Overview

Being present with another person who is facing trauma, serious illness, loss, and grief requires an awareness and understanding of one’s own emotional responses. Only then can the self be used as a therapeutic tool in the care of others.

The nature of the therapeutic relationship, conditions under which it can be effective, and the knowledge and skills essential for the relationship to happen are explored and practiced in this interactive workshop. The workshop focuses on the personal awareness, professional knowledge, and practical and repeatable skills required to see each patient as a personwith their own unique story and response to their need for care.

Who Should Attend

Clinicians (physicians, nurses, clinical specialists, social workers, pastoral care professionals, etc.) who have direct or indirect contact with patients and their families.

Teams of physician, nurse, and other clinical professionals are strongly encouraged to attend together in order to deepen organizational integration of Relationship-Based Care.

What You Will Learn

A therapeutic relationship cultivates emotional safety, creates a safe haven, and facilitates the individual’s capacity to heal. Workshop participants will deepen their knowledge and understanding of how to be in such a relationship within the context of a highly technical, fast-paced, time-constrained, and frequently chaotic health care environment.

We will address these questions:

• What is a therapeutic relationship?
• How does a therapeutic relationship help me accomplish my job?
• What does the therapeutic relationship have to do with patient safety, treatment efficacy, and patient compliance?
• Where will I find the time?
• Is it worth my emotional investment?
• Is it emotionally safe to know all of my patients as people?
• Is it even possible to establish such a relationship in a fast-paced hospital or ambulatory setting?
• What can I learn and practice in order to satisfy the relational aspect of my care by creating a therapeutic relationship with my patients and their loved ones?

Action-based learning strategies for real-time application will include interactive scenarios taken from actual practice, reflective exercises, dialogue, and group and pairs-based exercises. Universal human responses to illness (i.e., grief, fear, anger, and powerlessness) will be explored. The knowledge, skills, and tools for establishing and engaging in a therapeutic relationship will be presented, discussed, and practiced with an emphasis on reflection and application.

At the completion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Describe what comprises the therapeutic relationship.
• Describe the meaning and healing potential of presence through attunement.
• Describe attunement (as opposed to misattunement) as a condition for being present and connecting therapeutically.
• Describe actions and practices to strengthen self-awareness and mindfulness in therapeutic relationships with patients and families.
• Discuss, practice, and reflect on the knowledge, principles, and skills essential for applying three therapeutic practices:
  • Wondering
  • Following
  • Holding
• Use reflective practice to integrate the therapeutic skills, knowledge, and understanding of the human response to illness, crisis, and loss into daily practice.
• Identify two personal actions to enhance the therapeutic relationship in practice.

Licensing for Greater Flexibility and Savings

A Therapeutic Relationships workshop license is an excellent way for organizations committed to authentic relationships to keep the three practices alive and well in everyday practice. With a Therapeutic Relationships license, organizations have a flexible and cost effective way to support development.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this work, people from a variety of disciplines may be eligible for facilitator training. Creative Health Care Management helps organizations identify effective internal facilitators, taking into consideration the responsibilities of the facilitators as well as the size and available resources of the organization. Facilitators are trained to meet the unique needs of their organization. In addition to facilitator identification and training, the Therapeutic Relationships license agreement includes materials and resources, ongoing support and coaching, annual updates, and marketing information.

Therapeutic Relationships can be licensed to individuals as well as organizations.