Individual
On an individual level in the social service context, the psychologist influences their clients’ wellbeing directly through individual intervention and indirectly through advocacy. Change in clients is inducted through motivational interviewing, psychoeducation, psychotherapy and positive behavioural support, as well as the quality of the therapeutic relationship built. As an advocate for persons with disabilities and vulnerable individuals, the psychologist promotes balancing the rights of their clients and that of the general community, social inclusion and ultimately empowers their clients to lead independent and meaningful lives in the community. Individual advocacy takes place through everyday practice or through pursuing more formal advocacy opportunities and communication channels.
Here are some ideas and resources:
BOOKS
Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2012). Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change. | Source: Motivational interviewing: Helping people change. Guilford Press.
https://www.guilford.com/books/Motivational-Interviewing/Miller-Rollnick/9781609182274
The book describes the four processes of MI - engaging, focusing, evoking, and planning. Vivid demonstrations of how the processes are like in action are provided. Vignettes and interview examples illustrate the "dos and don'ts" of successful implementation in diverse contexts.
Lafrance, A., Henderson, K. A., & Mayman, S. (2020). Emotion-Focused Family Therapy: A Transdiagnostic Model for Caregiver-Focused Interventions | Source:. American Psychological Association.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-73162-000
This book provides an introduction to emotion focused family therapy and teaches caregivers on how to use the EFFT approach to support their loved ones through emotion and behavior coaching. Therapists will also learn collaborative strategies for strengthening healing bonds between caregivers and their loved ones. Case examples are provided as a guide.
Linehan, M. (2014). DBT Skills Training Manual | Source: Guilford Publications.
The book provides vital tools for implementing DBT skills training. It includes reproducible teaching notes, handouts, and worksheets. Complete instructions are provided, for ways to orient clients to DBT. Teaching notes are available for the full range of mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance skills.
Rosenberg, M. B., & Chopra, D. (2015). Nonviolent Communication – A Language of Life: Life-changing tools for healthy relationships. | Source: PuddleDancer Press.
This book discusses what violent communication is, as well as what nonviolent communication is. It describes the four components of nonviolent communication, consciousness, language, communication and means of influence. It illustrates how nonviolent communication can serve our desire to do three things: increase our ability to live with choice, meaning and connection; connect empathically with self and others to have more satisfying relationships; sharing of resources so everyone can benefit.
VIDEOS
Using Motivational Interviewing Approaches| Source: Using Motivational Interviewing Approaches. (2015, August 24).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQzrx7JmUkM
This video demonstrates the four processes of Motivational Interviewing with clear labels on when each process is being used.
DEAR MAN DBT Skill – The Most Effective Way to Make a Request| Source: Sunrise Residential Treatment Center. (2018, July 31).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el_O72aTZzE
This video describes the steps involved in DEAR MAN, an interpersonal effectiveness tool to help people learn to make requests effectively.
Assertive Communication: DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills| Source: Self-Help Toons. (2021, March 15).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ33fPD7ntA
This video explains the differences in types of communication (e.g. passive communication, aggressive communication), and how to adopt the DEAR MAN interpersonal effectiveness tool.
NonViolent Communication by Marshal Rosenberg : Animated Book Summary| Source: BigIdeasGrowingMinds. (2019, October 10).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sjA90hvnQ0
This video gives a brief description of what is non-violent communication and simple tips on how to apply them in our communication with others.
Non-violent communication: how to get your point across by Sylwia Wlodarska| Source: TEDx Talks. (2017, June 27).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCbxAMgfkkM
This video talks briefly about what is non-violent communication and gives some simple examples of how to apply the use of non violent communication in our daily lives.
OTHER RESOURCES
Passmore, J. (2011). Motivational Interviewing: A model for coaching psychology practice. | Source: The Coaching Psychologist, 7(1), 35-39.
This article presents a brief overview of Motivational Interviewing (MI). MI draws heavily on the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change and a short description is provided on the model and the relationship between the different stages. A key concept would be on tailoring the interventions to meet the client’s stage of change.
Miller, W. R., & Moyers, T. B. (2006). Eight stages in learning motivational interviewing. | Source: Journal of Teaching in the Addictions, 5(1), 3-17.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J188v05n01_02
This article looks at the 8 different logical steps on learning and applying Motivational Interviewing (MI). It asserts that each skill is a pre-requisite for the next and hence can be used to structure the course of training for MI for new psychologists.
Therapist Aid. (2015). Interpersonal effectiveness skills. |Source: Therapist Aid website
https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/dbt-interpersonal-effectiveness-skills.pdf
The handout describes the following DBT interpersonal effectiveness skills: DEAR MAN, GIVE and FAST. It provides a succinct summary and brief explanations of the steps involved in each interpersonal effectiveness tool.
Gibbs, R. (2003). Couples in Conflict: Ending the “He Said/She Said” Game. Nonviolent Communication | Source: Nonviolent Communication website https://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/intimate_relationships_rgibbs.pdf
The handout describes and demonstrates each of the steps needed to effectively communicate one's needs, feelings and requests to others.
Museux, A. C., Dumont, S., Careau, E., & Milot, É. (2016). Improving interprofessional collaboration: The effect of training in nonviolent communication. | Source: Social work in health care, 55(6), 427-439.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00981389.2016.1164270
This article explores how Non Violent Communication (NVC) training would affect the collaborative competencies of people using an experiential learning approach to work on learning the foundations of NVC. NVC looks at four basic skills and is based on two essential notions (Intention to create a relationship of openness and goodwill and attention which is essential to identifying the feelings and needs). The NVC model is a simple way to help people develop a common language in order to foster openness, empathy and trust in inter-professional relationships.
Hatcher, R. L. (2015). Interpersonal competencies: Responsiveness, technique, and training in psychotherapy. | Source: American Psychologist, 70(8), 747.
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/a0039803
Interpersonal skills are essential for a practicing psychologist in order to build up successful interactions with clients and their families. This articles delves into the concept of appropriate responsiveness, where the therapist demonstrates the ability to adjust responses based on the current state of the client and their interactions. Discussions on how to develop these techniques and skill sets via training are also touched upon.
Stenfert Kroese, B., & Smith, N. (2018). How do psychologists experience working with staff in residential care settings for people with an intellectual disability? | Source: International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 64(3), 144–157.
This article describe the experiences of psychologist working in residential care home. It proposes a preliminary model that describe the skillsets needed for the psychologists to be effective in engaging the staff and at the same time manage their work and generate clinical solutions to psychological problems.
Talapatra, D., Miller, G. E., & Schumacher-Martinez, R. (2019). Improving family-school collaboration in transition services for students with intellectual disabilities: a framework for school psychologists| Source: Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 29(3), 314-336.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10474412.2018.1495083
The article illustrated the Transition Planning, Implementation and Evaluation (TPIE) framework to guide school psychologists in taking on a proactive role to support clients and their families as clients transit into adulthood after graduating from school. According to TPIE, the main role of psychologists during the transition planning phase is to serve as a collaborative role to build relationships among team members and with family members. In the implementation phase, psychologists could design interventions which are meaningful, incorporate interventions into client’s daily routines and provide feedback to clients about their performance. Lastly, in the evaluation phase, psychologists are involved in evaluating the programme and coaching clients and their families to sustain skills learned through practice and establishing relationships local services.