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Basic Personal Counselling: A Training Manual for Counsellors, 10th Edition | AU/NZ

David Geldard, Kathryn Geldard, Rebecca Yin Foo

  • Copyright 2026
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Available 18 September 2025', '2025-09-18T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $69.95 See pricing and ISBN options
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Basic Personal Counselling: A Training Manual for Counsellors 10th Edition by David Geldard/Kathryn Geldard/Rebecca Yin Foo
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Overview

Basic Personal Counselling is the market-leading text addressing communication units in Counselling and Community Services qualifications. The text is an easy-to-read introduction to counselling skills for both professional and volunteer counsellors, and workers in the helping professions. This tenth edition of Basic Personal Counselling includes new content on contemporary third wave CBT approaches, acceptance and commitment therapy, and internal family systems therapy. It provides a scaffolded and integrated approach to counselling skills and is accompanied by a grid aligning to competencies.

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Meet the Authors

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David Geldard

The late David Geldard worked for many years as a counselling psychologist in private practice, mental health and community health in Queensland. He specialised in counselling children, young people and their families.

Kathryn Geldard

Dr. Kathryn Geldard has retired from teaching in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Kathryn was responsible for establishing the Master of Counselling and the Master of Counselling Practice programs, and prior to her retirement had extensive experience in mental health settings and private practice, initially working at the Phipps Clinic at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

Rebecca Yin Foo

Rebecca Yin Foo is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist who is experienced in providing psychological support for children with developmental disabilities and their families at the Cerebral Palsy League. Her work has led her to take a high level of practical and academic interest in ways of working with children to promote optimal positive outcomes. She currently works in private practice in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to obtaining her honours degree in Psychology and Masters degree in Educational and Developmental Psychology she completed a Bachelor of Medical Engineering. She has published a number of journal articles and presented conference papers nationally and internationally in relation to her studies in both Engineering and Psychology. She is the third author of the book, Counselling Children: A Practical Introduction.

What's New

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  • NEW content on contemporary 3rd wave CBT approaches, acceptance and commitment therapy and internal family systems therapy.
  • NEW example contracts for email counselling and avatar counselling.
  • NEW further reading icons and suggested reading will prompt readers to research important topics.
  • Focus on technology in counselling: BPC 10e includes updated content and examples in the areas of telehealth and internet counselling, providing readers with the latest information on how technology can benefit counselling practice.

Features

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  • Aligned to the communication competencies in the Community Services training package, BPC, 10e covers 11 units of competencies across 2 qualifications-Diploma of Counselling (CHC51015) and Diploma of Community Services (CHC52021).
  • The text provides an easy-to-read introduction to counselling, with a focus on interviewing and communication techniques.
  • The text has an integrative approach to teaching counselling skills by combining theory and skills and demonstrating how to apply these in a professional setting.
  • Basic Personal Counselling Instructor's Resource Pack - Premium resources that provide additional instructor support are available for this text. These resources save you time and are a convenient way to add more depth to your classes, covering additional content and with an exclusive selection of engaging features aligned with the text. The Instructor Resource Pack is included for institutional adoptions of this text when certain conditions are met. The pack is available to purchase for course-level adoptions of the text or as a standalone resource. Contact your Cengage learning consultant for more information.

Table of Contents

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Part 1 THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF COUNSELLING
1. What is counselling?
2. The counselling relationship
3. Influence of the counsellor’s values
Part 1 Training group exercises
Part 2 FOUNDATION SKILLS
4. Learning foundation skills
5. Joining and listening
6. Reflection of content (paraphrasing)
7. Reflection of feelings
8. Reflection of content and feelings
9. Use and misuse of questions
10. Summarizing
11. Matching language and metaphor
12. Creating comfortable closure
Part 2 Training group exercises
Part 3 PROMOTING CHANGE
13. Various approaches to counselling
14. Working collaboratively
15. An integrative approach to helping a person change
16. Combining skills to facilitate the change process
Part 3 Training group exercises
Part 4 ADDITIONAL SKILLS FOR PROMOTING CHANGE
17. Normalizing
18. Using the ‘here and now’ experience
19. Confrontation
20. Challenging unhelpful beliefs
21. Externalizing
22. Solution-focused counselling skills
23. Exploring polarities
24. Reframing
25. Making decisions
26. Facilitating action
27. Experiential counselling skills
28. Facilitating relaxation
Part 4 Training group exercises
Part 5 COMMON THEMES IN COUNSELLING
29. Addiction
30. Distress behaviors
31. Sadness, low mood and depression
32. Fear, worry and anxiety
33. Counselling those experiencing grief and loss
34. Crisis intervention
35. Responding to suicide intentions
Part 5 Training group exercises
Part 6 TECHNOLOGY AND COUNSELLING
36. Telephone counselling
37. Internet counselling
Part 6 Training group exercises
Part 7 PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
38. Becoming a counsellor
39. The counselling environment
40. Keeping records of counselling sessions
41. Cultural diversity considerations
42. Confidentiality and other ethical considerations
43. Counsellor training and the need for supervision
44. Looking after yourself

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  • ISBN-10: 0170480755
  • ISBN-13: 9780170480758
  • RETAIL $69.95

  • ISBN-10: 0170477282
  • ISBN-13: 9780170477284
  • RETAIL $99.95
Instructor Next Steps
Students: Buy now