Advanced Techniques for Counseling and Psychotherapy

By Christian Conte

This is a superb book, rich in understanding of human behavior and creative in helping clients grow and change....If you aspire to be great in this profession, you will use up a highlighter on this book.

-Kevin Elko, PhD
Author of The Pep Talk and True Greatness

It is rare for a book in counseling to enlighten its readers and enable them to see the profession, themselves, and their clients in an original, enhanced, and productive way√ . Conte is a master storyteller, a clear communicator, an innovative thinker, and a creative therapist."

Samuel T. Gladding, PhD
Chair and Professor, Department of Counseling
Wake Forest University

This book presents advanced techniques, concepts, and models that have proven to be both practical and readily usable for counselors who work with individuals, couples, families, and children. Dr. Conte provides in-depth coverage of a wide array of therapies, including metaphor, creative, projective, and classic.

This collection of advanced, creative techniques, each accompanied with detailed case studies, will prove useful for both health professionals and counseling students.

Key Features: Provides guidelines for some of the basics, such as active listening, empathizing, self-disclosure, and dealing with resistance Guidelines for using classic techniques include Adler's Push-Button technique, the ABC Model, and eye integration therapy Includes introductions to the author's original models such as the "Five Errors of Communication" and the "Four C's of Parenting"

Using lucid, engaging prose, this book contains all the essential, creative, and advanced techniques that every counselor, psychotherapist, and educator should know."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0826104509
• ISBN13: 9780826104502
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Springer Publishing Company
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Eagerly anticipating the next installment

Many books that attempt to teach techniques fall flat because the examples given rarely connect with real-life situations. What Dr. Conte does in this book is make the instances feel authentic and applicable. His compassion, understanding, and real-life experience as a counselor and supervisor shine brilliantly throughout the book as every instance and example underscore his innovative, refreshing, and universally applicable "Yield Theory" approach to handling people in general, within and apart from the counseling and psychotherapy field. This book is a must-read for all professionals, para-professionals, and those aspiring to contribute in any form to the field of helping others, as well as managers of all kinds. Parents, counselors, therapists, student advisers, psychosocial rehabilitation workers, social workers, student service professionals and supervisors of people in all capacities would do their clients, proteges, and subordinates well to read and study this book and its insights. Though it is designed as a classroom supplement, it can be referenced and understood easily by anyone who works with or supervises people.

All students should own this book

Advanced Techniques for Counseling and Psychotherapy by Dr. Christian Conte is a practical tool that will come in handy for students looking to learn more about counseling techniques. Professionals looking for new, outside of the box techniques will enjoy this book as well. Topics such as the five errors of communication, Yield Theory, different therapeutic techniques, the stages of change, classic therapy, parenting, and philosophy, are discussed. Not only is this book an informative read, but it provides readers with strategies they can use for the rest of their careers. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the philosophy that's entwined throughout many topic areas. Advanced Techniques for Counseling and Psychotherapy provides just enough information, allowing the reader to gain a wealth of knowledge and begin to understand how philosophy can be used metaphorically in a session. Dr. Conte provides specific case examples and ties the story together with the therapeutic technique. By the end of this book, readers will have a better understanding of philosophy and will have the information they need to apply it to their therapeutic approach if they should choose to implement it. As students, we are constantly learning about the stages of change. We understand the stages, but knowing how to ask the right questions and recognize the stage the patient is in during a session is a skill all new counselors need to develop. Advanced Techniques for Counseling and Psychotherapy describes the stages in detail, while providing the reader with the questions needed to assist the client with moving from one stage to the next. Students often ask, "Can I tell my client that they are in the contemplation stage?" With this book, they will not have to, as the material provides questions that prompt the client to figure it out all on his or her own. Chapter six of this book is a great refresher of classic therapy. It discusses classic approaches and provides in-depth meaning behind the approaches. It is an excellent reminder of what is available to professionals and may encourage the reader to try something new. Chapter six looks at a number of theories including, but not limited to, Person-Centered Therapy, Reality Therapy, and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. Chapter six also takes an in-depth look at defense mechanisms, self-esteem vs. self efficacy, the levels of consciousness, and much more. Overall, I enjoyed reading Advanced Techniques for Counseling and Psychotherapy. This book is full of useful information, case examples, and techniques any counselor can put to use. As any new counseling student will say, there are many books one can read to help sharpen his or her counseling skills, and some books are better than others. Advanced Techniques for Counseling and Psychotherapy allows students to learn about the techniques at work, while understanding theoretical frameworks. This book covers many avenues of counseling, and is

Conte on Counseling - a Wonderful Text

For any consumer of mental health services and for ALL providers, this is a seminal text and one that does a wonderful job of pulling back the curtain on the Wizard that is your psycho-therapist. You will understand the genesis of a therapy, its intended goal and the roots all such therapies have in the classic texts and ancient mythologies. Candidly, it doesn't get any better than this. A book you'll reference time and time again well into your future.