Explain How Communication Skills Are Applied In Health And Social Care

COMUNICATION IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

OANA ALEXANDRA NITICA
COMMUNICATION IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
OANA ALEXANDRA NITICA
AUGUST 12, 2013
LO1 BE ABLE TO EXPLORE HOW COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE USED IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

psychology * Is the study of human behavior, thought processes and emotions. * It can contribute to our understanding of ourselves and our relationship to other people.

THERE ARE FOUR APPROACHES THAT PSYCHOLOGY USE MOST OFTEN

* THE BEHAVIORAL approach looks at observed behavior * THE COGNITIVE approach listens to the client * THE HUMANISTIC approach listens to the client and gives the client choices * THE PSYCHODYNAMIC approach interprets what the person says and does

* Humanistic
approach start from the assumption that every person has their own unique way of perceiving and understanding the world. * Using the humanistic approach as care workers our priority is understanding people based on individual personal impression, feelings and opinions. * We have to look at the service user behavior not only through our eyes as through the eyes of him/her. * To be able to help the service users using this approach we have to develop empathy. Unlike sympathy, where we feel sorry for someone, empathy require us to really listen to the other person, be in tune with their emotions and respect who they are. * Using humanistic approach we need to show unconditional positive regards and this means that we must accept all that the person thinks, fells without making judgments. This is the unconditional part. * We also must show a totally positive attitude and respect for the service user. * Some of the strengths of this approach include the focus on both positive nature of humankind and the free will associated with change. The humanistic approach can be applied to many situations in all care settings. * Adopt unconditional regard , empathy and a humanistic undertone in the work with service users. Sometimes a friendly tone is the main key in a case as most of the clients are seeking affection. * As a care worker when you choose to treat your client using the humanistic approach you must concentrate on the person rather than the problem, your therapy should provide ‘unconditional positive regard’ which entails being accepting and non-judgmental, that will give the person you are working with confidence to talk about their problems openly. * However, with the good always comes the bad, there are those who believe humanistic theory falls short in its ability to help people with sever personality or mental health issues. * It is complicated to innovate techniques for treatment and ways to measure the efficacy of these techniques. * The results are difficult or impossible to measure.

Example of case

Amy is 40 years old lady, she has abused a number of drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana since she was 18. 5 years ago she decided to take treatment and she has remained substance free. She got married to John. Last month she became symptomatic with AIDS. She has been HIV-positive for 5 years but had not developed any illnesses. Recently, she began to feel bad which led her into treatment. Amy is worried about her marriage and that her husband will be devastated by the news, she is afraid that is no longer strong enough to stay away from drugs. Uncertain of how she will keep on living, she is also terrified of dying. How would I, as a care worked helped Amy using the humanistic approach? Working as a care assistant for Amy, I would engage in reflective listening, accepting the client and her past, and clarifying her current situation and feelings. As she developed trust in me, I would begin to emphasize her potential to make choices to become the person she wants to (and can) become. If Amy began to feel guilt about her past , maybe I would demonstrate appreciation of her effort to accept that aspect of herself, showing the fact that she did eventually choose to leave it. I would be supported, I wont criticize her. I would encourage her to express her fear of death and the effect this fear has on her. By being understood and accepted, her self-esteem and sense of hope would increase and her shame would decrease.

