INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION, LISTENING & MANAGING CONFLICT
Interpersonal Communication, Listening & Managing Conflict
Olivia Watkins
Grantham University
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INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION, LISTENING & MANAGING CONFLICT
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Drug abuse is a prevalent social issue that affects a lot of adolescence and youths.
Substance abuse rates are higher in male adolescents than female adolescents. According to
Murray &Lopez (2012), substance abuse refers to the hazardous use of psychoactive substances
that lead to dependence syndrome and other health related diseases. Interpersonal
communication and listening skills can help solve this social issue because most adolescents’
who find themselves trapped in abuse of substances, depression and other mental health issues
lack someone they can share with and listen to them. Murray &Lopez (2012) notes that 61%
percent of high school students have consumed alcohol by the end of high school, while 23
percent have consumed alcohol by 8th grade. 46 % of 12th graders have been drunk at least once
in their life. This shows that there is a need to establish why they consume drugs and the reason
behind that. The paper helps to evaluate, how interpersonal communication, listening, managing
conflict traits can help assist adolescents who abuse drugs on their recovery journey.
Interpersonal communication is the process by which people exchange information,
feeling and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages. For drug addicts, interpersonal
communication can help establish narrative and non-verbal skills that can help solve the key
cause of the abuse. The right interpersonal relationships can greatly improve the chances of a
successful recovery. The element of excellent interpersonal skills includes respect for these
people who are addicts, attentiveness, approachability, and humility (Banerjee et al.,2012). For
the counselors, it is critical to maintain good eye contact with the patient, avoid distractions and
it is good to approach patients with that level of respect you would want to have if you were a
patient yourself. For drug abuse addicts, interpersonal skill plays a huge role in reverting a
person who was a drug addict to a normal life. When adolescents are caught up with the web of
drugs, they begin to have new friends whom their daily interactions revolve around taking drugs.
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This means it is quite hard for the kid to quit taking drugs if one has friends who always talk
about using drugs. Adolescents become isolated and alienate those who are close to them and
love them most. The addicts lose the interpersonal relationship, and this makes him/her fall for
the wrong crowd that is deemed to be friends. Developing interpersonal communication is
important to help recover from drug abuse and play a significant part in the skills programs
(Leach, & Kranzler,2013). Communication skills for the drug abusers, when taken for
physiological educational classes will help them communicate better with others, be honest and
receive honest communication from others. Through interpersonal skills, the adolescents will be
able to open more about their actions, be honest about themselves and restoring their dignity.
Furthermore, they will be able to choose friends who won’t lead them to destructive activities.
Also, the counselors can choose the best approach to solve a case of drug abuse depending on
child needs.
Listening is another aspect that can help addicts tune in and be able to share innermost
secrets about their addiction journey. Listening in counseling serves three very important
functions. Good listening skills establish and promote trust between the counselor and the
patient, ensures messages are well understood and people can give feedback that avoids
assumptions and judgment (Lunenburg, 2010). Listening for the addicts is an important skill that
can help give a solution to the problem that makes them resort to alcohol. The adolescents who
struggle with addiction need to become better listeners because during the sessions a lot of
talking is involved by the therapist and counselors at the different stages of recovery. To gain
different perspectives of professionals, effective listening is crucial. It ensures that one grasps
everything that is said, and one can understand why they advocate for change and its importance.
Listening sharpness, the addicts’ awareness and that of the surrounding and hence keeps one
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mind open to change that one seeks in recovery. The addicts’ family listening skills also play a
vital role in their recovery. Getting to know the side of the recovering kid without having some
bias makes the recovery quick. If a family appear more judgmental and insensitive a child may
try to conceal some information that can aid in the recovery (Kalantarkousheh,2014). Family
members should provide empathy, compassion and listen to understand the victim in terms of
their fears, which makes them resort to drugs. Feeling that they are being listened to and people
want to help them, helps the addicts look towards the peace of soberness rather than the bitter
pain that addiction offers. Therefore, listening is a skill that can help solve drug abuse menace, if
the addicts are listened to well because this creates an environment that they can open more, and
solution provided.
Conflict resolution is an important skill to drug addicts taught in the counseling classes
because most of the time they get themselves disagreeing with their family. Families can be torn
apart and relationship destroyed if an addict refuses to do what is expected of him/her and thus
becomes unmanageable (Montemayor,2010). Conflicts normally arise from large and small
differences and it is part of relationships. Conflict management requires one to be a skilled
communicator and create an open environment by encouraging everyone to be part of the
solution and bring ideas that can help solve a situation. If one can resolve conflicts, then
maintaining healthy personal and professional relationships becomes very easy. Therefore,
conflict management gives a person recovering from the addiction confidence in dealing with it
without having to hide about recovery.
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References
Banerjee, S. C., Greene, K., Magsamen-Conrad, K., Elek, E., & Hecht, M. L. (2015).
Interpersonal communication outcomes of a media literacy alcohol prevention
curriculum. Translational behavioral medicine, 5(4), 425-432.
Kalantarkousheh, S. M., Rasouli, M., Abolfathi, R., & Nouri, N. (2014). Effectiveness of
communication skills in decreasing addiction tendencies among male students from cities
within Tehran province. Euro J Experiment Bio, 4(1), 64-70.
Leach, D., & Kranzler, H. R. (2013). An interpersonal model of addiction relapse. Addictive
disorders & their treatment, 12(4), 183.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Communication: The process, barriers, and improving effectiveness.
Schooling, 1(1), 1-10.
Montemayor, R. (2010). Parents and adolescents in conflict: All families some of the time and
some families most of the time. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 3(1-2), 83-103.
Murray CJL, Lopez AD (2012) The addiction rates among adolescents. Geneva, World Health
Organization, Harvard School of Public Health, World Ban
Trenholm, S., & Jensen, A. (2008). Interpersonal communication (pp. 10-12). New York:
Oxford University Press.
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