The first helping interview : engaging the client and building trust / Sara F. Fine, Paul H. Glasser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Fine, Sara.

Contributor:

Glasser, Paul H.

Series:

Sage human services guides ; v. 70.

Sage human services guides ; v. 70

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Counselor and client.

Interviewing.

Counselors--Training of.

Counselors.

Physical Description:

xviii, 187 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications in cooperation with the University of Michigan School of Social Work, [1996]

Summary:

Providing a practical handbook for the helping professions, The First Helping Interview is a highly useful, easy-to-understand guide for both experienced and novice practitioners. This book reveals the steps involved in the crucial first meeting with a client. The authors approach the task of an initial interview by providing an overview of what the therapeutic process is and what to expect from clients, both those who seek help voluntarily and those who are required to get help. The book also covers the practical basics of therapy -- counselor/client roles, physical settings, communication dynamics, assessment and diagnosis, record keeping, goals and contracts, and trust building. Separate chapters discuss special topics such as working with couples and families, the role of culture and ethnicity, when and how to refer clients with serious problems, and legal and ethical issues. Although this book is general enough to be used by any practitioner, the authors pay particular attention to specific settings, such as child protective services, crisis intervention, and corrections.

Contents:

1. What Makes Therapy Happen? 1

Establishing a Pattern 2

Letting the Client Know You Know 3

The Therapist as Teacher 4

2. Who Are Our Clients? 7

Voluntary Clients 7

Involuntary Clients 12

The Role of Anxiety in Acceptance of Therapy 13

Clients and Trust 14

Setting the Appointment 16

Your Own Anxiety 18

Greeting the Client 20

What Shall We Call Each Other? 21

Should the Client Be Comfortable? 22

The Physical Arrangement 23

Distractions Come in Many Shapes 24

Starting the Interview 25

The Home Visit 27

Client Records 29

Note Taking 29

The Business of Therapy: Fees, Appointments and Telephone Calls 30

Your First Meeting With the Client 31

A Guide to Observing the Client 33

Establishing Your Role 35

And What of the Client? 36

4. Getting to Know the Client 38

Listening, the Heart of Therapy 38

Alerts, Red Alerts and Stop Signs 39

What If You Miss Something

and It's Important? 42

When the Client Is More Than One 42

Other Perspectives on Understanding the Client: Cognitive Processes 45

How Much Structure

When and Why 45

Linear and Circular Thinking 46

Concrete and Abstract Thinkers 47

Gathering Formal Information 48

Getting Essential Information 48

Reviewing Relevant Aspects of the Client's Present Environment 50

The Use of History 51

Putting It Together

Defining the Problem 53

The Written Assessment or Diagnostic Statement 54

The Client's Response to the Practitioner 55

What Does the Client Bring to Therapy? 56

5. Communication Dynamics of the Helping Interview 58

The Sounds of Therapy 58

A Quick Review of the Basic Therapeutic Responses 61

Responses That Don't Work 64

Other Responses That Help 66

The Dynamics of Questions: Thou Shalt Not Ask the Wrong Questions 67

Turn-Around Questions 70

Dealing With Silence 70

Other Difficult Moments or Games Clients Play in the First Interview 72

Other Pitfalls of the First Interview 74

The Dynamics of Intimacy 75

Concluding the Interview 76

6. On Rules, Goals and Contracts 79

The Rules of the Game 79

Whose Problem Is It? 80

How Much Structure? 82

Understanding More About the Problem 82

Specifying and Setting Goals 86

Who Sets the Goals? 87

Setting Priorities for Attention 88

Specifying the Means of Change 89

The Contract 90

The Precontract 90

Structuring the Therapeutic Contract 91

The First Interview and the Contract

Implications for Success 92

7. Trust 93

The Psychological Side of Trust 93

Trust and Confidentiality 94

How Is Trust Built? 97

Back to Trust

and How You Know You're Getting There 104

8. Special Issues in Working With Couples and Families 105

The Physical Setting 106

The Family at Home 107

Redefining the Problem 110

Keeping Confidences 111

The Group Composition in the First Interview 112

The Absent Family Member 114

Homework Assignments 116

Closing the Interview 116

9. Working With Clients Who Are Different 118

Culture and Ethnicity: What Makes a Client Different? 120

Class 122

Gender Issues 123

Oppressed Groups 125

Reification 128

Know Thyself 129

What the Practitioner Should Know 130

How to Find Out What You Don't Know: The True Meaning of Acceptance 132

One Last Point: On Being a Professional 133

10. Serious Problems: When and How to Refer 135

Making a Referral: When, How and Who 136

The Referral File 136

Physical Symptoms and Complaints 138

Physical Abuse or Neglect of a Child or Adult 141

Special Issues for Protective Service Workers 144

Irrational Behavior and Threats of Violence 146

11. Legal and Ethical Issues In the First Helping Interview 149

Professional Ethics 149

Whose Values Are Better? 150

The Ethics of Confidentiality 151

The Worker-Client Contract Revisited 154

The Ethics of Means and Ends 156

The Problem of Rules 156

Accountability 158

Some Closing Thoughts on Ethics and the Misuse of Power 161

12. Afterthoughts 163

On Self-Disclosure 163

Who Helps the Helper? 164

On Protecting Yourself 167

On Rules, Suggestions and Contradictions 169

On Becoming a Professional 170

After the First Interview 170.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-178) and index.

ISBN:

0803971400

0803971419

OCLC:

34282780