Working with Risk in Counselling and Psychotherapy
- Andrew Reeves - Professor in the Counselling Professions and Mental Health, Senior BACP Accredited Counsellor/Psychotherapist and Registered Social Worker.
General Counseling Skills
The wide-ranging contexts in which counselling and psychotherapy is now practiced means clients present with a range of risks that therapists have to respond to. Risk is an ever-present issue for counsellors and psychotherapists and, in an increasingly litigious culture, the need for trainees to develop a sound understanding of how the right tools and the right knowledge can support their practice has never been greater. In this book Andrew Reeves takes trainees, newly qualified practitioners, and more experienced practitioners step-by-step through what is meant by risk, offering practical hints and tips and links to policy and research to inform good ethical practice along the way.
This book tackles:
• The definition of risk and how risk is linked to social, psychological and relational factors
• Working with those who are at risk of suicide, self-injury, self-harm and/or are an endangerment to others
• How therapists should respond to the risk in situations involving child protection, mental health crises, and in the therapeutic process itself
• The positive side of risk-taking
• How counsellors and psychotherapists can work with risk proactively and positively, informed by research.
Filled with case studies, ethical dilemmas, reflective questions, discussion questions and further reading, this book offers counsellors and psychotherapists guidance on how they can work with risk proactively and positively. It is an essential resource for all services, organisations and individual practitioners.
An excellent practical resource that provides support through ex0planation, information and practical steps that can be taken when faced with risk in the therapy room.
This is a well-structured book; readable yet well-referenced. The extensive use of sub-headings, bullet points and case examples makes for an attractive presentation. It is a practice-up rather than theory-down book, which will appeal to practitioners. The main development for the next edition might be to seek a stronger theoretical model and research base, perhaps by looking at risk and decision making in allied fields.
This is essential reading for any counselling practitioner training course. It brings together different notions of risk and treads a well-thought-out line between offering solid practical information and prompting the reader to take responsibility for considering how to manage risk in their particular context. It is a valuable resource for tutors and learners alike.
This excellent and invaluable book fills an information gap in this crucial area. It covers neglected topics such as how to respond to a client who is in danger of harming others and how to work with mental health crises. I would highly recommend this book to trainers and students alike.
An excellent exposition of risk and how to work with its many manifestations. The author moves beyond the simplistic binary opposition which often views patients either as at risk or not at risk and instead considers the phenomena in a richer more textured "multi-dimensional" manner. Invaluable.
An excellent resource book to keep in our library for reference purposes
