Becoming Naturally Therapeutic: A Return to the True Essence of Helping

Jacquelyn Small writes about the natural work of being a helper. She writes for both the professional community of counselors and social workers as well as the real world of families. Some of her skills are directed at working with those with problems of chemical dependency and alcoholism, but she covers the aspects of toxic ways of relating and looking at how to come from the heart. She covers, in plain English, the skills of empathy, genuineness, respect, self-disclosure, warmth, immediacy, concreteness, confrontation, potency and self-actualization. In each section she gives clear examples of how the skill will look in real life, and how it should not be done.

This book is written in plain English and is easy to read. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased several copies a had them sent to my friends.

Exceptional. Very practical. The author does a great job giving real examples for each of the therapeutic traits she espouses. I have worked with troubled youth for about 6 years and regularly refer to her book in my work with students and in coaching other staff. Very easy read, easily understandable, and right on the money! A great resource for anyone and everyone who fully engages in relationships with friends, lovers, clients.

Ms. Small's book is considered a "classic" in the field of counseling persons with addictive illness for very good reasons. Her writing is very clear, concise, jargon-free (a huge plus in a field where some books require a separate glossary to understand the terminology! ), and extremely practical. Her utilization of brief and to-the-point clinical excerpts from counseling sessions are always appropriate and are followed up by additional applications. Her chapter on "Confrontation," will, once and for all, help novice and experienced clinicians understand that it does not mean dealing with your or the client's anger, lying, transference, etc.; it is simply a way to directly help the other grasp the essence of their beliefs, communication(s) and behavior(s) in non-shaming ways. Highly recommended to anyone considering counseling on either side of the equation and/or significant others of persons with addictive issues. One of the best i've run across in my 20+ years in the field.Also recommended to anyone interested in the qualities of a healer/effective therapist.