Essential Counselling and Therapy Skills: The Skilled Client Model

Richard Nelson-Jones

SAGE Publications, Mar 28, 2002 - Psychology - 382 pages

Essential Counseling and Therapy Skills

is written for trainees who are beginning to work with clients under supervision. Building on what has been learnt during introductory courses, the book supports students in the next stage of their practical skills development.

Written by leading author, Richard Nelson-Jones, Essential Counseling and Therapy Skills is a step-by-step guide to therapeutic work using the "skilled client model". Central to this innovative approach, is the assumption that the skill of counselors and therapists lies in their capacity to impart skills to clients. The book focuses on: establishing collaborative working relationships; working with clients to find shared definitions of their problems; enabling clients to improve how they think, communicate and act; and dealing with questions of diversity, ethical practice and the value of supervision.

Accessibly written, the book contains numerous skills building activities and case examples, making Essential Counseling and Therapy Skills an ideal textbook for practical skills training in counseling, counseling psychology, psychotherapy and other helping professions.

 

About the author

Richard Nelson-Jones was born in London in 1936. Having spent five years in California as a Second World War refugee, he returned in the 1960s to obtain a Masters and Ph.D from Stanford University. In 1970, he was appointed a lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Aston to establish a Diploma in Counselling in Educational Settings, which started enrolling students in 1971. During the 1970s, he was helped by having three Fulbright Professors from the United States, each for a year, who both taught students and improved his skills. During this period he broadened out from a predominantly client-centred orientation to becoming much more cognitive-behavioural. He also wrote numerous articles and the first edition of what is now The Theory and Practice of Counselling and Therapy, which was published in 1982. In addition, he chaired the British Psychological Society′s Working Party on Counselling and, in1982, became the first chairperson of the BPS Counselling Psychology Section.In 1984, he took up a position as a counselling and later counselling psychology trainer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where he became an Associate Professor. He continued writing research articles, articles on professional issues and books, which were published in London and Sydney. As when he worked at Aston University, he also counselled clients to keep up his skills. In 1997, he retired from RMIT and moved to Chiang Mai in Thailand. There, as well as doing some counselling and teaching, he has continued as an author of counselling and counselling psychology textbooks. A British and Australian citizen, he now divides his time between Chiang Mai and London and regularly visits Australia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Essential Counselling and Therapy Skills: The Skilled Client Model
• Author: Richard Nelson-Jones
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, 2002
• ISBN: 0761954732, 9780761954736
• Length: 382 pages
• Subjects: Psychology / Education & Training; Psychology / Psychopathology / Compulsive Behavior; Psychology / Psychotherapy / Counseling; Psychology / Psychotherapy / General