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Understanding Counselling and Psychotherapy
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Understanding Counselling and Psychotherapy

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March 2010 | 398 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Understanding Counselling and Psychotherapy focuses on common problems such as anxiety and depression, exploring how different therapeutic approaches understand and work with them. Counselling and psychotherapy are considered within the wider context of their history and the mental health systems in which they are often located. In addition to this, the book introduces key aspects of the theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy, and the increasing relevance of research in this area.

- Section 1 introduces counselling and psychotherapy and the history of these professions, considering how current understandings of 'mental health problems' have been influenced by psychiatric diagnosis, biomedical approaches and psychoanalysis.

- Section 2 covers four key therapeutic approaches - humanistic, existential, cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness - exploring how they work with problems relating to fear and sadness.

- Section 3 focuses on therapeutic perspectives that specifically address problems in a wider context, such as relationships, families, cultural groups and society.

- Section 4 considers practice and research issues in counselling and psychotherapy, including the different contexts and settings in which these take place, the therapeutic relationship, and outcome and process research.

This accessible and stimulating text uses innovative activities and case illustrations to demonstrate how people experience common problems, and how counsellors and psychotherapists work with these.

Meg Barker, Andreas Vossler and Darren Langdridge
Introduction
 
PART ONE: COUNSELLING, PSYCHOTHERAPY AND 'MENTAL HEALTH'
David Pilgrim
The Diagnosis of Mental-Health Problems
Frederick Toates
Understanding Drug Treatments: A Biopsychosocial Approach
Ian Parker
Psychoanalysis: The 'Talking Cure'
 
PART TWO: INDIVIDUAL THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
Fiona Ballantine Dykes
Humanistic Approaches
Darren Langdridge
Existential Psychotherapy
Paul M Salkovskis
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Meg Barker
Mindfulness Approaches
 
PART THREE: BEYOND THE INDIVIDUAL
Andreas Vossler
Systemic Approaches
Meg Barker
Sociocultural Issues
 
PART FOUR: PRACTISING AND EVALUATING COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
Andreas Vossler
Context and Setting
Darren Langdridge, Meg Barker and Mick Cooper
The Therapeutic Relationship
Michael Barkham and Meg Barker
Outcomes Research
John McLeod
Process Research: Using Qualitative Methods to Explore Therapeutic Practice around Issues of Fear and Sadness
Meg Barker, Andreas Vossler and Darren Langdridge
Conclusions

A good overview that will help students clarify their own understanding of the differences between these two concepts.

Mr Peter Cardew
School of Health and Postgrad Medicine, Central Lancashire University
December 6, 2010

No longer teaching that course

Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon
Please select your department, Please select your institution
October 23, 2010

Has been adopted as a supplemental text for an introduction to counselling for 'non counsellors' undergraduate course. Provides very useful wider reading on the development of counselling and theoretical perspectives. Ideal for those who want to broaden their knowledge beyond basic counselling skills.

Mr Tony Moynihan
Please select your department, Please select your institution
October 8, 2010

A very useful book giving an overview of a range of counselling and psychotherapy modalities as well as an overview of research that is very useful for the MA in Counselling Students

Dr Valda Swinton
Please select your department, Please select your institution
September 16, 2010

Good, clear and concise coverage of the subject. Informative for our BA students.

Mr Quentin Stimpson
Dept of Psychology & Counselling, Greenwich University
September 14, 2010

Good, clear and concise coverage of topic area. Useful for our first year students.

Mr Quentin Stimpson
Dept of Psychology & Counselling, Greenwich University
September 14, 2010

Different sections of the book will be useful for students at different stages of training. I think the chapters on mental health, socio-cultural issues and research are particularly valuable.

Ms Jane Macaskie
School of Healthcare, Leeds University
September 13, 2010

A very useful discussion of the relationship between counselling and mental health issues.

Mr Peter Beven
Please select your department, Please select your institution
September 6, 2010

This book is different from other "handbooks". As well as presenting the different therapeutic approaches in a concise and fresh way it has nice chapters on diagnosis, medication and process and outcome research. I didnt adopt it because our trainees need something more in-depth and because the book focuses exclusively on the problems of "fear and sadness". The latter is an advantage in terms of providing a common thread throughout the book but our trainees need to consider a wider range of "problems".

Ms Linda Morison
Please select your department, Please select your institution
August 17, 2010

Very clearly presented introduction to the major therapeutic approaches, with the addition of Mindfulness as a modality in its own right. Interesting approach to working with 'common mental health problems', conceptualising depression & anxiety as 'fear' and 'sadness' thus focussing on the client's experience rather than an externally given label. A textbook with a 'workbook' format, with many useful exercises and reflection points making it an ideal text to support learning and teaching.

Ms Marian Kavanagh
Counselling Courses, University of Cumbria
August 3, 2010

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter One and Chapter Two


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Paperback
ISBN: 9781849204767
£42.99

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ISBN: 9781849204750
£126.00