Designed as a first course for graduate students on a community counseling track, this text provides a practical introduction to the field and covers all the core competencies required by CACREP. Students learn about the challenges a counselor may face--including ethical dilemmas and the struggle to meet an increasing demand for mental health services for a diverse population--through personal accounts, structured activities, and practical hints from experienced counselors.

A special feature, the Defining Moment, in each chapter provides an account of the struggles and triumphs of a practicing counselor. These insights, from counselors with a range of experience, help students realize the personal strengths and challenges they bring to the role of community counselor.

1. Putting Ourselves in Context: Professional, Community, and Personal Histories
2. Living the Life: Practical Realities of Community Counseling
3. Doing Good: Ethical and Legal Issues in Practice
4. Exploring the Counselor Within: The Facilitative Self
5. Experiencing Counseling: Concepts, Dynamics, and Change
6. Conceptualizing Clients: Individual Assessment
7. Viewing the Community Kaleidoscope: Embracing Diversity in Counseling
8. Responding to Change: Lifespan Development
9. Building on Strengths: Working with Groups
10. Discovering Options: Career Counseling
11. Expanding Our Knowledge Base: Research and Evaluation
12. Working Behind the Scenes: Consultation and Supervision