COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL CARE - Essay Example

The hospitals that Dr. Steven visits get a large number of people from the mainstream population which is predominantly white. However, he occasionally gets to see people from diverse cultural backgrounds, especially immigrants from the Middle Eastern countries like Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Ahmed Babak is an Iranian man who migrated in the late 1990s with his wife, Alicia Baig who is from the same country. After living in the UK for the last decade, Alicia is having problems with her husband who wants her to continue to wear hijab and prevents her from working at office.

She wanted to take help from extended family members, some of who live in the same city, but Ameer Baig was not interested. Ahmed has been suffering from depression and memory loss and had been referred to Dr. Steven through the NHS. Dr. Steven has not been able to make a rapport with Ahmed, who feels intimidated by the six feet two doctor. He is reluctant to share the private and intimate details of his married life with someone who is a foreigner. Dr. Steven feels that Ahmed is from a relatively inhibited culture and that he needs to have more confidence in himself and be open about the realities.

Ahmed also is not very fluent with English and he finds it difficult to understand Dr. Steven’s words. . Ahmed does not want to sit alone with Dr. Steven and feels physically intimidated and overwhelmed in most of the sessions, while the Doctor has to rake his brains to put anything across his patient. PART B: 1. Skills for Effective Communication The above case study shows that the there are basic communication issues related to the differences in the social and cultural differences between the practitioner and the service user.

Some of the skills that could be useful for better communication under the conditions are elaborated upon in the paragraphs below. 1.1 Skills: Understanding the Cultural and Social Context in order to Create Empathy and Security for the service user As per the communication theory of social constructionist, any communication is assumed to be based on the sharing of ideas and thoughts, the interpretation of which is rooted in the social dynamics of the people involved (Ritzer, 2008). The interaction between Dr.

Steven and his client is a true reflection of the theory, as though the duo are engaged in communication, their very different socio-cultural contexts make them have preconceived notions about each other and also prevent them from understanding each other’s messages correctly. For example, Dr. Steven is from a UK background, being born and educated in the UK and having faith in the Western methods and approaches to psychological therapy. He relies on the patients to provide him with information and details directly and explicitly, so that he may formulate a plan of action and therapy for them.

However, in the case of Ahmed, he is from a Muslim Arab culture where direct conversations of personal issues and that too with strangers are