Effective Communication Strategies for Children: Evidence-Based Approaches for Clinicians & Families

Goals & Objectives:

Course Overview

Effective communication as well as behavior management tools are key components to developing and maintaining healthy professional and personal relationships. Clinicians who work with children and their families can benefit from learning new communication techniques and from behavior management training. This allows them to foster and improve the quality of these relationships. Appropriate use of language increases self-esteem in young clients and motivates them to learn. It also assists in engaging children’s cooperation, defusing power struggles, and teaching conflict resolution skills.

Using communication and behavior management techniques, clinicians will become more confident and manage their therapy and counseling sessions with a broader and more mutually respectful dialogue. This course will teach clinicians how to employ innovative and practical communication and behavior management skills in their individual and group therapy sessions with young clients and their families. Many healthcare professionals feel that they do not receive explicit instruction on behavior management or counseling skills (Chow et al., 2021). Having these tools can set the stage for high-quality sessions and improved therapeutic outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completing this course, the learner should be able to:

• Identify techniques to improve and enhance counseling skills.
• Outline techniques to manage children’s negative feelings.
• List methods to engage client cooperation using effective communication techniques to enhance participation in meaningful occupations and daily activities.
• Recognize skills to improve children’s self-esteem and intrinsic motivation through appropriate use of praise.
• Recall methods to teach team members and caregivers these skills.