One of the best known text books on the subject, now in its tenth edition.
Apart from presenting various approaches to counselling, Corey has very useful and practical chapters on the person of the counsellor and on ethical issues.
The chapter on the person of the counsellor includes: Counselor as a therapeutic person, Personal therapy for the counsellor, Counselor’s values and the therapeutic process, Becoming an effective multicultural counsellor, Issues faced by beginning therapists. This discussion is important, since studies show that the most important element in counselling is the person of the counsellor.
The issue of multiculturalism is addressed in every chapter—something most American books do not do. There are cultural differences in how people perceive events, relationships and norms.
The major theories and “schools” of counselling presented are: psychoanalytic, Adlerian, existential, person-centered, Gestalt, reality, behavior, cognitive-behavior, family systems, feminist, postmodern, and integrative.
Here, as an example, is how the chapter on Person-Centred Counselling is structured: Introduction, Key concepts, Therapeutic process, Application: Therapeutic techniques and procedures, Person-centered expressive arts therapy, Motivational interviewing, Person-centered therapy from a multicultural perspective, Person-centered therapy applied to the case of Stan, Summary and evaluation, Where to go from here, Recommended supplementary readings, References and suggested readings.
The chapter on Cognitive therapy includes Albert Ellis’s Rational Emotive Therapy and Beck’s approach to cognitive therapy.
Two chapters seldom found in such text books are feminist and postmodern theories and their application to counselling.
Corey has a practical chapter on the ethics of counselling. It deals with such as issues as: Putting clients’ needs before your own, Ethical decision making, Right of informed consent, Dimensions of confidentiality, Ethical issues in a multicultural perspective, Ethical issues in the assessment process, Ethical aspects of evidence-based practice, Managing multiple relationships in counseling practice.
Such a section is essential to would-be counsellors. The whole issue of confidentiality, for instance, needs to be clearly understood and strictly adhered to.
The use of a case (“Stan”) makes the theory concrete for the learner, and helps a trainee to see how a theory is actually applied in practice.
(Price: The US editions cost Rs 6358 and 12, 690 in India. An Indian edition by Cengage costs around Rs 600.)
– Gerald Corey is Professor Emeritus of Human Services and Counseling at California State University at Fullerton, where he received the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award
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