Secrets of Exceptional Counselors

Jeffrey A. Kottler, PhD, is one of the most prominent authors in the fields of counseling, psychotherapy, health, and education, having written more than 90 books on a wide range of subjects. Some of his most highly regarded works include On Being a Therapist; Introduction to Counseling: Voices From the Field; Learning Group Leadership; Creative Breakthroughs in Therapy; Bad Therapy; The Client Who Changed Me; Stories We’ve Heard, Stories We’ve Told: Life-Changing Narratives in Therapy and Everyday Life; The Therapist in the Real World; On Being a Master Therapist; Relationships in Counseling and the Counselor’s Life; and Therapy Over 50. Jeffrey has been a counselor, supervisor, and educator for 45 years, working in preschool, middle school, mental health center, crisis center, hospital, nongovernmental organization, university, community college, private practice, and disaster relief settings. He served as a Fulbright scholar and senior lecturer in Peru and Iceland as well as worked as a visiting professor in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Nepal. Jeffrey is professor emeritus of counseling at California State University, Fullerton. He currently lives in Houston, where he works on projects related to refugee trauma and is clinical professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine.

• About the authorPreface: tricks of the tradeA tough lesson that forever changed the way i workAdmitting you're lostTheories are obsoleteDeveloping your own voiceAssessing and diagnosing differentlyDeep, deep listeningDon't forget the context and cultureThere are no difficult clients, only difficult counselorsBoundaries opaque and permeableIt takes chutzpahClients lie'a lot : and it might not matterTechniques sometimes matterMore advanced techniques that are rarely mentionedCreativity and learning far afieldWho changes whom?Recovering from mistakes, learning from failurePracticing what you preachAppendix: Some challenging questions for aspiring exceptional counselors