Synopses & Reviews
Master the qualities of a skilled therapist with THE ELEMENTS OF COUNSELING! Brief and practical, this handy guide focuses on relationship building, the counseling process, and self-exploration, and presents information that is essential for beginning counselors to know and for experienced counselors to remember. Designed to give you immediate access to information without having to read pages of commentary, this counseling text serves as a quick reference for both counselors in training and practitioners. Topics and issues covered include what counseling is as well as what it is not.
Review
"This text provides a simple, condensed description of all the qualities of a skilled therapist. It captures the art of therapy like no other text and is a must as a companion text for beginning therapists and should be required reading for certification and licensure renewal."
Review
"I would describe this manuscript to a colleague by stating that it contains guidelines that every experienced counselor wished they knew going into their first counseling sessions. It is written at a level that beginning counselors can grasp, yet it is also a good review for practicing counselors."
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-108) and index.
About the Author
Scott T. Meier is a licensed psychologist who received his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He is associate professor and co-director of training of the Program in Counseling and Educational Psychology, SUNY Buffalo.
Table of Contents
1. Setting The Stage: Counseling Process. Make Personal Contact. Develop a Working Alliance. Explain Counseling to the Client. Pace and Lead the Client. Speak Briefly. When You Don't Know What to Say, Say Nothing. You May Confront As Much As You've Supported. If You Want To Change Something, Process It. Individualize Your Counseling. Notice Resistance. When In Doubt, Focus On Feelings. Plan For Termination at the Beginning of Counseling. Arrange the Physical Setting Appropriately. 2. Strategies to Assist Clients in Self-Exploration. Avoid Advice. Avoid Premature Problem Solving. Avoid Relying on Questions. Listen Closely to What Clients Say. Pay Attention to Nonverbals. Focus On the Client. Be Concrete. Utilize Metaphors. Summarize. 3. A Few Mistaken Assumptions. Agreement Does Not Equal Empathy. Do Not Assume That Change Is Simple. Positive Thinking Does Not Equal Rational Thinking. Make Psychological Assessments, Not Moral Judgements. Do Not Assume That You Know Clients' Feelings, Thoughts, And Behaviors. Do Not Assume That You Know How Clients React To Their Feelings, Thoughts, And Behaviors. 4. Important Topics. Develop Crisis Intervention Skills. Take Control of the Situation. Determine the Real Client. Emphasize Strengths. Mobilize Social Resources. Pay Attention to Issues of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, And Sexual Orientation. Be Open to Group and Family Approaches. Refer Carefully. Watch For Deterioration in Clients. Establish an Interest in Counseling Research. Document Your Work. Persevere With No-Shows. Learn How To Conceptualize Clients. Learn About Managed Care. Develop Technology Skills. 5. Counselor, Know Thyself. Become Aware of Your Personal Issues. Be Open to Supervision. Don't Hide Behind Testing. On Ethical Questions, Consult. 6. A Brief Introduction to Intervention. Basic Counseling Texts. Person-Centered Counseling. Behavioral Counseling. Cognitive, Cognitive/Behavioral Counseling And Social Learning Theory. Gestalt Counseling. Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Counseling. Existential Counseling. Group Counseling. Family/Systems Counseling. Brief Therapy. Research On Counseling and Psychotherapy. Other Important Sources. References. Index.