Listening and Helping Skills: "An A to Z approach to helping your residents"

A: Alertness - be alert to what is spoken and what is not spoken

B: Be a listener - do as little talking as possible

C: Clarification - give indication when you understand and ask for clarification when you do not

D: Decision making - Do not make decisions for the student, help them explore alternatives

E: Empathy - exhibit appropriate responses to show empathy and concern

F: Follow-up - follow up to a students request for information and meeting again

G: Genuineness - be yourself and express yourself when appropriate

H: Help - help the student focus on the real problems in a situation

I: Individuality - remember that all individuals differ in how they feel and how they perceive

J: Judgement - avoid judgmental responses of shock, surprise or humor unless appropriate

K: Keep interventions short - keep interventions within an hour, schedule a time to talk again

L: Limits - know your limits, know when a problem is serious and a referral is necessary

M: Maintain confidentiality - do not discuss a resident's problems with other residents.

N: Never take notes - note taking is perceived as impersonal and pretentious, unless you intend to assure to follow up on a specific request for the student

O: Objectivity - remain objective and avoid biases that might interfere in your relationship

P: Patience - be patient, let the student draw there own conclusions about how they feel

Q: Questioning - questioning should be open ended, exploratory, and only when necessary

R: Referral information- keep information available on campus counseling and support services for potential referrals

S: Sharing - share your reactions and feeling when appropriate

T: Trust - many have the tendency to try to establish trust through sharing common experiences, but maintaining focus on your student and what they are feeling may be a better approach

U: Understanding - try to understand the feelings behind what the student is saying

V: aVoid - Avoid inappropriate reactions to surprising statements, do not overreact

W: Wisdom - It is wiser to refer a student when a relationship is no longer productive or healthy

X: eXplore alternatives - Help you students examine all options and reach their own conclusions

Y: You are a student first - Define boundaries with your residents, express when it appropriate and not appropriate to discuss and explore non-crisis problems, schedule open door times when necessary

Z: analyZing - Avoid analyzing how a student feels, focus on the students experience, how they feel and let them draw their own conclusions