This book presents a model for understanding distress and change in counselling and psychotherapy by demonstrating the key similarities between different therapeutic approaches.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Towards a Common Framework for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Part I: A Common Framework for Counselling Psychotherapy and Social Change: Describing the elephant
Chapter 2: Directionality: Philosophical foundations
Chapter 3: A phase model of directionality: From fantasy to action
Chapter 4: Wellbeing and emotions: Life ¿on track¿
Chapter 5: Goal dimensions: What we strive for counts
Chapter 6: A structural model of directionality: What we really, really want
Chapter 7: Effectiveness: Better ways of getting where we want to be
Chapter 8: Synergies are good
Chapter 9: From intrapersonal to interpersonal levels of organisation: playing to win-win
Part II: Resources for an integrative practice: Putting the elephant back together
Chapter 10: Psychodynamic approaches within a directional framework: Change through awareness
Chapter 11: Humanistic approaches within a directional framework
Chapter 12: Existential approaches within a directional framework
Chapter 13: Cognitive-behavioural approaches within a directional framework
Part III: Directional practices: Riding the elephant
Chapter 14: Goal-oriented practices
Chapter 15: Working with directions in counselling and psychotherapy
Chapter 16: Developing interpersonal synergies
Chapter 17: Conclusion: Towards better

Mick Cooper is Professor of Counselling Psychology at the University of Roehampton, where he is Director of the Centre for Research in Social and Psychological Transformation (CREST). Mick is a chartered psychologist, a UKCP registered psychotherapist, and a Fellow of the BACP. Mick is author and editor of a range of texts on person-centred, existential and relational approaches to therapy; including Working at Relational Depth in Counselling and Psychotherapy (2005, SAGE, with Dave Mearns), Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy

2011, SAGE, with John McLeod) and Existential Therapies (2nd edn, 2017, SAGE). Mick has led a series of research studies exploring the processes and outcomes of humanistic counsel­ling with young people. Mick is the father of four children and lives in Brighton on the south coast of England.