Category:

Counseling Skills NBCC approved.

By Richard Nelson-Jones

Course Outline

Good counseling skills are the key to effective helping relationships. Introduction to Counseling Skills, second edition is designed to help readers acquire and develop these skills, using an easy-to-follow three-stage model. Drawing on many years’ experience as a counselor, trainer and writer, Richard Nelson-Jones describes each stage in detail and gives examples to show how the skills work in practice.

The book is full of practical features designed to aid learning, including activities, learning outcomes, examples and a glossary of key terms. For this second edition, the book has been fully updated and new material has been added.

The book covers:

  • What counseling skills are
  • How to improve your listening skills
  • Ways to clarify and expand understanding
  • How to help clients change
  • How to conduct sessions, and
  • Guidance on ethical practice.

Combining clear explanations with practical activities, Introduction to Counseling Skills, second edition is the ideal text for introductory courses in counseling skills, counseling and many other professional areas including health care, management, education and social work.

Richard Nelson-Jones is a leading international author whose books have helped train many thousands of psychotherapists, counselors and helpers worldwide.

Learning Objectives

  1. Name the distinguishing features of professional counselors and psychotherapists.
  2. Explain the goals of counseling and psychotherapy.
  3. Describe the settings at which professional counseling occurs.
  4. Correctly define the distinctive relationship within which counseling occurs.
  5. Explain the purpose of using counseling skills in professional counseling and psychotherapy.
  6. List the five main ways professional counselors and clients send messages to each other.
  7. Explain how rules are created.
  8. Explain who sets the rules in the counseling relationship.
  9. Explain and define negative self-talk.
  10. Explain and define coping self-talk.
  11. Define and explain the relating-understanding-changing counseling and helping model.
  12. Describe the approaches counselors / helpers utilize in the changing stage.
  13. Explain what is meant by “transference” and “countertransference.”
  14. Identify the three core conditions of a counseling relationship according to Carl Rogers.
  15. Explain and define the term “active listening.”
  16. Explain why body posture during a counseling session is important.
  17. Describe all the dimensions of reflecting feelings
  18. Explain the difference between an open-ended and a closed-ended question.
  19. Explain the function of summarizing in a counseling session.
  20. Define and explain resistance.
  21. Describe the skills most useful for eliciting and assessing feelings in counseling.
  22. Describe and explain the strategies used to elicit thoughts in counseling.
  23. Explain the importance of the STC (situation – thoughts – consequences) framework for counseling.
  24. Describe the process of evaluation of the client’s communication skills and actions in counseling.
  25. Explain what self-disclosure is and its positive and negative consequences in counseling.
  26. Describe monitoring methods for assessment of change in counseling.
  27. Explain the two approaches to the changing stage.
  28. Explain and describe counselor-centered coaching versus client-centered coaching.
  29. Explain the reasons for rehearsing in counseling and coaching.
  30. Explain the term “internal reward” in the context of counseling.
  31. Explain and describe the dimensions of coping self-talk.
  32. Explain the benefits of clients performing homework assignments.
  33. Describe the different phases when conducting counseling and explain how the middle phase differs from other phases of counseling.
  34. Describe the various formats for terminating a helping relationship.
  35. Explain and describe the areas of diversity in counseling and helping.
  36. Explain what is a dual relationship and what problems such relationships pose to the counseling effort.
  37. Describe the goals and formats of counseling supervision.
  38. Explain quantitative and qualitative approaches for conducting counseling research.
  39. Explain some ways individuals can maintain and develop their counseling skills.
  40. Explain the importance of counseling skills.

Course Contents

Part 1 Introduction

  1. Who are counselors, psychotherapists and helpers?
  2. Creating communication skills and feelings
  3. Creating mind skills
  4. The counseling and helping process
  5. Counseling and helping relationships

Part 2 The Relating Stage

  1. Understanding the internal frame of reference
  2. Showing attention and interest
  3. Reflecting feelings
  4. Starting the counseling and helping process
  5. Managing resistances and making referrals

Part 3 The Understanding Stage

  1. Assessing feelings and physical reactions
  2. Assessing thinking
  3. Assessing communication and actions
  4. Challenges, feedback and self-disclosure
  5. Monitoring, summarizing and identifying skills

Part 4 The Changing Stage

  1. Helping to solve problems
  2. Coaching skills: speaking, demonstrating and rehearsing
  3. Improving communication and actions
  4. Improving thinking
  5. Negotiating homework
  6. Conducting middle sessions
  7. Terminating counseling and helping

Part 5 Further Considerations

  1. Diversity in counseling and helping
  2. Ethical issues and dilemmas
  3. Training groups, supervision and support
  4. Counseling theory and research
  5. Becoming more skilled and human

References