Human Relationships and Communication in the Kaigo Team

Human relations & communication（人間関係とコミュニケーション）· Material

人間関係とコミュニケーション · Updated 30 October 2026

The 人間関係とコミュニケーション field deals with the human side of kaigo work: how professional relationships are built on clear principles, how users’ needs and life stages are understood, and how team members maintain healthy working relationships. Classic material that almost always appears is バイステックの7原則, Maslow’s theory, and Erikson’s stages of development.

Biestek’s seven principles

The professional relationship between care worker and user is guided by Biestek’s seven principles （バイステックの7原則） from casework practice: 個別化 (treating each person as a unique individual), 意図的な感情表出 (giving users room to express their feelings, including negative ones), 統制された情緒的関与 (the care worker is emotionally involved, but in a controlled way), and 受容 (accepting users as they are).

The remaining three principles are 非審判的態度 (not judging whether a user’s attitudes are right or wrong), 自己決定 (the final decision rests with the user themselves), and 秘密保持 (maintaining confidentiality). A care worker who violates these principles — for example by deciding unilaterally or by judging — damages the relationship of trust.

• The 7 principles: individualization, expressing feelings, controlled emotion, acceptance
• Continued: non-judgmental, the user’s own decision, confidentiality
• A professional relationship is different from an ordinary friendship

Human needs: Maslow and Erikson

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs （マズローの欲求階層説） has five levels from the bottom: physiological needs （生理的欲求）, safety （安全の欲求）, social/love （社会的欲求）, esteem （承認欲求）, and self-actualization （自己実現の欲求） at the top. Unmet lower-level needs usually become the priority of attention in care.

Erikson divided life into eight psychosocial stages; each stage has a developmental task. The task of old age is 統合 vs 絶望 — accepting and integrating one’s whole life journey; older adults who can look back on their lives with a sense of wholeness will face the end of life with calm.

• Maslow: physiological → safety → social → esteem → self-actualization
• Erikson’s old age: 統合 vs 絶望
• Life review （回想） helps older adults achieve integration

Assertive communication and team relationships

Assertive communication （アサーション） is expressing your own thoughts and feelings honestly while still respecting the other person. It differs from the aggressive style, which forces one’s will on others, and from the passive style, which always gives in until dissatisfaction builds up inside.

Within a team, healthy relationships are supported by supervision （スーパービジョン） — guidance from more experienced workers to review practice and emotions in the work — and by attention to burnout （バーンアウト）: prolonged emotional exhaustion that makes care workers withdraw from users, which must be prevented with team support rather than borne alone.

• アサーション: express yourself firmly without attacking others
• スーパービジョン: senior guidance for practice and emotions
• バーンアウト: emotional exhaustion — a team matter, not just an individual’s

The care worker’s self-awareness

Care workers need to understand themselves （自己覚知）: the values, experiences, and prejudices they carry can influence how they judge users. Without this awareness, care workers easily mix their own feelings into the professional relationship.

Two phenomena to watch for are 転移 — the user directing feelings from past relationships onto the care worker — and 逆転移, the reverse from the care worker’s side. Both occur naturally, but they must be recognized and discussed in supervision so that professional boundaries are maintained.

• 自己覚知: know your own values and prejudices
• 転移 from the user, 逆転移 from the care worker
• Discussing them in supervision keeps professional boundaries

Key terms

Frequently tested points

• Memorize バイステックの7原則 as one package — questions often ask which one is NOT included.
• Maslow’s order must not be reversed: self-actualization is always at the top.
• According to Erikson, the developmental task of old age is 統合 (integrity) versus 絶望.
• アサーション differs from aggressive: expressing yourself while respecting the other person.

Independent study material for the Japanese national Certified Care Worker exam (介護福祉士国家試験). Official terms and rules may change — always cross-check with the latest official sources.