Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

Not so stuffy

Customer Rating:

I really have a problem with author's who can't see past the tip of their nose, Pete Saunders I believe *can.* A lot of material is very clearly covered - gaining insight bilaterally into the potential of 'counselling' as a career or 'helper.' *Very* good explanations and comparisons of varying psycho-analytic methods. Oh I so resent Freud for being so stuffy....(Tho there are 'glory moments' in Pete Saunders book, I suppose he's allowed...) ;o) Very good on the whole, easy to read, thorough explanations and guidance in MANY areas.

fantastic excellent awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!love it buy it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Customer Rating:

I have just started an introductory course in counselling and bought this book to underpin the course content. Well I think the author is amazing and the values that he presents in the book are the kind that I aspire to . The book can be read and should be read by anyone particularly those on counselling courses. If anyone reads this book and doesn't connect with it with regard to counselling I would question if they really have what it takes to pursue a counselling role. We are after all living in a multicultural world. This book is modern with a modern outlook, if only the author was still counselling and teaching!!!!! he has singlehandedly made me want to pursue counselling training further and get involved particularly if you get to meet people with the kind of values that he talks about. An Excellent forward thinking book with right on views. This is just the sort of thing we ought to be embracing in 2008. Excellent !!!!!!!!!!!10 stars

good companion	Customer Rating:
I am halfway through my introduction to counselling course and this book has been a lifesaver to me on more than one occassion. I read it before I started the course to give me an insight of what to expect then as I have been each week more and more of the book makes sense and has deeper meaning (without sounding too deep...) Its great highly recommended.

Not good

Customer Rating:

I know I am going against the grain to be writing a negative review of this book however, I just can't find anything positive about it. The author 'Pete' introduces himself by saying he changed his name from 'Peter' to 'Pete' as a teenager when he discovered via numerology!!! that 'Pete' had better star potential than 'Peter'. What place this has in an academic text, I do not know. He may as well say he believed in flying teapots! Futhermore, he goes onto say most psychological theories were written by white well-educated men, and that women and black people felt left out. What rubbish. Does that mean, that theories written by women exclude everyone other than women? I am tired of this lefty chant and numerology Pete does nothing to improve his lack of rigor with this kind of nonsense. Read it if you have to but don't bother to buy it. There are better books out there.

Good starter book	Customer Rating:
I found this very useful as a starting point. Easy to locate information and good brief summaries on the different models used. Also written in a style very easy to follow - not at all patronising. It gives good clear explanations too.