Person-Centred Counselling Training (Hardcover)

`Mearns' book is accessible and readable... clearly grounded in person-centred theory... from the first sentence, the reader is invited into a relationship with the author, who communicates his experiences and ideas with a distinct personal style, humour and humility. Excellent use is made of experiences of training, from both trainers and trainees, which often illustrate opposite experiences of the same events, thus reminding the reader of the importance of phenomenological realities, one of the philosophical foundations of the PCA... it is to be hoped that this book will make the contribution to raising standards in counsellor training which it undoubtedly represents and deserves - especially of courses which presume a philosophical bond with the PCA. While it is predominantly of interest to person-centred practitioners.... I commend this book to trainers from other theoretical orientations as a rare example of an experienced, considered and reflective overview of all aspects of counsellor training' - Counselling, The Journal of the British Association for Counselling

`This excellent book... is the first to have been written on the subject of person-centred counselling training, and it combines a passionate commitment to the philosophy and therapeutic efficacy of the person-centred approach with a pragmatic and detailed account of how best to train future practitioners within the context of modern institutions, organizations and systems of accountability. It is an extremely honest and unpretentious work which raises as many questions as it provides answers, and it is enriched by lively illustrations and examples from Dave Mearns' own experience and that of his trainees... as a trainer I was inspired by the energy, enthusiasm and rigour that Mearns applies to his training work, and found this book a fertile ground for both the validation and questioning of my own practice' - Val Simanowitz, Self & Society

`The beauty of the book is that it puts into words those skills and passions that make up the approach. It also lays out clearly the crazy-paved path that leads one through the experience of gaining the required skills. Mearns... maintains a high degree of regard for students in training and for their innate wisdom. As a student myself, this encouraged me in my competence and skills' - Janine Cooper, Self & Society

`This thoughtful and thought-provoking book is essential reading not only for those involved in the training of counsellors within the person-centred approach, but also for individuals who may have simplistic, dismissive or otherwise ill-informed notions of the depth of self-awareness required of the person-centred practitioner and the far-reaching challenges offered by the approach. For counsellors who define themselves as "person-centred" but who have had no substantial training, it should be compulsory reading' - British Journal of Guidance and Counselling