Communication Skills in Social Work and Human Services

Running head: Communication Skills in Social Work and Human Services
Communication Skills in Social Work and Human Services
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

Communication Skills in Social Work and Human Services1
Task 1
Scenario 1
Tom is a 16 year old male who has threatened his teacher and trashed her classroom
in retaliation to him being caught performing a sexual offense with a minor 13 year old male
student. Therefore, it is vital that he is dealt with extreme care. Due to the fact that he is in
distress, the first step would be to manage his stress by offering him water and asking him to
calm down. After stress management, the second step would be to assure him of the
confidentiality of the entire conversation between the two of us and that it would be
beneficial for him in addressing the current situation. Then I would begin the session by
asking questions which could help him open up about himself and his past so that the source
of the trauma could be identified. Active listening should be employed here in order to
understand Tom’s concerns about his trauma, as earlier identified. This would help him build
trust as well. The use of non-judgemental language should be kept in mind. Instead of using
words like ‘good’, ’bad’, ’right’ or ‘wrong’ to answer, non-judgemental words like
‘interesting’ should be used and then followed up with the relevant observation. This way the
subject will feel heard and therefore trust the counsellor. It is necessary that my manner of
speaking should be empathetic. The session should be based around the key principles of
trauma care which are safety, transparency and trustworthiness, choice, collaboration and
mutuality, and empowerment.
Scenario 2
After a couple of sessions with Tom, the trust between us will grow stronger and
therefore he will be more prone to follow my directions. After getting to know the current
state of his mind, I would ask him to consult services which provide aid to teens who are
specifically distressed from childhood trauma. This would be my obligation as his counsellor

Communication Skills in Social Work and Human Services2
to give him the best possible treatment opportunities possible. If the level of depression Tom
is suffering from escalated, it would only be wise if I could consult him to better services.
This would include situations where he might need medication or special anger management
or trauma management courses in order to deal with this issue. The best process of keeping
an update on Tom would be to conduct regular sessions with him t school which could be
once a week and keeping a personal contact with his other care providers. It would be helpful
for all care givers of Tom to maintain a file with his data which could be discussed among
each other in order to come up with the best care plan for Tom. The services which could be
offered to Tom would be
1) Headspace
2) MindMatters
3) SANE
4) Youth Beyond Blue

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Task 2
Reflection
A situation where difficult choices are to be made amongst two action courses, where either
of one entails a transgressing principle associated with morality is known as ethical behavior
(Wittmer, 2019.) The ethical approaches to consider that has been found by from the case
study are as follows:
 Recognizing the moral issue.
 Begin with making decision wisely.
 Evaluate the actions that are alternative from different viewpoints and perspective.
 Make a decision.
 Consider the taken action in retrospect.
The strategies that are to be made for implementing a change in behavior are:
 Tracking the progress: This is useful in all of the strategies that are associated with
change. The tracking of progress for changing problematic behavior includes
keeping a record for progress towards the specific behavior that needs to be
changed.
 Committing: This is another strategy that is again useful in changing of behaviors.
This includes commitment towards being aware about the new alternatives that
are required for developing a positive change. The actions need to be concreted
according to those above options. The commitment cam increase by making a
promise that every day more effort and commitment will be made for changing
the behaviors and others shall help too.

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 Raising Awareness: Prior employment about preparation, action and
contemplation. The strategy of self-awareness includes being more aware about
the cause and its consequences associated with the problematic behaviors.
Learning of options is an additional help for resolving the behaviors. Awareness
can be raised through many ways like seeking information that is factual about the
problem and taking adequate measures accordingly.
 Arousing emotions: when the actions are mobilized in utilizing the preparation,
action and contemplation, the awareness about emotions also increase and
effective actions tend to happen at this point. Various ways for increasing the
emotional arousal that includes exposing oneself in front of the other with similar
challenges and encounters the trigger.
 Helping relationships: This is again something useful for all the stages. The
people who suffer from toxic behaviors need special care and understanding. They
tend to have triggers that need to be tackled carefully with patience, a solid system
of support is required that do no judges them for their behaviors and see-through
things that the person in not able to see at the moment.
 Rewarding: In this type of cases, rewarding goes a long way. The maintanceof
actions is a long procedures that happens with time where both the one helping
and the one in need of help gets engaged. The practice of reward will not only
help them boot their energy and hard work but also give them an opportunity to
progress more (Sallis, Owen and Fisher, 2015.)
The duty of care that is required for this case is the liability of the persona and see how much
they are willing to change. Nothing cannot be done if the person himself or

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herself does not want to change. Thus, the activity of duty of care must include all the
effective measures that are requir3ed for effectively taking care of the person suffering from
problem.
Major Project Assessment Part 1
This handbook is mean to guide you through your period of observation at the centre and
help you understand the different aspects of the client/community worker relationship as well
as trauma informed client care. This handbook will specifically guide you through the process
from the beginning till the end.
1. Preparing and gathering information before a new client arrives for
appointment.
The first crucial step is to understand your client well. Prior to meeting the client, ensure that
you have a file ready with the client’s necessary registration information provided in detail.
Make sure that you understand the theoretical background of the case quite well before
dealing with the client.
2. How to build initial rapport and make client feel comfortable
Building the initial rapport with your client is the golden key to unlocking a harmonious
relationship between yourselves which is a significant requirement in counselling relationship
(Culley & Bond 2011). About 40% of the change noticed in clients can be attributed to the
quality of relationship between a client and a counsellor (McLeod & McLeod 2011). Always
start by asking about their day, commute to the centre and casual things first. Provide
attention to your active listening skills, listen to your client well and listen with empathy
(Pearson 2012). Do not use judgemental tone and try to identify them as a friend in need
rather than a client. Respond to their statements by rephrasing what they are stating, it helps