Exam 7: Eliminating Counterproductive Communication Patterns and Substituting Positive Alternatives

Describe how cultural nuances of nonverbal cues turn out to be a barrier to effective communication for social workers.

A client is likely to discredit the message communicated by the social worker if:

Andrew loses his job because he came to work while he was under the influence of alcohol. He approaches Ron, a social worker, for a counseling session. After a brief conversation with Andrew, Ron says, "It is clear to me that you are in denial about what alcohol is doing to you." This scenario indicates that Ron is:

Describe how stacking questions is a common verbal barrier to communication faced by beginning social workers.

Assuming a position of superiority and quickly providing solutions for problems without encouraging clients to think through the possible courses of action:

Inappropriate use of humor or sarcasm is described as a potential barrier to communication. Illustrate this with an example. Also, describe how humor is an aid to communication if done appropriately.

To minimize the pattern of interrupting inappropriately or excessively during a conversation with a client, a social worker should:

Discuss how judging, trying to convince, threatening, and making glib assessments are likely to occur with "captive clients" who cannot readily or safely decline services.

Linda, a social worker, communicates with Kate, a child in foster care. Linda asks Kate, "How are you feeling here? Do you feel comfortable? Do you want to stay?" In this scenario, Linda is:

Mr. Gordon, who is suffering from depression, approaches a social worker to seek counseling. While Mr. Gordon speaks about his traumatic childhood experiences, the social worker squirms in her chair and continuously fidgets with her hands. This behavior of the social worker conveys:

In which of the following situations is "safe" social interaction advisable to be included as part of the helping process?

Members of some native American tribes regard eye-to-eye contact as a(n):

When a client responds "Yes, but I've already tried that" with little enthusiasm demonstrated for actually doing so, the response serves as a feedback clue that the social worker has slipped into the habit of:

Pursuing content that is only tangentially related to client concerns, issues of client and family safety, or legal mandates:

Usage of social work jargon, such as fixation, resistance, reinforcement, repression, passivity, and neuroticism, by a social worker to describe the behavior of clients in their presence is: