The Therapeutic Use of Self in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Linda Finlay - The Open University
This book examines the ‘therapeutic use of self’, and the intertwining of the therapist’s professional self and their personal self.
Combining practical illustrations and case studies with theory and research, the book explores a number of questions, such as:
· What are our personal values and attitudes and how do these manifest in our work with clients?
· How do we interact with and impact others, and in what ways might this help or hinder our therapeutic work?
· What might we represent to the client as a result of our particular social background, and how might this impact on the power dynamics within client relationships?
Learning features include Practical Applications, Research boxes, Case Examples, Critical Reflections, Discussion Questions and Further Reading.
This is a must-read for any students studying professional practice, counselling process, ethics, skills, working online/remotely, the therapeutic relationship, and more.
An invaluable book for all counselling students and trainees. The book is structured well and in each chapter explanations are accessible and clear. Throughout the book, the author highlights the importance of the therapeutic alliance and the significance of the self in the counselling and psychotherapy practice. The need for practitioners to fully engage in self development/awareness is present throughout and helpful clinical examples illustrate the key points discussed. Important aspects of the therapeutic relationship such as power dynamics are discussed as well as the role of research in contemporary practice.
An easily accessible book, which contains lots of interesting case studies which support the teaching of the use of self within Counselling.
The book is informative of counselling skills and counselling information. It helps to explain the information without being confusing for level 4 counselling students. The book is a great read to expand a learners knowledge and develop their use of self and own counselling skills/understanding.
Linda Finlay is very much liked by the academics here so this title will automatically go on the relevant reading lists. This book will be used on the Levels 3 and 4 courses and the FD and BA courses. Our students spend a lot of time looking at the therapeutic relationships they are building with clients, so this book will help particularly when looking at relationship issues in areas of ethnicity, culture and race
Stimulating and accessible