The Helping Conversation
Commonsense Counseling Skills for Everyone
The Need for Helping Skills
The Helping Conversation
We all need help and support from time to time as we deal with the problems and issues of life, especially those that threaten to overwhelm us. One option, in theory at least, is to seek the help of a professional. In practice, however, that’s not realistic for most people.
This is why, perhaps more than ever, society would benefit enormously if more “ordinary” people understood the basic principles of helping and had the communication skills required to use them effectively.
The Helping Conversation, described in this website, is a book that outlines processes that will enable you to manage your problems and unused opportunities more effectively and help others to do so.
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The Helping Conversation is part of The Power of Basics™ Series being developed by Gerard Egan.
About the Book
The processes described and illustrated in The Helping Conversation are derived from The Skilled Helper, a hugely influential book written by Professor Gerard Egan. The helping model that was developed by Professor Egan is the go-to model to train professional counselors around the world.
The Helping Conversation was written for you. It is not just a simplified version of Egan’s original work. Rather the universal time-tested principles of helping inform both The Skilled Helper and The Helping Conversation. It introduces the skills needed to help oneself and others in managing the ordinary problems and unused opportunities of life.
Learn more about the topics, processes and skills covered in The Helping Conversation.
About the Authors
Gerard Egan
Many of the ideas behind The Helping Conversation are drawn from The Skilled Helper, a hugely influential book written by Professor Gerard Egan. Gerry has more than 50 years’ experience as a counselor, educator, trainer, and researcher. Gerry has been consulted by many leading organizations alongside his academic career, including the World Bank, British Telecom, and BP. The Skilled Helper was first published in 1973 and has been a required text at training institutions worldwide ever since. The book is now in its 11th edition, each updated with the latest peer-reviewed studies. The fundamental principles of the approach have remained unchanged, however, and are at the heart of The Helping Conversation.
Andrew Bailey
Co-author Andrew Bailey is a London-based writer and consultant. He has collaborated with Gerry on previous books, notably the TalkWorks series. Earlier in his career, Andrew was the UK Editor of Rolling Stone and the rock critic of London’s Evening Standard. He spent many years as a copywriter and creative director in advertising before founding Dialogics, a media production company specializing in online education and training. He is a visiting lecturer at the department of applied sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London.
