Foster Care Training

It is often observed that non-verbal communication, including vocal tone and body language, plays a far greater role in our understanding of what someone is communicating than the words they use, especially when these elements are not congruent with the spoken content. This class explores vocal tone, posture, gesture, facial expression, eye gaze, and emotional resonance: cues that can expand our toolbox for accurately interpreting what a client is trying to express. We will examine the kinds of information that can be derived from non-verbal channels, and what specific signals these communications may transmit. We will also examine what our own non-verbal signals may be communicating to clients. In addition, we will look at spatial power dynamics that result from position, height, and other factors and how we can use these intentionally in our interventions. Our goal is to become more mindful of the ways that non-verbal communication of information plays out in our interactions, and become more adept at extracting information from these channels to support attunement and healing.