A Brief Primer of Helping Skills

A Brief Primer of Helping Skills is a highly readable, accessible, and practical introduction to the skills of helping and making a difference in people′s lives. In an engaging and concise style, author Jeffrey A. Kottler gives students in various professions an overview of the theory, process, and skills of helping methods. It is designed as an operating manual for those in human service professions to learn the basics involved in developing helping relationships, assessing and diagnosing complaints, promoting exploration and understanding, and designing and implementing action plans. Key Features Offers a brief introduction to the helping process: Written in an accessible and conversational style, this book helps students and professionals become familiar with the basic process quickly. Provides personal applications: This book helps students enrich their lives while learning how to be more helpful to others. Includes applications to a variety of settings and disciplines: Students can actually use material and skills in the book in all the various domains in which they function—at work, in volunteer agencies, with friends and family. Uses an integrative approach: The best features of all major theories and research are combined into a unified model of helping that is responsive to different needs. Intended Audience This supplemental text is ideal for introductory undergraduate and graduate courses such as Introduction to Social Work, Introduction to Counseling, and Introduction to Human Services in the fields of counseling, psychology, human services, social work, education, family studies, marital and family therapy, pastoral work, nursing, human resource development, and other helping professions. It is also an excellent resource for beginning practitioners.

Table of Contents:
Preface Ch 1: Learning Helping Skills Why be a Helper? Changes in the Field A Daunting Journey Making a Difference Personal Qualities Take Some Advice For Review For Reflection and Practice Further Reading Ch 2: Theories of Helping Internalizing Theories What Theories Can Do For You Theories You Should Know About Conclusions About Theory For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 3: Processes and Stages Stages of Helping Stage I: Pretreatment Stage II: Exploration Stage III: Insight Stage IV: Action Stave V: Evaluation Closure Issues For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 4: Helping Relationships Reflect Back Uses of the Helping Relationship Customized Relationships Basically Speaking Practical Issues Getting the Relationship Started For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 5: Exploration Skills Internal Attitudes Attending Behaviors Practice Makes Perfect Presenting Yourself Listening Time to Practice Eliciting Information Asking Questions Assessing Strengths and Resources Formulating Diagnoses Assessing Risk Responding to Content Responding to Feelings Try It Out Facing Silence Establishing Goals Making the Transition to Action For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 6: Action Skills A Check-off List Ways of Taking Action Planning an Intervention Contracting for Change Confrontation Teaching People to Think Differently Constructing Alternative Stories Role-playing and Rehearsal Behavioral Interventions Giving Feedback Using Imagery Dealing With Resistance Employing Adjuncts When You Don′t Have Enough Time For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 7: Brief Interventions Some Cautionary Advice Principles of Brief Intervention A Different Way of Thinking About Change An Abbreviated Process Reframing Problems Look for Exceptions Find Out What Works Miracle Question A Single Session Crisis Intervention Choose Your Method Carefully For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 8: Leading Groups Differences Between Group and Individual Sessions Some Advantages and Disadvantages Work With a Co-leader When to Intervene in Groups Practical Considerations in Running a Group For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Ch 9: Looking at Yourself Practicing What You Preach Making Helping a Lifestyle Ethical Issues Getting the Most From Supervision Joys of Helping For Review For Reflection and Practice For Further Reading Index

About the Author :
Jeffrey A. Kottler is one of the most prolific authors in the fields of counseling, psychotherapy, and education, having written more than 90 books about a wide range of subjects. He has authored a dozen texts for counselors and therapists that are used in universities around the world and a dozen books each for practicing therapists and educators. Some of his most highly regarded works include Creative Breakthroughs in Therapy, The Mummy at the Dining Room Table: Eminent Therapists Reveal Their Most Unusual Cases and What They Teach Us About Human Behavior, Bad Therapy, The Client Who Changed Me, Divine Madness, Change: What Leads to Personal Transformation, Stories We’ve Heard, Stories We’ve Told: Life-Changing Narratives in Therapy and Everyday Life, and Therapy Over 50. He has been an educator for 40 years, having worked as a teacher, counselor, and therapist in preschool, middle school, mental health center, crisis center, nongovernmental organization, university, community college, private practice, and disaster relief settings. He has served as a Fulbright scholar and senior lecturer in Peru and Iceland, as well as worked as a visiting professor in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Nepal. He is professor of counseling at California State University, Fullerton.