[humanser] verbal techniques and reading affect

[Rebecca Arrowood]

For me I always try to Tappan to how I would be feeling in those situations and sometimes put that out there with the group. For example the song could make me feel sad does anyone resonate with that etc.  my sense is that with the individuals you are working with naming specific feelings could be helpful and not only for them to learn the different emotions and feelings they are probably experiencing but also giving them permission to have those various emotions and feelings. 

I think picking up on nonverbal's in groups is very difficult and for me I tend to allow my co-facilitator to work with those and I will then pick up on other things

Thanks,
Rebecca Arrowood
Sent from my iPhone


> On Sep 25, 2016, at 12:15 AM, Kaiti Shelton via HumanSer <humanser at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> This semester my practicum is in a substance abuse treatment facility.
> I'm working with a partner and my supervisor on a women's unit and
> have found that in spite of previous assumptions I had about the work
> that I love it.
> 
> One skill that is addressed in this particular practicum is the use of
> verbal techniques and counseling skills.  It is different from my
> previous practicum experiences.  My first experience with older adults
> on a dementia unit of a nursing home was all about just getting
> comfortable using the music with clients, engaging them, and learning
> to consider their various strengths and areas of growth in the various
> domains of functioning.  The next two practicums with a teenager and
> young children in a special needs classroom were about working in an
> experience-oriented way rather than an outcome-oriented way, and using
> music to work on global group needs that contributed to academic
> learning, such as behavior and social skills as many of the children
> had Autism Spectrum Disorders respectively.  This is my first
> experience working with cognitively typical adults, who are processing
> complex emotions and life situations including various forms of
> trauma.
> 
> My supervisor definitely thrives while working with this population
> and has a history of working in psych, particularly with juvenile
> offenders.  Sometimes she can get carried away with the group and
> doesn't leave much room for students to practice leadership, but she
> recognizes this and has told us to not be afraid of asking/reminding
> her to step back if she seems overbearing to us.  Right now as we've
> only just begun co-leading (my partner and I), we often appreciate her
> stepping in when she does.  The issue for me is that often times when
> the group starts processing song material the clients often have
> physical responses to the music, lyrics, or both that I can't see.
> With the amount of vision I do have I can sometimes notice if a client
> is hunched over in their seat to form a closed position, but I often
> can't tell if they're silently crying or have a sad expression on
> their faces.  My supervisor uses this information a lot as she
> facilitates processing and will say thinggs like, "Client X, I noticed
> you had some tears.  Can you share about that?"  I noticed my
> supervisor also often just asks other members of the group, "Client Y,
> what about you?  Can you share what you thought of in that
> experience?"
> 
> While I suppose I could always use the latter example as a means of
> engaging the clients, I'm wondering how I could pick up on some of the
> physical expressions I'm missing.  This wasn't so much of an issue
> with the older adults or children I worked with as they were more
> likely to verbally express their affect.  My supervisor says I'm doing
> a good job of inserting my voice in the processing even though she
> doesn't always leave a lot of room for that, and also understands that
> right now I'm using her facilitation to gather information about the
> clients that informs my use of verbal techniques when I do speak.
> This has led me to use a lot of paraphrasing and reflection of feeling
> and my supervisor understands why that is happening, but I'd like to
> be able to lead processing experiences with a greater repertoire of
> verbal techniques if at all possible.  I know how to use a lot more of
> them than just paraphrasing and reflection, I'm just not sure how to
> best gain information that will inform my facilitation when the
> clients aren't verbal or don't give auditory indications of their
> affect, E.G sniffling or grabbing a tissue from the box in the center
> of the circle.  I acknowledge that it is okay to rely on information I
> get from my partner and supervisor as a co-therapist in this setting,
> but I would like to be able to also perform as well as I can when
> facilitating on my own.
> 
> -- 
> Kaiti Shelton
> 
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