Author	Burnard, Philip. author
Title	Counselling Skills for Health Professionals [electronic resource] / by Philip Burnard
Imprint	Boston, MA : Springer US : Imprint: Springer, 1994
Edition	Second edition
Connect to	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3334-8
Descript	VIII, 264 p. online resource

This is the second edition of a book that I hope continues to be of practical value. For counselling must always be that: practical. No amount of talking, on its own, can really make a difference if people do not end up doing something as a result of counselling. The practical thread remains an important one throughout this edition. Counselling Skills for Health Professionals is not just a 'how to do it' book: people are probably too complicated for that approach to be of much use. Counselling is never simply a matter of learning a range of skills which you then apply in a range of settings. In the end, counselling is about facing the person in front of you, listening to them carefully and then supporting them as they work through their problems. For many problems, there are no easy answers and counselling doesn't offer any 'quick fixes'. It is essentially a supportive process. There are many things it cannot do. It cannot change certain social and political situations. It cannot cure diseases. On the other hand, what it can do is offer people more hope. Often, just the fact that there is somone who is prepared to hear your story and to listen to you is all that is needed. I remain convinced that the key issue in all types of counselling is the ability to listen

1 What is counselling? -- 2 Psychological approaches to counselling -- 3 Counselling and self-awareness -- 4 Basic principles and considerations -- 5 Maps of the counselling relationship -- 6 Counselling skills I: listening and attending -- 7 Counselling skills II: client-centred skills -- 8 Counselling skills III: helping with feelings -- 9 Counselling in specific health care contexts and recording counselling -- 10 Problems and support in counselling -- 11 Learning counselling skills -- 12 Counselling skills exercises -- 13 Extract from a counselling conversation -- 14 Conclusion -- References -- Bibliography: further reading

1. Social sciences
2. Social work
3. Psychotherapy
4. Counseling
5. Social Sciences
6. Social Work
7. Psychotherapy and Counseling