Learning Outcomes
- Develop abilities to understand emotional needs
- Apply empathy and compassion in caring
- Ensure dignity and safety are upheld
Understanding Emotions
Identifying emotional states based on facial expressions, body language cues, verbal reactions or behavioural signs allows categorising feeling types and intensity variances. Maintaining observational logs can help pattern analysis - be it symptoms of escalating frustration, angst from peer bullying or onset of withdrawal arising from grief or loss.
Providing cathartic mediums like comforting spaces, arts/music outlets fosters safe venting alternatives to potential self-harm risks. Gentle labelling of emotions observed post episodic reactions without downplaying response validity builds understanding of affects, enabling progressive maturity in processing complex feelings.
Mirroring appropriate regulation strategies in the aftermath demonstrates socially constructive responses promoting transparency, vulnerability and interdependent reliance which further cements trust bonds.
Empathetic Engagement
Visual contact, kneeling to child eye level, appropriate-touch comfort with consent and mostly patient listening conveys an unconditional acceptance providing psychological safety for sharing troubles - be it adjustment struggles, identity confusion or separation anxiety.
Paraphrasing back interpretations checks inference accuracy rather than interjecting leading assumptions risking feelings invalidation. Open queries clear ambiguities. Shared sighs can relieve heaviness.
Conflict Resolution
Mediating disagreements through respecting each perspective and giving validation, exploring mutually compatible alternative points of view.
Angry outbursts warrant the provision of personal space, with a curiosity driven re-visiting of the issue when emotions have settled. This prevents lingering resentment while still setting conduct expectations.