KEY BENEFIT: This sixth edition of the best-selling Learning the Art of Helping: Building Blocks and Techniques emphasizes the techniques and skills necessary to be effective in the art of helping, from basic building blocks to advanced therapeutic techniques. The text is practical, innovative, and focused on the relationship between helper and client. The author incorporates the latest research on effective treatments, while offering an integrative perspective. The author’s conversational tone is appealing to students, yet the book is carefully referenced for instructors. The goal is to make beginning helpers become “reflective practitioners.” “Stop and Reflect” sections, exercises, homework, class discussion topics, and Journal Starters support this approach. The sixth edition includes new sections highlighting issues of culture in research, challenges related to gender differences, and helping skills specific to children.   KEY TOPICS: Helping as a Personal Journey; The Therapeutic Relationship; Invitational Skills; Reflecting Skills: Paraphrasing; Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Feelings; Advanced Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Meaning and Summarizing; Challenging Skills; Assessment and Goal Setting; Change Techniques, Part I; Change Techniques, Part II; Evaluation, Reflection, and Termination; Skills for Helping Someone Who Is Different MARKET: Learning the Art of Helping is appropriate for courses in Counseling Process, Skills, and Techniques and Counseling Interventions, or as a refresher and hands-on resource for counselors new to their professions

Table of Contents:
Brief Table of Contents 1. Helping as a Personal Journey 2. The Therapeutic Relationship 3. Invitational Skills 4. Reflecting Skills: Paraphrasing 5. Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Feelings 6. Advanced Reflecting Skills: Reflecting Meaning and Summarizing 7. Challenging Skills 8. Assessment and Goal Setting 9. Change Techniques, Part I 10. Change Techniques, Part II 11. Evaluation, Reflection, and Termination 12. Skills for Helping Someone Who Is Different Glossary References Index   Detailed Table of Contents Chapter 1 HELPING AS A PERSONAL JOURNEY 1 The Demands of the Journey 1 Becoming a Reflective Practitioner 2     Using Reflection to Help You Overcome Challenging Helping Situations and Enhance Your Learning 3     Using Reflection to Help Clients with Backgrounds Different from Your Own 3     Using Reflection to Accommodate New Information about Yourself 4     Learning to Reflect through Exercises in This Book 6 What is Helping? 6     Psychological Helping 8     Interviewing 8     What Are Counseling and Psychotherapy? 10     Coaching 11 Challenges You Will Face in Learning the Art of Helping 11     The Challenge of Development 12     Taking Responsibility for Your Own Learning 12     Finding a Mentor 14     Finding the Perfect Technique 14     In Limbo 14     Accepting Feedback and Being Perfect 15     Following Ethical Guidelines 15     Individual Differences 17 Who Can Be an Effective Helper? 17     What Can You Bring to a Client? 19 The Nuts and Bolts of Helping 21     Learning Basic Skills and Common Therapeutic Factors 21     Therapeutic Building Blocks 22     Change Techniques 24     The Importance of the Building Blocks 24 The Stages of the Helping Process: A Road Map 24 Summary 26 Exercises 27     Group Exercises 27     Group Discussions 28     Written Exercises 28     Self-Assessment 29     Homework 29     Journal Starters 30 Chapter 2 THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP 31 The Importance of the Therapeutic Relationship in Creating Change 33     What Is a Helping Relationship? Is a Professional Helping Relationship the Same as a Friendship? 34     The Unique Characteristics of a Therapeutic Relationship 36     What Clients Want in a Helping Relationship 38 How Can a Helper Create a Therapeutic Relationship? 38     Relationship Enhancers 39 Other Factors That Help or Strain the Therapeutic Relationship 45     Facilitative Office Environment 45     Distractions 46     Appearing Credible and Taking a Nonhierarchical Stance 46     Therapeutic Faux Pas 47     Transference and Countertransference 50 Summary 56 Exercises 57     Group Exercises 57     Small Group Discussions 57     Homework 58     Journal Starters 59 Chapter 3 INVITATIONAL SKILLS 60 Listening to the Client’s Story 61 Nonverbal Communication between Helper and Client 64     Regulation 64     Intimacy 65     Persuasion 65 Nonverbal Skills in the Helping Relationship 65     Eye Contact 66     Body Position 66     Attentive Silence 67     Voice Tone 67     Facial Expressions and Gestures 68     Physical Distance 68     Touching and Warmth 69 Opening Skills: How to Invite 71     Saying Hello: How to Start the First