The Secrets of Exceptional Counselors

Every profession has trade secrets that are passed on from one generation to the next and counseling is no exception. These cherished lessons based on wide-ranging experiences and passion for the craft are shared by masters with students and colleagues and include fresh ideas, noteworthy interventions, and even little tricks learned over time that increase both professional effectiveness and personal satisfaction. These unique practices are captured in this entertaining book that collects the wisdom of some of the most accomplished practitioners in the field, those who have been most influential in developing theoretical approaches, clinical innovations, and standards of practice. These master clinicians disclose ingenious methods and practical tips to better serve clients. Discussing techniques that have been mostly kept private until now, they talk about their creative breakthroughs, spiritual transcendences, monumental successes, and their own developmental adjustments over time. They also reveal some of their most unusual cases, disappointing failures, and disturbing deceptions, and share stories about the clients who have changed them. New practitioners and veterans alike will find innovative ways to remain fresh and engaged with clients. Because of its focus on practical knowledge and useful strategies, this book can be used as a supplemental text in a variety of introductory and advanced courses, or as an inspirational guide for experienced counselors. *Requests for digital versions from ACA can be found on www.wiley.com *To request print copies, please visit the ACA website https://imis.counseling.org/store/ *Reproduction requests for material from books published by ACA should be directed to permissions@counseling.org Title Page......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Preface: Tricks of the Trade......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 11 About the Author......Page 12 Chapter 1: A Tough Lesson that Forever Changed the Way I Work......Page 13 Secrets and Best Practices During First Contact......Page 16 A Cherished Secret......Page 18 Wandering in the Dark......Page 21 When You Feel Awkward and Lost......Page 23 Behind the Curtain......Page 25 Reconciling the Need for Definitive Answers With the Realities of Uncertainty......Page 28 Chapter 3: Theories are Simply Flexible Frameworks......Page 30 Theories are Stories to Explain Things......Page 31 Theoretical Purity is No More......Page 32 Some Notable Figures Chime in with their Secrets......Page 34 Chapter 4: Developing your Own Voice......Page 38 Conflicts and Arguments that Stifle Individual Voices......Page 39 Sorting Out Clanging Voices......Page 40 Going Beyond the Master......Page 41 The Secret to Developing a Signature Style of Practice......Page 42 Chapter 5: Assessing and Diagnosing Differently......Page 44 Looking Backward to Move Forward......Page 45 Assessing Strengths and Resources......Page 47 And Then What Happened?......Page 50 Some Essential Assessment Questions......Page 51 Love is a Four-Letter Word......Page 53 Listen to What is Not being Said—and Other Subtleties......Page 55 Being Fully Present......Page 56 Mindfulness: The Gift That Keeps on Giving......Page 57 Deep Listening has Never Been More Important......Page 58 Chapter 7: Don't Forget the Context and Culture......Page 60 A Reconceptualization of What Culture Means......Page 61 Cultural Constructions......Page 62 Challenging Personal Assumptions and Colonized Discourse......Page 64 Chapter 8: There are No Difficult Clients, Only Difficult Counselors......Page 67 Be Careful What You Ask People......Page 68 Blame the Client......Page 69 On Demonstrating Flexibility and Adaptability in the Face of So-Called Resistance......Page 72 Outside Influences on the Therapeutic Relationship......Page 74 Rules of Engagement With Challenging Clients......Page 76 Honoring the Client's Theory of Change......Page 78 Relational Protections and Transformations......Page 79 The Value of Experiential Learning and Boundary Considerations......Page 82 Chapter 10: It Takes Chutzpah......Page 85 The Food Chain......Page 86 Going Beyond What is Convenient and Familiar......Page 88 Personal and Professional Development......Page 89 Chapter 11: Clients Lie—a Lot—and It Might Not Matter......Page 91 What to Believe?......Page 92 When to Challenge, When to Question, When to Wait......Page 95 The Meanings of Deception......Page 96 Dark Secrets......Page 97 Chapter 12: Techniques Sometimes Matter......Page 99 The More the Better?......Page 101 Not a Technique but a Way of Being with Clients......Page 102 When It's Time to Do Something......Page 103 Experience Counts—All Kinds of Experience......Page 107 Advanced Techniques that May be Common but are Very, Very Difficult to Do Well......Page 109 Masters Reveal Some Secrets......Page 111 The Power of Direct Experience......Page 114 Accessing Alternative Modalities......Page 116 Impediments to Creativity......Page 117 Secrets to Accessing Greater Creativity......Page 119 Chapter 15: Who Changes Whom?......Page 124 Some Questions to Consider......Page 125 The Stories We Hear......Page 127 Who Impacts Us and Why?......Page 129 Failures that are Never to Be Forgotten......Page 133 What is Bad Counseling Anyway?......Page 135 Processing Mistakes and Failures......Page 139 Chapter 17: Practicing What you Preach......Page 142 Our Authentic Selves in Action......Page 143 Exceptional Counselors: Who are They . . . and How Do I Become One?......Page 145 Appendix: Some Challenging Questions for Aspiring Exceptional Counselors......Page 148 Technical Support......Page 150 End User License Agreement......Page 151

Every profession has trade secrets that are passed on from one generation to the next and counseling is no exception. These cherished lessons based on wide-ranging experiences and passion for the craft are shared by masters with students and colleagues and include fresh ideas, noteworthy interventions, and even little tricks learned over time that increase both professional effectiveness and personal satisfaction.

These unique practices are captured in this entertaining book that collects the wisdom of some of the most accomplished practitioners in the field, those who have been most influential in developing theoretical approaches, clinical innovations, and standards of practice. These master clinicians disclose ingenious methods and practical tips to better serve clients. Discussing techniques that have been mostly kept private until now, they talk about their creative breakthroughs, spiritual transcendences, monumental successes, and their own developmental adjustments over time. They also reveal some of their most unusual cases, disappointing failures, and disturbing deceptions, and share stories about the clients who have changed them.

New practitioners and veterans alike will find innovative ways to remain fresh and engaged with clients. Because of its focus on practical knowledge and useful strategies, this book can be used as a supplemental text in a variety of introductory and advanced courses, or as an inspirational guide for experienced counselors.

Every profession has trade secrets that are passed on from one generation to the next and counseling is no exception. These cherished lessons based on wide-ranging experiences and passion for the craft are shared by masters with students and colleagues and include fresh ideas, noteworthy interventions, and even little tricks learned over time that increase both professional effectiveness and personal satisfaction. These unique practices are captured in this entertaining book that collects the wisdom of some of the most accomplished practitioners in the field, those who have been most influential in developing theoretical approaches, clinical innovations, and standards of practice. These master clinicians disclose ingenious methods and practical tips to better serve clients. Discussing techniques that have been mostly kept private until now, they talk about their creative breakthroughs, spiritual transcendences, monumental successes, and their own developmental adjustments over time. They also reveal some of their most unusual cases, disappointing failures, and disturbing deceptions, and share stories about the clients who have changed them. New practitioners and veterans alike will find innovative ways to remain fresh and engaged with clients. Because of its focus on practical knowledge and useful strategies, this book can be used as a supplemental text in a variety of introductory and advanced courses, or as an inspirational guide for experienced counselors.--Cover page 4