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This book is for counselors and counselors-in-training who are interested in exploring the many employment options that are available to persons with a graduate degree in counseling.

Days in the Lives of Counselors is a collection of personal essays from counselors, each of whom has presented a description of his or her own unique and rewarding experiences. Each offers descriptions of his or her typical activities, including the challenges, the paperwork, the meetings, the successes, and even the frustrations. Many also share their hints on surviving the stresses that are inherent in a career in counseling.

The chapters are clustered in categories within similar settings, but each person's experience is unique and different. In addition to school and college counselors, counselor educators, and mental health counselors, contributors include a sexologist, an editor, a gerontologist, an addictions specialist, a counselor who is a part-time deputy sheriff, and a professional association manager. Also included are two international stories, one by a school counselor working in Guam and another by a school counselor who worked in Africa. But all of the essays have one thing in common—they are written by counselors who love their work.

• Provides 33 first-person accounts (“typical day-in-the-life” stories) of various work settings and types of work found in the counseling profession, illustrating the diversity of settings and experiences one will find in this profession.

• Includes material on agency-based practice in settings such as a rural mental health clinic, a substance abuse clinic, a physical health rehabilitation center, and a county health department (Part 1).

• Discusses private practice in areas with specializations such as forensic rehabilitation, sexology, psychodrama, art therapy, play therapy, and diversity. Offers specific information on work in independent practice settings (Part 2).

• Provides material on the many types of work done by school counselors in primary, middle, and high school settings, with stories from persons at various points in their careers, including one person moving into retirement. Also included is the story of a person who works in schools and as a part-time police officer. Allows exploration of split careers (full-time and part-time work) and the unique issues involved (Part 3).

• Covers careers in higher education settings, including work as counselors and as teaching faculty members in counselor education (Part 4).

• Addresses crisis intervention careers in traditional settings and through volunteer work with the American Red Cross disaster relief team. Explores some exciting and unusual practice settings and describes how personality types and special interests can shape careers, concurrent volunteerism, and retirement plans (Part 5).

• Provides material on counseling work beyond our nation's borders. Illustrates what two counselors who were trained in the United States are doing in faraway lands (Africa and Guam), helping students broaden their thinking about where their careers may take them (Part 6).

• Provides a glimpse of the work done by two counselors who are working to support the profession itself, one as a journal editor and the other as a professional association manager at American Counseling Association (ACA). Demonstrates the behind-the-scenes work that helps educate and support professional counselors throughout their careers (Part 7).

Dedication.


Preface.


About the Editors.


Introduction.

Part 1. Agency-Based Practice.

Part 2. Private Practice.

Part 3. School Counseling.

Part 4. Higher Education: Counselor Education and Counseling Centers.

Part 5. Crisis Intervention.

Part 6. Practice in Distant Lands.

Part 7. Practice to Support the Profession.

Practicum and Internship  (Counseling)
Introduction to Counseling  [CUSTOM TITLES]   (Counseling)

Days in the Lives of Counselors makes a strong and very personal statement about the diverse roles of professional counselors, few of whom would say they had only one role. To examine what counselors actually do in their jobs, Dingman and Weaver soliPd a variety of counselors from across the nation, and overseas, to talk about their experiences, roles, and occupations in the book. Those that read the book will quickly find out there is no such thing as a typical day for a counselor!

The book starts off with a one page introduction that sets the stage for the chapters that follow. Seven sections follow, each section representing jobs and roles in different areas within the profession (e.g., community agencies, schools, private practice, crisis settings, international settings, higher education, and administration). Each of the counselors tells the story of their unique job responsibilities.

Turner, a high school counselor, spoke for many in stating, "The rewards in this job do not come from thanks or recognition. The rewards come from doing my best for...people every day. This is what makes the job worthwhile." Each counselor portrays the daily challenges and choices inherent in their positions, yet underscores the extensive personal rewards that accrue through watching, and helping, students and clients find their way. Chen-Hayes, a counselor educator, concludes his chapter by exclaiming, as did other authors that "I love what I do!"

Overall, the book is a fascinating read. It is an eye-opener to the many roles counselors really take on and validates the "personal" quality of our work. Days in the Lives of Counselors provides information and modeling for current and prospective students to facilitate their career choice and the jobs they seek once they graduate. A list of annotated readings at the end of each chapter provides additional information on counseling positions, training, client-base, and/or theoretical background.

This would be a good text for an introduction to counseling course for undergraduate or graduate students, or for a practicum or career counseling course. For those using this book as a teaching tool, the editors provide a website that gives suggestions on classroom discussion and activities to accompany each chapter in the book. Along with being a useful tool in classroom settings, the book would be a helpful adjunct to counselors working with persons seeking careers in human services and trying to decide if professional counseling would be a good fit.

For the Counseling Discipline

Allyn & Bacon Helping Professions SuperSite for Counseling
Allyn & Bacon
©2003   |   Merrill   |   On-line Supplement   |   Live
ISBN-10: 0205394302   |   ISBN-13: 9780205394302
This online resource is available at no cost at http://www.ablongman.com/helpingprofessions.

Career Counseling: Work in Progress DVD
Greenwood, Amundson & Niles
©2006   |   Merrill   |   DVD   |   Instock
ISBN-10: 0131920014   |   ISBN-13: 9780131920019
Suggested retail price: $21.60  Buy from myPearsonStoreNet price: $16.20  (What's this?)

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