Intentional Interviewing and Counseling (with InfoTrac and CD-ROM): Facilitating Client Development in a Multicultural Society

by Allen E. Ivey, Mary Bradford Ivey

Over 450 databased studies attest to the effectiveness of the microskills model in the INTENTIONAL INTERVIEWING AND FACILITATING CLIENT DEVELOPMENT IN A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY! The new Fifth Edition of this hallmark text enables students of many backgrounds to master basic skills in a step-by-step fashion, thus rapidly empowering them to conduct a full interviews using only listening skills. Following this, students learn confrontation and influencing skills and by the time the text is completed, students will be able to conduct interviews from several theoretical person-centered, decisional interviewing, assertiveness training, and brief solution-oriented counseling. Throughout the text, students are encouraged to examine themselves and to start defining their own personal style and theory of interviewing and counseling.

Genres: Psychology, Counselling, Nonfiction, School, Textbooks, Reference, Grad School

434 pages, Paperback

Published July 30, 2002

About the author

Allen E. Ivey received his counseling doctorate from Harvard University and is distinguished Emeritus Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Courtesy Professor, Counselor Education, University of South Florida, Tampa. He is past-President and Fellow of the Society for Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association, APA’s Society for the Study of Ethnic and Minority Psychology, the Asian-American Psychological Association, and the American Counseling Association. He has received many awards throughout his career and has authored over 40 books and 200 articles and chapters. His works have been translated into 23 languages. His recent work has focused on applying Developmental Counseling and Therapy and neuroscience to the analysis and treatment of severe psychological distress.

Reviews

[Hugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the strongest texts for learning the basic skills needed in counseling and interviewing. I particularly appreciate the multicultural perspectives woven throughout.

[Cori · Rating 4 out of 5]

School textbook. Practical and serves its purpose well.

I'd rate this a PG.

Original review posted 9/2/25.

[Joie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of few textbooks that will make it onto my Goodreads, but I feel I earned it, having legitimately read the whole thing. Overall, it was a useful resource; breaking down counseling skills into the microskills framework was in fact pretty helpful. Mastering one small step at a time in order to put everything together in the end really did feel like an accomplishment.

Still, parts of this book rubbed me the wrong way. For one thing, if I have to read the expression "Creation of the New" one more time, I may barf (in case you're wondering, it's an impossibly New Age-sounding phrase used to describe guiding the client toward transforming his/her perspective and gaining transcendence over a given issue or situation). Secondly, despite this newest edition's purported inclusion of relevant neuropsychological data, the neuropsych sections amounted to little more than brief boxes, generally less than one per chapter and not often very in-depth or helpful.

Still, this text's main goal is to grant an understanding of exactly what counseling is and how to begin the process of learning it, and in those regards I feel it succeeds. The emphasis on multicultural competence was welcome as well. A bit soft overall in my opinion, but still a useful resource, especially for beginners such as myself.

[Ahmed Shadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's one of the essential and basic books for counseling. What I like about it is that it's divided into very small skills (micro skills) and after every discussion about a skill, there are exercises to be done to practice the skill.

Highly recommended to know about the basics and to apply them to your practice.

I've noticed a huge difference in my counseling after applying some of the skills present in this book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific resource for counselors-in-training to help them develop their questioning, listening, and attending skills. Practical, user-friendly, interactive, informative, and inspiring.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thorough exploration of the helping skills needed as counselors. However, I found it a bit dense and confusing. This is unusual for me. I found it almost speaking to a level of knowledge above me -- not as clear as it might be needed for new-to-this-topic readers which is surprising to me as I imagine most are novices to the topics like me since it's a textbook intended to teach these skills. This confusion seemed to be reflected among my classmates as well. Many class discussions were clarifying points in the book rather than deepening discussion of the material. I hope the next edition is clearer in language, better able to impart the wisdom contained within.

