Book Review: 40 Techniques Every Counselor Should Know

40 Techniques Every Counselor Should Know is a succinct guide to implementing specific psychotherapeutic techniques. It targets anyone providing psychotherapy. This is absolutely a one-of-a- kind practical overview of particular counseling interventions. 

The text is divided into nine sections, each focusing on a different theoretical approach:

1. Solution focused brief counseling

2. Adlerian or psychodynamic 

3. Gestalt and psychodrama

4. Mindfulness

5. Humanistic-phenomenological

6. Cognitive-behavioral

7. Social learning

8. Behavioral approaches using positive reinforcement

9. Behavioral approaches using punishment 

Each section includes separate chapters for each therapeutic technique. For example, the Mindfulness section includes chapters on guided imagery, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation. The Adlerian or psychodynamic approach section includes chapters on I-messages, acting as if, splitting the soup, mutual storytelling, and paradoxical intention. Each technique is then broken down into (1) origins, (2) how to implement, (3) variations, (4) examples, and (5) usefulness and evaluation. The authors do an excellent job of keeping each chapter short and to the point. They provide example dialogue between patient and counselor and example implementation techniques. 

I find this text an excellent supplement to a theoretical text like Sharf’s Theories of Psychotherapy and Counseling.  Pairing these two books together gives students a sense of both the theoretical and practical aspects of psychotherapy. I also think this book would work well for seasoned clinicians who want to brush up on some techniques and easily implement them into practice. This book is very simple to read and can be read cover to cover without difficulty.