Interpersonal Skills
PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Introduction
The interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that an occupational therapist should possess are vital to the outcome of a successful therapist-client therapeutic relationship. The occupational therapist must have an excellent communication skills in order to effectively relate to the client, collect sufficient information from the client and consequently deliver high-quality healthcare.
The field of Occupational Therapy is the health professional discipline I have chosen to undertake in this assignment. This essay aims to discuss the specific communication and interpersonal relationship features that characterise occupational therapy and the particular intra-personal qualities that practitioners would need to work successfully in this practice. The specific communication skills that would be essential in such situations will also be discussed. The degree to which I possess these qualities will be reflected and determine what I could improve and develop.
Communication and interpersonal relationship features
Therapists must have the ability to communicate happily and productively with the client and use communication skills such as listening, problem solving, teaching, and counselling (Craven & Hirnle, 2003).
The ability to listen and to be attentive to the client is highly beneficial to the occupational therapist. The therapist is able to obtain information for written reports and also conveys to the client that the therapist is interested in them. As well as listening to the verbal cues given by the client, the therapist must also pay attention to the non-verbal cues. The correct recipe is to fully attend, listen and then respond (Rungapadiachy, 1999).
Therapists solve problems by interacting and working with the client, their family members, and other healthcare team members. Occupational therapists take everyday activities that people are having difficulty performing, for whatever reason, physical, emotional or
Introduction
The interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that an occupational therapist should possess are vital to the outcome of a successful therapist-client therapeutic relationship. The occupational therapist must have an excellent communication skills in order to effectively relate to the client, collect sufficient information from the client and consequently deliver high-quality healthcare.
The field of Occupational Therapy is the health professional discipline I have chosen to undertake in this assignment. This essay aims to discuss the specific communication and interpersonal relationship features that characterise occupational therapy and the particular intra-personal qualities that practitioners would need to work successfully in this practice. The specific communication skills that would be essential in such situations will also be discussed. The degree to which I possess these qualities will be reflected and determine what I could improve and develop.
Communication and interpersonal relationship features
Therapists must have the ability to communicate happily and productively with the client and use communication skills such as listening, problem solving, teaching, and counselling (Craven & Hirnle, 2003).
The ability to listen and to be attentive to the client is highly beneficial to the occupational therapist. The therapist is able to obtain information for written reports and also conveys to the client that the therapist is interested in them. As well as listening to the verbal cues given by the client, the therapist must also pay attention to the non-verbal cues. The correct recipe is to fully attend, listen and then respond (Rungapadiachy, 1999).
Therapists solve problems by interacting and working with the client, their family members, and other healthcare team members. Occupational therapists take everyday activities that people are having difficulty performing, for whatever reason, physical, emotional or
References: Auckland University of Technology (2005). Interpersonal skills for health professional practice Balzer-Riley, J. W. (2004). Communication in Nursing (5th ed.). St Louis: Mosby. College of Nurses of Ontario (2004). Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship. Retrieved April 8, 2005, from http://www.cno.org/docs/prac/41033_Therapautic.pdf. Craven, R Josephine, E., & Thoreau, M. (2002). Communication Plus: a spiral for success. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand Limited. Labovitz, D. (2003). Ordinary miracles: true stories about overcoming obstacles and surviving catastrophes. New Jersey: SLACK Incorporated. Mckay, M., & Fanning, P. (2000). Self-Esteem (3rd ed.). California: New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Reeve, J. (1996). Motivating others : nurturing inner motivational resources. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Rungapadiachy, D. M. (1999). Interpersonal communication and psychology for health care professionals : Theory and practice. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.