The field of counseling and psychotherapy has for years presented the puzzling spectacle of unabating enthusiasm for forms of treatment whose effectiveness cannot be objectively demonstrated. With few exceptions, statistical studies have consistently failed to show that any form of psychotherapy is followed by significantly more improvement than would be caused by the mere passage of an equivalent period of time. Despite this, practitioners of various psychotherapeutic schools have remained firmly convinced that their methods are effective. Many recipients of these forms of treatment also believe that they are being helped. The series of investigations reported in this impressive book resolve this paradoxical state of affairs. The investigators have overcome two major obstacles to progress in the past--lack of agreement on measures of improvement and difficulty of measuring active ingredients of the psychotherapy relationship. The inability of therapists of different theoretical persuasions to agree on criteria of improvement has made comparison of the results of different forms of treatment nearly impossible. The authors have solved this intractable problem by using a wide range of improvement measures and showing that, regardless of measures used in different studies, a significantly higher proportion of results favor their hypothesis than disregard it. Overall, this book represented a major advance at the time of its original publication and is of continuing importance. The research findings resolve some of the most stubborn research problems in psychotherapy, and the training program based on them points the way toward overcoming the shortage of psychotherapists.

Effective counseling depends on mastering basic communication skills. In this integrative, classroom-ready text, Elisabeth Nesbit Sbanotto, Heather Davediuk Gingrich and Fred Gingrich break these skills into manageable microskills and connect them to insights and practices from Scripture, theology and spiritual formation.

What is it that makes some therapists so much more effective than others, even when they are delivering the same evidence-based treatment? This instructive book identifies specific interpersonal skills and attitudes--often overlooked in clinical training--that facilitate better client outcomes across a broad range of treatment methods and contexts. Reviewing 70 years of psychotherapy research, the preeminent authors show that empathy, acceptance, warmth, focus, and other characteristics of effective therapists are both measurable and teachable. Richly illustrated with annotated sample dialogues, the book gives practitioners and students a blueprint for learning, practicing, and self-monitoring these crucial clinical skills.

Referencing the 2016 CACREP standards, Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Elements of Effective Practice combines solid foundational information with practical application for a realistic introduction to work in community mental health settings. Top experts in the field cover emerging models for clinical interventions as they explore cutting-edge approaches to CMH counseling. With case studies integrated throughout, students will be well prepared to move into practicum and internship courses as well as field-based settings. "An instant classic. Young and Cashwell have assembled a stellar group of counselor education authors and produced an outstanding, comprehensive, and easy-to-read text that clearly articulates and elevates the discipline of clinical mental health counseling. This book covers everything a CMHC needs to hit the ground running in clinical practice!" —Bradley T. Erford, Loyola University Maryland, Past President of the American Counseling Association

This substantially revised and updated edition of a widely used textbook covers the major approaches to counseling and psychotherapy from a Christian perspective, with hypothetical verbatim transcripts of interventions for each major approach and the latest empirical or research findings on their effectiveness. The second edition covers therapies and techniques that are increasing in use, reduces coverage of techniques that are waning in importance, and includes a discussion of lay counseling. The book presents a Christian approach to counseling and psychotherapy that is Christ-centered, biblically based, and Spirit-filled.

Mark McMinn and Clark Campbell present an integrative model of psychotherapy that is grounded in Christian biblical teaching and in a critical and constructive engagement with contemporary psychology. This foundational work integrates behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal models of therapy within a Christian theological framework.

Psychology has recently shifted toward a phenomological approach closely aligned with theories originally put forth by noted psychologist Alfred Adler. However, modern approaches are often presented in a language that differs from the original theories, with no acknowledgment to the contributions of Adler. Interventions and Strategies in Counseling and Psychotherapy corrects this oversight, illustrating the many ways in which Adlerian ideas underpin and influence contemporary therapeutic approaches. Original chapters by leading thinkers in the field address the practice of counseling and psychotherapy from a social-cognitive perspective and logically combine classic Adlerian theories with proven and effective methods from other approaches. The book covers a wide range of topics including play therapy, parent education, couples therapy, and problem-solving counseling. This book is essential reading not only for Adlerian psychologists, but also counselors, psychologists, and psychotherapists of any theoretical stripe who wish to keep their practical skills up-to-date. It is also of use to graduate and doctoral students enrolled in counseling and psychology programs.