Having spent over 30 years in the NHS working with people and the last 15 in my business also working alongside people, one of the most important aspect of effective intervention is the relationship between myself and my client.
As a practitioner I cannot but help bring myself to the session and how I am, how I behave will have an effect on the effectiveness of the intervention.
As a supervisor of Occupational Therapy students who at times, coming into a mental health setting, were unsure of what to say and how to behave, my advice was always be yourself – be genuine, warm and understanding. If they needed to talk about the weather as a way into conversation that was fine. How do we connect on a human-to-human level that has no bearing on diagnosis, social standing, race, gender?
Recently teaching Reiki, we explored a situation in which the student had a great Reiki session with a practitioner, yet felt uncomfortable with that person. Unpicking the scenario, the student was able to identify the lack of compassion, felt judged and not listened to.
For me it is incredibly important to be welcoming, to listen, to show understanding when I first meet a new client. They may be feeling anxious, not knowing what to expect so my “job” is to put them at ease by being professional yet genuine and caring. Noticing their needs however small shows that attention is being paid – do they need help getting on/off the couch, are they warm enough, are they lying comfortably or do they need to adjust their position. This observation continues throughout and not just at the beginning.
After the session it is not just a case of saying goodbye, I take time to explain what they may experience as part of the Reiki session and I contact them the next day to see how they are. This is good customer or client care and consideration. If the person feels comfortable with me, trusts me and feels heard and safe then that has gone a long way to an effective healing session.
At times, when I was working in community mental health, the least important thing was the content of the session, the most important aspect was the therapeutic relationship. If I was only with them for an hour then it was my job to ensure that when I left, they felt heard, not judged and supported. I admit there were times when it took longer and was more of a challenge to establish the therapeutic relationship but when it happened change and shift moved forward.
Whatever work you do or whenever you meet people for the first time how do you establish rapport? What is it about you or what you do that helps to make others feel comfortable in your company?
When buying from retailers what makes you go back to that company or person? My guess is that it was, in large part, due to their attentiveness and customer consideration, being seen as another human being rather than just another sale.
Next time you meet someone new engage them with warmth, genuineness and listening.