Communication Skills

Communication skills within social work requires a good level of knowledge to improve practice, but it is not always easy to communicate with a service users. It is important to think carefully on how to engage in a conversation and think of communication skills which can be related to a case and use as guide. It is also important to bare in mind that people’s illnesses can give a characteristic that, may differ from the personal choices on how they want to be seen by others. In the case of social workers the need to apply their own judgment in practice can be an advantage to service users. Effective communication can promote well-being and choice for the service user. The communication skills which I believe social workers need to work with service users are, using senses and thinking skill. life story work, ‘Butler, 1963’ (K101, Block 2, p. 39). stated that “if, remembering from past experiences develops the individual to become conscious of their thoughts and feelings they might start to develop links between the past and present time, which can allow ideas into our minds on how to come to terms with future experiences life might bring,”

This also enhances the likeliness to encourage the individual to speak out, and that perhaps enables an individual to feel they have a voice and it is being heard. Practitioners can also benefit from life story work as it may sometimes help to strengthen the relationship with the service user. The practitioner might find clues on out how someone sees themselves, whether being a healthy sense of identity or a poor one.

Good communication are needed to enable life story work to inform practice. Department of Health (2003a). However this is a process which needs a careful listener. I believe that by developing empathy at this stage is most crucial. Egan describes this process as “having the ability to enter into and understand the world of another person and to communicate this understanding to him or