Communication Skills Therapy Enhancing Your Ability to Connect and Express

Introduction

Communication is central to day-to-day life. However, communication is also quite a complicated thing. Many times, people might look to reply rather than to listen. At other times, it only remains an illusion. Sometimes, certain conditions like speech disorder, or autism spectrum disorder complicate the development of adequate communication skills.

For all these above-mentioned challenges, Communication Skills Therapy is a unique tool that can enhance the ability to express clearly and connect with others from a place of clarity and understanding.

What is Communication Skills Therapy?

Communication skills therapy is a catch-all term for a transformative tool that helps clients enhance their ability to express themselves clearly, understand others, and connect with others. By identifying and removing the barriers to communication, and strengthening verbal and non-verbal skills, this therapy enables clients to navigate their interpersonal, social, and occupational conversations with ease.

Some of the skills that communication skills therapy helps build upon are:

• Clear communication
• Assertive communication
• Using “I” statements
• Engaging in reflection
• Other communication tips like active listening, posing open-ended questions, and empathy

Get Help Now!

Who Can Benefit From Communication Skills Therapy?

Communication skills therapy is beneficial for anyone who suffers from expressing themselves clearly or understanding others. It specifically benefits those experiencing:

• Speech or language disorders
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Social anxiety disorder
• For conflict resolution in interpersonal relationships
• Difficulties in communicating in daily life

Common Communication Challenges Addressed in Therapy

Within communication skills therapy, several kinds of communication challenges can be addressed. A trained therapist will seek to address the inability to communicate clearly, inability to convey ideas clearly, misinterpretation of others’ viewpoints, non-verbal communication challenges like facial expressions and/or body language, and so on.

These common communication challenges can be addressed using certain treatment strategies like active listening, dialogic listening, and mediated communication, among others.

Speech and communication skills therapy can also address communication challenges that are more specific and complicated. For instance, speech disorders like stuttering, apraxia, or dysarthria, which impede a person from producing or understanding speech. Or, even communication difficulties that develop after a certain traumatic event in life.

Get Help Now!

Types of Communication Skills Therapy

Communication skills therapy is a broad term; it encompasses different kinds of therapy that focus on treating specific aspects of communication.

Speech Therapy –

It improves the ability to talk and addresses overall language skills as well. It seeks to enhance clients’ ability to use their voice, improve fluency, and clarity and expression as well. It is especially successful with speech disorders.

Individual Therapy –

In some cases, repressed childhood trauma can lead to speech impediments. In these cases, individual therapy that helps uncover and process those traumas will help clients develop their communication skills as well. Examples include psychoanalytic therapy and psychodynamic therapy.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy –

It is also an individual therapy that seeks to identify and change negative thinking, emotional, and behavioral patterns so as to improve communication in relationships and social settings.

Family and Couples Therapy –

These are more specific in that they seek to resolve negative communication patterns that adversely impact family or couple dynamics.

Interpersonal Therapy –

It is more focused on reducing communication challenges in close relationships by resolving emotional and interpersonal difficulties.

Social Communication Therapy –

This therapy is specifically designed to identify and treat social communication difficulties and is greatly useful in the cases of autism spectrum disorder and social anxiety disorder.

Techniques Used in Communication Skills Therapy

The techniques used in speech and communication skills therapy vary from one therapy to another and depend on the communication challenge at hand.

Speech therapy meant for speech disorders uses tongue and mouth exercises, facial movement exercises, reading-aloud exercises, and word games.

Individual therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy use cognitive restructuring, wherein negative thinking, emotional, and behavioral patterns are reshaped into healthier patterns, which, in turn, improves communication.

Role-playing exercises are also common with speech and communication skills therapy, as they provide clients with a safe space to engage in scenarios to improve their verbal and non-verbal skills.

Mindfulness is a transformative tool that can be used to enhance communication skills, as it allows clients to be present in a moment where they can be more aware and focused on conversations. This, in turn, helps in getting rid of impulsive replies and engaging in more thoughtful and empathetic conversation. Mindfulness also helps develop active listening skills.

A speech and communication skills therapist will provide ongoing feedback so as to track clients’ progress and make adjustments wherever required.

The Benefits of Communication Skills Therapy

The benefits of speech and communication skills therapy are many. Some of them are:

• Improved ability to produce and understand speech
• Enhanced communication skills
• Clearer and effective communication of thoughts and ideas
• Healthier interpersonal relationships
• Better conflict resolution skills
• Stronger non-verbal communication abilities, like eye contact, appropriate facial expressions, and better body language

The Role of Support in Recovery

All the mental health recovery concepts focus on the role of support in recovery. Whether it is for anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, or even for something as severe as schizophrenia, the level of social support is something that is necessary for recovery.

It is not uncommon for people suffering from mental health conditions to feel isolated or lonely. In these cases, when there is a sense of belonging or community, it goes a long way in terms of recovery. It provides encouragement, support, and definitely a hope for recovery.

Support also has a more real-time role to play. For instance, in terms of treatment, a robust social support system can help with transport and also in running other errands. This helps in taking away some stress or burden from the person.

With recovery, there is also the question of discontinuing treatment or relapse. With a strong social system in place, there is always motivation and encouragement for the client on their ongoing road to recovery whenever needed.

What to Expect in a Communication Skills Therapy Session

If considering communication skills therapy, knowing what to expect from a session will help better understand what can be achieved from it.

At the NuView Treatment Center, our medical and clinical team will engage in a structured approach to build clients’ communication skills and abilities.

• Initial Assessment – This will involve identifying communication strengths and challenges in order to identify the key areas of improvement. Initial assessment will also be the basis for deciding the best path to improved communication and aligning the clients with the right therapists.
• Customized Exercises – Clients will engage in customized exercises to practice verbal, non-verbal, and listening skills in a safe setting.
• Ongoing Feedback – The therapist will provide ongoing feedback to track clients’ progress and also make any adjustments in the strategies or sessions whenever required.
• Homework Assignments – Practice in real-life settings is required for clients to apply the skills they learned during the therapy. Homework assignments are, therefore, given in between the sessions.

With consistent practice and therapy, clients can steadily enhance their communication abilities and feel empowered to express themselves clearly and connect with others.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.) Who should seek communication skills therapy?

Communication skills therapy is beneficial for anyone struggling with verbal and non-verbal communication, experiencing speech impediments or social anxiety, or dealing with communication gaps in their interpersonal relationships. 

2.) How can communication therapy improve my relationships?

Communication skills therapy teaches assertive communication skills, active listening skills, and conflict resolution skills. These will go a long way in reducing misunderstandings and strengthening connections between a couple, family, and other relationships in life.

3.) Can therapy help with social communication difficulties?

Yes, communication skills therapy helps with social communication difficulties. Social communication therapy is specifically designed to help improve verbal and non-verbal skills like reading the room, conversational turn-taking, maintaining eye contact, and so on.