ON BECOMING A COUNSELOR A basic guide for non-professional counselors

by Eugene Kennedy

An indispensable resource for those who may or may not have any psychological or psychiatric training but whose everyday work calls upon them to help stressed and troubled persons. This fourth edition revises the content to meet the current understanding of mental disorders and of the common problems counselors face on a daily basis.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Reference, Counselling

337 pages, Hardcover

First published September 23, 1977

Reviews

[Carla Krueger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot about psychology and personalities for two main reasons: I have to help work with someone who has a mental health issue and I also use the skills and knowledge I get from that experience in my writing, so I got a huge amount out of this fantastic book.

Importantly, this is not just for counsellors! It can help people experiencing family or relationship problems to deal more effectively with their own thoughts, underlying fears and with the personality traits and difficulties others pose, with the aim of reaching long lasting understanding and better solutions to life's challenges and problems.

"Happy endings are not always the order of the day" it says on p222 – and this illustrates how the author challenges the religious and philosophical belief that success is simply keeping people together and failure is letting them see they might want to consider an alternative, i.e. being apart. Although this is mentioned in the marriage counselling section, it could equally apply to other relationships and friendships where we commonly and sometimes wrongly assume that togetherness is the most appropriate outcome. This book contains many important moments like this and could save some people a lot of unnecessary pain.

The book also helps us understand deeper things about ourselves, like why many of us use psychological defences to protect ourselves and how, when we sense others using the same defences, we can easily get frustrated with them. It helps us understand how to keep in check some of our own judgements and overreactions, to better help ourselves or those close to us. Whilst Eugene Kennedy doesn't ever suggest ordinary people counsel their close friends and relatives (unless properly trained and experienced in emotional matters!), there is plenty here to help the average person improve their own functioning both psychologically, emotionally and socially.

And by the way, the section 'currents in the air' is not a suggestion of what to throw at your partner during arguments.....

Altogether, invaluable. Brilliantly, carefully and simply written.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student of counselling I found this book of great use. I echo others’ remarks about scarcity of skill work descriptions; it’s assumed that the reader already possess those. The guidance is not particularly in depth but touches on so many types of people who may walk through the door seeking help. It’s a sort of “what to expect when you’re counselling” read. I found a lot of material that gave me ideas and inspiration to seek more information. Even though the book is written by US authors it doesn’t carry America-centric it’s at its core and is easily adapted to my working environment.
Ultimately, it’s been a great find for me and has aided my studies at levels 2-3 of counselling.

[Oliver Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

A straightforward but long, long book. It’s got a lot of useful information, and the structure makes sense. There seemed to be a large gap in terms of teaching or describing specific skills (e.g., listening, conveying empathy). Much of the material felt familiar because I cover a lot of the same territory in my daily work. I’m sure I’ll refer back to this book again.

[Aimee J Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was glad I stumbled upon this read. This is a great tool for professional and non-professional counselors, therapists, and other helpers such as individuals who may answer calls such as a suicide hotline, etc.

It's been completely revamped and revised and re-edited since it's first edition and it's a great basic read. It covers everything from principles, to emotional involvement (most of us I imagine may struggle with this as a therapist), being a self-instrument in helping others, plotting goals and resources, supportive psychotherapy, reading signs and warning flags, working with families, substance abusers, depressed individuals (which they happen to outright call 'everyone's illness), alcoholism, stressed/anxious individuals, personality disorders (but just touches on this because that is a whole other book in itself), marriage counseling, counseling those with HIV/AIDS, those who are suicidal, those dealing with death, divorce, etc.

This book is really an indispensable resource! Highly suggested read!

[Gebo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good primer on basic counseling skills; however, its focus is more on what's wrong with the client than on what to do about it. Though, overall enlightening, one will still need more training. But it's very good at detailing the issues. My major problem with it is that it's quite a bit overwritten (has a rather dry academic diction and tone) and could be about 150-200 pages shorter if the authors dealt with that. But that made it rather nice to speed read/get through quickly. So, all-in-all, it's a pretty good book if you want overall information about what a counselor deals with and some theoretical approaches to it. The chapters on personality disorders I found to be the most helpful things in the book.

[hedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im currently reading this book and it's for non-professional counsellors, but i'd recomand this to anyone who find themselves in situations where they have to comfort someone or deal with issues wether it be directly or indirectly related to their own life. this is an awesome book and i promise you that you wont regret it.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong content. Stiff writing style. Authors included a few unnecessary and tangential conservative comments.

[Farhan]

i thing this book very important to me

[Cassandra Thiesing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the reason I pursued a psychology degree. Very informative.