Helping and human relations V.1

While there can be no question that both
lay and professional assistance in the
area of human relations is urgently
needed, procedures for assessing the
suitability and potential of helpers and for
preparing them for the actual helping
situation have not been adequately de-
fined. Professor Carkhuff's two volumes
represent the first attempt to deal with all
phases of effective helping programs in
terms of identifiable and repeatable oper-
ations. The author's pragmatic approach
to the helping process is guided by what
he calls the "three R's of helping": the
right of the helper to intervene in the life
of another; his responsibilities once he
has intervened;' and the role which he
must assume and the role conflicts he will
encounter in helping another.

In the first volume, Selection and Training,
Professor Carkhuff uses the most exten-
sive body of empirical and experimental
research available as the basis for estab-
lishing effective selection procedures.
After an introductory discussion of the
present state of helping effectiveness, the
author presents a model for effective func-
tioning and dysfunctioning - making clear
the helpee, helper, and environmental and
contextual variables that affect the help-
ing process. Procedures for selecting
potentially effective personnel are pre-
sented. The author places special em-
phasis on determining the capability of
the future helper to discriminate and com-
municate the key factors in the helpee's
situation. The main focus of the volume,
however, is training. Systematic training
procedures are described,