Common Client Issues in Counselling: An Australian Perspective

Reviewed by Rachel Feldwisch, Associate Dean, College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, University of Indianapolis on 12/18/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text covered the subjects well. The introductory material and index were helpful. Each chapter included a glossary of key terms that would be useful to students.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content presented was accurate and most of the content was useful. I did not observe biased language. One concern that I had was the method of selecting topics, which the authors state was "based on our own experience of practice and teaching" (p. 8). I questioned if the authors might have followed a more systematic process of determining common client issues.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content was up-to-date and consistent with materials that I have used for my counselling classes within the past five years.

Clarity rating: 5

Material was presented clearly and could easily be read and understood by graduate level students.

Consistency rating: 5

I have been a professional counsellor for over 20 years. I found that the introductory material regarding the counselling profession was accurate, and the both the terminology and framework were consistent with the profession of counselling throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

The book could easily be assigned by chapter and in different order. The authors seem to have organized material in alphabetical order, but I would teach the child maltreatment, crisis, and trauma chapters together.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Several of the chapters could have been combined. For example, the chapter on Crisis has overlapping material with the chapters on Trauma. The Child Maltreatment chapter overlaped with the chapter on Trauma in Children and Adolescence.

Interface rating: 5

I did not have issues with the interface. Some content was not available, but I think this was because I downloaded as a PDF.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

A few minor grammatical errors, but these did not detract from the quality of the content.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Some, but not all, of the chapters contain information regarding cultural diversity. For example, the author of Chapter 2 (Anxiety) included information regarding diverse groups that are specific to Australia and also included information regarding global contexts (e.g., that anxiety is the most prevalent presenting issue in counselling throughout the world). The book would be improved by including cultural diversity information consistently throughout the text.

Comments

Enjoyable read that would be helpful to utilize in graduate-level counselling courses.

Reviewed by Diane Hodge, Professor and Director of the School of Social Work, Radford University on 10/23/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

An introduction and format is immediately provided. The focus of the book is working with clients with a diverse range of issues. Chapters included are addictions, anxiety, child maltreatment, crisis, depression, domestic violence, grief and loss, relationships distress, trauma in adults and trauma in children and adolescence. Chapters are provided in alphabetical order with an abstract. Each chapter covers theories/models, screening/assessment, and practice context along with a case study, learning objectives and activities that are online. There is also a glossary of terms and recommended references. Many chapters also address counselor self-care and author reflections and author information.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is helpful for all counselors/practitioners. Approaches used in the text include humanistic, experiential, cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, relationship and integrative, all widely accepted and researched practices. Overall, the book provides a very comprehensive, basic overview of each issue and client population that is addressed using accepted and researched theories/models and practices, making the book useful to both students and practitioners in other fields and countries.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text embraces that "there is not one way of understanding client well-being, difficulties, or helping" and therefore, "there are multiple ways to address the same issue." The book does an excellent job of explaining different ways to approach a client issue, both established and newer ways. Some of those models include the medical model, contextual model, biopsychosocial approach, recover-oriented model, person-centered care, and stepped care.

Clarity rating: 5

The entire text is well-written and easy to understand. The case-studies are clear and the context is well-cited. The addition of glossaries and references make it a great reference text too.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is very consistent, using the same framework for each chapter. This consistency makes it easy to find information and compare approaches across issues and client populations.

Modularity rating: 5

The authors provide explicit information on the structure of the book on page 8 and the text makes excellent use of headings, color blocking, and divisible reading sections. It would be very easy to reorganize the work into subunits or use the text as a reference text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Topics are presented in alphabetical order in the text, and those topics are then presented relatively brief and to the point. Navigation is simple and easy. The chapters flow in a logical and easily understood way.

Interface rating: 5

Links to outside activities and references work well. The authors conveniently provide an APA citation for each chapter.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Use of some non-American spelling, such as counselling and centred was noticeable.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text begins with the acknowledgement of First Peoples, along with an accessibility assessment. What makes the text Australian-focused is specifically relating understandings and interventions to Indigenous Australians of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Data of the Australian populations is mostly used in the text, but the assessments and interventions are relatable for use with other populations. The text sets a good example of how to focus understanding, assessment, and practice on specific population context and needs.

Comments

Overall, a well-done and useful text for all practitioners.