Discover the practical skills for helping others.
Whether you are considering becoming a counsellor, have to provide some form of counselling as part of your job, or are simply interested in communicating well, Counselling Skills For Dummies provides the perfect introduction to the practical basics of counselling. Starting with a thorough guide to the qualities, knowledge and skills needed to become a ‘listening helper’, the book goes on to provide a framework for a counselling session, helping you to successfully manage a potentially daunting process.
Counselling Skills For Dummies, 2nd Edition:
- Illustrates how you can create a positive relationship between listener and speaker
- Teaches you how to structure a helping conversation
- Explains how asking the right questions are important to the progression of the relationship between speaker and listener
- Shows how you can better understand yourself, which is a crucial step in ensuring that you break down your own barriers to listening
Introduction 1
Part I: Focusing on Yourself First 7
Chapter 1: Introducing Counselling Skills 9
Chapter 2: Understanding Yourself through Personal Development 17
Chapter 3: Taking Care of Yourself 37
Chapter 4: Maintaining Good Practice 49
Part II: The Listening Helper 61
Chapter 5: Being a Listening Helper 63
Chapter 6: Qualities, Skills, and Knowledge for Listening 81
Chapter 7: Recognising Your Own Barriers to Listening 97
Part III: Structuring a Helping Conversation 111
Chapter 8: Establishing a Helping Relationship 113
Chapter 9: Stage One: Beginning the Discussion 129
Chapter 10: Stage Two: Deepening Understanding 155
Chapter 11: Stage Three: Working with Action and Endings 165
Part IV: Understanding People and Problems 191
Chapter 12: Being Prepared for Common Personal Problems 193
Chapter 13: Understanding People from a Social Perspective 211
Chapter 14: Understanding Individuals from a Psychological Perspective 223
Part V: Handling Challenges 239
Chapter 15: Coping with Different Types of Helping Conversations 241
Chapter 16: Dealing with Difficulties 253
Part VI: The Part of Tens 263
Chapter 17: Ten or So Key Counselling Skills 265
Chapter 18: Ten Resources for Improving Your Counselling Skills 271
Chapter 19: Ten Great Counselling Books 277
Part VII: Appendixes 281
Appendix A: Case Studies and Discussion 283
Appendix B: Becoming a Counsellor 301
Index 315
Learn to:
- Develop the knowledge and skills to become a 'listening helper'
- Discover the framework for a counselling session
- Create a positive relationship between listener and speaker
- Improve understanding of yourself to break down barriers to listening
Learn the practical skills to become a 'listening helper'
Actively listening to people in distress, and having healing dialogues with them, is fundamental to what a counsellor does. Whether you're considering becoming a counsellor, are called upon to provide some form of counselling in your job, or you'd simply like to improve your listening and communication skills, this book gets you up and running. Counsellor and therapist Gail Evans provides you with the practical tools to become a 'listening helper' and supplies you with powerful strategies for successfully navigating what can be a challenging process.
- Listen to yourself first discover if counselling is the right path for you and how to overcome your personal barriers to being a 'listening helper'
- See the whole person learn to understand people within the context of their whole lives and the social and psychological forces that shape their experiences
- Identify the problem find out about the types of problems you'll encounter and how to read the signs and symptoms of distress
- Have a game plan use a proven three-stage process for beginning a helping conversation, going deeper to identify the problem, and moving towards resolution
- Be prepared discover strategies for dealing with unplanned or unexpected conversations in a variety of contexts and media
Open the book and find:
- Ways to overcome your own barriers to listening
- Common personal problems counsellors deal with
- A framework for structuring helping conversations
- Expert advice for dealing with difficult or dangerous situations
- Tips for counselling friends and family
- Fascinating real-life case studies
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Gail Evans is a Licensed Counsellor with more than 30 years' clinical experience. A former Head of the Counselling Studies Unit at Sheffield Hallam University, Gail now works as Programme Director at The Academy: Sheffield Psychotherapy and Counselling Education (SPACE), a new institute for teaching counselling and related subjects. She is also co-founder of Cornerstone Counselling and Therapy Centre, based in Sheffield.