Chapter Seven: The Helping Process

Helping is always guided by two questions:
1. What is helpful?
2. How can the __________ of the client be met?
Giving ____________ or telling someone what to do does not encourage responsibility or promote self-help.
The effectiveness of the helping process greatly depends on the _________ of the helper.

The nature of the helping process

The relationship is the medium through which _________ occurs
The helping relationship is different from most relationships in that one person sets aside their _____________ need to focus on the needs of others. Additional differences include:
1. It is formed for a recognized and agreed upon ____________
2. It is _____________ bound; the relationship ends when the purpose has been accomplished
3. The helper’s knowledge and skill put hem in a position of ____________.
The client and the helper may bring very different attitudes, values, feelings and _______________ to the relationship.
Evidence suggests that client-helper ________________ is important for an effective helping relationship.
Rogers (1958) suggests asking yourself several questions that may help you be more aware of things that may impact your helping skills. These questions include looking at the following areas:
1. How am I ___________________?
2. How do I express myself and what do I __________________?
3. Can I keep our ____________ separate?
Much of the initial responsibility for the relationship rests with the helper, who may bring more experience and _______________ to the relationship.

Stages of the helping process:

The focus, services and duration of the helping process are shaped by the _____________or ____________for which the helper works.
Regardless of the focus of the agency, though, the components of the problem-solving process will be similar, including:
1. Preparation

1. Eliminating _________________, ensuring confidentiality, and positioning furniture are parts of the physical setting that need attention

2. How to handle _____________ and paperwork are decisions that are made before the client arrives

3. The worker also reviews what information is ____________about the client

b. The client arrives

1. Part of taking _____________ of the interview is the use of “ice breakers” or “door openers”

2. The client provides information about the problem and the worker

provides information about the _______________

c. Exploring the problem

1. It is important to keep the various perspectives on clients’ problems

in mind when exploring the problem.

d. Intervention strategies

a. ______________ setting takes place in this stage

b. The strategies used will depend on the problem and the need for

________________.

e. Termination

a. The helping relationship may end in several ways

1. The most positive end occurs when the needed services are provided and both participants are satisfied that the _________ have been reached

2. Services may be interrupted by either the helper or the client before the ____________ have been reached for several reasons:

a. The client may move from the area

b. The helper may move

c. The client may _________ to return for services

II. An introduction to helping skills

12. ____________________ is the foundation of all interpersonal relationships.

13. When communicating, one person is sending a message to another person

with a _____________ intent of affecting the receiver’s behavior

14. Effective communication takes place when the receiver ____________ the

message the way the sender intended.

15. Messages may be verbal or nonverbal:

a. Nonverbal messages

i. More than ____________ of the meaning of a message is carried nonverbally

ii. Nonverbal messages provide important clues about what the client is __________ or feeling

iii. A difficulty with hearing the nonverbal expression of feelings is the ____________ of the message

b. Verbal Messages

i. Verbal messages are the ___________ spoken by a person

ii. Verbal messages have cognitive and affective components that can be expressed both ___________ and ____________

16. Listening and Responding

a. The way we listen and respond to the client is __________ in building a helping relationship.

b. Many people consider themselves ________ listeners but few of us actually are.

c. The Helper Listens

i. Responsive or active listening describes the behaviors of helpers as they ____________ to the client’s message

ii. S-O-L-E-R is an acronym that represents listening behaviors

1. S: Face the client _________

2. O: Have an __________ posture

3. L: Lean slightly ______________

4. E: Maintain ________ contact, when it is culturally appropriate

5. R: Relax!

d. The helper’s response:

i. The helper’s response is __________________

ii. A popular response is the ___________, making a statement that is interchangeable with the client’s own words

e. Asking questions

i. Questioning is a common method of eliciting ___________ from the client

ii. An over-reliance on ____________ can hinder the helping relationship

iii. There are some situations where questioning is appropriate

(1) to ___________ the interview

(2) to request ___________ information

(3) to clarify

(4) to elicit examples of specific ____________

iv. Closed questions elicit _______ from the client and usually result in short answers

v. Open questions are broader and allow the client to express thoughts, feelings, or _______________.

