Posted by gardenergirl on December 1, 2004, at 10:59:49
In reply to I won't waste your time justifying myself.. » Gabbix2, posted by 64bowtie on December 1, 2004, at 3:12:12
Rod,
I wanted to reiterate what Gabbi said above, and what I know I've said to you before. There is a difference between providing information and being supportive. My supervisor tells me that one of the things that new therapists or trainees can trip up on is mixing those two up or using information when empathy is warranted.A study he refers to often (naturally it is his own, :) of course), shows that using empathy early on is critical to the outcome. Once the working alliance is established via empathy, THEN gathering and providing information is most effective.
In addition, unsolicited information can often fall on deaf ears. You know that old saying, "you can lead a horse to water"...but they ain't gonna drink if they ain't thirsty for water.
You've asked for feedback before. I'd like feedback now on my message. How is it received by you? I often can't tell this from your replies, both privately and on the forums. For some reason, I can't make the leaps with you between messages. Can you help bridge the gap, please?
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:420606
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/relate/20041118/msgs/422814.html