This is essay is going to be based on the importance of communication within the broader context of health and social care, it will give you a definitive insight to different communication techniques, such as verbal and non-verbal communication. Within this essay I will also discuss how important effective communication can be and the barriers that can restrict the care practitioner from doing his/her job effectively by using communication as the main tool. Furthermore how personal beliefs and values need to be taken in to consideration and the effect it may have on a service user in the light of working professionally.
According to Julia scherba de Valenzuela, Ph.D (1992) communication is "Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may take linguistic or non-linguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes."
In a health and social care setting it is important for the care practitioners to use therapeutic communication skills in the light of working professionally. A therapeutic relationship is more patient focussed, purposeful and time limited where carers come to know a patient as a unique individual that is why it is important for carers to use therapeutic communication.
“Theraputic communication is purposeful form of conversation, serving a point of human contact between the carer and the client allowing them to reach common health related goals.” Jones(1998)
Therapeutic communication is a more formally based communication it is usually taken place in a health or social care enviroment such as a doctors surgery or in a counsellors clinic it is usually a conversation based upon reaching a certain outcome. On the other hand therapeutic communication differs to social communication,