MHM 2022 - Listening non-judgmentally
I touched on listening yesterday, but I want to go into more detail about how to listen non-judgmentally. The main goal of listening non-judgmentally is to provide a safe environment where the other person feels comfortable talking about their feelings and situation.
3 core components are: acceptance, genuineness, and empathy. It is important to accept the person where they are and not try to reflect our experiences and feelings onto theirs. Being genuine in wanting to listen allows the other person to be open and sharing.
Empathy is one of the most important components of listening non-judgmentally. It can be easy to offer advice as to what you would do, but most of the time, the other person just wants to be heard. Some good empathic responses are:
"I'm so sorry you're going through this."
"This must be so hard for you."
"You must feel really frustrated with all of this."
These simple empathetic responses can help the person feel that their emotions are validated. This, consequently, helps them feel seen, heard, valued, supported and less alone.
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