Week 1: Initial Assessment
Defining Objectives
What reflection and self-evaluation will the client engage in?
- Client will share his previous experiences engaging in professional communication, including previous professional interviews that he may have been involved in
- Client will be able to articulate his prior experiences in professional communication settings, noting specific challenges and successes
- Client will be able to express the relationship he sees between his challenges in communication and his overall functioning or overarching goals of treatment
- Client will walk away feeling a sense of directed support knowing that he can improve his professional communication through the application of specific strategies
Taking Action
How will you facilitate reflection on past experiences in professional communication?
- Provider will promote a discussion around understanding client’s previous professional communication challenges and success, with a particular emphasis on any previous interviews that the client may or may not have been a part of
- Provider will be sure to understand how the client’s stated professional communication challenges are connected to client’s stated overarching goals or impacting ct’s current level of functioning
- Provider will develop a clear outline for sessions moving forward, targeting improvement in at least 1x identified area of professional communication
| Questions to Consider | Resistant Client Corner |
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Look out for clients who blame all of their challenges in this domain on other people. Losing one job because of an unsympathetic interviewer or supervisor is understandable, but repeated instances of job loss or stalled out applications due to poor communication might be a sign to lean into the resistance to figure out what role the client may have played in those negative experiences. |
When to Check In
As in other modules, your role as a provider at this stage is primarily to gather information. The more insight you have into the client’s personal treatment goals as well as his particular life circumstances, the more effective subsequent sessions will be. Consider ways to manage resistance based on the client’s personality and motivations before looping in your supervisor.
- Be ready for clients who do not see their professional communication as an issue or have no hope in their ability to improve
- Don’t pivot too quickly away to another goal when faced with resistance. Instead, reflect on when and where resistance manifests in order to better anticipate it in future sessions
- Consult with a supervisor if the resistance is more than you know how to handle, but in session, remain curious, affirm, reflect and summarize what the client is saying to encourage self-awareness
Week 2: Trial & Error
Defining Objectives
What will the client do this session to improve their communication skills?
- Client will engage in one targeted intervention in session to improve a particular aspect of their professional communication
- Client will feel supported and respected by provider, particularly when engaging in interventions that illicit distress
- Client will continue to feel a sense of direction when engaging in intervention(s) by connecting the intervention(s) to an a) overall stated treatment goals or b) desired improvement to functioning
- Client will walk away with a clear roadmap for the next few sessions and knowledge of what will be expected of him
Taking Action
What will you do to support and challenge the client to grow in this domain?
- Provider will introduce specific forms of behavior modification and strategies for developing better professional communication skills. Provider will allow the client to select a specific skill to train in order to allow greater ownership over the learning process
- Provider will engage in MI when working with the client and engage with sensitivity when the client is expressing distress around a particular intervention
- Provider will intentionally relate the intervention(s) back to either a) client’s overall stated treatment goals or b) desired improvement of functioning
- Provider will speak with the client about a summarized plan of action over the course of the next 2 weeks of treatment. Provider and client will develop mutually agreed upon goals and objectives to guide in-session work over the next few weeks
| Questions to Consider | Resistant Client Corner |
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Invite the client to envision the end result - what does it look like in the context of his actual life when this skill is mastered or bolstered. Does he anticipate more opportunities? More confidence? More spending money? Add these tangible benefits into conversations around how the intervention relates back to higher level treatment goals |
When to Check In
While all clients arrive with different levels of experience and confidence in their professional lives, it may make sense to check in with your supervisor if:
- The client has no professional experiences nor upcoming opportunities for which he hopes to prepare. This is not necessarily a sign that work in this domain won’t be fruitful, but it’s a good idea to strategize around how to adapt programming towards an academic space
- The client reports or exhibits highly unprofessional patterns in their communication at work or in interviews, such as inappropriate language or lack of responsiveness. These will be areas to mitigate before introducing new skills
Week 3: Gaining Confidence
Defining Objectives
How will the client build on their efforts?
- Client will continue to build on previous session’s intervention(s), demonstrating measurable or observable progress in the professional communication goals identified
- Client will continue to feel a sense of direction when engaging in intervention(s). This week, the client will be able to make connections to different areas of his life that may benefit directly or indirectly from his work in this domain.
- Client will come away feeling like he knows what the next session may look like and will get a sense that work is moving towards a closure
Taking Action
What support will you offer? Where will you step back to allow for greater independence?
- Provider will engage in MI when working with the client and engage with sensitivity when the client is expressing distress around a particular intervention
- Provider will intentionally relate the intervention(s) back to either a) client’s overall stated treatment goals or b) desired improvement of functioning
- Provider will speak with client about a summarized plan of action for the next session, making sure to connect these interventions to the future objectives or goals the client may have
| Questions to Consider |
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When to Check In
Are there any underlying challenges, such as an underlying anxiety disorder or ADHD diagnosis, that may be impacting the client’s functioning? Better understanding the underlying patterns allows the mentor to ensure that they are addressing the root cause. Check with your supervisor to develop a personalized approach if underlying challenges like those listed seem to be impacting progress more than you anticipated.
Week 4: Lessons Learned
Defining Objectives
How will the client conclude their work in this domain?
- Client will continue to build on previous session’s intervention(s) and demonstrate measurable or observable progress in professional communication goals identified
- Client will walk away feeling a sense of culmination to the work, noting changes that may have occurred or that they have experienced
- Ct will speak to his future goals of how his experience engaging in these interventions could be helpful for him moving forward
Taking Action
What will you do to support the client along the way?
- Provider will promote a reflective discussion around challenges overcome, areas for continued improvement, and next steps
- Provider will be explicit around indicating closure in this focused area of work and will look for the client to be clear on this phase of work as well. If necessary, provider will work with the client to create a plan for staying on tack in this domain event when it is no longer a primary focus
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