Encouraging emotional expression

Your job may expose you to individuals who have experienced traumatic events, such as illnesses, accidents or the death of someone they love. As a consequence your client can appear to be emotionally very upset. You should encourage the expression of emotions by asking your client about their feelings, their fears and the effect the event has had on their life. Such emotional expression is part of the treatment and may relieve their stress. Sometimes your client's emotion may be expressed in the form of irritation, anger or crying. When this happens it is important to remain patient and try not to criticise or judge your client.