17. Working with Groups

A. A group is a number of individuals who ____________ with each other

B. They share common __________ and goals.

C. Alcoholics Anonymous is an example of a ______________ group

D. Other groups may be educational in nature

E. Groups may also serve the purpose of counseling and interpersonal ________________________

F. In ____________ groups, the human services worker will have to enter from outside and make a place for themselves

G. In groups organized for a specific purpose, the human services professional may have to get people __________ and get the group underway.

H. The foundation of the group is ______________ skills

I. Groups that focus on special populations are showing increasing ______________.

III. Skills for challenging clients

18. Culturally different clients

A. Helpers must realize that culture shapes ___________ language.

B. The key to working with culturally different clients is _____________ of and sensitivity to differences

C. Culture shapes body language so there are few gestures and body movements that have ____________ meaning

D. Sensitive helpers will be aware that all means of ______________ should be considered

E. Axelson suggests steps to conceptualize the culturally different client

a. Recognize that all human beings have a similar ____________ for thought, feeling and behavior

b. Be knowledgeable about several cultures, including the different groups and their special ___________ and problems

c. Gain an understanding of how the individual relates to important objects of _____________, what his personal constructs are, and how they are constructed to form his worldview.

d. Blending the above three steps into an integrated person are helpful to the counseling process.

19. The reluctant or resistant client

a. Reluctant clients do not want to come for help in the first place and are more or less ___________ to come

b. Resistant clients come for help but fail to _______ __________or participate in the helping process

c. The principles for working with reluctant and resistant clients are similar

i. Recognizing and accepting the _____________ may defuse the situation

ii. You can communicate support to the client’s feeling by asking for the client’s __________of the problem

iii. A third strategy is asking the client what he wants to have _____________ in this situation.

iv. Changing the pace or topic may temporarily lessen feelings of ____________ in a relationship.

20. The Silent Client

a. Silence can have many different meanings

i. The client may be waiting for __________ from the helper

ii. The client may be _____________ what has been said

iii. The silence may represent _______________

b. The helper must evaluate the meaning of silence to determine how to respond

21. The overly demanding client

a. Overly demanding clients may become very _____________ on the helper and the helper may become ___________ of the client.

b. The helper needs to address these issues as soon as possible by setting reasonable ____________ to decrease the client’s dependence.

c. A second strategy is to examine your own need to be __________ and determine if you are actually encouraging the demanding behavior of the client.

22. The unmotivated client

a. This client is often unwilling to change and is ____________ to the helping process

b. Strategies for reluctant clients are useful with the unmotivated client

IV. Intervention strategies

23. Crisis Intervention

a. Crisis intervention occurs much ____________ than other helping.

b. Defining crisis

i. A crisis is an individual’s ________________ response to a threatening or hazardous situation

ii. There are two types

(1) A developmental crisis is an individual’s response to a situation that is reasonably _____________ in the life cycle

(2) Situational crises do not occur with any ____________

c. Crisis intervention refers to the skills and strategies helpers use to provide _____________ help

d. How a crisis develops

I. The first phase is an individual’s reaction to a traumatic event with increased _________________

II. In the second phase, the individual’s problem solving ability ____________

III. During phase three, the crisis may be prevented by redefining _____________

IV. A state of crisis results when the problem remains unresolved and the tension and anxiety rise to an _________________ degree

e. The helper’s role in crisis intervention

I. Certain skills and strategies are necessary for crisis

intervention

(1) Two strategies important to crisis intervention are referral and ______________ of a support effort

(2) Establishing a relationship _____________ is

necessary since crisis intervention is time limited

II.. Steps in crisis intervention

(1) Assess the nature of the ______________ event and the problem

(2) Plan the ____________ to restore the person to a pre- crisis state

(3) Implement the intervention

(4) Resolution of the crisis includes a plan for the future and new ways of __________________

24. Resolution-focused brief therapy

1. This strategy is ________________________ in scope

2. It focuses on reaching specific __________________

3. It is based upon client _________________

4. Stages:

a. Relationship building is still the main part of the process with

the helper establishing ____________.

b. The helper helps identify client ______________ and look for

resources

c. The helper and client establish clear and specific __________

that the client wants to achieve.

d. The helper and the client continue to talk about how to reach

the goal and the helper continues to talk about client

_________ the helper may also suggest specific interventions

or _______________