Talking to People
a training module
Knowing how to interact with people is possibly the most important skill for anybody in any work environment. It applies to all levels of staff. It really is not that difficult but does need self-awareness and some humility in order to be the effective communicator that practitioners wish to be. This is why we are talking about talking to people.
The module addresses the basic skills that have been found to be important in engaging people with addiction problems, maintaining that engagement and helping them move towards recovery and, therefore, improvements in health and social functioning.
This module has been designed for use in conjunction with result4addiction. It will take you to the relevant content on the website. You can work through the module topics at your own pace, however, to keep up a momentum we suggest you set a timetable. Each topic has a variety of tasks: watching videos, reading scientific articles, taking in checklists, for example. The four topics are summarised below. Each topic has three tasks to complete. The first task will guide you to the website pages where you can find important background information - explore these pages as much as you like. The second task raises a controversial issue in the form of a debating point - the idea is to stimulate your thinking about good practice.
For the third task, ideally you will have convened, or joined, a Study Group (this could be a peer group, just one colleague, or a trusted supervisor) for your topic discussions. Arrange your meeting times right away and use these as the deadline for completion of each topic. The aim of the Study Group is to sharpen up your thoughts on each topic and reflect on your current practice.
Be sure to add your reflections after each task and save them for your portfolio of professional development. Click where you see the lightbulb icon.
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Topic One - a positive organisational culture
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First task: explore the resources for this topic
This topic starts with an exercise to get you to think about what you would like from an agency if you were going for help with an addiction problem. Next you will explore why some agencies work better than others and you will be able to understand the importance of organisational culture.
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Second task: the debate
This task takes the form of a debate to raise a controversial subject about which you are expected to form an opinion. The motion is: ‘Treatment agencies are choking on national data reporting requirements at the expense of building rapport’.
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Third task: your study group discussion
In discussion with your study group, however you have construed it, this task is about clarifying your thoughts on organisational culture and how it might be relevant to your own practice.
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Topic Two - who are the most effective practitioners?
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First task: explore the resources for this topic
There is a small but consistent body of research which has looked at what it is that therapists do and why some are more effective at helping people than others - why such big differences. This topic explores the characteristics of therapists' behaviours and why these influence outcomes so strongly.
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Second task: the debate
The motion in this debate is: ‘To be effective, supervision needs to be undertaken by practitioners with addiction expertise’.
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Third task: your study group discussion
Here the task for discussion with your study group is about clarifying your thoughts on why some practitioners are more effective than others and how you might change your own practice. For obvious reasons this is a subject that practitioners, but also supervisors, often avoid talking about.
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Topic Three - motivational dialogue
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First task: explore the resources for this topic
This topic is about having positive conversations with service users that open up their concerns and avoid getting into arguments. Drug and alcohol testing is used as an example but the idea of interacting in a motivationally enhancing way is applicable in all circumstances.
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Second task: the debate
This debate focuses on the motion: ‘Creating rapport is more important than getting on with treatment’.
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Third task: your study group discussion
The task for your study group in this topic is about clarifying your thoughts on applying a motivational style of interaction with your service users and how it might be relevant to your own practice. Take this opportunity to try it with your study group colleagues.
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Topic Four - talking to family and friends
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First task: explore the resources for this topic
This topic explores why it is always a good idea to encourage support from family and friends and why it makes a big difference to addiction outcomes. Involvement of family and friends is the basis of Social Behaviour and Network Therapy which is an effective treatment for addiction.
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Second task: the debate
The controversial motion for this debate is: ‘Everybody should be encouraged to use social media as part of their support network’.
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Third task: your study group discussion
In your study group discussion you are invited to clarify your thoughts on including family and friends in treatment and how you might make changes to your own practice. Do not underestimate the importance of family and friends - get comfortable with involving them.
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Meet your tutors…
Dr Gillian Tober
Consultant Addiction Psychologist and previously Head of Training at Leeds Addiction Unit
Dr Duncan Raistrick
Consultant Addiction Psychiatrist and previously Clinical Director at Leeds Addiction Unit
Your learning outcomes…
You will be able to…
describe a positive organisational culture
identify effective practitioners
demonstrate knowledge of components of motivational dialogue
share reasoning for recruiting family and friends