Developing helping relationships in dietetic counseling

Counseling involves (a) the development of rapport between conselor and conselee and (b) the use by the counselor of strategies to create behavior change in the counselee. Dietetic educational programs have apparently focused on the latter, action-oriented procedures, with little attention being given to training in the development of helping relationships. A training program, designed to build such skills in human resource workers, is described. Listed are six steps considered essential, all of which involve an understanding of self by the counselor, some knowledge of the helping skills, and experience in practicing them. Steps in skill training are also enumerated. The program merits inclusion in dietetic education programs.