I purchased this book because my professor said that it was a "MUST READ"-slash-keep reading book. This is one of the first books that I may have to disagree. This is a must read book for counselors who are going to be MFT or community counselors. To be a school counselor? Meh, not so useful. Sometimes, however, I forget to ask for that distinction in classes when books are being recommended.

This is a pretty detailed account of how to interview clients, including structured questions that one could copy and take to the interview. It also includes tips on how to get the client to open up and what the interviewer could do to help the session go smoother.

Very detailed...an excellent resource, but not one I think that I'll need? ( )

I purchased this book because my professor said that it was a "MUST READ"-slash-keep reading book. This is one of the first books that I may have to disagree. This is a must read book for counselors who are going to be MFT or community counselors. To be a school counselor? Meh, not so useful. Sometimes, however, I forget to ask for that distinction in classes when books are being recommended.

This is a pretty detailed account of how to interview clients, including structured questions that one could copy and take to the interview. It also includes tips on how to get the client to open up and what the interviewer could do to help the session go smoother.

Very detailed...an excellent resource, but not one I think that I'll need? ( )

I'm not a psychiatrist, psychologist or medical doctor or planning to be any of those; I just picked this up because it looked interesting. It was very interesting and well organized, and I feel it would benefit psychiatrists and psychiatric interns a great deal.

One thing I was curious about though -- the book makes no mention of autism spectrum disorders at all. I know that autism is not, technically, a mental illness, but its symptoms can mimic mental illnesses (Asperger's Syndrome symptoms could fit several personality disorders) and last I knew it still had a place in the DSM-IV. Autism's absence from this book is a rather glaring omission and this is what kept me from giving the book five stars instead of four. ( )