A Safe Place for Change, 2nd Ed by Hugh Crago; Penny GardnerCall Number: eBook
Publication Date: 2019-03-01
A Safe Place for Change focusses squarely on the therapeutic relationship. Skills are presented in terms of their contribution to the relationship. Theories and models are referred to throughout, but the authors emphasise what the different approaches have in common, rather than the specialised terminology that often makes them seem more different than they actually are.The initial chapters teach holding and exploring -- skills that are almost automatically required in the first few sessions with a new client. Then follows a chapter that deals with the challenge to the counsellor/client relationship which often appears after the first two sessions, and shows counsellors how they can respond most usefully. As the therapeutic relationship continues and deepens, it becomes possible to invite clients to consider how they might be contributing to their own problems -- the skill of gentle honesty or encountering. Finally, the authors introduce solving the problem via advice, instruction, and homework, and re-parenting the person -- something that is more likely to be crucial in long-term work with clients who present entrenched difficulties in living and relating.