Capuzzi, David and Douglas R. Gross. Counseling & Psychotherapy: Theories and Interventions. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall, 2003.
In their book, Counseling & Psychotherapy: Theories and Interventions, David Capuzzi and Douglas R. Gross illuminate the three key components that are essential to the success of counselors or therapists in eliciting desirable changes from their clients. First of all, practitioners must be able to create a helping relationship with their clients "that promotes trust, insight, and behavior change" (2). Second, the personal and professional identities of practitioners are inextricably interwoven together. In order to be effective in their work, practitioners must have a strong awareness of their values and cultural biases, which may impact their ability to perform their work, as well as their personal ability to handle the stressful professional demands (Capuzzi and Grors 38-9). Finally, practitioners must have a strong knowledge of the ethical and legal issues that affect their profession (Capuzzi and Gross 2). These three key components thus constitute the common foundation of the professional practice for all practitioners, which transcend the differences in their theoretical orientations.
Since my degree program is in Counseling Psychology, this book that offers a comprehensive account of the core topics of my profession is highly relevant to my study. In addition to identifying the three key components of the counseling and therapeutic profession, as described above, this book also contains a concise summary of all the diverse theories relevant to this field ranging from classical theories such as psychoanalytic and existential theories to radical theories such as feminist and Eastern theories. Just as importantly, the discussion of the application of the theoretical systems in real-life settings with specific client populations such as children and various ethnic ...