Table Of Contentt h i r d e d i t i o n
third edition
AN INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELLING
Third Edition M
A N I N T R O D U C T I O N
Reviews of the second edition: c
L
“It is impossible to do justice to such an exhaustive, broad based and very readable work in a
short review. Professor McLeod has been meticulous, and with true scientific impartiality has
e
looked at, studied and described the many strands and different schools of thought and
T O C O U N S E L L I N G
methods that can lead towards successful counselling.” – Therapy Weekly o
“This is a fascinating, informative, comprehensive and very readable book...McLeod has d
produced a text that offers a great deal no matter what your level of competence or
knowledge.”– Journal of Interprofessional Care
“One of the book’s strengths is McLeod’s willingness to go beyond a history of the
development of counselling or a beginner’s technical manual...[and to] consider the political T A
dimensions of counselling and the relevance of power to counselling relationships. A
worthwhile acquisition for therapeutic community members, whatever their discipline or O N
background.”– Therapeutic Communities
This thoroughly revised and expanded version of the bestselling text, An Introduction to C I
Counselling, provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of counselling N
O
and therapy. It is written in a clear, accessible style, covers all the core approaches to
counselling, and takes a critical, questioning approach to issues of professional practise.
T
U
Placing each counselling approach in its social and historical context, the book also R
introduces a wide range of contemporary approaches, including narrative therapy, systemic,
N
feminist and multicultural. O
This third edition includes a new chapter on the important emerging approach of S
D
philosophical counselling, and a chapter on the counselling relationship, as well as
E
expanded coverage of attachment theory, counselling on the internet, and solution-focused
therapy. The text has been updated throughout, with additional illustrative vignettes and case L U
studies.
L
C
Current, comprehensive and readable, An Introduction to Counselling is a classic
I
introduction to its subject. T
N
I
John McLeodis Professor of Counselling at the University of Abertay Dundee, having G O
previously taught at Keele University and Wolverhampton University. He has practised in a
range of counselling settings, as well as being involved in training, research and consultancy
N
with many occupational groups, including nurses, social workers and emergency services
personnel. The author of six books and more than fifty articles and chapters on various
aspects of counselling and psychotherapy, he is currently editor of Counselling and
Psychotherapy Research.
(cid:9)(cid:10)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:4)(cid:14)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:14)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:14)(cid:6)
J o h n M c L e o d
(cid:1) (cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:5)(cid:6) (cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:1)(cid:4)
AN INTRODUCTION TO
COUNSELLING
Third Edition
AITA01 1 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
AITA01 2 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
AN INTRODUCTION TO
COUNSELLING
Third Edition
John McLeod
Open University Press
AITA01 3 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
Open University Press
McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill House
Shoppenhangers Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 2QL
email: [email protected]
world wide web: www.openup.co.uk
and
Two Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10121-2289, USA
First Published 1993
Reprinted 1994 (twice), 1996 (twice), 1997
Second Edition published 1998
Reprinted 1999, 2000 and 2001
First published in this third edition 2003
Reprinted 2003, 2004
Copyright © John McLeod 2003
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of
criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such
licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright
Licensing Agency Ltd of 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1P 0LP.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 335 21189 5 (pb) 0 335 21190 9 (hb)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McLeod, John, 1951–
An introduction to counselling / John McLeod.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-335-21190-9 – ISBN 0-335-21189-5 (pbk.)
1. Counseling. 1. Title.
BF637.C6 M379 2003
361′.06–dc21
2002072276
Typeset by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
Printed in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd., Glasgow
AITA01 4 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
For Julia
AITA01 5 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
AITA01 6 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
Contents
Preface xviii
1 An introduction to counselling 1
Introduction 1
Stories of counselling 2
Paula’s story: coming to terms with trauma 2
Myra’s story: being depressed 3
Matthew’s story: everything is getting on top of me 3
Laura’s story: finding the right counsellor 4
What is counselling? 4
Defining counselling 7
The relationship between counselling and psychotherapy 8
Counselling and other helping professions 8
The diversity of theory and practice in counselling 10
The aims of counselling 12
Counselling as an interdisciplinary area of study 13
A user-centred definition of counselling 14
Conclusions 16
Chapter summary 17
Topics for reflection and discussion 17
Key terms and concepts 18
Suggested further reading 19
AITA01 7 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
viii Contents
2 The cultural and historical origins of counselling 20
Introduction 20
The emergence of the ‘trade in lunacy’ 21
The invention of psychotherapy 24
The growth of psychotherapy in the USA 26
The secularization of society 28
The role of Carl Rogers 29
Therapy as a response to the ‘empty self’ 30
The expansion of counselling in the late twentieth century 31
The social meaning of counselling 33
Images of the person implicit in counselling approaches 36
Conclusions 37
Chapter summary 38
Topics for reflection and discussion 39
Key terms and concepts 39
Suggested further reading 40
3 Counselling theories: diversity and convergence 41
Introduction 42
What is a theory? 43
Theory as a structured set of ideas 43
Theory as a set of social practices 45
The purpose of theory: explanation or understanding? 47
Why do we need theory? The uses of conceptualization
in counselling practice 49
Something to hang on to: the need of the counsellor for
structure in the face of chaos 49
Offering the client a way of making sense 50
Establishing professional status 50
The creation of knowledge communities 50
The diversity of theorizing in counselling 52
Alternative ‘images of the person’ 52
The personal dimension of theory 53
The social context of theory construction 53
The mental health industry: brand names and special ingredients 54
The underlying unity of approaches to counselling 55
‘Common’ or ‘non-specific’ therapeutic factors 55
The movement towards theoretical integration 60
The debate over the merits of integrated versus ‘pure’ approaches 61
Eclecticism and integrationism 64
AITA01 8 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
Contents ix
Pathways to integration 65
The use of client assessment in integrative approaches 66
The use of ‘transtheoretical’ concepts in integrative approaches 67
The missing dimension: counsellor development 69
The future of integration 70
Conclusions: counselling theories – tools or truths? 72
Chapter summary 73
Topics for reflection and discussion 75
Key terms and concepts 76
Suggested further reading 76
4 Themes and issues in the psychodynamic approach to counselling 78
Introduction 78
The origins of psychodynamic counselling: the work of
Sigmund Freud 79
The childhood origins of emotional problems 80
The importance of the ‘unconscious’ 82
The therapeutic techniques used in psychoanalysis 83
The post-Freudian evolution of the psychodynamic
approach 87
The object relations school 89
The origins of object relations theory in child observation 89
The application of an object relations perspective in therapy 90
The British Independents: the importance of counter-transference 95
The American post-Freudian tradition: ego psychology and self theory 98
The European tradition 99
Attachment theory 100
Psychodynamic counselling within a time-limited framework 106
The conversational model 113
An appraisal of the psychodynamic approach to counselling 117
Chapter summary 118
Topics for reflection and discussion 120
Key terms and concepts 120
Suggested further reading 121
5 From behaviourism to constructivism: the cognitive–behavioural
approach to counselling 122
Introduction 122
The origins of the cognitive–behavioural approach 123
AITA01 9 12/10/06, 10:08 AM
