Advice for building rapport
Hello, my name is Gianna and my colleagues, Emily and Elysse, are second-year graduate students at the University of South Carolina. We are currently taking a course on fluency disorders, however I personally have not yet worked with a PWS. In our course, we discuss that providing support and establishing a trusting relationship with clients who stutter is imperative. Do you have any advice for us that you feel has really helped your approach in establishing a trusting, supportive environment during therapy with a PWS?
Hello Gianna, Emily, and Elysse, glad you’re here! I would say LISTENING with genuine interest is one of the most important qualities that helps us establish rapport. Listening to our client’s needs without preconceived notions, their desires, hopes, dreams, etc. and listening for how stuttering is negatively impacting them in their everyday lives is so important.
Hi Gianna, Emily and Elysse,
I would add to what Ana Paula wrote that empathy is also important for us to build a trusting relationship with our clients. For us clinicians, being able to effectively communicate and understand our clients’ perspectives are crucial for establishing a meaningful therapeutic alliance. After all, empathy includes active listening. It involves our intentional use of non-verbal and verbal behaviors to communicate unconditional positive regard. That means that we are able to present understanding and consistent acceptance of our clients regardless of their behavior. Of course, it’s easier to say, but more challenging to implement in daily practice. However, if we see the person in our client, not just a case or disorder, this will make it easier for us to adopt a truly empathetic attitude.
Take care, Kasia
Hi Gianna, Emily and Elysse!
The potential impact of the PWS-SLP relationship is very much acknowledged both within communities of people who stutter as well as SLPs. As we know, needs and goals may differ between people. How we are connecting with people may vary very much too. Even though we have been aware of the important aspect of the working alliance/theraputic alliance within stuttering therapy for many years (ref. for example Zebrowski and Kelly), we have not included this aspect so much in the clinical evaluation process, as well as in stuttering research.
For me, the working alliance is not only related to the quality of the relation between a PWS and a SLP. The working alliance has its foundation in the following three processes: a) the emotional bond between the PWS and SLP, b) the extent to which the PWS and the SLP agree on the goal of therapy, and c) the extent to which the PWS and SLP consider the therapy elements/tasks as relevant. I am relating this to many different authors within the psychotherapy field, for example Bordin and Wampold within. Here we have to listen to the PWS’s considerations on all the three aspects, and we have to include both informal and formal measures here. I can recomment for example the working alliance inventory, in which you can find and download for free from internet.
Best wishes from Hilda