[humanser] Concerns about nonverbal communication in counseling?

[Elif Emir Öksüz]

Experienced professionals underlined many great points. I am quite new
in the field compared to them. Beyond echoing what they have said, I
would share that I even worked with a client who had an eating
disorder and over concerned how she looked. Once, I brought into our
conversation this issue and me being blind. I asked her “So you spend
so much time to put your make up and get dress; however, I don’t see
that at all. So how do you feel about this?” She said something about
finding me nonjudgmental and feeling comfortable.

So many sighted people do something wrong; however, other sighted
people are not being judged with what others had done. Being a
minority and the “out group homogeneity” concepts theoretically help
with explaining this phenomenon, yet this is still disturbing.


2017-01-17 11:10 GMT-05:00, Quinto Sanchez via HumanSer <humanser at nfbnet.org>:
> I've liked what JD has had to say on this topic in the past. However, we are
> able to still pick up most of the non-verbal clues by listening. For example
> we can hear when someone smiles, we can here the tremor and anx in someone's
> voice who is scared or uncomfortable; we can hear the constant shifting or
> fidgeting of an individual; we can hear that when they talk they are not
> looking at us. The sighted individual might miss out on the subtle verbal
> clues that we are more likely to catch such as the slight verbal hesitation
> or subtle sigh the individual demonstrates when you ask particular
> questions.
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "JD Townsend via HumanSer" <humanser at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2017 8:37 PM
> To: "Human Services Division Mailing List" <humanser at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: "JD Townsend" <43210 at bellsouth.net>
> Subject: Re: [humanser] Concerns about nonverbal communication in
> counseling?
>
>> Just for your information, and, perhaps, to present to your agency;  there
>> is little research to support the benefits visual interpretation of body
>> language and some evidence that the sighted incorrectly interpret these
>> visual clues.  This is difficult for the light dependent to understand.
>>
>> I have been in the field as a working professional from 1980 and only
>> rarely
>> do I feel I have missed such a clue.
>>
>> One of my patients has worn the same moo-moo for the past year, with no
>> underwear and no hygiene during her monthly cycle.  I don’t know this
>> because of visual evidence, but from discussion.  I don’t know the skin
>> color of my patients, but skin color and racial identification do become a
>> part of our dialogue;  interestingly often many evaluators have determined
>> this information visually and got it wrong.
>>
>> If you can’t tell when someone is fidgeting, you are not listening.  Often
>> patients believe that I can hear it when they roll their eyes, not due to
>> some extrasensory talent, but listening to silence.
>>
>> This is a perpetual question in interviews, either said or unsaid;  so, it
>> pays to have a ready answer.  One way is simply to bring up the subject
>> and
>> state that this has not been an issue in other situations and that she
>> will
>> be favorably impressed with your assessment talents.  Provide an example
>> if
>> you like, such as noting that she is wearing heals or sandals.  I might
>> add
>> that on rare occasion you might ask a trusted person in reception about a
>> client’s appearance.
>>
>> Like most things, your confidence is what will get you over this bump.
>>
>> JD
>>
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>
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