortable and like they are being interrogated instead of feeling like they are getting help and support. Asking questions also gets limited information from a client and is not an effective way to communicate with someone who is unsure how to be open, or doesn’t want to. Questions will only get so much information before they become invasive, which is where other techniques become useful. My knowledge of empathetic responses will become useful whenever I now deal with a client or friend/family member, as I now understand that questions are not the correct way to approach some situations. Another barrier for me is how emotionally involved I can become with a client/client’s situation. I will feel extremely sorry for them and become upset by what they are going through and this can affect the quality of help I give them. If what a client is telling me triggers a memory of a certain time in my life I can start to give advice based on what happened to me and what I did, not on how they should handle it from the point of a professional. I must learn to be able to provide empathy, not sympathy. Although I may understand what the client is experiencing I cannot let my own experience blur what the client is going through and risk changing how I can help them. However, understanding the client through your own understanding is not a bad thing as Egan (2014b, p133) states, ‘real understanding, because it passes through you, should convey some part of you’. The client’s situation is more than likely not the same as mine was, so seeing it from my own perspective is not useful to them. I can overcome this barrier by accepting my emotional response to the client, but holding my feelings in as I know that expressing them is more than likely very inappropriate. However, understanding fully will involve some personal emotion to an extent.
I have enjoyed working in a group during this module and have worked in different groups through, however each group has followed Tuckman’s group theory. Tuckman (1965), has five stages to this theory; forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning/mourning, different things take part at each one of these stages. During forming the group is formed, members acquaint each other and establish ground rules. While in the storming stage, the members are resistant to group influence and react emotionally to the task they are given. People will begin to feel like they are part of the group during the norming stage and understand that they can achieve if they work together. The team then start to perform together in the open, working together and doing the set task. The final stage – referred to as adjourning or mourning – is where the group splits up. The group will assess what they have done and how they worked together, recognising what they have all done as a team. Group members may feel anxious or upset that they must split up. Each group I worked in formed either through choice or allocation by one of the lecturers. Some of the groups I worked with friends so these were formed before the group work took place, the main group I worked with was formed of my friends so this was formed at the beginning of the semester. Many of the groups would not progress past the storming stage as we would only be together briefly and we would not get a chance to bong completely as a group. At this stage, we would share ideas on the given topic/situation, but this would be almost all that would happen. Although we were not strangers as Tuckman’s theory suggests, we were not well acquainted with one another either. The main group I worked in throughout the module experienced the stages beyond storming – norming and performing – but didn’t adjourn in a way as the group has remained together in a friendship group, just not an academic group. We began as a group that did not know e
ach other, then progressed into the storming stage in which we all worked together without certain leadership – but without conflict. Our main project as group was our presentation on working and communicating with adults with Down’s Syndrome. During this presentation, we demonstrated the norming stage well. We decided on who would focus on particular aspects of the topic, divided this between our group and worked well together in order to make sure we created the most informative presentation we could. We performed in the sense that we presented this to the class, ensuring we each knew what parts to present and how to do it in an effective way. Even though we demonstrated Tuckman’s theory almost exactly as he describes it here, his theory does have some issues with it, as not all groups follow the exact steps. Some groups I have worked in did not strictly follow this, however they vaguely followed the concept. Not all groups will form with the people within it being strangers, and there may not always be conflict. However, all groups must go through the stage of generally forming together and then completing tasks in order to achieve.
Overall, this module has enabled me to communicate better in a way that would be more appropriate for a health and social care provider. Despite facing two main barriers, the knowledge I have acquired through the module has shown me how to overcome these and tackle situations differently. For example, when a service user has gone through an upsetting event I am now able to be empathetic rather than sympathetic, I can help them accept and manage their emotions rather than take pity on them. I can see that asking questions is not the best way to get information out of someone as sometimes they are not even aware of the answer with some help to understand their situation. Too many questions can make someone feel uncomfortable, so now statements starting with phrases such as ‘you are feeling this way because…’ will be more useful to both me and the service user. Group work has been a big factor to this module, and Tuckman’s model has shown me a way to view how groups work. The groups that I have worked in have been successful and have proven some aspects of Tuckman to be wrong. At the end of this module I can see that I am able to communicate in a more effective way, I have found ways to overcome problematic barriers, and I have enjoyed group work more than I have before.
References:
Egan, G. (2014b) The Skilled Helper: A problem management and opportunity development approach to helping. 9th edition. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
McLeod, S. (2008) Person centred therapy. Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/client-centred-therapy.html (Accessed: 19 December 2016).
Tuckman, B. W. (1965) Developmental Sequence in Small Groups, Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), pp384-399 (Accessed: 18 December 2016).