[Monty Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illustration of behavioral assessments designed to bring empathy, awareness, and professional demeanor to the interviewer; inclusive to clients cognitive awareness and emotional mindset.
Materials covered make a good starting reference point to a skill acquired longitudinally and empirically.
Examples and key points are given concisely, nonetheless not a replacement for experience.

[arireadsthings · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided a lot of good information and definitely educated me in a few aspects, but I did find it problematic in that it made a lot of statements as though they are facts, but did not back them up with science. It also seemed like they were trying to be so woke that at times it flipped all the way to the other side. Useful information but proceed with caution.

[molls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a very informative book for beginner counselors-in-training. I really appreciated the examples of the micro-skills being used within the counseling session. I will be referring back to this book in the future.

[Dana Libhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t mind reading this textbook. It is informative in the use of different techniques in clinical counseling, and adds the multicultural perspective as well as the post-Covid perspective which I find to be helpful.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great foundation for the active listening skills that makeup the skeletal structure of the counseling experience. It is VERY thorough and a great systematic approach.

[Patricia Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Favorite Text book for teaching this class. Reread it last week to see what the changes are in the newest edition which I hope to be able to rate soon

[Bennett Reiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a text book in social work it was very well compiled and the authors had a great delivery. Great read for people studying the field of social work.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK book on basics. I prefer course material.

[Susa Schwalbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great textbook I will definitely keep coming back to in my further education and practice.

[D.l. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good information for students I especially like the forms to document proficiency progress

[Joanna Marie Alamo · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books to read if you are studying to become a professional counselor.

[Zan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good textbook

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for my masters in counseling...pretty informative but lectures from a professional alongside the reading is the only way to get anything out of it.

[Madeline Grubb · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2023 edition) honestly? Fine. But it was not the correct textbook for the class - half the time it was too academic, half the time it was not based enough. Would not read again

[Journee Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t mind me😅 college texts do belong on reading goals

[Becca Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weirdly really loved this textbook!

[Dena McGoldrick Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was a required textbook for my master's program, it is a good resource for any industry or ministry where you work with people. It includes many examples and a plethora of resources.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this for a college course ("Victimology, Risk Evaluation and Intervention", I’m a Criminology major), sometimes it was a bit repetitive, repeating some of the same info throughout different sections, which I guess it makes sense since all the skills are interconnected and must be used together, not separately, but sometimes it made me mix them up a bit, I liked that it was divided into relatively short chapters for each skill, all of which had an introduction and a summary

the formatting is a bit weird when reading as a pdf on kindle: continuing text spanning only the top of two different pages, with the bottom being occupied by “unrelated” articles, which means that if you’re reading on digital format, page by page, your text gets interrupted by other info squares several times - not a criticism to the book (it’s not their fault I chose to read it in this format) just a warning for those planning to read it like this

despite being a very long and heavy read it was actually quite interesting (and obviously useful), it’s probably the only extra book suggested by a professor that I’ve ever read fully, but I would have never read it if it wasn’t part of my class, it seemed like it would’ve been even more interesting/useful if I had actually bought the physical version, since it seems to include a lot of practice tapes and exercises

edit, months later: I still remember what I learned from this book! it keeps helping me on other victimology/psychological intervention classes!

[Melissa Lee-Tammeus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incredibly helpful book for the counseling profession. I see me referencing this book time and again in my career. Very imformative and easy to understand with helpful tips and bullet by bullet points ways to improve the client/counselor relationship.

[Erin Oeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for developing the microskills that we all know we need to be effective in interviewing and counseling and has useful exercises for the continual practice that helps us develop and finetune those skills.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

A textbook used in counseling skills courses. Appreciated the perspective from traditional counseling as well as school counseling

Check out national institute of mental health’s brain based assessment and treatment system launching 2025

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned SO much about how to interview potential clients. It has been invaluble in my Pre-Praticum class.

[Sarah Ridenour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Helped outline the basic steps to forming a successful interview with clients.

[Romantic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of great information in it. I'm not done reading it yet though.