Title Details

WILLIAM MADSEN, PhD, is an internationally-renowned consultant in the fields of family therapy and social work. He is the author of Collaborative Therapy with Multi-Stressed Families, a social work text used widely by public agencies and graduate programs. In 2013, he was awarded the Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy, Theory, and Practice award by the American Family Therapy Academy.

KEVIN GILLESPIE, MHSA, RN, is the Executive Director of Integrated Services and the founding director of Blue Sky Alliance of Appalachian Ohio. He has more than 30 years of experience combining direct service, system development, and administration. His work focuses on innovative service solutions for public service systems and in alliance with therapeutic, housing, and employment professionals.

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction xi

About the Authors xix

Chapter 1 Helping: What, How, and Why 1

Stories of Helping Relationships 1

Walking and Talking 8

Helping Activities—The What of Helping 9

Relational Connection—The How of Helping 12

Experience and Stories—The Why of Helping 14

Placing Collaborative Helping in a Broader Context 17

Moving Collaborative Helping into the Future 20

Chapter 2 Cornerstones of Collaborative Helping 23

Collaborative Helping as a Principle-Based Approach 23

Collaborative Helping and Relational Stance 26

Collaborative Helping and a Focus on Life Stories 33

Collaborative Helping and Inquiry 40

The Cornerstones in Plain English 46

Chapter 3 A Map to Guide Helping Efforts 49

Introducing Collaborative Helping Maps 50

The Collaborative Helping Map in Action 52

Organizing Vision and Preferred Directions in Life 53

Obstacles and Supports 58

The Plan 64

The Usefulness of a Map 68

Chapter 4 Collaborative Helping Maps in Different Contexts 69

Using Collaborative Helping Maps in Residential Programs 69

Using Collaborative Helping Maps to Enhance Conversations in Child Protective Services 78

Using Collaborative Helping Maps in the Changing World of Health Care 91

Current and Potential Uses for Collaborative Helping Maps 96

Chapter 5 Engaging People to Envision New Lives 99

Engagement—Who Are You and What Is Important to You? 99

Vision—Where Would You Like to Be Headed in Your Life? 102

Engagement Difficulties 108

Engaging a Youth with a No Problem Stance 111

Engaging a Woman with a No Control Stance 115

Difficulties Developing a Vision 118

Connecting to Build Desired Futures 123

Chapter 6 Rethinking Problems and Strengths 125

Rethinking Strengths and Needs 126

Conversations about Problems as Obstacles Separate from People 127

A Map for Externalizing Conversations about Problems 135

Conversations about Strengths as Intentional Practices of Living 139

A Map for Conversations about Strengths 142

Applications of Conversations about Strengths 144

New Conversations about Problems and Strengths 148

Chapter 7 Dilemmas in Home and Community Services 151

Concrete Help, Boundaries, and the Terrain of Home and Community Work 152

The Contribution of Family Partners to Collaborative Helping 159

Relational Stance and Advocacy Efforts 161

Power Dynamics in Working with the Larger Helping System 162

Dilemmas in Advocacy Efforts 166

Helping People More Effectively Advocate for Themselves 173

In the End, It’s Still Walking and Talking 174

Chapter 8 Sustainable Helping 177

Using Collaborative Helping Maps to Enhance Supervision 177

Building Institutional Structures that Support Collaboration 183

Building Organizational Cultures that Support Collaboration 190

A Brief Look Back 199

References 203

Index 209

Praise for Collaborative Helping: A Strengths Framework for Home-Base Services

"I really like how the authors point out that a strength-based approach does not have to be unnecessarily cliché. This is an important message to the field and cannot be stated enough. This book is great at showing how being strength-based can be real and useful to supporting change in people. Also it provides the reader with a clear understanding of why the collaborative helping approach is important and how to implement the approach. The vignettes and examples are excellent! I see this book as a teaching tool and I would use the book in a course geared for future helping professionals. It provides useful information that encourages helpers and the organizations in which they work to be more "people -centered".
—Mario Hernandez, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Child and Family Studies, College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida

