Abstract: Academic coursework in counseling for audiology students is inadequate, optional, or even unavailable (Muñoz et al, 2017). This leaves graduates unprepared to fulfill many aspects of the role, such as facilitating the client’s autonomy and helping them overcome emotional barriers to beginning treatment, such as denial. This poster supplies the learner with knowledge and examples of five concrete skills to use immediately in one of the most difficult counseling scenarios many of us encounter daily in our careers: with the client who believes their hearing “just isn’t bad enough.”
Summary: The hearing care professional's role is not limited to diagnosing hearing loss and recommending and fitting listening devices and assistive technologies. Many audiologists recognize the importance of counseling skills; however, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that audiologists are not using counseling skills in daily practice (Grenness et al, 2015). Many are not able to name concrete counseling skills. Unfortunately, this may arise from the fact that academic coursework in counseling for audiology students is inadequate, optional, or even unavailable (Muñoz et al, 2017). This leaves graduates unprepared to face some of the most daunting counseling scenarios we face: delivering the diagnosis to parents of a newborn and recommending medical consultation after discovering evidence of a potential retrocochlear pathology. These situations surely are challenging, however, the majority of us do not encounter them often. Rather, audiologists have the opportunity to directly influence the success of the people we meet on a daily or weekly basis: the client who believes their hearing “just isn’t bad enough.” When we are equipped with communication techniques which help patients explore and challenge their emotional reactions, like denial, and eventually take ownership over their hearing-related quality of life, we increase the number of people who are actually improving their lives with hearing aids and cochlear implants. This poster supplies the learner with knowledge of five concrete skills: the counter-question, the importance ruler, the open-ended question, the key question, and the hypothetical question. An example of these skills in action will be presented in a brief role-play (approximately 10 or fewer lines of dialogue). The learner will also analyze why these techniques are so powerful and how these techniques may boost the client’s likelihood of undertaking or having success with aural rehabilitation.
Learning Objectives:
Apply five different counseling techniques to clinical practice.
Analyze how these techniques boost the client’s likelihood of undertaking or having success with aural rehabilitation.
