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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 77
CHAPTER 7
THE HELPING PROCESS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students will be able to:
7-1 Distinguish helping relationships from other relationships.
7-2 Trace the stages of the helping process.
7-3 Recognize the skills essential for the development of a helping profession.
7-4 Summarize the place of nonverbal and verbal communication in the helping
process.
7-5 Demonstrate how a helper listens and responds to a client.
7-6 Compare the act of helping individual clients on-on-one and working with groups.
7-7 Identify challenging clients.
7-8 Demonstrate ways in which you can address the needs of culturally different,
reluctant or resistant clients, silent clients, overly demanding clients, and
7-9 Summarize the goals of motivational interviewing.
7-10 Identify the phases of a crisis and the skills necessary for crisis intervention.
7-11 Apply the four stages of resolution-focused brief therapy.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. Participants bring different perspectives and experiences.
2. Client–helper compatibility important for effective helping relationship
3. Differs from other relationships:
a. Goal-oriented
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 78
b. Time bound
4. Has bidirectionality
B. Stages of the helping process
1. Preparation
a. Create physical setting: eliminate barriers, ensure
confidentiality, properly position furniture, have adequate seating
2. The client arrives
a. Take charge with “ice breakers” or “door openers”
b. Initiate problem identification
3. Exploring the problem
a. Explored in detail in Chapter Eight
4. Intervention strategies
a. Set goals and determine how goals will be reached
5. Ending client services
a. Positive termination occurs when needed services are provided
and goals are reached.
1. Carry more than 65% of a message’s meaning
2. Provide valuable clues about clients’ thoughts or feelings
3. Can be ambiguous and vary from culture to culture
1. Spoken words within a cultural context
2. Cognitive messages: who, what, where, when, why
3. Affective components are expressed directly and indirectly.
C. Listening and responding
1. The helper listens
a. Responsive or active listening attends to both verbal and
nonverbal communication from the client.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 79
2. The helper’s response
a. Must be purposeful
3. Asking questions
a. Questioning is a learned skill.
(1) to begin the interview
(2) to request specific information
(3) to clarify
(4) to elicit examples of specific behavior
(5) to focus client’s attention
d. Use more open than closed questions
1. Informal interpreters are parents, children, or fellow staff.
2. Formal interpreters are preferred for their skill and professionalism.
E. Working with groups
1. Group characteristics:
a. Share interaction
b. Develop common goals
2. Group dynamics influence development and productivity.
3. Multicultural dimensions enhance and complicate group work.
4. Types of groups include self-help, task/work, education/prevention.
5. Helpers need communication skills to keep group functioning.
6. Meet face-to-face or online
III. Skills for challenging clients
1. Helper must begin to understand client and develop empathetic
2. 4 C’s of culture guide culturally sensitive conversations with clients.
B. The reluctant or resistant client
1. Reluctant clients do not want to come for help in the first place and are
more or less forced to come. With them, the helper should:
a. explain process to demystify it
2. Resistant clients come for help but fail to follow through or participate
in the helping process. With them, the helper should:
a. recognize and accept antagonism
1. Silence can have many different meanings.
2. Helper must evaluate the meaning of silence to determine how to
respond.
1. Behaviors include calling helpers at home, monopolizing office time,
and scheduling unnecessary appointments.
2. Helpers should set reasonable time limits to decrease client dependence.
1. May be unwilling to change and uncommitted to the helping process
2. Helper should try same strategies recommended for reluctant clients.
IV. Intervention strategies
1. Goal is to establish positive helping environment and increase client’s
internal desire for change.
a. Helper assumes role of equal partner in exchange process.
2. Skill and techniques can be found via Internet searches.
3. Client’s lives are influenced by significant others and culture.
B. Crisis intervention
1. Defining crisis
a. A crisis is an individual’s emotional response to a threatening or
(1) Developmental crisis: situation that is reasonably
(2) Situational crises: situation that is sudden,
unpredictable, and uncontrollable
2. How a crisis develops
a. Phase 1: individual reacts with increased anxiety
b. Phase 2: the individual’s problem-solving ability fails
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 81
d. Phase 4: state of crisis when problem remains unresolved and
3. The helper’s role in crisis intervention
a. Helper must establish trust and rapport because crisis
intervention is time-limited service.
(1) Assessment of problems
(2) Planning the intervention to restore the person to a
(3) Implementing the intervention
(4) Resolution of the crisis includes a plan for the future
and new ways of coping
1. Limited in time and scope
2. Based upon client strengths
3. Advocates that small changes make big differences
4. Stages:
a. Relationship building
b. Identify client strengths and look for resources
c. Establish specific goals
d. Homework to reach specific goals
CHAPTER SUMMARY
agency. Third, the helper explores the problem with the client. Fourth, the client and
helper set goals and create intervention strategies. Finally, the process is terminated when
goals are reached or time limits expire.
To establish rapport with clients, good communication skills are essential. The
skillful helper is attentive to verbal and nonverbal messages and understands the
importance of active listening, responding to clients, and asking appropriate questions.
clients require the helper to determine meaning in the lack of information offered.
The chapter concludes with discussion of three intervention strategies.
Motivational interviewing seeks to increase the client’s desire for change. Crisis
intervention is a short-term helping strategy that may include referrals for needed services
and activation of social networks for support and assistance. Resolution-focused brief
therapy is limited in time and scope and advocates that small changes make big
CHAPTER GOALS
1. To distinguish helping relationships from other relationships and to describe the stages
of the helping process.
