Personal and Professional Development for Counsellors
- Paul Wilkins - Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Counselling and Psychotherapy (General)
`Conveys valuable information... Paul Wilkins writes well... With the current emphasis by accrediting counselling organizations on the importance of ongoing personal and professional development, this book would be a salutary place to start on such a journey... The book explores what is meant by "fit to practise" and highlights the need to provide a better service to those who seek the skills of a counsellor. With the increasing emphasis on the need for better praxis in the field, it is vital that counsellors practise what they preach. If they fail to pay attention to their own ongoing well-being, they should not be surprised if the therapy they offer to others is seen to be marred by the shadow of hypocrisy' - Counselling, The Journal of the British Association for Counselling
`A helpful guide for newly qualified counsellors. It gives some comprehensive ideas and tips for further development... a useful book' - Self & Society
`Thought-provoking and enhanced by questions scattered throughout the text, this book covers areas of training, accreditation, personal therapy, supervision, contribution to knowledge, creative writing, personal journal work, portfolios, dreamwork, self-resourcing and development on a budget. Well-paced and presented in a clear, practical and authoritative way, this book offers information and guidance... Each chapter is well structured... Highlighted boxes contain valuable information... Quotations add to the richness of the text... this book has helped me to question my developmental needs and I certainly intend following up some of its ideas and suggestions' - Counselling News
A useful text to support students in understanding the importance of personal and professional development
Wilkins explains the reasoning behind Personal and Professional Development for trainees and qualified counsellors alike. In my experience this is a common question throughout the training.
Although the book is well written and structure it lack practical guidelines on how to implement much of the theory. It is a useful book it terms of perhaps mental health and wellbeing, but fell short for the purposes of ‘Personal Development Plans’ (PDP) now being rolled out across the UK in Higher Educational Institutions and other tertiary education.
