Q. Active Listening - counselling skills used in diabetes?

Every day we listen to many things, may be not with any intention or paying attention to the words, speech etc. For instance, we listen to song for the sake of entertainment; we listen to news for getting day to day information. But this does not involve attention, patience or feedback at the end. In counseling, active listening has a purpose as the counsellor listens to the patient or family to help them.

Active listening is listening with the intention to explore and completely understand the patient and family. It involves indicating or showing that you are listening, hearing and paying attention to the patient through words, expression and gestures (i.e. verbal and nonverbal communication). Active listening involves patience. It means a free and frank talk by the patient and brief, calm responses from the counsellor. It involves a relaxed posture, occasional nodding, taking of notes, not interrupting while the patient is talking and encouraging the client to tell you more with verbal encouragement, e.g. mm-hmm, yes, etc.

In other words active listening is expressed by

·  Verbal and non-verbal cues.

·  Eye contact.

·  Relaxed posture.

·  Being attentive and responding to the client.

·  Facilitating free expressions.

·  Demonstrating attention by nodding your head.

·  Encouraging the client to talk by saying, 'Mm-hmm', 'Yes'.

·  Minimizing distractions such as TV, telephone, noises, worries, etc.

·  Acknowledging the client's feeling by saying, 'I can see that you are very sad'.

·  Reflecting briefly on what the client has told by repeating the client's words, clarifying and summarizing.