Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent advice on counselling, 19 Dec 2004
Scruton makes a valuable contribution in this book - though published in 1989, its message remains relevant. The central theme is that people change as they go through life and we need a social perspective on the counselling we offer. While a vast amount of social work literature is directed at work with children, children & families, and adolescents, comparatively little addresses the ageing process and the changing emotional and psychological needs of the population.I do not work with 'the elderly', per se. I work with offenders and long-term prisoners. The message in this book was an eye-opener for me, and forced me to question my practices and my assumptions in the work I was doing. While Scruton's focus is on direct work with older people, there are lessons to be transported from this work and applied with other age groups and in other situations. Scruton emphasises that humans are the only animals to live on past the age when they can work most efficiently and reproduce their species. He identifies themes relevant to ageing - loss of many significant people in your life, loss of parental, social and employment roles, declining physical abilities, loss of income and status, potentially loss of social and physical mobility. The effects of such changes demand different strategies and tactics when providing counselling or face-to-face social work. Scruton argues that the task is to help older people reach a confident position where they can reflect on change and become more aware of their needs and situation. He emphasises that it is "the simplicity and the basic humanity of counselling that makes it such an attractive, powerful and valuable technique", despite the many attempts to professionalise it. There is a hint that counselling should be about empowering the client rather than the professional! This is an optimistic, life-affirming work. It is very well written - accessible to all and not aimed at an academic or professional readership. It is well worth tracking down a copy - via Amazon or your local library. The message remains important: age has not withered it nor made it stale.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Counselling as a creative approach to working with older peo, 1 Oct 2001
As a lecturer in social work who is trying to promote high standards in work with older people, I welcome the work that Steve Scrutton has done. This is one of the few textbooks for social workers, counsellors and those in social care which identifies the psychological and emotional needs of older people. The scarcity of books which address issues such as loss, grief, socially constructed attitudes towards older people such as ageism, and positive ways of assessing and meeting the counselling needs of older people is, in itself, an indication of how old age is regarded in our society. This is a straight forward but comprehensive guide to working in a positive way with the social, relationship and emotional needs of older people which deserves to be more widely known by staff in a range of statutory and voluntary social work and social care organisations. Perhaps Steve Scrutton should write something on these issues directly aimed at older people and their families!-there is scope for enhancing the emotional literacy of attitudes towards old age and older people in this society!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still essential advice on counselling - not just old people, 5 Dec 2004
Scruton makes a valuable contribution in this book - though published in 1989, its message remains relevant. The central theme is that people change as they go through life and we need a social perspective on the counselling we offer. While a vast amount of social work literature is directed at work with children, children & families, and adolescents, comparatively little addresses the ageing process and the changing emotional and psychological needs of the population.I do not work with 'the elderly', per se. I work with offenders and long-term prisoners. The message in this book was an eye-opener for me, and forced me to question my practices and my assumptions in the work I was doing. While Scruton's focus is on direct work with older people, there are lessons to be transported from this work and applied with other age groups and in other situations. Scruton emphasises that humans are the only animals to live on past the age when they can work most efficiently and reproduce their species. He identifies themes relevant to ageing - loss of many significant people in your life, loss of parental, social and employment roles, declining physical abilities, loss of income and status, potentially loss of social and physical mobility. The effects of such changes demand different strategies and tactics when providing counselling or face-to-face social work. Scruton argues that the task is to help older people reach a confident position where they can reflect on change and become more aware of their needs and situation. He emphasises that it is "the simplicity and the basic humanity of counselling that makes it such an attractive, powerful and valuable technique", despite the many attempts to professionalise it. There is a hint that counselling should be about empowering the client rather than the professional! This is an optimistic, life-affirming work. It is very well written - accessible to all and not aimed at an academic or professional readership. It is well worth tracking down a copy - via Amazon or your local library. The message remains important: age has not withered it nor made it stale.
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