DVD Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice: Skills, Strategies, and Techniques

This is an excellent text. The material flows smoothly from one topic to the next, and is written in a way that doesn't require you to have a PhD to understand it. The book is not only a great tool for students, it is also an enjoyable read for anyone interested in counseling and psychotherapy.

I used this book as the required text for a Counseling/Psychotherapy theories class. The course was taught by the author (John). The text went very well with the class. The text is an easy read and the concepts are presented so the can be easily comprehended. The chapters all have the same format, which make comparison of one theory to another fairly easy. One down side is that key terms are italicized, not in bold, which make some of them harder to find. I retained this book after the class was over. I find it a good reference for the theories!

"Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice" is not only useful as a class textbook, but is an essential addition to any Psychology major's library, as well as people who are curious about psychology. It gives a clear, and to the point look at all of the theories that have developed over the years. There are excellent examples to illistrate main ideas, key terms for every chapter, and many more helpful things that make it easy to read and understand. There are even quotes from the people who created the theories, so one can have a better understanding of exactly what the theorist themself was driving at. This book is very important to me individually because I had little knowledge of the evolution of psychology, and that Psychology is, in fact, a very diverse science with many theories and philosophies yet are sometimes integrated with each other. With this knowledge, I hope to become a better student, and a better person. In fact I plan to read the entire book again, I think it's one of those books where you can learn something new every time! Kudos to the writers, your hard work absolutely shows.

I was amazed by how enjoyable this book was to read. It not only offers interesting material and information, but also conveys the importance of each theoretical perspective presented while inviting the reader to begin his/her own exploration of a theoretical orientation. Reading this book made me feel inspired and curious about my professional development because of its refreshing perspective on the opportunity theoretical foundation can provide in a counseling practice. I read this book for a class and it was amazing how much discussion each chapter generated, it was evident that everyone in the class was excited about the material and wanted to learn more about putting it into application. I can't imagine a more interesting and engaging presentation of counseling theories.

John and Rita Sommers-Flanagan's theory is fantastic. As a beginning practitioner, understanding and choosing a theoretical orientation is daunting to say the least. This book does a great job of laying out the predominate theories in a way that is not only easy to absorb but is highly entertaining. The writers share examples of the theories that make it come to life. It did not read like a text book!