Orientation to Counseling speaks directly to readers, informing them about what counselors do and what counselors need to know. It is the only text available that truly gets students involved through such features as “Ideas in Action,” gives students time to reflect on material, exercises and activities throughout the book, and the end of chapter problems. Completely revised and updated, the fourth edition of Orientation to Counseling provides extensive coverage of the field of counseling including the use of the Internet, multicultural issues, brief therapy, and stress management.

Table of Contents:
Each chapter begins with a series of provocative questions (advanced organizers) and concludes with “Summary,” “Questions and Activities,” “Recommended Readings,” and “Web Sites.” Preface. I.WHO THE COUNSELOR IS. Welcome: What to Expect. 1.Focus on the Counselor. Why Do People Become Counselors? Differences between Effective and Ineffective Helpers. Describing the Effective Counselor. Who the Counselor Is. A Wholistic Wellness Model. What the Counselor Can Do. What the Counselor Knows. Helping as a Way of Life. Social Responsibility. Counselor Education. 2.Focus on the Problems of Becoming and Being a Counselor: Stress Management and the Prevention of Burnout. Stress and Burnout Defined. Causes of Burnout in Counselor Training. Causes of Counselor Burnout. Stress Management. 3.Focus on a Career in the Helping Professions. The Changing Structure of the Field. The Mental Health Field Hierarchy. Credentialing. The Market for Counselors. Professionalism. What Type of Career Choice Should a Prospective Counselor Make? Guidelines for Selecting a Counseling Specialty. 4.Responsibilities of Counselors: Ethical, Legal, and Social. Confidentiality. Professional Limits. Sexual Conduct. Ethical Principles. Legal Issues. The Responsibility of the Counselor in the Greater Society. II.WHAT THE COUNSELOR CAN DO. 5.Focus on the Helping Relationship. How People Become Clients. Multicultural Concerns. Additional Characteristics of Clients. The Therapeutic Alliance. The Helping Process. 6.Focus on Developing Response/Ability: The Learning of Counseling Skills, Part I. The Counseling Relationship — Core Conditions. Stage I — Attending Skills. Stage II — Exploration Skills. 7.Focus on Developing Response/Ability: The Learning of Counseling Skills, Part II. Stage III — Understanding. Mutually Agreed-On Problem — End of Understanding Stage. Stage IV — Action. Stage V — Termination. 8.Focus on Using Skills: Conducting a Counseling Session. Setting the Stage: The Environment. Counselor Characteristics and Behaviors. Conducting the First Session. III.WHAT THE COUNSELOR KNOWS. Professional Orientation. 9.The Origins and Scope of the Field of Counseling, and Current Trends. Origins. The Field of Counseling. Types of Clients. Current Trends Influencing the Field of Counseling. New Roles and Goals for the Counselor. 10.Focus on Theory in the Practice of Counseling. What Is a Theory? Why Have a Theory? Major Theoretical Approaches. Eclectic Approaches. Developing a Personal Approach to Theory. 11.Focus on Selected Theoretical Approaches to Counseling and Psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis. Adlerian Counseling. Person-Centered Counseling. Gestalt Therapy. Transactional Analysis. Cognitive-Behavioral Counseling. Brief Therapy Approaches. Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy. Transpersonal Counseling. Wholistic Counseling. 12.Focus on Group Work. Origins of Group Work. Basic Types of Groups. Group Counselor Competencies. Why Work with Groups? Therapeutic Forces in Groups. Stages of Group Development. Leadership Styles and Functions. Group Leadership Techniques. Theoretical Approaches to Group Counseling. Special Concerns in Group Work. Professional Organizations. 13.Focus on Family Counseling. Origins. General Systems Theory — Cybernetics. New Developments: Second-Order Cybernetics and Postmodern- Constructivism. What Is a Family? Issues in Today's Families. Family Life Cycle. Theoretical Approaches. Feminist Family Therapy. Family Counseling Techniques. When Is Family Counseling Needed? Marriage/Relationship Counseling. Multicultural Considerations. Ethical Concerns. Licensure and Certification. Employment Prospects. 14.Focus on Career and Lifestyle Counseling. Historical Perspective. Terminology. Career Counseling Theory. Career Counseling Strategies. Does Career Counseling Differ from Personal Counseling? Issues and Trends in Career Counseling. Professional Organizations and Certification. 15.Focus on School and University Counseling. School Counseling. Counseling and Student Personnel Services in Higher Education. 16.Focus on Community Counseling and Consultation. Community Counseling. Community Counseling and Managed Care. Consultation. Consulting Skills in Business and Industry. Multicultural Considerations. 17.Focus on Human Growth and Development for Counselors. Growth and Development of the Whole Person. Areas of Development. 18.Focus on Multicultural Approaches to Counseling. Background. Culture, Race, and Ethnicity. Barriers in Multicultural Counseling. Issues in Multicultural Counseling. Toward a Multicultural Approach to Counseling. Multicultural Counseling Competency Standards. 19.Focus on Assessment of Individuals. Background. Purposes of Individual Assessment. Diagnosis. Different Theoretical Approaches to Assessment. Assessment Techniques. Assessment Guidelines. Professional Orientation. 20.Focus on Research and Evaluation in Counseling. Types of Counseling Research. Methods of Research. Problems and Issues in Research. Research into Counseling Effectiveness. Encouraging the Use and Development of Counseling Research. New Paradigms in Counseling Research. Epilogue.Appendices. An Example of a Counselor Functioning in a Counseling Relationship. Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice of the American Counseling Association (4th Revision, 1995). Periodicals in the Field of Counseling. Author Index.Subject Index.