Strategies of clinical listening

Some of the problems that confront the clinician in seeking to comprehend patients' accounts of their problems are discussed. It must be anticipated that these will be systematically deficient, both because of limitations in patients' awareness and because of the effects of the communication situations. Several strategies of listening that are available: (a) attention to patients' exact language, (b) heuristic strategies, (c) selective tuning, (d) relating information to emerging formulations and (e) 'evenly suspended attention' are discussed. the importance of the scientific investigation of clinical listening is emphasized, so that sound methods of training in listening can be developed.