As helpers, caregivers, and counselors, there are times when we need support to be able to help the people we are working with. Hearing from others in similar roles is a key way of finding inspiration and guidance.
This book offers practical strategies for supporting people of all ages who have a variety of issues, whether psychological (anxiety, trauma, depression), based on life circumstances (loss and grief, oppressive societal attitudes), or due to harmful ways of coping with these or other life stressors (self-injury, substance use, suicidality).
Each chapter begins with an examination of a different psychological issue or situation. Case examples of both youth and adults are included for each topic to illustrate both the impact of the issue and the helping process. Authors share insights they have gained from research, counseling experiences, and the unique wisdom of the people they have encountered.
This book is written not only for clinical counselors, but also for the multitude of frontline helpers who work to support those seeking help and guidance. It is a resource for anyone who identifies as a care provider, including those in the social service, health, education, spiritual care, and social work roles.
Chapter 1: Developmental Trauma
Chapter 2: Situational Trauma
Chapter 3: Anxiety
Chapter 4: Depression
Chapter 5: Self-Injury
Chapter 6: Suicidality
Chapter 7: Substance Use
Chapter 8: LGBT2SQ+ Centered Approaches
Chapter 9: Grief
We all know someone who lives with depression, anxiety, addiction, grief or one of many other emotions. We may be dealing with one or more ourselves. Knowing how to express ourselves, ways we can help and what the signs are that someone we care about needs extra help is extremely important. I found this book to be very helpful in this. It is written in an easy to understand style. While it is directed at the professional community, I think anyone could benefit from reading it.
We are moving toward a society that is more open about mental health. More everyday people are helping populations that are severely troubled. In my community, the churches have put together a homeless shelter that is run by volunteers. The volunteers are just regular people who will possibly find themselves in a listening role for hurting people. Reading a book such as this one, can help them to ask or say things that will help. I think it can help them identify when someone needs immediate intervention, (someone is suicidal), those who can be helped to locate a counselor,(someone who needs guidance but isn’t in, or a, danger at the moment), and those who just need someone to listen with a caring, nonjudgmental ear.
I think the book is excellent for those who counsel in a professional manner. Everything is broken down into steps and there are examples to follow. What I took most from this book, for professionals, is the encouragement of self examination. Being a professional counselor is a rewarding job that is filled with sad stories, frustrating progress and doubts that they have done enough. It is a difficult profession. Having a book like this one helps to make the job easier.
The book is broken down into chapters that deal with various illnesses and issues. I was happy to see a chapter devoted to the LGBT2SQ+ community and that it’s focus was on how to make the practice a welcoming center. This community has been historically ignored. It is an evolving community as society becomes more educated and accepting of them. They are finding themselves and are finally able to talk about how they see themselves. I think it is important to stay educated on the changes so they are able to be comfortable going to counseling. They are making progress but still dealing with hurtful exclusions and worse. Having counselors who are sincerely interested in their wellbeing is important. Another chapter that I found particularly insightful was the chapter on grief. We normally think of grief as being related to death of someone we were close to. After reading this chapter, I learned that grief has many forms of loss. This was interesting and very useful. In the chapters you will learn of each topic, learn the principles of them, be given strategies and have case examples to help you visualize everything. At the end of the book there is a section for resources that are used in the topic chapters. There is also a link where you can download PDF’s from a website.
Overall I found this to be an excellent book that will improve your skills in helping others. Christmas is coming up and this would be a nice gift to a student who is studying to be a counselor/therapist.
I won an electronic copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This is the first guide I've come across that's easy to read with insights along the way that you could always pick up and build upon along the way. I volunteered to read this book off NetGalley because I've been working with Teens in my county and they face a lot of anxiety over either their studies, relationships and also awareness, so this book was just timely.
I'd recommend it to any student of Psychology, Counselors, Therapists or anyone interested in mental health and the holistic well-being of an individual.
I like how the book was structured. Each chapter discusses one condition, providing easy-to-understand explanations, practical suggestions, case studies, and references. Although a different author wrote each chapter, the editing and the consistent structure gave the text a cohesive feel.
The book also includes a glossary and helpful resources. The resource material is also available for download from the CTRI website (some forms require email subscription to access and some do not).
I think this book would be a great resource for anyone who wants to be better able to support others. We all encounter people dealing with these conditions, and it’s a comfort to feel better prepared to support a friend who is grieving or depressed.
I was provided an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting. The ARC was well-written and neatly formatted; I don’t recall noticing any proofreading errors.