Therapist Skills

Active Listening and Perception

The therapist must develop the ability to truly listen, beyond simply hearing.

This involves full attention to speech, but also perception of the environment and nonverbal language.

A global perception of the therapeutic "setting" is required, controlling variables such as temperature or noises that may distract the patient and hinder the process.

Attention should be focused on the interviewee, avoiding distractions with watches or cell phones, which could be interpreted as lack of interest or offense.

Silence Management and Nonverbal Language

Silence is a powerful technical tool. The therapist must know how to be silent to allow the patient to process, associate and express his or her inner world without premature interruptions.

On a non-verbal level, the professional's body position should reflect security, serenity and professionalism, without excessive rigidity.

Eye contact is indispensable to monitor the patient's reactions and detect possible risk behaviors (such as acting out), but it should be natural, not an intimidating stare.

The voice should be audible, calm and confident to ensure that directions are understood.

Concentration and Retention

It is necessary to stay in the "here and now" during the session, avoiding mental distractions of one's own.

Although note-taking is necessary for the clinical history, one should not transcribe everything verbatim during the session, as eye contact is lost.

Memory should be trained to retain key points and write them down or summarize them at the end of the encounter, recording the highlights or what generated clinical "noise".

Summary

The therapist should develop active listening and a global perception of the environment, controlling distracting physical variables and focusing full attention on the patient's speech and language.

Silence management is a powerful technical tool that allows the patient to process, while nonverbal language and eye contact should reflect safety and professionalism.

It is necessary to maintain concentration on the "here and now" and train the memory to retain key points, avoiding transcribing verbatim during the session so as not to lose contact.