BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION AND
BASIC COUNSELLING SKILLS
DT DOBIE REFRESHER TRAINING FOR WELLNESS
CHAMPIONS
24TH APRIL 2014
By: Sylvia Y. Luchemo
Training Consultant
Outline
Introduction
Definitions
Effective Communication in BCC (7Cs)
Wheel of Change (Stages of Change in BCC)
Basic counselling Skills
Introduction
IS HE IEC, BCC, OR SBC?
Definitions
Behaviour: Is an observable action
It is what you choose to do or not to do
Behaviour Change: Movement from undesirable (risky) behavior to desirable (non-risky) behavior
Behaviour Change Communication: A process that involves a community engaging in a dialogues to honestly reflect on their attitudes, beliefs and practices with an aim of coming up with solutions to address their social and health concerns
7Cs of Effective Communication in BCC
Command attention
Create trust
Cater for both head and heart
Clarify message
Communicate benefits
Consistency counts
Call for action
STAGES (WHEEL) OF CHANGE IN BCC
“Stages of Change” model, by Prochaska and DiClemente
APPROPRIATE INTEVENTIONS IN EACH STAGE OF CHANGE
Pre-contemplation: Encourage self-awareness, personalize risk
Contemplation: Encourage analysis of the “pros and cons” of changing behavior; identify and promote new goals
Preparation: Encourage the first small steps, identify social support
Action: Bolster self-efficacy, deal with feelings of loss, reinforce gains and benefits
Maintenance: Plan follow-up support, reinforce internal rewards
BASIC COUNSELLING SKILLS
COUNSELLING: Is a technique/ skill concerned with helping people to help themselves by the development of a special relationship, which leads the client into a greater depth of self understanding.
PEER COUNSELING: A process where a peer empowers fellow peers to gain new awareness of themselves through offering them support and counteracting challenge.A peer counselor uses these skills to help peers get a better understanding of their problems and find ways of dealing/ coping with them which in turn helps them adjust socially and become more self aware.
Peer Counseling offers/ provides: Caring support to the peers Basic skills in supporting other peers A bridge between the troubled peers and friends Support during bereavement
Counselling Components
Is characterized by three components also known as the
core conditions of counseling. These are:
1. Empathy: ability of the peer counselor to walk with the client through their experiences and communicate this kind of feeling.
2. Respect/ Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): to mean communicating genuine care for the other person without judging.
3. Congruence/ Genuineness: this is the individual’s inner feelings versus the outer display. A congruent person is real and genuine while an incongruent person puts a mask. Self awareness is therefore very important.
BASIC COUNSELING SKILLS
1. Attending skills
S – sit squarely
O – open posture
L – lean forward (but not bending)
E – eye contact (but not staring)
R – relax
Counseling skills contd.
2. Active listening
Be focused and avoid interruptions
Do not be judgmental
Do not be passive or indifferent
Understand what the client says
3. Questioning (open & closed ended questions appropriately)
4. Probing
5. Paraphrasing
Counseling skills contd.
6. Reflective skills (active skills of empathy)
7. Minimal prompts (nodding head, use of “mm mm”
8. Clarification (checking out your understanding after listening).
9. Focusing: past to present; facts to feelings;
10. Summarizing (also linked to paraphrasing); allows client and counselor to have an overall picture of the situation they are talking about.
THE COUNSELING PROCESS
This is a practical and systematic way of helping the clients to understand themselves and their problem situations with a view to setting goals and taking action for them to be able to manage their lives more effectively.
It entails three stages. These are:
i. Exploration – creating a rapport with client while utilizing social skills and positive attitude for the client to be at ease.
ii. Understanding – use of open-ended questions and reflections to help the client explore fully all the possible ways/ options to resolve the problem.
iii. Action – counselor helps the client make a plan on how to solve his/her problem while prioritizing the issues and the course of action the client wishes to take. Counselor should then summarize the plan the client has made and encourage him/her to get back to discuss how the plan has worked out.
ASANTEH!!!!