Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

THE SKILLED HELPER has taught thousands of students a proven, step-by-step counseling process that leads to increased confidence and competence. Internationally recognized for its successful approach to effective helping, the text emphasizes the collaborative nature of the therapist-client relationship and uses a practical, three-stage framework that drives client problem-managing and opportunity-developing action. This eleventh edition emphasizes the "power of basics," like decision-making skills, which are the key ingredients of successful therapy. You'll also gain a feeling for the complexity inherent in any helping relationship--but don't let that reality intimidate you. The authors show you how to adopt a helping process to the needs of your clients. You'll learn not just what you need to know and understand--but also what you need to DO to be an effective helper.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface and Guide to the 11th Edition (p. vii)
• A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide to the 11th Edition (p. xiii)
• Part I The Power of Basics (p. 1)
• Chapter 1 The Power of Basics: Explore the Ingredients of Successful Helping (p. 3)
• Review the Roles of Both Formal and Informal Helpers (p. 4)
• Appreciate the Power of Basics (p. 5)
• Become Competent in the Key Ingredients of Successful Helping (p. 5)
• Move from Smart to Wise by Managing the Shadow Side of Helping (p. 40)
• Embrace Uncertainty (p. 42)
• Chapter 2 Review the Problem-Management and Opportunity-Development Process (p. 43)
• Review the Stages of Problem Management and Opportunity Development (p. 44)
• Be Flexible in the Use of the Problem-Management Process (p. 50)
• Learn from Different Versions of the Basic Problem-Management Process (p. 52)
• Help Clients Determine if They Are Ready for Change (p. 55)
• Use the Problem-Management Framework as "BROWSER" (p. 58)
• Use N = 1 to Continually Evaluate the Helping Process (p. 59)
• Deal with the Shadow Side of Helping Models (p. 60)
• Chapter 3 Commit Yourself to the Helping Relationship and the Values That Drive It (p. 65)
• Understand What Makes Helping Relationships Work (p. 66)
• Determine the Key Values That Drive the Working Alliance (p. 73)
• Prize Respect as the Foundation Value (p. 75)
• Make Empathy the Primary Orientation Value (p. 77)
• Develop a Proactive Appreciation of Diversity as a Sense-of-the-World Value (p. 80)
• Develop a Bias toward Action as an Outcome-Focused Value (p. 85)
• Influence Clients to Embrace Self-Responsibility (p. 91)
• Part II The Therapeutic Dialogue: Master Communication and Relationship-Building Skills (p. 95)
• Chapter 4 Therapeutic Presence: Tune In to Clients and Listen Carefully (p. 97)
• Become Competent in the Communication Skills Needed in Helping (p. 98)
• Make Dialogue Second Nature to Your Interactions with Clients (p. 99)
• Demonstrate Empathic Presence by Visibly Tuning In to Clients (p. 100)
• Make Active Listening the Foundation of Understanding (p. 106)
• Listen to the Key Ingredients of Successful Therapy (p. 123)
• Identify and Deal with All Forms of Distorted Listening (p. 125)
• Chapter 5 Empathic Responding: Work at Mutual Understanding (p. 129)
• Understand the Importance of Responding Skills in Developing Relationships with Clients (p. 130)
• Become Adept in the Three Dimensions of All Responding Skills: Perceptiveness, Know-How, and Assertiveness (p. 134)
• Become Competent in the Know-How of Communicating Empathy (p. 137)
• Use Empathy Wisely to Achieve a Number of Therapeutic Goals (p. 149)
• Review the Case of Alex, the Client, and Doug, the Helper (p. 151)
• Explore the Shadow Side of Responding (p. 154)
• Some Final Words (p. 157)
• Chapter 6 Master the Art of Probing and Summarizing (p. 159)
• Develop an Appreciation of the Power of Nudging (p. 160)
• Become Competent in Various Types of Effective Probing (p. 161)
• Provide Focus and Direction by Using Summaries (p. 177)
• Come to Grips with the Shadow Side of Communication Skills (p. 183)
• Chapter 7 Help Clients Challenge Themselves: From New Perspectives to New Behavior (p. 187)
• Understand the Basic Concept of Self-Challenge (p. 188)
• Invite Clients to Challenge Their Blind Spots (p. 200)
• Develop Specific Skills for Helping Clients Challenge Their Blind Spots (p. 204)
• Follow Guidelines for Effective Invitations to Self-Challenge (p. 220)
• Avoid Shadow-Side Blocks to Challenge (p. 226)
• Part III The Stages and Tasks of the Problem-Management and Opportunity-Development Model (p. 229)
• The CAVEAT, Once More (p. 230)
• Chapter 8 The Action Arrow: Right from the Beginning Help Clients Turn Talk into Life-Enhancing Action (p. 231)
• Understand the Importance of the Action Arrow (p. 232)
• Find Ways of Helping Clients Move to Life-Enhancing Action (p. 234)
• Understand How Reluctance and Resistance Are Obstacles to Action (p. 251)
• Use Guidelines for Helping Clients Deal with Reluctance and Resistance (p. 257)
• Help Clients Tap into Their Resilience, the Ability to Bounce Back and Grow (p. 261)
• Help Clients Get Along without a Helper (p. 267)
• Remember that Some Clients Choose Not to Change (p. 268)
• Chapter 9 The Three Tasks of Stage I: Help Clients Tell the Story, the Real Story, and the Right Story (p. 269)
• Prepare Yourself for Doing the Work of Stages I, II, and III (p. 270)
• Task A: Learn Ways of Helping Clients Tell Their Stories (p. 273)
• I-B: Use Self-Challenge to Help Clients Tell the Real Story (p. 288)
• I-C: Help Clients Focus on the Right Story (p. 293)
• Start Early with Links to Action (p. 304)
• Chapter 10 Stage II: Help Clients Design and Set Problem-Managing Goals (p. 305)
• Help Clients Determine What Kind of Change They Need or Want (p. 306)
• Master the Art of Setting and Accomplishing Goals (p. 309)
• II-A: Help Clients Discover Possibilities for a Better Future (p. 315)
• II-B: Use Flexible Guidelines to Help Clients Set Goals (p. 324)
• II-C: Help Clients Commit Themselves to Their Goals (p. 335)
• See the Three Tasks of Stage II as Triggers for Action (p. 339)
• Explore the Shadow Side of Goal Setting (p. 340)
• Chapter 11 Stage III: Planning-Help Clients Design the Way Forward (p. 343)
• Review the Three Tasks of Stage III (p. 344)
• Review a Hospital Case That Highlights the Need for Stage-III Skills (p. 346)
• III-A: Help Clients Develop Strategies for Accomplishing Their Goals (p. 346)
• III-B: Help Clients Choose Best-Fit Problem-Managing Strategies (p. 355)
• III-C: Help Clients Turn Strategies into Viable Plans (p. 362)
• Humanize the Mechanics of Problem Management and Opportunity Development (p. 369)
• Come to Terms with the Explosion of Evidence-Based Treatments (p. 373)
• One Final Reminder (p. 382)
• References (p. 383)
• Name Index (p. 409)
• Subject Index (p. 421)