Counselling and communication in hospital dentistry

Many of the people who are members of hospital dental teams are highly moti vated, caring individuals. Unfortunately, though, they are not given the ki nd of training or support that is necessary to enable them to perform their tasks most effectively. This study was initiated at a hospital dental clinic where burdensome cutba cks and reorganization had been keenly felt by the personnel. A counselling group was formed under the leadership of a professional counsellor, and in the course of the year there were seven meetings, each of which lasted 1.5 -2 hours. The open way in which counselling was designed presented opportun ities for the six group members to influence the topics of each meeting, so mething all of them preferred to more structured sessions. Different stress factors in the environment were discussed. The group members concluded that the counselling programme had increased th eir self esteem and facilitated effective communication between the group a cid patients by giving them all the opportunity to discuss barriers and con fusing clinical situations. Counselling had also facilitated interpersonal relationships between the team members by revealing hierarchical difficulti es. Apart from the clear humanitarian need for counselling there is a good econ omic argument. Effective staff support is not: a luxury, nor is it a waste of time. Adequate time for counselling must be provided, simply.