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Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation
Applied Therapeutic Communication Skills
Course: BHS165

First Term: 2020 Fall
 Lecture   3.0 Credit(s)   3.0 Period(s)   3.0 Load  
Subject Type: Occupational
Load Formula: S - Standard Load


Description: Theory and practice of communication skills to establish and maintain effective helping relationships and enhance the therapeutic alliance. Emphasis on verbal communication, nonverbal communication, paraverbal communication, rapport building, empathetic and active listening skills, resolving interpersonal conflicts, appropriate feedback, and developing and maintaining personal and professional relationships.



MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Describe principles of interpersonal communication in the helping professions. (I, II)
2. Describe modes of non-verbal communications and their implications. (I)
3. Describe nuances of paraverbal and verbal communications and their implications. (I)
4. Demonstrate the ability to use effective listening skills. (II)
5. Demonstrate the ability to observe and express emotions effectively and responsibly in a variety of situations. (II)
6. Identify and explain the purpose, elements, risks, and impact of self-disclosure. (II)
7. Demonstrate proficiency with the following interpersonal communication skills: questioning, confronting, and self-disclosure. (II)
8. Describe the therapeutic alliance process and the stages of progression. (III)
9. Demonstrate necessary communication skills for establishing rapport and maintaining a helping relationship. (III)
10. Describe and apply techniques to deal with resistant clients. (IV)
11. Describe elements of communication involved in family relationship development, maintenance, and repair. (V)
12. Describe and demonstrate effective conflict management and problem solving strategies in a variety of interpersonal communication situations. (VI)
13. Demonstrate the ability to provide appropriate feedback. (VII)
14. Demonstrate the ability to receive and act upon feedback from peers. (VII)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.
 
MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Survey of principles of interpersonal communication
   A. Verbal
      1. Source receiver
      2. Encoding-decoding
      3. Messages
      4. Feedback
      5. Channels
      6. Noise
      7. Context
   B. Nonverbal
      1. Proxemics
      2. Kinesics
      3. Haptics
   C. Paraverbal
      1. Language
      2. Tone
      3. Volume
      4. Cadence
II. Principles of interpersonal communication in the helping professions
   A. Active listening
      1. Listening
      2. Leading
      3. Reflecting
   B. Empathetic listening
      1. Listening
      2. Reflecting listening
      3. Empathetic responding
   C. Questioning
   D. Confronting
      1. Developing discrepancies
      2. Avoiding argumentation
   E. Self-disclosure
      1. Intentional client-centered self-disclosure
      2. Judicious sharing
III. Therapeutic alliance
   A. Relational matrix
   B. Creating safety
   C. Building trust
   D. Tentativeness
   E. Building collaboration: "We-ness"
   F. Stages in negotiation withdrawal ruptures
      1. Withdrawal marker
      2. Qualified assertion
      3. Self-assertion
   G. Stages in confrontation ruptures
      1. Confrontation maker
      2. Dis-embedding
      3. Exploration
      4. Processing vulnerability
   H. Meta communications
      1. Mindfulness in communication
      2. Focus of awareness in process
      3. Here-and-now of therapeutic relationships
      4. Experiential awareness
   I. Content vs process
   J. Gauging client
      1. Levels of relatedness
      2. Levels of connection vs disconnection
      3. Experiencing pathways vs avoidance pathways
      4. Avoidance of aggression
      5. Avoidance of vulnerability
IV. Communication to overcoming resiliency
   A. Rolling with resistance
   B. Avoid strong-arming
   C. Cultivating assurance
   D. Prescribing the resistance
   E. Humoring the resistance
   F. Denying treatment: Motivate now and later
V. Communication in familial relationships
   A. Resolving interpersonal conflict
   B. Intimacy and distance in relationships
   C. Destructive communication patterns
      1. Criticism
      2. Defensiveness
      3. Contempt
      4. Stonewalling
   D. Antidotes to destructive communication patterns
      1. Gentle startup: Complaints
      2. Culture of appreciation
      3. Accept responsibility
      4. Physiological self-soothing
      5. Responding to "Bids" for attention or support
   E. Communication for repairing ruptured bonds
VI. Conflict resolution
   A. Types of conflict
      1. Intrapersonal
      2. Interpersonal
   B. Escalation and de-escalation
   C. Conflict resolution
      1. Collaborative process
      2. Surface vs underlying issues
      3. Positions and interest
      4. Problem solving
VII. Feedback
   A. Giving feedback
   B. Receiving feedback
   C. Transference and counter-transference
   D. Supervision
 
MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date: February 25, 2020

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.