Clare Rosoman's Therapy to Go provides a variety of handouts and worksheets for clients in a readily-accessible format. The resources are designed to be used by a range of therapists, including counsellors and psychologists, to augment their work. The development of the resources has been influenced by different therapeutic orientations, particularly cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), narrative therapy and solution-focused therapy.
The book is divided into “Appetisers”, “Starters” and “Dessert”. Appetisers includes a brief introduction to the intended use of the book and a description of how worksheets can complement therapy. Starters includes worksheets about general therapeutic issues (including rapport building and motivation) and therapy basics (including worksheets about CBT, goal-setting and problem-solving). This is followed by specific sections on anxiety, depression, anger and communication skills. Finally, Dessert includes sections on self-esteem and resilience (including relapse prevention). The format of the book works well. Each set of handouts and worksheets is preceded by a brief and helpful description of their content and intended use, meaning it is easy for the therapist to familiarize him or herself with each resource before considering using it with a particular client.
The book provides creative ways to explore a wide-range of general therapeutic issues and specific problems. I found the handouts and worksheets on confidentiality, goal-setting, identifying enjoyable activities and thought challenging particularly useful. The best feature of this book is that it contains such a vast range of photocopiable resources in a single place. The topics covered are so wide-ranging that it would take a busy therapist a considerable time to develop a similar set of resources of their own.
The inclusion of resources based on a variety of theoretical approaches means that this book is likely to appeal to a range of clients and therapists. However, this also means that it will be very important for therapists to make sure that they are familiar with each resource before using it with a client to ensure that it complements the approach being used in therapy. For example, as a CBT therapist, there are one or two handouts I will not be using, such as the one recommending controlled breathing in panic attacks. The author acknowledges this; the book is not intended to be a treatment manual, rather therapists are encouraged to pick and choose from the “menu” of resources.
Overall, this is a clearly written and accessible book providing resources on general therapeutic issues and specific problems. I think it would be most helpful for new trainees or therapists who have not yet developed their own resources.
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