Product Description

Are some therapies more effective than others? How important is the relationship? Which clients do best in therapy?

Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy answers these questions and many more, providing trainees, practitioners and researchers with a comprehensive introduction to the latest findings in the field. The book sets out in a jargon-free way the evidence for the effectiveness of therapy and the factors associated with positive therapeutic outcomes. It gives suggestions for further reading, definitions of key terms and questions for discussion, making this an ideal text for use in training.

The book is also designed for practitioners who increasingly need to justify their therapeutic work on empirical grounds. Essential Research Findings in Counselling and Psychotherapy gives them the knowledge and confidence to do just that. More than that, it makes research findings accessible and provides information on how to practice counselling and psychotherapy in an effective way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19692 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
A fantastic accomplishment. Mick Cooper brings together a vast amount of material in a relevant and interesting way. --John McLeod

The books strengths are an inviting personable style, an objective perspective and a systematic review of research. I do not see any weaknesses --Arthur C. Bohart

Review
"So well written and laid out that it makes a rattling good read...Every counsellor and therapist should have a copy of this book"

Eisteach, Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

"Fantastic...it will definitely be recommended reading for our students" Dr. Darren Langdridge, The Open University

"A phenomenal book"

"Research reports do not usually make for riveting reading, so I had expected this book to be rather dry. However, nothing could be further from the truth as Mick Cooper has managed to create a text that is interesting and informative as well as engaging...certainly deserves a place on every counsellor and psychotherapist’s bookshelf"

Therapy Today, March 2009

"Hard to put down...a superb job in drawing together such a wide body of information and synthesizing it in a manner that regular 'Joes' like me can understand."

Bill Matthews, Trainer and Therapist

"A great contribution to the literature."

Colin Lago

"A great resource for therapists and a tremendous achievement to have pullled all this often complex information together in such an accessible way."

Joe Armstrong, Lecturer in Counselling, University of Abertay

"A remarkable summary of findings and their implications for practice as we enter the 21st century."

Prof Michael J. Lambert, Brigham Young University

"A fantastic accomplishment. Mick Cooper brings together a vast amount of material in a relevant and interesting way."

Prof John McLeod, Professor of Counselling, University of Abertay Dundee

'The publication of this book couldn’t be more timely… Mick Cooper has a wonderful ability to write about complex things in a clear accessible way"

Laurie Clark, CEO of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (20080301)

'A fantastic accomplishment. Mick Cooper brings together a vast amount of material in a relevant and interesting way.' (John McLeod 20080401)

'The book’s strengths are an inviting personable style, an objective perspective and a systematic review of research. I do not see any weaknesses.' (Arthur C. Bohart 20080401)

'I generally do not become absorbed by texts about research, but this book was remarkably engaging --clear, concise, and handy as a reference guide' (Kirk Schneider 20080401)

'The publication of this book couldn’t be more timely… Mick Cooper has a wonderful ability to write about complex things in a clear accessible way. This is a comprehensive guide to what the evidence tells us so far – essential reading for practitioners, trainees and indeed clients themselves who want to understand more about the knowledge base of the powerful tool that therapy is.' (Laurie Clark 20080425)

'Highly accessible, even for ‘statisticophobes’. It is simple, without being simplistic, and brings quite complex concepts to a level that novices can grasp.' (Maureen O’Hara )

‘As a scholar of psychotherapy research I highly recommend this book as a remarkable summary of findings and their implications for practice as we enter the 21^st century. Essential information to consider by professionals and students alike as they become more effective practitioners.’ (Michael Lambert )

Customer Reviews

A really good reference book for students and practitioners.
I wish this book had been around when I was studying for my MSc a couple of years ago, it makes light work of trawling through stacks of papers to find the most relevant and up to date research on counselling and psychotherapy. It's a good source of information if you are preparing a presentation, writing a paper or if you need to know more about the very wide range of therapeutic approaches that are around. I have used it to save time, cutting through the dross and get to the stuff you want to know about; when you've used this to get to the 'important bits' you can then go on to read in full the most relevant research in full.

Things I like about this book:
The size of it, most books about research are hefty and off putting just by their size
The way it is set out, giving a thesaurus, references and having sub-sections which address tricky or complicated questions as each subject is covered such as, `therapists who use touch`.
That it addresses the currently very popular issue being asked by fund holders, "what's the evidence base for this approach (practice)?" (Not that most of the people who ask this question actually know what the answers they are given mean for clients and therapists)
It starts by explaining research methods and how to understand research findings
It is a comprehensive review and summary of current research findings
It is not written in a `glossed over' way that some research reviews are, when research is poor or patchy the author says so and gives explanations as to why.

For a Professor I think the author, Mick Cooper, has kept his feet on the ground and written a book that students and experienced professionals will find valuable and informative. It is written in plain English and with a healthy pinch of humour that means it's easy to read whilst addressing complicated topics such as making sense of qualitative and quantitative research findings. Also, if you are thinking about seeking a therapist yourself and want to research what approach best fits for you this book will give you sound information to help you decide.

Essential research reading
Essential reading for all counsellors/psychotherapists - irrespective of experience or orientation - just to have your assumptions and prejudices busted.