Positive Counseling: A Guide to Assessing and Enhancing Client Strength and Growth

Written for graduate students and practitioners, Positive Counseling: A Guide to Assessing and Enhancing Client Strength and Growth is a comprehensive introduction to positive counseling methods. This unique text provides a balanced assessment model that invites counselors to consider the four positive dimensions in a client's life: cultural context; life phase; cognitive stage; and personality style.

The material is organized into two primary sections. The first discusses ways to determine the positive and wellness dimensions of an individual's life, and then use these dimensions to craft alternative ways to conceptualize tendencies and challenges in order to complement or replace diagnoses of pathology. The second section features eight chapters on positive intervention, each highlighting a specific counseling approach. Each chapter includes worksheets that allow readers to work with the topic in a dynamic way.

Featuring the writing of experts in their respective topics, Positive Counseling gathers together new thinking and research on positive psychology and presents it in one outstanding resource. It is an excellent choice for courses in positive psychology and counseling theories.

Garrett J. McAuliffe earned his Ed.D. in counseling at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and is a professor of counseling and human services at Old Dominion University. Dr. McAuliffe has written extensively on topics in the discipline, with his work appearing in, among others, Counseling Today, the Journal of Counseling and Development, Counselor Education and Supervision. He is the author/coauthor of several books including Handbook of Counselor Preparation: Constructivist and Developmental Approaches, and most recently Irish Perspectives on Counseling. Widely regarded as a significant contributor to the counseling field, Dr. McAuliffe has won multiple awards for his research, teaching, and advocacy.