Session 72     How to Start the Next Session 72     Encouragers 73     Questions 74 Summary 79 Exercises 80     Group Exercises 80     Small Group Discussions 82     Written Exercises 83     Self-Assessment 84     Homework 84     Journal Starters 84 Chapter 4 REFLECTING SKILLS: PARAPHRASING 85 Reasons for Reflecting 86 Reflecting Content and Thoughts, Reflecting Feelings, and Reflecting Meaning 86 The Skill of Paraphrasing: Reflecting Content and Thoughts 89     How to Paraphrase 89     Paraphrasing: What It Is and What It Isn’t 90     When to Paraphrase and the Nonjudgmental Listening Cycle 91 Common Problems in Paraphrasing 94     Simply Reciting the Facts 94     Difficulty Listening to the Story because of “Noise” 94     Worrying about What to Say Next 95     Being Judgmental and Taking the Client’s Side 95     Being Judgmental of the Client 96     Turning a Paraphrase into a Question 96 Summary 97 Exercises 97     Group Exercises 97     Small Group Discussions 98     Written Exercises 99     Self-Assessment 99     Homework 99     Journal Starters 100 Chapter 5 REFLECTING SKILLS: REFLECTING FEELINGS 101 The Importance of Understanding Emotions 101 The Skill of Reflecting Feelings 102     The Benefits of Reflecting Feelings 102     Why It Is Difficult to Reflect Feelings 103 How to Reflect Feelings 104     Step 1: Identifying the Feeling or Feelings 104     Step 2: Putting the Emotion into Words 104 Common Problems in Reflecting Feelings and Their Antidotes 110     Asking the Client, “How Did You Feel?” or “How Did That Make You Feel?” 112     Waiting Too Long to Reflect 112     Making Your Reflection a Question 112     Combining a Reflection and a Question: The Error of the Compound Response 113     Focusing on Other People 113     Interrupting Too Soon and Letting the Client Talk Too Long 114     Confusing the Words Feel and Think 115     Missing the Mark: Overshooting and Undershooting 115     Letting Your Reflecting Statements Go On Too Long 116 Summary 117 Exercises 117     Group Exercises 117     Written Exercises 119     Self-Assessment 120     Homework 120     Journal Starters 120 Chapter 6 ADVANCED REFLECTING SKILLS: REFLECTING MEANING AND SUMMARIZING 121 Meaning, Uncovering the Next Layer 122     Why Reflect Meaning? 124     Challenging the Client to Go Deeper: The Inner Circle Strategy 126     Worldview: Meanings Are Personal 129 How to Uncover Meaning in the Story 130     Reflecting Meaning 130     Using Open Questions to Uncover Meaning 133 Summarizing 134     Focusing Summaries 135     Signal Summaries 135     Thematic Summaries 136     Planning Summaries 136 The Nonjudgmental Listening Cycle Ends with Summarizing 137     What Happens after the Nonjudgmental Listening Cycle? 138     A Questioning Cycle Typically Found Early in Training 138 Summary 140 Exercises 141     Group Exercises 141     Small Group Discussions 142     Written Exercises 143     Self-Assessment 145     Homework 145     Journal Starters 146 Chapter 7 CHALLENGING SKILLS 147 When Should We Use the Challenging Skills? 149 Giving Feedback 150     Why Is Feedback Important? 150     How to Give Feedback 151 Confrontation 154     What Is a Discrepancy? 154     Why Should Discrepancies Be Confronted? 154     Cognitive Dissonance and Confrontation: Why Confrontation Works 155     Types of Discrepancies and Some Examples 156     How to Confront 158     Steps to Confrontation 159     Common Problems in Confrontation and Their Antidotes 161     Final Cautions about Confrontation 162 Other Ways of Challenging 163     Relationship Immediacy 163     Teaching the Client Self-Confrontation 164     Challenging Irrational Beliefs 165     Humor as Challenge 166 Summary 167     Exercises 168     Group Exercises 168     Small Group Discussions 169     Written Exercises 170     Self-Assessment 170     Homework 174     Journal Starters 174 Chapter 8 ASSESSMENT AND GOAL SETTING 175 Why Assessment? 176     Assessment Is a Critical Part of Helping 177     Reasons to Spend Time in the Assessment Stage 178 Two Informal Methods of Assessment That Every Helper Uses: Observation and Questioning 181     Observation 181     Questioning 183 Conducting an Intake Interview: What to Assess? 184     A. Affective Assessment 184     B. Behavioral Assessment 184     C. Cognitive Assessment 184     1. Developmental Issues 185     2. Family History 186     3. Cultural and Religious/Spiritual Background 186     4. Physical Challenges and Strengths 186 Categorizing Clients and Their Problems 188     Organizing the Flood of Information: Making a Diagnosis 188 Goal-Setting Skills 188     Where Do I Go from Here? Set Goals! 188     Why Must We Set Goals? 190     When to Set Goals 191 What Are the Characteristics of Constructive Goals? 