The purpose of this family session is to practice healthy and effective communication. This involves:
Taking responsibility for your own feelings by using “I” statements and owning your own thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Active listening, which involves:
o Being fully present in the conversation (prepare to avoid distractions)
o Showing interest by practicing good eye contact
o Listening to understand rather than to respond
o Allowing others to express their thoughts and feelings without fixing, correcting, or interrupting
It is important to keep the goal of practicing healthy communication in mind. It is completely normal and natural to want to solve problems, focus on future plans, or convince the other person of something.
This session is specifically about creating a space where each person can 1) share their thoughts, feelings, hopes, and desires; 2) use active listening to hear the thoughts, feelings, hopes, and desires of others; 3) practice reflecting what they heard others say.
Think about how you might answer the questions below. Write what you can, remembering it can be a word or a paragraph, just write something. For now, each person should keep this to themselves. In the next session, we will review these together and explore healthy, effective communication.