International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 9 • No. 6 • June 2018 doi:10.30845/ijbss.v9n6p2 10 Therapeutic Communication and Client Counseling: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Strategic Interpersonal Engagement Ephraim Okoro, PhD Howard University School of Business 2400 Sixth St NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA Patrick Adigwe, PhD Howard University School of Education 2400 Sixth St NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA Abstract This study operationalizes strategic communication in the context of counseling environment. It emphasizes the concept of strategic communication as an outgrowth of therapeutic engagement between clients and counselors. It then explains that strategic communication is intended to achieve a counselor’s purpose or mission and therapeutic interaction is designed to create an advantageous relationship for the client, which is the focus of counselor-client relationship. In the comparison and contrast of the two communication concepts, the study synthesizes that therapeutic communication utilizes effective verbal and nonverbal behaviors, as well as cross- cultural communication competence, to cultivate a relationship that fosters free and open sharing of information and ideas between healthcare professionals and their clients. Studies (Knapp & Hall, 2002; Duggan, 2006) indicate that clients differ significantly in their backgrounds, race, ethnicity, and nationality; therefore, strategic communication correlates with therapeutic interactive process in which human empathy and relationship building is the focus in client treatment. Fundamentally, this study suggests that counselors’ effective use of communicative, strategic, and therapeutic skills in counseling and treatment procedures facilitates the establishment of a trusting and respectful relationship, resulting in a rapid client/patient recovery. Consequently, the overall treatment experience is less stressful for clients, allowing the cultivation of increased trust and dependability on counselors and the treatment process is exceedingly fast. The study then concludes that strategic communication correlates with therapeutic engagement, which is an objective, purposeful, and empathic form of clinical interaction designed to eliminate unnecessary agonizing and time-consuming clients’ treatment. Recommendations provided include avoiding non-therapeutic type of communication, such as engaging in personal/intimate discussions, creating argumentative/defensive/aggressive solicitation and response format, and elimination of abrupt change of subject, which discourages a two-way exchange of information. Strategic communication, therapeutic communication, counselor-client relationship, verbal-and nonverbal behavior, cross-cultural competence Introduction Recent studies over the past four decades have acknowledged that effective communication skills are critical to the delivery of high quality counseling, and that they are decisive factors in evaluating and determining the levels of client satisfaction, engagement, and recovery. The unsatisfactory state of clients’ state of mind could be effectively analyzed using therapeutic interpersonal communication. A number of psychologists and counselors (Egan, 1975; Ivey & Authier, 1978, Garnston, 1995) analyzed the struggles and challenges associated with communication competence needed to perform or conduct one-on-one interviews with clients or patients. As a result, some academic institutions are requiring that psychology curricular be expanded to include training and acquisition of fundamental communication skills for efficient and effective interaction or discussion with clients. In their assessment of clients’ reactions to treatment, Ivey & Authier (1978) and Sties, Barkham, Mellor -Clark, & Connell, 2008) concurred that training programs requiring communication skills and several communicative activities are systematic and structured, designed to enhance interpersonal and inter-cultural communication competence.