192     Goals Should Be Simple and Specific 192     Goals Should Be Stated Positively 194     Goals Should Be Important to the Client 195     Goals Should Be Collaboration between Helper and Client 195     Goals Should Be Realistic 196 Resources for Identifying and Clarifying Goals 197 The Technique of Using Questions to Identify a Goal 198     Questions That Help Make the Goal More Specific 198     Questions That Help Turn a Problem into a Goal 198     Questions to Determine a Goal’s Importance 199     Questions to Enhance Collaboration on Goal Setting 199     Questions That Help Confirm That the Goal Is Realistic 199 The Technique of Boiling Down the Problem 201 Summary 203 Exercises 204 Group Exercises 204     Small Group Discussions 205     Written Exercises 206     Self-Assessment 206     Homework 206     Journal Starters 207 Chapter 9 CHANGE TECHNIQUES, PART I 208 What Are Change Techniques? 209 REPLAN and the Common Therapeutic Factors 210     Understanding the Factors or Major Components of the REPLAN Model 210     How the REPLAN System Helps You Plan Treatment 211     Using the Common Therapeutic Factors 212     Steps in Treatment Planning Using the REPLAN Model 212 Enhancing Efficacy and Self-Esteem 214     Sources of Low Self-Esteem 216     Silencing the Internal Critic: The Technique of Countering 218 Practicing New Behaviors 221     Role-Playing 223     Giving Homework Assignments as Practice 226 Lowering and Raising Emotional Arousal 230     Reducing Negative Emotions 230     Reducing Anxiety and Stress 231     Raising Emotional Arousal and Facilitating Expression 234     Creating Positive Emotions 236 Summary 237 Exercises 238     Group Exercises 238     Small Group Discussions 240     Self-Assessment 241     Homework 241     Journal Starters 242 Chapter 10 CHANGE TECHNIQUES, PART II 243 Activating Client Expectations, Hope, and Motivation 244     The Demoralization Hypothesis 244     Motivation and Readiness 245     Increasing Expectations and Fostering Hope 246 Providing New Learning Experiences 256     Definitions of New Learning Experiences 256     What Client Problems Are Helped through New Learning? 257     Common Methods for Providing New Learning Experiences 257 Summary 272 Exercises 272     Group Exercises 272     Small Group Discussions 274     Written Exercises 274     Self-Assessment 275     Homework 275     Journal Starters 275 Chapter 11 EVALUATION, REFLECTION, AND TERMINATION 276 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Helping 277 Basic Outcome Evaluation Methods 279     Use Progress Notes to Track Improvement on Goals 279     Use a Global Measure to Detect Overall Improvement 279     Consistently Assess the Client’s View of Progress and the Therapeutic Relationship 280     Use a Specific Measure 281     Use Subjective Scaling and Self-Report to Measure Improvement 281     Use Another Person to Monitor Change 282     Use Client Satisfaction Scales 282     Use Goal-Attainment Measures 282 Termination 283     How to Prevent Premature Termination 283     How to Tell Whether Termination Is Needed 285     How to Prepare a Client for Termination 286     Dealing with Loss at Termination 286     The Helper’s Reaction to Termination 287 How to Maintain Therapeutic Gains and Prevent Relapse Following Termination 287     Follow-Up 288     Booster Sessions 288     Engaging Paraprofessionals 288     Self-Help Groups 288     Continue Self-Monitoring Activities 288     Role-Playing for Relapse Prevention 289     Letter Writing 289 Summary 289 Exercises 289     Group Exercises 289     Small Group Discussions 290     Written Exercises 290     Self-Assessment 291     Homework 291     Journal Starters 296 Chapter 12 SKILLS FOR HELPING SOMEONE WHO IS DIFFERENT 297 Differences Make a Difference 297     Mismatch between Client and Helper 298     How Can You Become Culturally Competent? 298     What Is Culture, and What Should We Do about It? 299 Skills for Helping Someone Who Is Culturally Different 300     The Skill of Cultural Study and Cultural Immersion 300     A Tutorial Stance: The Skill of Understanding the Client’s Culture by Listening 301     Tapping Cultural Support Systems 301     Achieving Credibility and Trust 301     Culturally Adapting Treatment: Tailoring Your Approach to the Client 302     Acknowledging Differences by Broaching 303 Skills for Dealing with Gender Issues 303     Challenges Caused by Differences in Gender 303     Skills for Addressing Gender Issues 304     When the Difference Is Gender 305 Skills for Helping a Child 306     Identifying Helping Skills for Working with Children 307     Using Basic Skills as a Guideline for Working with Children 311     The Case for Play Therapy 311 Summary 312 Exercises 312     Group Exercises 312     Small Group Discussions 312     Self-Assessment 313     Homework 313     Journal Starters 313 Glossary 315 References 323 Index 349