Effective Helping—Interviewing and Counseling Techniques

Written for undergraduate and graduate students studying to enter helping professions or others wishing to learn more about the human relations counseling model, Okun (Northeastern U.) and Kantowitz (Westfield State College) describe how counselors, health care providers, educators, human service workers and others are called upon to provide services that seem to be expanding exponentially as the new millennium grinds on. They detail the nature of the helping relationship, the communication skills helpers need to make connections and maintain helping relationships that meet goals, classical theories such as the psychodynamic, phenomenological, behavioral and cognitive, and current theories such as the feminist and the multicultural. They turn to the main strategies of human relations counseling, apply those strategies, describe crisis theory and intervention, and analyze issues affecting helping such as ethics, personal values and other issues such as reluctant clients. They include material reflecting current practice and new exercises. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)