This introduction to theories of counseling and psychotherapy relates major schools of thought to everyday practice in the helping professions. Theory and Design in Counseling and Psychotherapy has been praised for its student-friendly writing style, modern approach to theories, and use of vivid examples and excerpts to illustrate concepts.

* Students are exposed to primary source material with chapter-opening selections from the writings of prominent theorists (e.g., Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, Adler's Understanding Human Nature, and Beck's Love Is Never Enough), followed by thought-provoking questions about the theorist's ideas.
* Interactive learning features interspersed throughout the text include Discussion Ideas and Reflections, which prompt students to consider concepts in relation to their own lives.
* Humanistic and existential theories now appear in two separate chapters (7 and 8).
* Expanded! Empirically Supported Therapies and Best Practices includes recent points of debate and appears in Chapter 1.
* Expanded! End-of-chapter review materials include a numbered summary, exploration and learning activities, and exercises to aid students' memory and understanding of key terms.
* Updated! The ethics chapter now includes the types, frequencies, and consequences of ethics violations; the goals of HIPAA; and the role of Institutional Review Boards.
* Additional biographical profiles of Miriam Polster, Judith Beck, Virginia Satir, and Frances Vaughan emphasize women's contributions to theory and practice.ACT, solution-focused therapy, and problem solving approaches have been added to the models of cognitive-behavioral applications in Chapter 11.