Customer Reviews

Basic Counseling Techniques: A Beginning Therapist's Toolkit

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was required to use this book for a counseling course and had planned to sell it ( as I do with most text books) when the couse was over. However, I found the book to be well organized and easy to read. The best part about the book are the living into the lesson exercises at the end of each chapter. If the reader will take the time to do these exercises he/she will get even more out of the book. I will keep this book as a reference guide of practical suggestions while doing therapy.

I hate reading textbooks because they are written so dryly. Dr. Perry's book is written in an interesting, understandable, and applicable way. I have found this book extremely easy to read, often reaching the end of a chapter far sooner than I anticipated. His examples and practical manner of writing make concepts become clear. He offers "how to" approaches in different styles for the different types of problems that counselors might encounter. Definately a tool to keep close at hand for any new counselor.

This book is an outstanding beginning help manual for therapists just starting out. The basics are easy understood in a concise and clear manner. Questions no one thought to answer in my training were answered in the book, I'd recommend this to counselor's of all levels.

I owned this book when it was simply a self-published, Acrobat Reader, file. We used the text as a basic textbook in an introductory course in Family Therapy. Dr. Perry writes in a straightforward, non-technical, yet thorough manner. The reader will find the "Living into the Lesson" exercises at the end of each chapter particularly helpful.

Dr. Perry had this text published at the repeated insistence of his students at the Southern Christian University. I am proud to have been one of them.

Quick, handy suggestions, basic concepts syntesized in a (fortunately!) very brief book. You keep the treatises in your bookcase, and this one on your desk.

The book Basic Counseling Techniques: A Beginning Therapist's Toolkit by C. Wayne Perry, D. Min, LMFT, is exactly what the title claims and more. The book begins with Dr. Perry's account of his own first experience with a locked ward in a mental hospital. He tells the reader how the experience helped him in a pleasantly conversational manner. As the introduction continues, Dr. Perry provides the two main purposes of the book. They are; first to "provide a practical how to guide" for the beginning therapist and second to "provide a model for integrating techniques from a variety of schools and perspectives." The book continues maintaining a format that lends the reader to feel that they are actually speaking with Dr. Perry. This conversational style, the many anonymous accounts of therapy sessions, and the practical activities at the end of each chapter make it a must read for all future therapists.
The book was wonderful in basically every aspect. I liked the way that Dr. Perry used accounts throughout the book to shed light on the counseling experience as it applies to various theories. The accounts came from Dr. Perry's counseling experiences. However, the names were changed as well as other identifying information. Compounding on this several chapters focused on a different theoretical framework of therapy. The book vastly expanded my knowledge on the various therapeutic processes that exist and how to enact them. These include concepts such as cognitive therapy, which he said is similar to behavioral therapy in some ways. This style seems interesting, because through it the client learns to change his or her own thought process through delicate probing of current thought schemas. In behavioral therapy, clients change their own behavior systematically deleting undesirable behaviors and increasing occurrences of desirable ones. Several other types of therapy were mentioned and Dr. Perry even had a section on genograms. Beyond the therapeutic approaches, which were my favorite aspect, Dr. Perry includes information on keeping up your office. Information such as; using the SOAP method of maintaining process notes, giving informed consent statements, and how to manage invoices properly to not incur legal problems. All of the information contained in the book was helpful for this particular class and should be a required supplement in my opinion.
This book has had a positive and therapeutic affect on me. As I read, I found that I was internalizing the various ideas for therapy and I was consciously exploring my problem areas as I found concepts that would help. This book has helped me to get my positive mental attitude back on track. I have done this by exploring myself from the various therapeutic perspectives that the book offers and methodically analyzing myself, as I read, discovering various inner truths. I would recommend this book to anyone pursuing a graduate level degree in counseling and also to anyone who is considering doing so. I feel that this book is an invaluable resource to the beginning counselor, as well as the field of counseling. It is a wonderful guide book to anyone interested in this area of specialties.
What critiques and insights did you have while reading?
My critiques for this book are few and my insights are many. I found that the only thing I would ask of Dr. Perry is more knowledge in each area and that would be difficult without adding twenty more pages per chapter. The insights included the daily record of dysfunctional thought, a brief synopsis of group dynamics, and warning signs for relationship troubles. These were insightful to me because they each added a new perspective to my previously existing one. With the daily record of dysfunctional thought, Dr. Perry illustrated how a person can have thoughts that are coupled with abnormal feelings for that occasion. These thoughts can include over generalization, which is believing that if one event occurs then all will be the same. Meaning for example; if I am at a particular grocery store and I purchase grapes and then eat them and discover that they are sour, I will assume grapes from that store will always be sour, because they were never sour at the other store. The insight provided from this is that I do tend to generalize at times, as we all do, and sometimes it may be excessive. Another insight is one pertaining to our particular class. This insight is about group dynamics. Dr. Perry goes through the five stages of social dynamics which are, forming (the initial phase of meeting), storming (realizing what the group is for and how to fit), norming (a comfortable trust begins to develop), performing (this is the productive stage), and adjourning (ending the group with the purpose, hopefully, accomplished). The insight here is of how we are interacting as a class and why. It is also interesting to watch how some members of the class appear to pass through the stages more rapidly or slowly than other members. Many other insights exist for this book, but these are the few that I could remember upon writing this review.
All in all, if I said it once I said it twice; I would say that this is a great book for anyone interested in therapy. Read it if you want to learn step by step how to begin work as a student at a graduate level or if you are struggling with how to run your therapy sessions. Regardless of what stage you are in, this book can help by providing valuable information to you in some way.

I thought this book was perfect--it is exactly what the title says--BASIC COUNSELING TECHNIQUES. It provides the foundation to all counseling training, in my opinion. It is written in plain, simple language that is easy to follow and gives dialogue illustrations making it entertaining to read.

I loved this book, very helpful...especially for the begginer therapist. He tells you exactly what you need to say and do. I have about 100 books in my bookshelf at work... this is the only one that was stolen....intern I suspect.

I am fortunate to study Ethics and do my Clinical Practicum under the direction of Dr. Perry. I have found his instruction and advice to be timeless and invaluable. I am thrilled that this work has garnered such positive reviews. He has a tremendous amount of wisdom stemming from his Air Force career, his position in the ministry, and his secular counseling experience to offer a perspective that is vast and broad ranging. I hope that many others can enjoy this work and those to come.

Wayne Perry's book, "Basic Counseling Techniques," offers great insight on the topic of interpersonal relationships. While the book is subtitled, "A Beginning Therapist's Toolkit," this is a publication and guide that will benefit an audience far broader than just beginning therapists.

Perry covers an enormous topic -- counseling -- in a straightforward, user-friendly, and engaging manner. The book distills major working concepts such as how to ask effective questions down to workable and understandable terms. In essence, Perry has provided a "Counseling Demystified" guide for the benefit of all readers.

You do not need to be a counselor to appreciate this book (I am not a counselor). I believe that the systems thinking templates, practical skills guides, and hints are very useful for anyone working with and interacting with other people.

This is an accessible and useful guide -- I recommend it.