Therapeutic Relationships in Mental Health

•    Self-awareness concepts:
    o    Values clarification
    o    Johari window
    o    Therapeutic use of self to promote client’s growth
    o    Boundaries and limit-setting
•    Therapeutic relationships:
    o    Types, phases, and strategies
    o    Rogerian approach to develop caring therapeutic relationships based on the development of trust with individuals experiencing mental health challenges
•    Trauma informed practices
•    Therapeutic communication skills:
    o    Listening and attending skills
    o    Nonverbal communication and proxemics
    o    S.O.L.E.R.
    o    Empathy, warmth, respect, and genuineness
    o    Caring confrontation and immediacy
•    Client focused problem-solving, interventions, and development of action plans
•    Conflict resolution:
    o    Identifying resistance
    o    Cycle of violence, and how/when to intervene on the continuum of violence
    o    Strategies to manage difficult situations
•    Stress management techniques
•    Risk assessment and interventions
•    Assessment and communication skills for various categories of mental health and substance use disorders
•    Empowerment and misuse of power
    o    Strategies to manage difficult situations: Diffusing, De-escalating, Debriefing
•    Concepts of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)
•    Motivational interviewing skills
•    Application of interviewing and communication skills through structured lab interactions with “clients”