Enhancing the Proficiency of Capabilities - Essay Example

The client agreed that not being able to attend school due to sickness was causing a hard time for her.

Findings
The interview started with the client giving a small brief about the problem:
“I believe that I am feeling ill most of the time and sometimes the intensity of sickness increases which compels me to take off from school. Since I am missing my classes, I am lagging behind my classmates and it is quite disturbing for me. It is even giving me a hard time.”

To understand the core issue, I used the clarification strategy and I questioned her:
“What do you mean by a hard time? What are you doing to catch up? What can you do to cover the aspects missed out?”
I think it was the right time to ask for clarification me her viewpoint so that I could probe her for more information. I even realized that she was having difficulty in sharing her feeling and my question gave her space to open up and she responded to me appropriately:
“Due to taking medicines, I feel exhausted and am unable to concentrate on my studies.”

To reflect on the information provided by her, I posed another query:
“So you think that getting sick is making you demotivated and you are having a hard time in school?”
It was important to summarize and reflect on her responses so that we both were at the same pace and the matter could be resolved. Her response shed light on the solution which she was seeking for undertaking a few measures for getting fit and healthy:
“The medications make me tiresome and I feel sleepy during the classes too. It is quite irritating for me as I want to focus my attention on class lectures and compensate for the loss caused due to my sickness. Moreover, I want to move towards a routine that incorporates an exercise regime.”

With this statement, it was evident that she wanted support for implementing a lifestyle that will be in compliance with her requirements. At this point, I had to ask for more information so I used the paraphrasing technique:
“Do you think that any medication for rest will make you better? Or do you want some books on exercise? I have got some good options for you.”
My questions were not paraphrased correctly and I believe that I misinterpreted the information provided to me as it was evident from her response:
“No, I don’t want to have any more medicines or books. I just want to remain fit so that I am healthy and active all the time.”

This statement clarified everything that she wanted to get rid of the inactivity caused due to sickness and motivate herself to include exercise in her routine. To summarize the interview, I said:
“So basically you want to make changes in your lifestyle so that you are apt and able to excel in your studies without getting ill often.”
The client agreed with my response and it was a productive activity as it highlighted the main area of concern. During this exercise, I made effective use of reflection, summarization, clarification, and paraphrasing.

Summary and Conclusions
Overall, I believe that I learned about my capabilities and weaknesses as I made some mistakes during the interview session. Firstly coming to the nonverbal aspects, I affirmed that I made the right eye contact, my voice was calm and appropriate and my body gestures were appropriate. Moving on, I have average listening skills because I posed a few incorrect questions such as ‘Do you need more medication…’, ‘I can give you some…’ etc.

Furthermore, I was not supposed to give her advice and make overuse of questions strategy ‘What are you doing..’. Also, I interpreted the information inappropriately which made us deviate from the real issue. I appreciate the activity conducted in our class as it allowed me to comprehend my skills as a helper. I need to work on developing my listening skills so that I can understand my clients and suggest to them the best and most realistic solutions. Read More