[humanser] Handling Silence in Therapy

[JD Townsend]

YES!

Engagement is not only a verbal exercise.  If a youth doesn't talk I engage 
them in play, depending on the age this might be one of my favorites:  the 
card game War or playing with blocks.  War is an easy game that most kids 
already know, but playing with a blind person with regular cards puts them 
in a position they are not used to & talk often happens.

I will often ask for pictures, then ask the patient to tell me about it, 
asking questions like, "Who lives there" or "Are they happy or sad or angry 
or what?"

Usually I ask what they look like, what's their race, who lives with them, 
or what's their music.  Some kids attempt to talk through their music, 
playing a tune for me in session or telling me about a movie.
And, I frequently ask questions that are dumb, like "Larry, what's your 
first name?"

If a really silent one comes along I might ask their help with something, if 
nothing else, I might ask if they might be willing to lead me to the office 
or lobby.  Anything to elicit their trust;  if I trust them to guide me, 
then they might be willing to trust a little back.  Is that playing the 
"BLIND CARD?"  With some I'll engage them by asking them to read the braille 
code on one of the NFB braille alphabet cards.

A 6-year old patient came in to see the psychiatrist & ran away into my 
office, she grabbed my white cane and declared, "Look!  I'm blind!"  Mom & I 
laughed.


-----Original Message----- 
From: Merry via humanser
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 6:38 AM
To: 'Alyssa Munsell' ; 'Human Services Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [humanser] Handling Silence in Therapy

What a great discussion question!  In session with one particular teen there
is a great deal of silence.  I sit quietly too for a few moments when I
encounter silence with any of my clients.    Usually,  they begin speaking
again, but with this one particular teen she does not.  I then ask her what
she is feeling and then move forward and ask her what her thoughts are if
she does not share her feelings.  These questions may not move us ahead but
after sometime she becomes talkative again.

While in graduate school we discussed this topic and while watching a video
on this topic we saw a therapist working with a teen who was resistant.  She
used a game to engage this teen.

Thank you all who are responding and sharing.  These thoughts and ideas help
me too.

Thanks,
Merry

-----Original Message-----
From: humanser [mailto:humanser-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Alyssa
Munsell via humanser
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2014 7:27 PM
To: humanser at nfbnet.org
Subject: [humanser] Handling Silence in Therapy

Hi everyone!



I hope this message finds you all well. I have a question for those of you
who practice mental health therapy. I've been doing therapy for my final
year internship, and I am noticing that I'm not comfortable when there is a
long period of silence between my clients and I. This is because I'm not
able to see their body language well, and therefore, am having a hard time
assessing whether or not the silence is productive. As you probably already
know, silence can be powerful and necessary in therapy, so I don't want to
diminish it. However, without being able to see non-verbal cues about what's
going on with the person (e.g. they're just thinking or looking at me to say
something), it is hard for me to know what to do. I was wondering what you
all do in those types of situations.



Any feedback would be immensely appreciated.



Thanks so much,



Alyssa

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JD Townsend LCSW
Helping the light dependent to see.
Daytona Beach, Earth, Sol System