Today, you’ll learn about what to expect from this pathway and how to use the advice in it. Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed by all this new information. We’ll walk you through each note step by step and regularly recap what you’ve learned. Just take it slowly. You can do this!

Good communication is essential in all of our relationships - it helps us to understand others’ needs, make plans and feel loved. But not everyone knows how to communicate respectfully and effectively, and this can be apparent in abusive relationships.

Everyone has different ways of communicating. Some people want to avoid conflict, some want to dominate and some might even have a combination of the two. As well as understanding different patterns, there’s also skills that you can develop and share that help you to feel more confident in your communications.

We want to help you:

• Learn how to say no without guilt
• Express your ideas
• Establish healthy or personal boundaries in relationships and at work

Through the next 11 notes, we’ll help you understand different styles of communication, what gets in the way of good communication, and the things you can practice to feel more confident in your communication.

Remember: Communication is a skill that can be learnt and practised.

Action: Listen to those around you, observe the different ways in which they are communicating.

In the next note, we will look at different communication styles in more depth.

The Soul Medicine team

Don’t forget: You can do this! We are with you.

PS. Everything in this pathway is based on what a psychologist learns through their training. If you are curious to learn more, here are three books:

• The Assertiveness workbook by Randy J. Paterson
• Applied Behavior Analysis by Cooper, Heron and Heward
• Learning and behavior by Mark E. Bouton