Hiya Hazel,
I can understand how this technique could be good in a hospital environment and where it allows feedback to almost if you like to be "more sincere" and focussed rather than how we normally respond to such questions by giving answers which we think they want to hear. This approach is often used when teaching people how best to communicate, particularly within work environments and even more where there are issues like clashes of personality etc going on. The reason why getting people to refer to their emotions rather than applying their logic to the situations is that it can diffuse defensive or aggressive reactions from the other parties, particularly when you are wanting to say, deliver negative feedback, or criticism or complaints.
Let's use a scenario type thing... They have asked for feedback about how the staff on the ward treat the patients and I want to feed back to them that I don't like how they talk to me in a condescending manner and how I am ignored when I ask for something like help to go to the bathroom.
Response 1 is likely to be the non-confrontational one - yeah I'm treated fine, no worries, I know you're busy at times [all the time thinking "thank goodness I am not staying here permanently and am being discharged tomorrow"]
Response 2 is perhaps where you feel you should tell them what they need to hear and so you tell them: I think that your attitude is all wrong and in particular Sue Smith who is nasty to everyone, is lazy, scruffily dressed and its not just me but everyone here hates her. Others are not much better, I don't need to be spoken to as though I am deaf and can't understand a word you're saying..do you know who I am - how dare you speak to me like that, in fact even if I hadn't been asked as part of this feedback I was going to raise a complaint anyway. [immediate reaction to the receiver of the information is to become defensive and to confront the accusations which are being made, which then in turn of course seek to just endorse the person's feedback in the first instance]
Response 3 is where the Emotional Touchpoints approach can be beneficial as the feedback is likely then to go along the lines of ... I am not sure that the staff on the ward realise how anxious I am about being in hospital and being away from home as well as not knowing what is wrong with me. Sometimes I feel very old and that I am no longer being looked at as a person when people talk to me in a tone that reminds me of how my mother used to talk to me when I was a child. I know that you are all very busy people and I really do try not to make your work harder for you but I get really scared and anxious about having to ask you to take me to the bathroom. I get worried that if you can't help me straight away that i might have an accident and I am really embarassed about not being able to do things like to go the bathroom on my own any more. I now sit and wait as long as possible before pressing the buzzer in case you are too busy to help me. [So, using the emotional touchpoints technique, no accusations are being made because the person is talking about how things affect them and their feelings. No matter what anyone elses view is, no one can ever deny how you are feeling. For this reason the person receiving the feedback does not have that defensive reaction nor the need to respond in a defensive manner. Also what you find is that the person on the receiving end can personally relate to the emotions the person feels, then having found that empathy, automatically acknowledges the problems and looks for solutions that would help those emotions improve]
It is a technique which I was taught when I was doing coaching, particularly when dealing with situations where more than one party was involved and the relationship had become unmanageable.
Then of course the big question, how could it be used with dementia sufferers. I will go away and ponder this in more detail but my initial thoughts are where would you even start...Reading the example on the link you provided, I did have a quiet chuckle as I tried to envisage what my mother would have said to the questions...
How did you feel when you arrived at hospital? Am I in hospital? I am not in hospital. There is nothing wrong with me - i never need a hospital! What makes you think this is a hospital - it is a hotel and I am here on my holidays.
What do you think of the food here? Food? No one feeds you here at all. I have been here for weeks and have not had one thing to eat or drink. What do you mean - I enjoyed my fish and chips at lunch time? I never ever ever eat fish. They don't give you any food here. Who told you I had fish?
Can you tell me how you were feeling when Sam came to help you have your shower today? Shower? I never have a shower. I have a bath. I had a bath this morning.
No, I was asking you how you were feeling - did you like Sam being there to help you? Who the heck is Sam? No one ever helps me! I don't need help with anything. What do you mean how am I feeling?
Yeah ok my mother was awkward hahaha Must now run in the family! But seriously, how do you get someone to even understand the quesitons without then having to go beyond that and ask them to describe it from an emotional point of view?
What is your thoughts on the approach? Can you see how it could be made to work? This could be an interesting discussion to have on here.
Fiona
