Helping or Hindering ?
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Transcript of Helping or Hindering ?
Helping or Hindering?
Sharon Doner-Feldman
President, Training for You
EXERCISE: (Yes, But) & (Yes, And)
Describe to your partner your dream vacation.
Your partner will interrupt you when they want with (Yes, But) .
Then after a two minutes, your partner will interrupt you with (Yes, And).
Then we will switch off!!
Thoughts of Others about Empowerment
I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on the planet is to encourage people to empower themselves. Oprah Winfrey
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Chinese Proverb
Definitions According to AIRS Standards
EMPOWERING
Helping inquirers understand the steps that need to be taken to obtain needed services so that they can advocate on their own behalf.
Definitions According to AIRS Standards
ADVOCACY
Advocating can be doing for someone things they could & should be doing for themselves.
Advocating should only be used in special situations.
Enabling
Enabling creates an atmosphere in which the individual:
Can contribute to his/her behavior continuing Evade responsibility for their actions Miss the opportunity to learn how to take care of themselves
Advocating Behaviors
When we practice advocating behaviors inappropriately we:
Prevent or interfere with the ability of our clients to learn new skills
Reduce our clients’ sense of control over life events and their self-worth
Reinforce old or maladaptive (ineffective) behavior such as passivity and ongoing procrastination
Empowering Behaviors
However, when we practice empowering behaviors, we may:
Promote personal growth and increased competencies
Increase our client's sense of control over life events
Encourage new coping abilities to replace maladaptive (ineffective) behavior
Key Concepts of Empowerment
Relationship is cornerstone—build trust Reinforces the idea that the consumer is capable Develops problem-solving skills for the future Acknowledges the consumer’s right to self-
determination Helps avoid awkward situations regarding requests
we consider unreasonable Shows respect and dignity Puts you out of business, one caller at a time!
How to Empower Our Callers
Help your inquirer decide NOW:
what is their Need or goal
what Options are available to fulfill their need
what consequences they should they be Wary of
How to Establish Relationships &Empower Our Callers
Talk about what’s available in the community Educate - explain how the system works Inform the caller about his or her rights If necessary, work on “asking skills” Work on affect-use supportive confrontation Role play-model appropriate behavior
The I&R/A Specialist’s Behavior
Engages in help-giving acts in which the decision-making clearly rests with the caller.
Offers aid and assistance that is consistent with the client’s own culture
Bolsters the self-esteem of the client by using his or her strengths as a basis for solving small problems
Promotes the use of natural support systems
The I&R/A Specialist’s Behavior (con’t)
Conveys a sense of cooperation and joint responsibility for meeting needs and solving problems
Promotes and reinforces attempts at effective behavior that decrease the need for help
Helps the inquirer not only see that problems have been solved or needs met but that the individual was able to play a significant role in their own life
Clarifying Requests
What is the main problem/desire/need? Why is this important or a priority? What has been tried to resolve this problem/need? What has happened as a result of those
efforts? What specifically would be most helpful for the
professional to do?
What it Boils Down To
CHOICES & CONSEQUENSESWhat are the CONSEQUENCES of each CHOICE?
The formula:
If you do Choice A then this is what could happen
If you do Choice B then this is what could happen
If you do Choice C then this is what could happen
When Is It Necessary To Advocate?
Advocacy - a process wherein an I&R worker takes an active role on behalf of the caller to assure that needed services are obtained in an appropriate and timely manner
Advocate when a consumer is unable to state their own case, when you can smooth the way for them calling, intervene when a consumer’s request for assistance has been denied when there is endangerment
Advocacy at the agency/network level – misinterpretation, unwritten practices, should there be a different agency involved
Situations of Advocacy
Language is a barrier
Developmentally disabled caller who may have difficulty asking for help
Senior who may be confused about whom they have been calling and just can’t make one more phone call
L e v e l s of Advocacy Make the initial contact Listen as the consumer attempts self-advocacy Represent a consumer who is unable to state his or
her own case Intervene when a consumer has been denied assistance
Escalate the intervention by going to a higher level within the other organization
Create system pressure by reporting concerns to your own supervisor for action at the management or network level
Steps in Advocating
Get permission of the caller to advocate Make the initial contact Listen in on a call or sit on an interview while the
consumer attempts to explain the situation Represent a consumer who is unable to state his
own case Intervene when a consumer’s request for assistance
have been denied If needed, escalate the intervention to the
management or networks levels
Advocacy that is a
Do not promise something if you can’t deliver Do not go to someone’s house to help out Don’t offer to buy groceries Don’t offer to drive your caller anywhere Do not lie on behalf of your caller Don’t promise to meet them somewhere
We should not be super heroes – we are super teachers!
Which Way Do I Go?
The Fork in the Road
Difficulty Talking
With Callersuch asHearing Impaired
Frustrated
With
Caller
Trust the Caller to
Follow Through
Trust theAgency
Being Referred To
Your State
Of MindWhen You
AnswerThe Phone
PressureTo
Perform
Empower Advocate
Is Caller Capable
What Are These Road Signs?
Difficulty of talking with caller ex: hearing impairment of caller
Frustrated with the callerex: such as being disrespectful
Pressure to perform – lines are ringing
Trust of agency—intervene when denied service or as needed with supervisors
What Are These Road Signs?
Trust of the caller to follow through—assess abilities; offer basic suggestions if needed (Do you have pen & paper ready?)
Your state of mind when you answer the phone
Is caller capable?—Assume capability first. It is disrespectful to do otherwise.
What Are My Road Signs? The Fork in the Road
Empowering Enabling
What Is Your Role & Your Goal for That Next Call?
Which of these is what you want to accomplish?
Listen and help caller prioritize their needs
Find the answers right away
Teach the caller how to help themselves
Get the call finished ASAP
Your Goal for That Next Call (con’t)
Understand their needs to find resources
Tell the caller you are tired of hearing from them and that you have someone else that they can call and bother
Show them the consequences of each choice they have
Indicate that no matter what you give them you know they won’t follow through
Ways I&R Professionals Help
Providing information
Demonstrating Explaining Observing and
giving feedback Problem solving
with client
Exploring Assessing Mentoring Listening Facilitating Framing Reality
Urgent vs. Emergency
UrgentPressing, imperative, criticalMust be done quickly
EmergencyCrisis, disaster, tragedyMust be done immediatelyPossibly life-threatening
Your of the Trade
How do you not absorb the panic in the caller but stay connected?
What are some confrontations you have found appropriate when the consumer demanded you help them?
How do you reinforce that the consumer is capable?
How have you handled awkward situations?
Empowerment Adding to Your Consumer’s Toolkit
Empowerment add skills or “tools”
To assess their own problem To research resources
To brainstorm To network
To ask questions To advocate for themselves
Advocacy Assistance for Special Occasions
Helping out only when the situation calls for help
Advocate once and assist caller in learning how to advocate next time
Read your road signs so you don’t quickly jump to advocating
Role Play 75 year old woman-needs a flu shot; has a 3-
year-old grandson who needs to picked up at day care at 4:00; flu shots are offered at 4:00 at the senior center, which is in the opposite direction of the day care center; she doesn’t drive.
Role Play Woman calls. Her husband is on active duty with the
National Guard. She just had a baby four weeks ago and she is going crazy. She likes to paint and she signed up for a beginners watercolor class at the community center (which by the way you just finished with the same teacher.) She is desperate for a babysitter, but doesn’t know where to find one or how to interview and screen a potential babysitter.
Our Business is to Give
CHOICESwith
CONSEQUENCES
balanced with Helping or Hindering