Communication Skills Necessary to Improve the Therapist-Client Relationship

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Recommended: Client centered therapy formulation

People talk at a rate of 125–175 words per minute yet can listen to 450 (Carver, Johnson, & Friedman, 1971). Since a person speaks slower than what the brain can manage, the mind drifts off to thinking of other things rather than listening to the message at hand and communication can be lost. This barrier to effective listening causes one to miss or misconceive what the other is saying (Janusik & Wolvin, 2009). It is imperative as a psychologist to actively listen, ask questions, seek clarification and check for understanding of what others are saying for effective communication to occur. The interpersonal relationship between a psychologist and their client should focus on that person’s growth and change in their personal and professional development as well as social adjustment. It is the responsibility of the psychologist to contribute to these areas and problem solve with their client to assist them to meet these needs (Bordin, 1981).
Maslow (1943) describes people as being driven to achieve certain needs and once demand is met they seek to pursue the next, however Rogers (1951) took a softer side by suggesting a humanistic approach. Crucial core conditions of helping were emphasized to include empathy, warmth and genuineness. This aimed at supporting people in becoming who and what they aspire to be. Clearly Rogers described principles rather than stages, it is undoubtedly Egan’s (1998) skilled helper model that encompasses all of these, and is vital in a psychologist’s treatment of their client to facilitate a productive outcome. The helping process has two main objectives; to help the client manage their problems more effectively while developing untried or untapped opportunities more adequately, and becoming more efficien...

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...ing up problem solving. Journal of Memory and Cognition, 39(5), 902-913. doi:10.3758/s13421-010-0068-6
Payne, S. L. (1951). The art of asking questions. Oxford, England: Princeton U. Press.
Pollastri, A. R., Epstein, L. D., Heath, G. H., & Ablon, J. S. (2013). The collaborative problem solving approach: Outcomes across settings. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 21(4), 188-199.
Reder, L. M., & Ritter, F. E. (1992). What determines initial feeling of knowing? Familiarity with question terms, not with the answer. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, And Cognition, 18(3), 435-451. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.18.3.435
Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. London: Constable.
Schwartz, N. (1999). Self-reports: How the questions shape the answers. American Psychologist, 54(2), 93-195. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.54.2.93

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