Becoming Naturally Therapeutic: A Return to the True Essence of Helping » (REV)

Jacquelyn Small is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the transpersonal or spiritual approach to the treatment and healing of addiction. She is the former director of training for the Texas Commission on Alcoholism, and has reached thousands through the workshops and lectures she conducts throughout the United States and Canada. She codirects her own company, Eupsychia, Inc., which is a training and certification institute dedicated to bridging traditional and transformational psychologies. The author of Becoming Naturally Therapeutic: A Return to the True Essence of Helping, Awakening in Time: From Co-Dependence to Co-Creation, and Transformation: The Therapists of the Future, she lives in Austin, Texas.

Already a classic in the alcohol treatment and counseling communities, here is a life-changing guide for anyone in a therapeutic relationship—whether a professional counselor, a teacher, a parent, or a friend. Based on studies that pinpoint the characteristics of the most effective therapists, Becoming Naturally Therapeutic shows you how to help those you care about by opening your heart and releasing the healer within. A nationally known pioneer in the area of addiction and transpersonal psychology, Jacquelyn Small shows you how to emphasize without enabling, how to care without controlling, and how by helping others in a genuine spirit of giving you invariably help yourself. She teaches how the true art of therapy lives within us all. You'll learn: The ten characteristics—from empathy and warmth to immediacy and concreteness—that all counselors need to discover within themselves. How to overcome patterns of toxic relating—the pitfalls of the preacher, judge, teacher, or savior that are barriers to true intimacy. The principle of helpful confrontation: when to use it and how. How to "straight-talk" beyond codependent ways of helping and point those in need to their own inner strength. Complete with practical exercises and sample dialogues, this clear and compassionate guide will help you let go and become the natural healer you are meant to be.

Library Journal

This book, which began as an aid for counselors of alcoholics, is a succinct guide to effective counseling in both therapeutic situations and interpersonal relationships. From her research into what makes a therapist effective, Small has distilled ten traits that she calls ``love in action''--traits that all persons can develop with practice. Her description of each trait includes examples of client-counselor dialog, information about underlying psychological processes, and a practice exercise. She also includes material aimed specifically at those dealing with the alcohol-addicted. While this book is probably better suited to readers familiar with basic counseling practice, it may also be useful to lay readers who want to improve their helping skills. Recommended for libraries supporting workers and trainees in the helping professions.-- Lucy Patrick, Florida State Univ. Lib., Talla - hassee