Book Review: Skills in Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy

Abstract

Reviews the book, Skills in existential counselling and psychotherapy by Emmy van Deurzen and Martin Adams (2011). This is a notable and welcome exception to that tendency. This book sets out to provide a more practical introduction to existential counseling and psychotherapy than we have seen before and, in the process, addresses a key issue for so many students of the existential approach, the lack of guidance in the literature on what they should actually do when working existentially with a client. The book is structured into eight chapters, beginning with an attempt to define and situate existential counseling and psychotherapy and then a discussion of the personal and professional qualities needed to become a therapist, before moving on to outline the foundation for all practice, the phenomenological method. The huge value of this book comes from the wonderfully practical approach that is taken throughout. Instead of simply parroting ideas that for many seem vague or even incomprehensible, the authors provide concrete suggestions for practice. If any students are reading this review then I would strongly recommend you buy this book. Indeed, I would recommend that anyone interested in existential counseling and psychotherapy, whether student or experienced practitioner/teacher, buy this book and relish the clear, accurate and superbly practical exposition contained therein that is all too rare in this field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)