“Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.”- Larry King

 To assume that a social worker can empower someone else is naïve and condescending and has little basis in reality! Client variables: unrealistic expectations, poor motivation, unconscious self-sabotage, destructive personality, poor insight – Social worker variables mental attitudes, moods.

Listening: is the corner stone of counseling and is essential to understanding to relationships and development.

Key points to overcome listening: being patient, encouraging trust, controlling noise, staying focused, controlling assumptions, managing personal reactions, knowing that listening does not mean agreeing

Key points for active listening: being silent, summarizing, paraphrasing, questions and empathizing, word choice, voice tone, posture, verbal hesitations, attending/being yourself.

Reading this entry I am sure I attended some lecture/seminar. Sadly I didn’t write down the name of it or the presenter. I have gotten much better at doing so over the years, as the world is about networking. I also believe these tips do not just apply to clinical social workers, but are tools we can all use in our daily life.