"This book will be helpful for those who struggle with establishing, developing, planning, and motivating clients, as it offers many examples and solutions for helping those clients most difficult to reach and engage in the treatment process. Reading this book will enrich practice methods for many in the helping professions."
—Richard J. Gabriel, LCSW, Manager BHS Social Work

"The often polarized and fraught relationship of front line mental health and social service workers and the pained and troubled families with whom they work is at last replaced with one capable of generating hope, resiliencies and lasting change. Madsen's original Collaborative Therapy Model is vibrantly transformed here – a living tapestry weaving multiple complex theories in to an accessible practice shaped by the sheer humanity of care-givers and care-receivers in the most dire circumstances. From students and brand new human service workers to long experienced therapists, supervisors and program directors – all must read this book. Hold tight to the stories within – as they fill your head, your heart and your imagination, you will do more compassionate and effective work with those you meet next."
—Evan Imber-Black, Ph.D., Professor and Program Director, Marriage and Family Therapy, Mercy College

"Respect and regard for people served resonates throughout, and helpers reading this book will feel understood and encouraged. Influences from Narrative therapy, Wraparound, and Motivational Interviewing are intelligently integrated in the framework, guiding service providers, supervisors, and consultants to put connection, curiosity, and hope into practice. The text addresses sensitive issues, difficult dilemmas, complicated scenarios, and serious matters in pragmatic and empathic ways, showing "collaborative inquiry," "contact before content" and "connection before correction" in action."
—Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Associate Director of Training at Marin County Mental Health and Substance Use Services, San Rafael, CA

"Collaborative Helping provides a practical, principle-based approach for working alongside people in the community. Case managers and paraprofessionals who work in health, mental health, employment, and other organizations will benefit from reading and adopting both the collaborative, strength-based stance and the strategy for "mapping" client plans and goals as described in this book."
—Benjamin M. Ogles, Dean and Professor of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

"Madsen and Gillespie have drawn strategically from cutting edge material from family therapy, as well as community and organizational development, to promote collaborative ways of working with individuals and families. Tempered by their practice wisdom and management experience, the book includes a wide range of clinical strategies that can be applied immediately by new and very experienced practitioners. Their writing truly is grounded in a spirit of respect, connection, curiosity and hope."
—Peter J. Pecora, Ph.D., Casey Family Programs and the University of Washington

"Collaborative Helping is a major contribution to helping relationships of all kinds; personal and professional. Drawing on many years of experience as professional helpers, the authors offer a comprehensive set of practical and wise principles that?@inform the creation of collaborative, compassionate and empowering helping relationships in a way that is both useful and inspiring. I found this book to be immediately relevant and useful in my own work as a psychotherapist and supervisor and highly recommend to all who are interested in improving their capacity to help others."
—Andrew Tatarsky, PhD, President, Division on Addiction, New York State Psychological Association; Director, The Center for Optimal Living

"Rarely have I read a book that so clearly links theory to practice in such a useful way. Madsen and Gillespie have produced an insightful guide to how we can make Health and Human Services across a wide range of contexts more sympathetic to those who become part of complex systems. This is a book that not only provides excellent examples of how to share power and make people feel respected, avoiding the perils of blame and resistance that can cause worker burnout, it is also the story of how workers themselves find creative ways to become a positive part of their clients’ lives. Based on years of experience as a trainer and agency director, Madsen and Gillespie describe a hopeful, engaging model of practice that will help workers and their agencies respond in effective ways to families in crisis. It is a must read for every front line worker and agency supervisor."
—Michael Ungar, Ph.D., Co-Director, Resilience Research Centre, Professor of Social Work, Dalhousie University

"Collaborative Helping is a must read for all community-based workers in multi-stress social contexts. Prevalent intervention models, focused on reducing youth and family deficits, too often become problem-saturated and defeated by clients' overwhelming life challenges. In contrast, the authors’ strength-based family centered approach-- immediately practical and effective--breathes new hope, possibilities, and vision into their lives, encouraging their best efforts and mutual support toward their aspirations and positive growth."
—Froma Walsh, PhD, Co-Founder & Co-Director, Chicago Center for Family Health; Mose & Sylvia Firestone Professor Emerita, The University of Chicago; Author, Strengthening Family Resilience