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Counselling Skills and Studies
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Counselling Skills and Studies

Second Edition


April 2017 | 336 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Are your students looking to use counselling skills to enhance their existing helping role? Are they taking the first steps towards becoming a professional counselor? This practical guide will provide readers with the ideal "way-in," showing them what helping and counseling is all about.
  • Part 1: Counselling Skills will introduce readers to the underpinning knowledge and practical tools needed to develop a range of helping skills for use in a variety of helping roles, showing what it means to work safely and ethically.  
  • Part 2: Counselling Studies will help them take their understanding further by considering in detail important theories and professional issues, preparing them to work as a professional counselor.
  • Part 3: Counselling Study Skills will offer practical advice and hints and tips to help them make the best start on their counselling portfolio, including journal and essay writing skills, research skills, and how to get inspired and overcome blocks to learning.  
This Second Edition includes a more detailed discussion of key theories, features a new chapter on self care, and is up-to-date with the occupational and professional standards and ethical frameworks.

Full of practical activities and written in a supportive conversational style, Counselling Skills and Studies is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn counseling skills or embarking on their first stage of training to be a counselor.
 
Introduction by Anthony Crouch
 
Part I - Counselling Skills
 
Chapter 1 - Using counselling skills ethically and safely
 
Chapter 2 - Establishing a helping relationship
 
Chapter 3 - Working empathically as a helper
 
Chapter 4 - Focusing on the helpee's needs and concerns
 
Chapter 5 - Using self-awareness in helping work
 
Chapter 6 - Using counselling skills
 
Chapter 7 - Using reflection and feedback to enhance counselling skills
 
Part II - Counselling Studies
 
Chapter 8 - Preparing to work within an ethical and legal framework as a counsellor
 
Chapter 9 - Understanding the counselling relationship
 
Chapter 10 - Understanding difference and diversity to develop empathic understanding
 
Chapter 11 - Working within a user-centred approach to counselling
 
Chapter 12 - Using theory to increase self-awareness
 
Chapter 13 - Understanding theories of counselling in practice
 
Chapter 14 - Using supervision to support counselling
 
Part II - Counselling Study Skills
 
Chapter 15 - Motivation and blocks to learning
 
Chapter 16 - Essay writing skills
 
Chapter 17 - Journal writing skills
 
Chapter 18 - Self care
 
Chapter 19 - Critical thinking
 
Chapter 20 - Experiential learning
 
Chapter 21 - Research in counselling and helping work

This counselling handbook is extremely informative for the new helper studying counselling for the first time. It links particularly well to the CPCAB level 2 programme .... The material in the book is easily accessible and well explained with many practical examples and exercises...I'd highly recommend this book to anyone starting out in counselling as I think you would find it supports your learning well. It even includes a chapter on essay writing skills!

Cas Stewart
Student at North West London Counselling and Training

The book is so easy to read and puts things into “normal” language.  I'm now using it as a reference point – it is my “bible”. 

Cheryl Hughes
Student at South Leicestershire College

I find this book informative. It breaks everything down and shows good examples. Covers main theorists and the main approaches. Easy enough to follow for beginners. 

Deirdre McEnhill
Student at Windsor Women's Centre in Belfast

I found it useful with information laid out in clear and simple terms...there have been a couple of times when another book has been too confusing and I have been able to have it explained clearly by the CPCAB book. 

Bea Craig
Student at Windsor Women's Centre in Belfast

I found "Counselling Skills and Studies" a superb introduction into the world of Counselling.  Approaching the subject with a view to a second career the book felt pitched perfectly.  A clear and concise style pervaded throughout and the format of the book lends itself to good structured learning.  Never teacherly, the writing spoke to me and the use of conversational examples was effective.  The simplification and analysis of the 3 modalities (Psychodynamic / Person Centered / CBT) was invaluable for me as I grasp these new terms and the final section looking at  Study Skills will be an essential reference for me as I progress through my studies.

Tom Wegg-Prosser
Student at North West London Counselling & Training

I initially bought this book upon starting my CPCAB Level 2 Counselling Skills course and found it to be a hugely informative introduction to counselling. However, this book turned into my counselling companion and I continue to regularly refer to it despite now being in my first year of a counselling diploma. The breakdown of the book into 3 parts makes it ideal to pinpoint what will be most helpful, the question and answer style and overall layout is excellent. I highly recommend this book to any future or current counselling students.

Heidi Shepherd
Student at City and Islington College in London

Generally the book is good, easy to understand and the way it gives various examples is good.

Diane Weatherill
Student at Windsor Women's Centre in Belfast

This is an excellent book which covers the content of a BACP approved course. The content includes all the skills and requirements a person interested in counselling will need to go into practice. The reflections are very useful and it is easy to comprehend for a beginner.

Dr Donna Maria Poade
School of Entrepreneurship, Falmouth University
May 25, 2023

We already have the first edition of this book on the shelves which is very well used. Hence I was very glad to see a 2nd edition published. It is used particularly by our levels 3 & 4 students and the FD and BA students. Areas of particular interest include the ethical and legal framework and a section on supervision. It is good to have something right up to date on these topics

Professor Ruth Malaney
LRC, Guildford College
December 10, 2021

A good counselling skills books for Level 3 students to support their studies.

Mrs Jaime Leanne Ross
School of Health Studies, Darlington College
June 10, 2021

Sample Materials & Chapters

Counselling Skills and Studies: Chapter One


Fiona Ballantine Dykes

Fiona is an experienced counsellor, supervisor and trainer and was Head of Qualifications at CPCAB for 13 years before moving to BACP to take up a series of roles as Head of Professional Standards, Chief Professional Standards Officer and Deputy CEO until 2023.  She has always championed vocational training as an important route into the counselling profession and has a background in delivering counselling programmes in Further Education. Fiona is a contributory author to Understanding Counselling and Psychotherapy (SAGE, 2010). More About Author

Traci Postings

Traci Postings is an experienced counsellor and supervisor and has taught extensively in adult education. She has been a training consultant in the homelessness and addiction sectors, and compiled a training manual highlighting the value of counselling skills in health and social care settings.  More recently, Traci has been involved in qualification and competence development, being committed to promoting and achieving high standards in the counselling professions. More About Author

Barry Kopp

Barry was an experienced therapist within the person-centred family of psychotherapy and counselling and a long-standing staff member of CPCAB, where they worked most recently as EDI Professional Lead and Counselling Qualifications Professional for Tailor-Made Qualifications.  More About Author

Anthony Crouch

Anthony Crouch is a counselling psychologist and the founder and CEO of CPCAB and the Counselling Channel. His passionate belief in high quality counselling training led to the development of the CPCAB model in the early 1990s which has been reviewed regularly over the past two decades to incorporate the latest research on effective counselling. Anthony is also the author of Inside Counselling (SAGE, 1997). More About Author