FORM OF COMMUNICATION
Care workers use different forms of communication during their working day (or night). These include the verbal communication skills of talking and listening, and various forms of non-verbal communication, such as touch, eye contact and facial expression. A care worker has to use these forms of communication when they: * give or receive information about the care that is being provided for an individual * provide emotional support to a individual or member of their family * carry out an assessment of an individual’s care needs. * VERBAL COMMUNICATION is an important method of communication between workers and service users across the sectors. People talk to each other and have conversations regularly, receiving and giving information quickly and effectively. Care workers need a range of verbal communication skills to respond to questions, find out about an individual’s problems or needs, contribute to team meetings, break bad news, provide support to others, deal with problems and complaints. * NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION refers to the messages that we send without using words. We send these messages using our eyes, the tone of our voice, our facial expression, our hands and arms all this are known as body language. * WRITTEN COMMUNICATION services users’ records or notes, statements about policy and procedure, official letters and memos, and e-mails between the staff of care organization , are all examples of written communication in care settings. In all the sectors, accuracy of the written word is extremely important. If errors or mistakes occur when keeping formal records, a person using the service could have the wrong treatment or be given incorrect information, with disastrous results. * USING TECHNOLOGY computers can be used for networking between one organization and another * ADVOCATES sometimes when people have a very serious learning disability or illness (such as dementia) it is not possible to communicate with them.
In such situations, care services will often employ/ call an advocate. An advocate could be a family member or someone from a statutory or voluntary organization. * Effective communication in care settings helps both care workers and people who use care services to form good relationships and to work well together. People communicate most effectively when they: feel relaxed, focused, removed distractions, have an opened posture showing concentration are able to empathize with the other person. Effective communication also requires the care worker to develop and use a range of skills, abilities and communication techniques.

If there are problems identified with communication there are a range of service which can be accessed. Never presume that you or anyone else can be heard, understood and responded to, without first thinking about the person involved. Check first to ensure you are supporting someone to communicate as effectively as possible. It may be necessary to access additional support or services to help make communication better or
clearer. WAYS TO COMMUNICATE TO SERVICE USERS WITH SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION NEEDS There is a whole range of communication aids and initiatives designed to facilitate communication with people who have difficulties, some of them are: INTERPRETERS are employed as required to translate for people who do not speak English

SIGN LANGUAGE –BSL BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE The British Deaf Association explains that BSL is the first or preferred language of many Deaf people in the United Kindom.
PICTURES ,SIGNS and SYMBOLS gestures made with hands or arms, written symbols or diagrams all communicate messages to people.
BRAILLE (a system of raised marks that can be felt with the fingers) provides a means of written communication, based on the sense of touch, for people who have limited vision. Modern computer software can translate written material into Braille, which can be printed out using special printers. Further details of Braille can be found at www.brailleplus.net
MAKATON is a system for developing language that uses speech ,Signs and symbols to help people with learning difficulties to communicate and to develop their language skills. People who communicate using Makaton may speak a word and perform a sign using hands and body language. There is a large range of symbols to help people with learning difficulties to recognize an idea or to communicate with others. Further information can be found at www.makaton.org

* A key value in the health and social care field is confidentiality. ‘Confidentiality’ refers to the appropriate protection of personal and private details about service users’ situation or
condition. * Confidentiality is not only about keeping information secret . It is about sharing, transmitting and storing information concerning a service user, in ways that are appropriate to the care needs of the person. This allows for ‘confidential’ information to be shared between those care team members who need to know about it and who use it. WAYS TO MENTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY * Safe storage of information * The use of passwords for computer logon * Only giving information on a need-to-know basis * Non passing on information without the relevant permission * Only use the information for the intended and agreed purpose
References :

* www.collinseducation.com/.../btechscunit1.pdf‎ http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_HumanisticBasics.pdf 01/08/2013 10:32 pm * Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 1999. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 34.)Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64947/ 01/08/2013 * http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/humanistic_research.html 04/08/2013 * http://www.qcf-healthandsocialcare-answers.com/category/qcf-unit-1shc-21-introduction-to-communication-in-health-social-care-and-children-and-young-people%E2%80%99s-settings 04/08/2013 * VAL MICHIE, CAROLINE MORRIS, LAYLA BAKER and FIONA COLLIER (2011) “ HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE DIPLOMA- LEVEL 3” HODDER EDUCATION * YVONNE NOLAN (1998) “CARE S/NVQ LEVEL 2” HEINEMANN * MARK WALSH, PAUL STEPHENS, RICHARD CHALONER (2005) “ HEALTH&SOCIAL CARE AS” COLLINS * VAL MICHIE, CAROLINE MORRIS, LAYLA BAKER, FIONA COLLIER and TINA MARSHALL (2011) “HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE DIPLOMA- LEVEL 2” HODDER EDUCATION * BERYL STRETCH, MARY WHITEHOUSE (2010) “ HEALTH &SOCIAL CARE BOOK 1 LEVEL 3” PERSON EDUCATION LIMITED