AAACE 2021 Annual Conference

Intergroup communications, healthy dialogue

The roundtable will discuss prioritizing the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of intergroup discussions on social justice topics.  Applying the therapeutic communications framework to diverse learning settings, participants will discuss how to provide learners with support and information while maintaining a level of professional distance and objectivity.    

This session is the beginning of a research inquiry. The purpose is to discuss the merits of using the therapeutic communications framework to promote healthy intergroup dialogue about social justice topics. Used primarily by healthcare professionals, the therapeutic communication framework is an active communication style using a collection of techniques to prioritize patients' physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The framework allows patients to work through problems independently while the healthcare professional remains supportive but objective. Using this framework, we can aspire to move past the passive approach historically embraced in our social and organizational settings used to avoid social justice discussions; avoidance is unhealthy. It has led to substantial cultural and political divides, whether on social media, at the family dinner table, or the water cooler. The therapeutic communications framework could be part of a healthy solution in creating trust between educators and participants and develop a leaping-of point from which we can encourage transformational learning.