Empathy statements are one of the most important elements of the work that you do on a crisis line, a helpline or a suicide hotline. Empathy statements are sentences that incorporate feeling words into them, so that the person you’re speaking to realizes you’re making an effort to understand them. Empathy statements are very useful…
Category: Counselling and Service Delivery
Building Communication Skills
In the helping professions, including both client-facing roles (like therapy or case management) and other roles, the importance of being able to talk constructively with people is key. Particularly in areas like nursing or case management where both physical/medical issues need to be taken care of, patients can feel overlooked or like they’re not taken…
Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY)
Yesterday I had the opportunity to complete training on effective use of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) tool. This tool, designed for children 12-18 (and used up until 21) has shown moderate validity in predicting adolescent violence. I just finished reading Youth Violence: Theory, Prevention and Intervention, and the SAVRY was one…
Developing a Risk Management Program for Your Helpline
Importance of Helpline Risk Management Risk management is the process of assessing and taking steps to mitigate areas where things that might go wrong in your organization. While we all hope that nothing would ever go wrong, it’s important that we are not caught blindsided. Some of these issues are within our control (e.g. helpline…
Efficacy of Sex Offender Counselling
July 20, 2016 Note: This article’s title has changed; the URL remains unchanged Social Worker and Sex Offender A social worker based in North York is coming before the disciplinary committee of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, because of his conviction for sexual interference and sexual assault. This would not be…