2. To recognize necessary helping skills involving communication with individual clients
3. To identify challenging clients and to develop skills for addressing their needs.
4. To discuss motivational interviewing, crisis intervention, and resolution-focused brief
therapy as potential intervention strategies.
1. Ask your students to work in pairs for this exercise. One student should assume the
role of the human service professional seeing the client for the first time; one student
should assume the role of a client with a problem. Have each student make notes before
they talk with each other in the role-play situation. The human service professional lists
the information to be gathered. The client summarizes what he or she is willing to tell the
helper during their first interview.
Then, group the helpers together and have them compare experiences. What information
did they want to gather? Were they successful? Did they think they established a
relationship? Group the clients together and have them answer the following questions:
What information were you willing to share? What were you reluctant to share? Did you
feel that there was a relationship established by the end of the interview?
2. Ask students to think about a time in their lives when they have shared a problem or
concern with another individual. Have them identify the helpful behaviors and responses
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 84
this person made. Then discuss the behaviors/responses that they would not find helpful
3. Have students practice active listening, helpful responses, and asking open questions
4. Ask students if they have ever experienced a crisis. If they have, have them write a
description of the experience, list what stages developed, and decide if their experience
5. To begin an investigation into agency activities, have students select and visit a human
service agency or organization in the community. Tell them to find a seat in the waiting
or reception area, positioning themselves so that they can observe clients, workers, and
the physical environment. Observe the environment for 20–30 minutes then answer the
following questions:
▪ Draw a plan of the reception area including the furniture.
▪ Describe the room structure (walls, floor, window, etc.).
▪ Is a receptionist present?
▪ Describe the clients.
▪ Is confidentiality maintained?
▪ Are there any barriers to clients and services?
▪ Describe any professionals you observe.
1. What are the differences between formal and informal helping?
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 85
2. List the characteristics that make the helping relationship in human service
delivery unique and different from other relationships.
3. What kinds of things should a helper do before the client arrives for a meeting?
4. Discuss the stages of the helping process.
5. Describe four components of the communication process and the importance of
each.
6. When is it appropriate to ask questions?
7. Discuss strategies that would be helpful with challenging clients.
8. List some considerations when working with clients who are culturally different.
9. Describe the characteristics and skills that would be effective in crisis
10. Describe when you might use resolution-focused brief therapy.
MINDTAP VIDEO IN-CLASS DISCUSSION
THE HELPING PROCESS WITH A RESISTANT CLIENT
1. What behaviors alert you to Shelley’s resistance?
2. What does she say to confirm your suspicions of resistance?
3. What does Shawn do and say?
4. How would you describe the effectiveness of his approach?
Now, watch and listen as Shawn talks about resistance from a human service
1. How does Shawn recognize resistance?
2. What strategies does he use to counter it?
3. How does he deal with it on a personal level?
KEY TERMS
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 87
Resistance: Behavior that can occur at any time in the helping process with a client who
1. What two questions guide helping?
2. List the characteristics of the helping relationship.
3. What questions can you ask yourself to increase your awareness of your own
helping skills?
4. What considerations should the helper give to the physical setting?
5. How can the helper introduce problem identification?
6. During the intervention stage, when is referral appropriate?
7. Describe the ways termination can occur.
8. Describe how Carmen conducts the initial meeting with a client.
9. How does Carmen handle documentation?
10. Define communication.
11. What are nonverbal messages? Why are they important in a helping situation?
12. What is the cognitive component of a message? the affective component?
13. Define responsive or active listening.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 88
14. What does Egan suggest a helper can do to let the client know the helper is
listening?
15. “To paraphrase” means what?
16. How does a helper ask good questions?
17. What is the key to working with culturally different clients?
18. What are the problems and miscommunications that can result if the helper is not
aware of the client’s cultural background?
19. List the steps used to conceptualize the culturally different client.
20. How are the reluctant client and the resistant client alike and different?
21. Describe the difference between a situational crisis and a developmental crisis.
22. What problems does the unmotivated client present?
23. What is the purpose of motivational interviewing?
24. Define a crisis.
25. What is the helper’s role in crisis intervention?
26. What are the four stages of resolution-focused brief therapy?
The following questions will help students in their review of the chapter.
1. What distinguishes the helping relationship from other relationships?
2. Explain the purposes of each of the five stages of the helping process. What
special attitudes, skills, and values do helpers need for each of the five stages?
3. What special knowledge do helpers need to understand nonverbal messages? How
can this understanding aid in the helping process?
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, 89
4. Why are verbal messages important? How does an understanding of verbal
messages help when working with culturally different clients? reluctant/resistant
clients?
5. Describe how the helper might best listen and respond to the client.
6. What special understanding do helpers need to work with culturally different
clients? reluctant/resistant clients?
7. What are the 4 C’s of Culture? How do these questions assist the helper to deliver
culturally sensitive services?
8. What is unique about motivational interviewing?
9. Why is a crisis different from other helping situations? How does the helping
relationship differ in a crisis? What skills are necessary?
LO/STANDARD CORRELATION TABLE
7-7
12, 13, 15, 16,
Motivational Interviewing
7-9
11, 15, 18,
31
12, 13, 15, 16,
17, 19
2, 9
7-10
11, 15, 18,
12, 13, 15, 16,
Resolution-Focused Brief Therapy
7-11
11, 15, 18,
31
12, 13, 15, 16,
17, 19
2, 9
