Tools for Hard Conversations in the Helping Professions: Practical Tools from Abstract Theories

Tools For Hard Conversations will help professionals who routinely have hard conversations in the course of their work. It is a guide for how to have these types of conversations, while avoiding the compassion-fatigue and burnout that often comes with these roles. It goes into depth about the philosophies, approaches and practical tools that enable workers to help people more effectively without sacrificing their own well-being.

Often helping professionals, unduly influenced by the medical-model approach to mental health, which sees them as the expert who needs to fix their clients’ problems, are just looking for tangible tools to guide their practice and to help people find their own solutions.

The co-authors have developed and road tested a conversational map that can assist workers to enable change with the people they work with, positioning each client as the expert of their own life. With the help of extensive case studies, Tools For Hard Conversations enables workers and clients to walk away stronger from each therapeutic conversation.

Jane D'Arcy is a professional counsellor. In addition to therapeutic work with individuals and families, she also run professional development training for practitioners in the human services sector and this is where the inspiration for this book has come from. Jane has a Masters degrees in counselling and believes that the most effective catalyst to change is through conversations. This has led Jane to her role as a lecturer in Counselling at QUT (Queensland University of Technology). She runs face to face training and supervision with individual practitioners and teams. When not counselling, writing and training, Jane practices yoga and runs her little dog Henry through the beautiful bush of Mt Cootha in Brisbane.

Adrian Holmes is a professional counsellor who has worked in practice for a number of years. In addition to therapeutic work with individuals and families, he also runs professional development training for practitioners in the human services sector and this is where the inspiration for this book has come from. Adrian has a Masters degrees in counselling and believes that the most effective catalyst to change is through conversations. This has led Adrian to his role as the Managing Director of a child and family counselling service in Brisbane called SKATTLE (Supporting Kids & Teens Through Life-changing Experiences). Although this is their first book, Adrian and Jane have been busy sharing these ideas for many years through blogs and journals, in addition to the face to face training and supervision with individual practitioners and teams. When not counselling, Adrian also loves running along the water near his Brisbane bayside home, especially with his two small children in the running pram.