Client Issues in Counselling and Psychotherapy

This text, written by practicing therapists, explores client issues arising from life-experiences and how to work with them. They take a person-centered approach that is non-directive and presumes an "actualizing tendency," which takes for granted that each person is doing their best to accept themselves and their situation. The very act of the therapist's non-directive empathizing is part of the client's healing process. The book is divided into three parts of three or four essays each, which focus on how clients present life events as stories and then emotional and behavioral reactions to different life events. Examples of life events include sexual abuse, loss, and PTSD. Emotional responses could be depression, anxiety, and the experience of "different realities." Behavioral problems take the form of issues like substance abuse, self-injury, and eating disorders. Each chapter is chockfull of client examples and useful conclusions. Annotation Ac2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)