3. Key Ingredients of a Helping Relationship
Acceptance - act of relating to another person
without judging him or her
Respect - an attitude of giving dignity to each
individual, by being consistently pleasant, open and
nonjudgemental
Understanding - by listening carefully and
thoughtfully relating to client’s experience
Empathy - by puting ourselves in client’s shoes and
try to experience their lives as they experience them
Trust - make clients feel safe, and let them
understand and believe that we will not reveal to
others what they have told us (confidentiality) and
connect with them beyond the superficial level of
everyday conversation
Warmth & Genuineness - involves communicating
genuineness through eye contact and tone of voice
4. Define Helping Skills
1. Attending (SOLER)
Involves a sustained, committed effort to hear
what another persons is saying, communicated
largely by how we orient ourselves physically
toward the client
Face the client Squarely to convey interest in others
and signify respect for them
Adopt an Open posture as a sign that you are
receptive to what another person has to say
Lean toward the client to convey that you are fully
engaged in hearing what they have to say
Maintain good Eye contact to concentrate better,
and to show our interest
Try to be relatively Relaxed so that the client will find it
easier to relax
5. Define Helping Skills
2. Listening involves paying attention to
Content of the message - the
meaning of what is being said
The feeling that is conveyed along
with this content
Clients may consciously or unconsciously
communicate their feelings through body
language, facial expressions, and tone of
voice.
"seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another."
-- Alfred Adler
6. Define Helping Skills
3. Reflecting - shows that we are listening not
only to the content of the message, but also
the feeling in their messages
We reflect content by restating or summarizing
the main point of what the client has said. It is
more than just parroting what Clients say word
for word; it echoes the essence of their words
and includes our understanding of what they
may be feeling.
“ It sounds very challenging for you…”
“ Please tell me if I understand you correctly …”
7. Define Helping Skills
4. Encouraging - to let clients know
that we are listening and
encouraging them to continue
talking
“umm hmm”
Nod our heads
Ask questions:
“what do you mean?”, ” tell me more
about it”, “can you tell an example?”
8. Define Helping Skills
5. Questioning - Use both open- and closedended questions as tools in gathering
information from clients and building
relationships with them.
Closed-ended questions are those that are answered
“yes” or “no” or with another simple response, usually
ask for specific facts or opinions. Do you, would you
prefer?
Open-ended questions invite a longer response than
closed-ended questions, and often start with what,
how, or why
“how have you used computers in your work up
to this point?” “what do you think are the best
places in town for coffee?”
9. Advantages / Disadvantages
of Open-ended Questions
Advantages
Invite clients to explore their thoughts and feelings
Give clients more control of their conversation with you
Convey your interest and respect to clients by inviting
them to tell you about their experience in their own
words and in their own way
Provide information you may not have known to seek
Disadvantage
Require more time
Allow clients to wander away from a topic and lose
focus or avoid topics that are unpleasant but necessary
to discuss
Lead to a series of “I don’t know” answers
10. Define Helping Skills
6. Silence
There are times the best thing you can say is nothing
at all
An intentional tool that can move work forward
Can be used as a way to emphasize the importance
of a topic or to signal to the need for the client to be
more active or to take a greater responsibility in the
work at hand
Use silence to encourage the client to think carefully
before responding
“Silence is so freaking loud”
“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So
you'd better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying.”
-- Sarah Dessen
11. The Purpose of the Intake Interview
Develop an understanding of the
client’s history and current situations
Identify and define a client’s career
goals
Recognize barriers to and resources
for goal attainment
Match the client’s needs with
appropriate services offered by your
organization and assess whether any
referral to other agencies is necessary
12. Information to be Gathered
During Intake Interview
Purpose
To understand history + current situation + goals + barrirers + needs for services you
offer (or elsewhere)
Basic client information: age, gender, no. and ages of children, ethnicity, culture..
Work experience and job-related skills
Likes and dislikes in each job
Education/training background
Personal or professional accomplishments
Specific strengths: aptitudes, sources of support
Specific challenges: learning or other disabilities, financial or other barriers, physical or mental
health issues
Client interests, career “ideas” and career goals
13. Identify a Client’s Needs, Strengths,
and Barriers
Motivation
Education and Transferable Skills
Support System
Timing
Finances
Transportation
Child-Care & Elder Care
Concerns
Mental and Physical Health Issues
14. How Can You Help Clients Set Goals
People are more likely to meet goals that are
Conceivable - can be expressed in words
Believable - something that clients
believe they can attain
Achievable - can be attained through
the client’s time, energy and effort
Measurable - can be worked toward in
increments of time and/or
accomplishments
Desirable - something that the client
wants
15. Action Planning
An action plan should consist of the
following:
A well-defined long-term goal
Alternative goals
Specific resources needed to
accomplish the goals (tuition,
transportation, childcare, etc.)
Short-term goals
A realistic timeline
Strategies to combat anticipated
barriers to goal attainment
16. CDPs Provide Following Services
Develop a written action plan with each client
Administer tests and inventories, with the help of a supervisor
Help clients find, understand, and know how to use labor market,
job, and training information
Help clients know how to find job openings, develop effective
resumes, and participate successfully in interviews
Help clients find and keep jobs
Provide instructions to clients on topics related to career planning
Identify agencies to which clients can be referred for further
assistance with related concerns
17. CDPs Provide Following Services
Maintain secure, accurate, and confidential records about clients
Coordinate and collaborate with others in order to provide the
best set of services for each client
Assist supervisors in the development, delivery, and promotion of
services offered by the agency
Seek consultation from professional counselors for help with
individual cases or for the purpose of professional growth
18. Best Practices In Terminating Work
Termination is the process during which you help
clients
Review the process they have made
Acknowledge their successes
Clarify their plans in the future
Discuss the kind of follow-up that seems appropriate
Make plans for futual problem solving if barriers arise
Three Steps Termination Model
Looking back
Looking forward
Saying goodbye
19. The Importance of Self-Care
Cultivate a large and diverse network of friends
who are positive and upbeat
Make an effort to eat healthfully whenever possible
Invest in your health by constantly getting the rest
that you need
Keep your body strong and stay alert by getting the
level of exercise that is recommended for your age
and level of wellness
Surround yourself with uplifting input, from your
favourite music to pictures of family and friends in
your workspace
Laugh whenever and wherever you can
