Introduction to Therapeutic Counseling: Voices from the Field [Hardcover]

Jeffrey A. Kottler (Author), Robert W. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0534358780 | ISBN-13: 978-0534358785 | Edition: 4th

In a textbook emphasizing the personal warmth needed for the practice and also the problems encountered rather than abstract knowledge, Kottler (Texas Tech U.) and Brown (late, Oakland U.) examine the development of a professional identity, ethical standards for practice, basic process skills, the

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I think Kottler has the market on the essence of what a true therapeutic relationship is! I appreciate how he challenges the reader to look at self, and how the self can be the instrument of change for the client."

"I have used this text with success for the past five years. It serves as an excellent beginning counseling text."

"Lively writing and an interesting look at daily work in a variety of helping professions." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Jeffrey A. Kottler has authored over 65 books in the field for counselors, therapists, teachers, and the public, including COMPASSIONATE THERAPY: WORKING WITH DIFFICULT CLIENTS; ON BEING A THERAPIST; COUNSELORS FINDING THEIR WAY; MAKING CHANGES LAST; COUNSELING SKILLS FOR TEACHERS; DIVINE MADNESS: TEN STORIES OF CREATIVE STRUGGLE; BAD THERAPY: MASTER THERAPISTS SHARE THEIR WORST FAILURES; THE CLIENT WHO CHANGED ME: STORIES OF THERAPIST PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION; and THE MUMMY AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE: EMINENT THERAPISTS REVEAL THEIR MOST UNUSUAL CASES AND WHAT THEY TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

Jeffrey has worked as a teacher, counselor, and therapist in a preschool, middle school, mental health center, crisis center, university, community college, and private practice. He has served as a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Lecturer in Peru and Iceland, teaching counseling theory and practice. He has also served as a visiting professor in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Nepal. He is currently Professor and Chair of the Counseling Department at California State University, Fullerton. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Pub Co; 4th edition (August 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534358780
• ISBN-13: 978-0534358785
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,880,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey A. Kottler has authored over 65 books in the field for counselors, therapists, teachers, and the public, including COMPASSIONATE THERAPY: WORKING WITH DIFFICULT CLIENTS; ON BEING A THERAPIST; COUNSELORS FINDING THEIR WAY; MAKING CHANGES LAST; COUNSELING SKILLS FOR TEACHERS; DIVINE MADNESS: TEN STORIES OF CREATIVE STRUGGLE; BAD THERAPY: MASTER THERAPISTS SHARE THEIR WORST FAILURES; THE CLIENT WHO CHANGED ME: STORIES OF THERAPIST PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION; and THE MUMMY AT THE DINING ROOM TABLE: EMINENT THERAPISTS REVEAL THEIR MOST UNUSUAL CASES AND WHAT THEY TEACH US ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

Jeffrey has worked as a teacher, counselor, and therapist in a preschool, middle school, mental health center, crisis center, university, community college, and private practice. He has served as a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Lecturer in Peru and Iceland, teaching counseling theory and practice. He has also served as a visiting professor in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, and Nepal. He is currently Professor and Chair of the Counseling Department at California State University, Fullerton.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do youself a favor and read this, January 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Introduction to Therapeutic Counseling: Voices from the Field (with InfoTrac®) (Hardcover)

By the end of this book, I wanted to meet Jeffrey Kottler, have coffee with him, exchange jokes, and ask him all the bigger questions that, as a graduate student, lurk in the back of my brain. You know. Those questions like, "Can I really do this?" and "What happens if I screw up someone's emotional well-being even worse than when they came in?"

This book is great. Informative, sometimes humorous, and written to the grad. student in easy-to-understand language, the author scored a hit with this book.

The sidebars, where new/seasoned counselors offer their opinions, experience, and advice is, by itself, worth the money for the book. Further, each chapter is broken down into logical sub-sections where the author gets "right to it" and doesn't mince words or phrase them as if he's a research scientist hell bent on scaring new students.

Suggested reading lists, at the end of each chapter, are filled with a variety of books, not just didactic volumes.

A nice touch is the author's "personal" chapter to the reader toward the end of the book. In this section, he mentions what they don't tell you in graduate school...how you might lose friendships or even your marriage might change or crack (due to your inevitable emotional growth), how you will never know enough, and how you are going to feel like you are failing in a big way.

Honest, clear, succinct, and friendly. What more could a student want?

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be required for those entering the field of therapy., August 7, 2000

By 

Jeanne Lightly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Therapeutic Counseling: Voices from the Field (Hardcover)

This book should be required reading for students who are considering entering into the mental health field. It is thorough, helpful and straightfoward. Personal anecdotes from practitioners offers a nice touch.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent beginning counselor text, April 13, 2006

By 

John Korkow "John Korkow" (Vermillion, South Dakota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Therapeutic Counseling: Voices from the Field (with InfoTrac®) (Hardcover)

This text has great information and good self exploration exercises. Kottler has been writing these texts for many years, and has written a text that is accessible to the beginning counseling student. I cannot recommend using this text highly enough, my students love the book (as evidenced by my NOT seeing it on our bookstore shelves as a used text after the course wraps), and it is organized for both the student and the professor. The only alteration in chapter sequencing that I make is to teach the ethics chapter early in the course rather than late in the course.