The Skilled Helper, 1st Edition |

Gerard Egan, Wilma Schroeder

Copyright 2009
{{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2008-02-20T00:00:00+0000')}}

Starting At $172.95 See pricing and ISBN options

Instructor Next Steps

Students: Buy now

The Skilled Helper 1st Edition by Gerard Egan/Wilma Schroeder

Quick Navigation

Overview
Meet the Authors
Table of Contents
Pricing

Overview

Internationally recognized for its successful approach to effective helping, Egan's text emphasizes the collaborative nature of the therapist-client relationship and uses a practical, three-stage model that drives client problem-managing and opportunity-developing action. This new Canadian edition incorporates familiar examples and recognizes the uniquely Canadian experience of law, multiculturalism and diversity, as well as policies and programs. The authors have drawn examples from a wide range of both formal and informal counseling contexts. The Skilled Helper masterfully leads readers step-by-step through the counseling process, given them a feeling for the complexity inherent in any helping relationship. As readers begin to understand the various steps of the helping model, they are able to improve their competence and confidence measurably.

Meet the Authors

{{collapseContainerClosed['meet-the-author'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

Gerard Egan

Gerard Egan, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Organizational Studies at Loyola University of Chicago. He has written over a dozen books and currently writes in the areas of communication, counselling, business and organization effectiveness, management development, the management of innovation and change, leadership and organization politics and culture. He also conducts workshops in these areas and is a consultant at a variety of companies and institutions worldwide.

Wilma Schroeder

Wilma Schroeder, MMFT, BN, RN is a nurse and family therapist with over twenty years of experience in mental health nursing and counselling. She is an Instructor in the Faculty of Nursing at Red River College, Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she coordinates Communication Workshops for nursing students, and is the Course Leader for the Health Promotion in Families and Mental Health & Illness courses. In these roles she has prepared a communication workbook and also written a series of readings on family nursing for her students.Prior to joining the Nursing Faculty, she was involved in the development of the Schizophrenia Treatment & Education Program (STEP) at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, and was the program’s Unit Manager. During this time she collaborated with a team of colleagues to develop the STEP for Families psycho-educational workshops. She is a co-founder of Assiniboine Family Therapy in Winnipeg, and maintained a private practice in family therapy for some years. She sees communication as foundational to all helping professions and human relationships.

{{collapseContainerClosed['table-of-contents'] ? 'Show More' : 'Show Less'}}

Part One: Laying the Groundwork

Chapter 1: Introduction to Helping
Contexts of Helping: A Very Brief History
What Helping Is About
Challenges for the Helping Professions
The Professional Curriculum
Moving From Smart to Wise: Managing the Shadow Side of Helping

Chapter 2: Overview of the Helping Model
Rational Problem Solving and Its Limitations
The Skilled Helper Model: A Problem Management/ Opportunity Development Approach to Helping
Stage I: The Current Picture—“Whats Going On?”—Help Clients Clarify the Key Issues Calling for Change
Stage II: The Preferred Picture—“What Do I Want?”— Help Clients Identify, Choose, and Shape Problem- Managing Goals
Stage III: The Way Forward—“How Do I Get What I Need or Want?”—Help Clients Develop Strategies and Plans for Accomplishing Goals
The Action Arrow—“How Do I Make It All Happen?”— Help Clients Implement Their Plans
“How Are We Doing?”—Ongoing Evaluation of the Helping Process
Flexibility in the Use of the Model
Problem Management: A Human Universal
Using the Model as a “Browser”: The Search for Best Practice
Understanding and Dealing With the Shadow Side of Helping Models

Chapter 3: The Helping Relationship: Values in Action
The Helping Relationship
The Relationship as a Working Alliance
The Values That Drive the Helping Relationship
Values and Ethics
Values, Diversity, and Multiculturalism
A Working Charter: The Client-Helper Contract
Shadow-Side Realities in the Helping Relationship

Part Two: The Therapeutic Dialogue

Chapter 4: Communication: The Skills of Tuning in and Actively Listening to Clients
The Importance of Dialogue in Helping
I. Visibly Tuning In: The Importance of Empathic Presence
II. Active Listening: The Foundation of Understanding
Processing What You Hear: The Thoughtful Search for Meaning
Listening to Oneself: The Helpers Internal Conversation
The Shadow Side of Listening to Clients
The Shadow Side of Communication Skills—Part 1

Chapter 5: Communicating Empathy: Working Hard at Understanding Clients
The Three Dimensions of Responding Skills: Perceptiveness, Know-How, and Assertiveness
Sharing Empathic Highlights: Communicating Understanding to Clients
Principles for Sharing Empathic Highlights
Tactics for Communicating Highlights
The Shadow Side of Sharing Empathic Highlights
The Importance of Empathic Relationships

Chapter 6: The Art of Probing and Summarizing
The Art of Probing
The Art of Summarizing: Providing Focus and Direction
The Shadow Side of Communication Skills—Part 2

Chapter 7: Helping Clients Challenge Themselves
Challenge: The Basic Concept
Blind Spots
Linking Challenge to Action
The Shadow Side of Challenging

Chapter 8: Challenging Skills and the Wisdom to Use Them Well
Specific Challenging Skills
From Smart to Wise: Guidelines for Effective Challenging
Linking Challenge to Action
Challenge and the Shadow Side of Helpers

Chapter 9: Helping Difficult Clients Move Forward: Reluctance, Resistance, and Resilience
Difficult Clients: Reluctance and Resistance
Reluctance: Misgivings about Change
Resistance: Reacting to Coercion
The Role of Psychological Defenses in Reluctance and Resistance
Principles for Managing Reluctance and Resistance
Help Clients Tap Into Their Resilience

Part Three: The Stages and Tasks of the Helping Model

Chapter 10: Stage I: Help Clients Tell Their Stories
An Introduction to Stage I
Task 1: Help Clients Tell Their Stories—“What Are My Concerns?”
Task 2: Help Clients Develop New Perspectives and Reframe Their Stories—“What Am I Overlooking or Avoiding?”
Task 3: Help Clients Work on Issues That Make a Difference—“What Problems, if Managed, Will Help Me Most?”
Is Stage I Sometimes Enough?

Chapter 11: Introduction to Stages II and III: Decisions, Goals, and Plans
Help Clients Become More Effective Decision Makers
Solution-Focused Helping
Help Clients Discover and Use Their Power Through Goal Setting

Chapter 12: Stage II: Help Clients Set Viable Goals
The Three Tasks of Stage II
Task 1: Help Clients Discover Possibilities for a Better Future—“How Can My Life Be Better?”
Skills for Identifying Possibilities for a Better Future
Task 2: Help Clients Move From Possibilities to Choices—“What Solutions Are Best for Me?”
Task 3: Help Clients Commit Themselves—“What Am I Willing to Pay for What I Want?”
Stage II and Action
The Shadow Side of Goal Setting

Chapter 13: Stage III: Help Clients Develop Strategies and Plans to Accomplish Their Goals
Introduction to Stage III
Task 1: Help Clients Develop Strategies for Accomplishing Their Goals
Task 2: Help Clients Choose Best-Fit Strategies
Task 3: Help Clients Make Plans

Part Four: The Action Arrow: Making It All Happen

Chapter 14: Getting There: Help Clients Implement Their Change Programs—“How Do I Make It All Happen?”
Help Clients Move From Planning to Action
Getting Along Without a Helper: Developing Social Networks for Support and Challenge
The Shadow Side of Implementing Change
Resilience Revisited: Peoples Ability to Hold Themselves Together, Bounce Back, and Grow
Choosing Not to Change

References
Name Index
Subject Index