An A‐Z of Counselling Theory and Practice: 3rd edition

Citation

Weare, K. (2001), "An A‐Z of Counselling Theory and Practice: 3rd edition", Health Education, Vol. 101 No. 4, pp. 187-188. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.2001.101.4.187.3

Now in its 3rd edition, this book is considerably more interesting, practical, and wide‐ranging than its rather dry title might lead the reader to suppose. It is arranged as an A to Z of a vast range of theories, concepts and approaches that are commonly employed, not only in counselling, but in any profession that uses psychological theory. These include not only specialist professions such as psycho‐therapy, but also more generic professions such as social work and education. To give a flavour of its scope, and to cite entries drawn from each letter for which there is an entry, it is informative about such disparate issues as attachment, burn‐out, creativity, dying, envy, force field analysis, guilt and shame, humour, internalisation, Johari’s window, (Melanie) Klein, learned helplessness, multi‐cultural issues, non‐verbal communication, owning the problem, post‐traumatic stress disorder, questions, retirement, sadness, trust, values, and working through. It is regularly updated to take in new issues, and the current new edition has added entries on ethics, pastoral counselling and stigma. Each entry is several pages long, and goes well beyond neutral description to give what is basically a distillation of the best advice on how to operate effectively on an issue when working with a client, or the practical application of a theory. Each entry ends with a short reading list to take the reader further on the issue. The book is written in a clear, no nonsense style, that cuts to the heart of the matter without being over‐simplistic. It is an invaluable reference book, not only for those who work in the psychologically based professions but for those who wish to understand the jargon that such professionals use.