Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Counseling Practice

Recent changes in health care continue to impact professional counseling practice.Specifically, counselors are increasingly expected to use evidence-based interventions in their work with clients. Besides being evidence-based, CBT has become more consistent with the core values of the counseling profession with its evolving focus on relationships, strengths, and cultural sensitivity.

Developing a sufficient level of competence in CBT cannot be acquired through reading an overview chapter in a counseling theories book. Counselors and counselors-in-training need additional training in this core approach and also need a CBT text that is written specifically by professional counselors for them. Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Counseling Practice meets that need. It is based on the core values of the counseling profession and emphasizes the client-counselor relationship, provides extensive case examples and session transcriptions, and includes an extensive list of CBT terms. Highlighted are detailed descriptions of the theory and actual practice of several CBT approaches including Strengths-Based Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Jon Sperry, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Lynn University and a staff therapist at the Counseling and Psychological Services at Florida Atlantic University. He has extensive training in CBT and practices, supervises, and consults on the use of CBT. He has published several articles and book chapters and is co-author of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of DSM-5 Personality Disorders: Assessment, Case Conceptualization and Treatment and Case Conceptualization: Mastering this Competency with Ease and Confidence.

Len Sperry, MD, PhD, is Professor and Director of Clinical Training at Florida Atlantic University and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has practiced, taught, and written about CBT for over three decades and has had extensive formal training in CBT. Among his 1000+ professional publications are several articles, book chapters, and books on CBT, including the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy of DSM-5 Personality Disorders, and Treatment of Chronic Medical Conditions: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Strategies and Integrative Treatment Protocols.