Therapeutic communication is a learned process that health care professionals must practice when interacting with people who share similarities with future clients. I practiced therapeutic communication when I volunteered to be a “buddy” for a special needs guest at the “Night to Shine” Prom at Genesis Church in Tallahassee. Tim Tebow’s foundation sponsors proms held at churches and community centers across the nation. The event pairs people with special needs with volunteers who agree to be their “buddy” for the night; the prom’s committee paired Justin and I. As a buddy, I ensure Justin participated in all the activities and safely returned home after the event. I used therapeutic communication with Justin during the night in order to meet
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Justin and I spoke about popular music, our family lives, social media, and nicknames. People at the prom called Justin nicknames like “Jay”, “Jaybird”, and “J.Money”, but Justin told me to call him “Jaylen”. After I began to address Justin as “Jaylen”, he began to communicate more openly throughout the night. As an African American woman, I am aware of the offensive stereotypes associated with people of my cultural background. When I communicated with Justin, I made sure that I did not make assumptions about his character based on African American stereotypes. For example, Chic-Fil-a catered the prom and served many types of chicken dishes. I asked Justin if he wanted to eat some Chic-Fil-a and he agreed. My question allowed Justin to make the decision to eat the chicken without feeling offended by stereotypes. I did not assume Justin wanted to eat chicken because he is an African American male. I also understood African American cultural norms may not be included at a predominantly Caucasian and Christian event, but Justin expected incorporation of the African American culture at the event. At the prom, Justin asked me to request some popular songs that contained explicit lyrics. I explained to Justin that the disc jockey would not play those songs because the songs were inappropriate for this event. Justin did not understand my reasoning so he went the disc jockey and asked them to play the explicit songs. The disc jockey explained to Justin he could not play those songs and Justin walked away disappointed. According to Patricia W. Iyer (2008), therapeutic communication includes complete, clear, concise, cohesive, and courteous language (p.13). If I would have been more clear and concise when communicating why those songs were inappropriate, Justin would have trusted my judgement and probably would not have been so
Justin and I spoke about popular music, our family lives, social media, and nicknames. People at the prom called Justin nicknames like “Jay”, “Jaybird”, and “J.Money”, but Justin told me to call him “Jaylen”. After I began to address Justin as “Jaylen”, he began to communicate more openly throughout the night. As an African American woman, I am aware of the offensive stereotypes associated with people of my cultural background. When I communicated with Justin, I made sure that I did not make assumptions about his character based on African American stereotypes. For example, Chic-Fil-a catered the prom and served many types of chicken dishes. I asked Justin if he wanted to eat some Chic-Fil-a and he agreed. My question allowed Justin to make the decision to eat the chicken without feeling offended by stereotypes. I did not assume Justin wanted to eat chicken because he is an African American male. I also understood African American cultural norms may not be included at a predominantly Caucasian and Christian event, but Justin expected incorporation of the African American culture at the event. At the prom, Justin asked me to request some popular songs that contained explicit lyrics. I explained to Justin that the disc jockey would not play those songs because the songs were inappropriate for this event. Justin did not understand my reasoning so he went the disc jockey and asked them to play the explicit songs. The disc jockey explained to Justin he could not play those songs and Justin walked away disappointed. According to Patricia W. Iyer (2008), therapeutic communication includes complete, clear, concise, cohesive, and courteous language (p.13). If I would have been more clear and concise when communicating why those songs were inappropriate, Justin would have trusted my judgement and probably would not have been so