McAuliffe's Latest Book, 'Handbook of Counselor Preparation,' Gets Rave Review in Australian Journal

The sphere of influence of Garrett McAuliffe's latest book, "Handbook of Counselor Preparation: Constructivist, Developmental, and Experiential Approaches," has been extended Down Under, thanks to a recent review in Psychotherapy in Australia, that continent's leading national journal for the psychotherapy and counseling profession.

McAuliffe, University Professor of counselor education at Old Dominion, is the lead editor of the book, which was published last year by Sage Publications. Endorsed by the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision, this definitive single-volume guide is the first of its kind on teaching and developing counselor educator programs that embrace constructivist and developmental theory.

In the 464-page book, leading scholars and experts offer practical advice on teaching courses in every area of counseling practice. It has been called ideal for current and future counselor educators and supervisors as well as faculty in other helping professions. Karen Eriksen, the founder and CEO of the Eriksen Institute for Ethics, is the book's co-editor.

The journal's introduction to the review by Hugh Crago, author and counseling professor at the University of Western Sydney, states: "From time to time a book comes along that is worthy of special attention. One such book is the Handbook of Counselor Preparation: Constructivist, Developmental and Experiential Approaches. … The editors of this book have taken a major step towards describing the learning principles which should guide effective counselor education."

In his extended review in the May edition of Psychotherapy in Australia, Crago discusses the book's implications and takes a detailed look at its assumptions against the backdrop of counselor training in Australia.

Crago writes: "Garrett McAuliffe and Karen Eriksen have compiled a most valuable text on the education of counsellors, the significance of which goes well beyond their own country.

"No comparable work exists here, so Australian counselor educators should pay attention to this Handbook - not in deference to the 'cultural cringe,' but rather in the spirit of, 'Maybe there's a lot we can learn from these authors, even if we're still going to do things somewhat differently.'"

Through their book, McAuliffe and Eriksen seek to inspire educators to empower and involve, to risk "losing control" over subject matter, to hear student voices, to pose dilemmas, and to challenge their own assumptions in the presence of their students using constructivist, developmental and experiential thinking and strategies.

McAuliffe's major areas of expertise and interest include counselor competence and personality factors, constructivist/post-modern thinking and counseling, the teaching of counseling using experiential and constructivist methods, adult cognitive and moral development, career transition and career decision-making, multicultural competence in counselors, reflexivity, ethnicity and counseling, religion and counseling, and working with sexual minority youth.