Introduction to

Helping Skill
What is helping?
CO1 Distinguish the basic skills involved in helping
and the characteristics of an effective helper.
(C2, PLO1)
 HELPING
- Process of helping enables clients to experience healthy
relationships, work toward personal growth, address existential
concerns and learn valuable skills.
- Helping skills encompass both verbal and non verbal
communication.
- Intervention include attending and listening behaviors, close and
open questions, restatements, reflections of feelings challenges,
interpretations, self-disclosures, approval and reassurance,
immediacy, information and direct guidance.
 HELPING

- Helpers facilitating the process of change and clients deciding

what and how they want to change.
- Helper as an effective means for clients to obtain relief from
emotional pain, discover a direction for their lives and receive
feedback that can facilitate change.
 a) Assist client with problem situations and unused opportunities.
b) Problem situation: not in a mathematical sense, no clear cut solutions.
c) The goal of helping: not to “solve” problems but to “help” the troubled person
manage them effectively.
d) Missed opportunities and unused potential: not because of they are having
problems. Resources are available but they are not using or opportunities they are not
developing
 HELPING

Helper – individual provide assistance.

Client –indicate the person receiving support.
Helping – assisting clients in exploring feelings, gaining insight,
and making positive changes in their lives
What are your helper characteristics?
Characteristics of Ideal Helper
Open to Genuine Flexible
learning

Good Willingness Respect

interpersonal sensitivity
skills
Do you possess the characters?
High-level functioning Helper (Carkhuff, 1967)

Empathy Congruence Self-

disclosure

Respect Concreteness Confrontatio

n

Immediacy
 FORMAL AND INFORMAL
HELP
Formal help is Informal help is
characterized by characterized by emotional
scheduling, time limitations closeness, companionship
and professional and reciprocity.
competencies.  (e.g.: family, friends,
(e.g.: counselor, teachers, society)
psychiatrist)
 HELPING PROCESS
Egan (2010) describes the stages of the helping model by framing these stages in
the context of four basic client questions:
a) What is going on? What are the problems or concerns that I most want to work
on?
b) What do I need or want? In what ways do I want my life to be different? What
are the changes I most want to make?
c) What do I have to do to get what I need or want? What kind of plan will help me
get what I want?
d) How can I get results? How can I put my plan into action and accomplish my
goals? What are some ways to get moving and keep the momentum going?
 HELPING

Model of ‘active listening’ by Egan :

S.O.L.E.R.
–  S (Square 
–  O (Open) 
–  L (Lean)
–  E (Eye Contact)
  –  R (Relax) 
 Stages of the Helping Process
(Skilled Help Model)
Stage 1: The Exploration Stage 2: The Challenge
Stage Stage

Stage 3: The Planning
Stage
 Situation 1: Financial Issue
Situation 2: Communication problems
Situation 3: Decision making
Situation 4: Self-esteem and confidence
Situation 5: Stress

Choose 1 situation.
One person will be the helper and one will be the client.
Conduct a role play of how you want to manage the situation.
 The Exploration Stage

-“what is going on?” questions

-helper is exploring the client’s situation.
-build a collaborative counselling relationship and help the client
to investigate their situation and uncover the issues that they want
to tackle.
-identify and elucidate problems and opportunities as well as
determine the resources available to them.
 The Exploration Stage

-To achieve success in this stage, the helper will be using excellent

active listening skills, developing their rapport, reflecting,
paraphrasing, silence, checking their understanding, asking open
questions and summarizing what they are hearing
Examples of open questions:
–  “How do you feel about that?”, “What were you thinking?”,
“What is it like for you?, “What else can you say about
that?”, “Do you want to say more about that?”
 The Challenge Stage

-guiding client toward rational decision-making process,

utilizing careful analysis, careful consideration of the data and
beginning to plan.
-brainstorm, encourage creative thinking around the issues, in
order to generate different options when it comes to dealing
with certain situations and arriving at goals.
 The Challenge Stage
To help with this using these kinds of questions can be productive:
–  “What do you think the situation looks like from their point of
view?”.
–  “What would she say about all of this?”
–  “Are there any other ways of looking at this?”
–  “Is there anything you’ve overlooked?”
–  “What about all of this is a problem for you?”
 The Planning Stage
-Guiding the client through problem-solving and decision-making methods,
employing appropriate encouragement and support.
-Helper will help maintain focus and guide the selection of action plans that
are viable for the client, which meets their needs, matches their aspirations
and the resources they have available.
-Creating realistic and achievable goals with time-specific objectives can
help in this process which along with the encouragement and support of the
helper can lead to profound change.
-SMART
 The Planning Stage
Some useful questions for this stage:
–  “What would you ideally want instead?”
–  “What would you be feeling/doing/thinking if…?”
–  “What might you have that you don’t now?”
–  “How would life change if this happened?”
–  “What possibilities open up if you do this?
 Model of Helping Process

Stage 1: Establishing a Stage 2: Identifying

Working Relationship Clients’ Problems

Stage 4: Encouraging Client

Stage 3: Helping Clients
Exploration
Create Goals
and Taking Action

Stage 5: Termination
 Stage 1: Establishing a
Working Relationship
-Establishing the relationship
-Educating clients and obtaining informed consent.
.
 Stage 2: Identifying Clients’
Problems
-gather information, conduct an assessment, and identify the
client’s problems and resources.
-Understanding the environmental context.
-Conducting an initial assessment.
-Helping clients gain a focus.
-Identifying exceptions to one’s problems.
Stage 3: Helping Clients Create
Goals
-Strategies to help clients in crisis.
-A problem-solving approach.
Stage 4: Encouraging Client Exploration
and Taking Action
-Confronting (or challenging) clients
-Using helper self-disclosure appropriately.
-Identifying and assessing action strategies.
-Carrying out an action program.
 Stage 5: Termination

-Preparing clients for termination.

-Terminating when clients are not benefiting.
-Taking steps to avoid fostering dependency.
-Skills for ending the helping relationship.
Thank you
See you next time!
See you next time!