Focus on communication in trauma support
"Communication plays an immense role in trauma counselling."
This belief was highlighted at a training session on listening and self-expression skills for trauma support, presented by iThemba’s chief social worker, Jath van der Westhuizen, on Wednesday, September 3.
Volunteers from various counselling organisations, including iThemba Victim Empowerment Centre, HomeStart Johannesburg and the Brakpan Victim Empowerment Centre, attended the training.
Van der Westhuizen extended his knowledge on how to be successful in both the talking and listening areas of a conversation.
Among other things, he stressed the importance of connecting with a client and being attentive during a conversation.
He also encouraged volunteers to engage in “active listening”, by paraphrasing what the other person said.
They were encouraged to match and mirror the other person’s posture, image and speech when engaging in a conversation and eventually taking the lead in influencing the manner of conversation.
The influence of body language during a conversation was also discussed.
Van der Westhuizen had volunteers practise and demonstrate the skills they learnt through the training.
