More Than Listening: A Casebook for Using Counseling Skills in Student Affairs Work

Helping skills are an essential component of today's student affairs practice. On a day-to-day basis, it is student affairs professionals who often work directly with students in need of mental health support and monitoring. More Than Listening: A Casebook for Using Counseling Skills in Student Affairs Work is written for those student affairs practitioners with limited educational or experiential backgrounds in counseling or mental health services. It provides a model for how both student development and counseling theories can inform and enhance student affairs practice. The book presents a series of case studies based on composites of situations typically handled by student affairs professionals. Each scenario is followed by two theory-based responses: one drawing on student development theories and student affairs practice; and the other grounded in counseling theory and suggesting or modeling practical helping skills. This book illustrates how strong helping skills can augment the effectiveness of student affairs professionals in their supportive and educational roles with all students, including those with mental health concerns.