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Email can revive and renew the lost art of letters. Philosophy Online offers Counselling Coaching Consultancy with deeper foundations a broader base a wider perspective. |
| Publications \ Books |  |
Counselling and Identity: Self-Realisation in a Therapy Culture Alex Howard Palgrave December 2004 http://www.palgrave.com 'This profoundly humane, civilized and civilizing account of who and what we are, and want to be, provides a much needed counter to both the cynicism and the despair of our 'postmodern' times. Written with Alex Howard's customary erudition and clarity, the book is a vital corrective to the confusion and superficiality of so much of the writing in the counselling field; counsellors are extremely fortunate to have such a sympathetic critic and champion. But the book has much wider relevance and appeal: it is impossible to read without profiting from it.' - Professor (emeritus) David Smail, Nottingham Trent University 'There's an unmistakeable streak of passionate honesty and humanism in Howard's writing that provides more of a tonic than reading yet-another-counselling-book would. Counselling and Identity deserves a wide readership but few will be comfortable with their encounter with this sharp, informed, relentelssly questioning, hypocrisy exposing author. If you want the same old tame personal development, look elsewhere; if you dare risk a painful, intellectual, moral self-examination, try this.' - Colin Feltham, Sheffield Hallam University 'Alex Howard has tackled a most complex topic with consummate skill and has produced an extremely stimulating, wonderfully researched and much-needed alternative to the usual literature dealing with issues of identity and self. This book deserves all the attention it will undoubtedly receive.' Professor Ernesto Spinelli, School of Psychotherapy and Counselling, Regents College, London UK. This wise and balanced book provides new resources for grasping the whole array of philosophical and sociological ideas that impinge on understanding self identity. Howard has written a very practical treatise that will be a great gift for counsellors, therapists, and philosophers who want their work to matter. Tom Morris Author of True Success, If Aristotle Ran General Motors, and The Art of Achievement Alex Howard has penned a masterpiece on identity and its relation to counseling. This book should be required reading for all who engage, philosophically or otherwise, with selves and others. Lou Marinoff, author of "Plato Not Prozac" and "Therapy for the Sane" A very original and refreshing perspective on identity and therapy, and I would imagine that it would find its way onto the reading lists of any reputable psychotherapy or counselling training, as well as the shelves of practicing therapists. Addresses important issues in the therapy world and so will fill a gap in the market. Howard is an established and well-respected author, with a fresh style. A well researched and engaging text. While scholarly in content the writing style is accessible without falling into the trap of overly simplifying the concepts. This is certainly a book that I would personally recommend to anyone with an interest in the interface between the personal sense of self and the mediating social forces that impact on this idea of selfhood. The author writes with a very direct style and manages to combine scholarly application of social philosophy with a pithy appreciation of what we might call "common sense values". I enjoyed the very forthright narrative style. The social rather than psychological focus is the key selling factor of the book and needs to be brought out strongly in the title to ensure that it is properly positioned in the market. It was a very interesting and provocative read, and I suspect that it will generate a lot of interest, and some controversy, in the counselling sector as a whole. The critique is coherently and wittily made, what is more there is a real need for the psychological: societal debate to be made more public within counselling. |
