Counseling Skills For Health Care Professionals

An introduction to basic theoretical and practical skills essential for all health care professionals. Early chapters explore theoretical issues relating to the nature of counseling and self-awareness. Later chapters consider specific skills and discuss ways in which counseling skills can be learned. Includes individual and group exercises. This third edition contains new material on aggression and personal safety.

This is the second edition of a book that I hope continues to be of practical value. For counselling must always be that: practical. No amount of talking, on its own, can really make a difference if people do not end up doing something as a result of counselling. The practical thread remains an important one throughout this edition. Counselling Skills for Health Professionals is not just a 'how to do it' book: people are probably too complicated for that approach to be of much use. Counselling is never simply a matter of learning a range of skills which you then apply in a range of settings. In the end, counselling is about facing the person in front of you, listening to them carefully and then supporting them as they work through their problems. For many problems, there are no easy answers and counselling doesn't offer any 'quick fixes'. It is essentially a supportive process. There are many things it cannot do. It cannot change certain social and political situations. It cannot cure diseases. On the other hand, what it can do is offer people more hope. Often, just the fact that there is somone who is prepared to hear your story and to listen to you is all that is needed. I remain convinced that the key issue in all types of counselling is the ability to listen.

This work discusses strategies for teaching, presentation, computing, listening, management and interview skills within each area.

"Counselling in Health Care Settings is a book which conveys a message of hope: that everyone can find a positive aspect to their life, even when facing illness and death. It describes the theory and practice of counselling in this field and addresses the issues that confront individuals, couples, families and multi-disciplinary professional teams." "The book has been based on a tried and tested counselling approach and includes extensive case study examples to help the counsellor respond with confidence to the many and diverse situations and problems encountered in counselling sessions." "Counselling in Health Care Settings will be valuable to all those who counsel patients and their families, presenting clear and concise approaches to problem-focused counselling and offering guidance to a diverse range of clinical problems."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.

To lessen confusion and create a more uniform approach to counselling, this volume addresses various disciplines in three parts. The first section deals with basic communication skills; the second explores counselling skills; and the third presents specific situations for analysis. This applied approach provides a context to aid assimilation and skill development for health care workers.

Counseling is a diverse activity and there is an increasing number of people who find themselves using counseling skills, not least those in the caring professions. There is a great deal of scope in using counseling skills to promote health in the everyday encounters that nurses have with their patients. The emphasis on care in the community and empowerment of patients through consumer involvement means that nurses are engaged in providing support and help to people to change behaviors. Community nurses often find themselves in situations, which require in-depth listening and responding skills: for example, in helping people come to terms with chronic illness, disability and bereavement. Midwives are usually the first port of call for those parents who have experienced miscarriages, bereavements, or are coping with decisions involving the potential for genetic abnormalities. Similarly, health visitors are in a valuable position to provide counseling regarding the immunization and health of the young infant. These practitioners have to cope not only with new and diverse illnesses, for example HIV and AIDS, but also with such policy initiatives as the National Service Framework for Mental Health and their implications. This book examines contemporary developments in nursing and health care in relation to the fundamental philosophy of counseling, the practicalities of counseling and relevant theoretical underpinnings. Whilst the text is predominantly aimed at nurses, midwives and health visitors, it will also be of interest to those professionals allied to medicine, for example physiotherapists, occupational therapists and dieticians.