Sunday, October 18, 2020

"Basic Councelling Skills" - Richard Nelson-Jones

"Basic Councelling Skills" by Richard Nelson - Jones is a manual for helpers.

Helpers are considered people who use counselling as their second set of skills along with their main profession (nursing, finances, education etc).

I bought this book for two reasons: to help me learn how to behave with clients and how to deal with some senior family members (communication with whom reminds me of a counselling session rather than anything else). 

The book itself seems to be formal, concise and complete textbook for serious helpers. It has 29 chapters divided into short sections and covering many important aspects of counselling. After the end of each chapter there are questions and exercises for practicing in pairs. 

The book covers everything from greeting the client to how to dress, think and talk when being with the client. It discusses gender, race, culture, age, disability and sexual orientation as well. It covers recording and supervising the sessions. It also informs on any formal education needed in counselling (United Kingdom), where to go and which courses to do. It has an appendix with lots of recommended counselling literature to read on.

This manual is a guide and a textbook that should be worked with from time to time. It has so much information that is difficult to absorb in one read. The manual also focuses on self-help and can be used for work with oneself. However, this work doesn't teach psychology per se. 

I would definitely recommend this book for everyone who works with clients and needs counselling skills. No matter what is your level, this is a great guide to show you the way. 

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