Counselling Psychology Book Club is an enlightening, safe, professional, and fun place for experienced and novice counsellors and psychotherapists in Vancouver. At the Counselling Psychology Book Club, we are researching new titles from authors writing about counselling and psychotherapy theories as well as practices. We hope that the books we read will offer a fresh perspective on the way we think, live, and practice.

Being a competent counselling and psychotherapy practitioner takes more than getting a degree or completing a program. Good practitioners are always open to new ideas. During our meetings, we discuss not only the book, but our own ideas and experiences. We are hoping to discover many great books, engage in passionate discussions, learn new perspectives and network. Every two months, as a group, we will choose a new counselling and psychotherapy related book. Subject matter ranges widely, as do the approaches counsellors use.

What are we reading?

We are now reading Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People for Change by William, Miller. 

The book can be purchased form Amazon.ca, Chapters.ca, or it can also be found at the Vancouver Public Library.

Book Description: This bestselling work has introduced hundreds of thousands of professionals and students to motivational interviewing (MI), a proven approach to helping people overcome ambivalence that gets in the way of change. William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick explain current thinking on the process of behavior change, present the principles of MI, and provide detailed guidelines for putting it into practice. Case examples illustrate key points and demonstrate the benefits of MI in addictions treatment and other clinical contexts. The authors also discuss the process of learning MI. The volume’s final section brings together an array of leading MI practitioners to present their work in diverse settings.

We are looking forward to an engaging discussion on Saturday March 17 2012. The meting will take place, as usual, from 11am to 1pm.

Here is a collection of books we have already read:

For our first Book Club Meeting in May 2011 we read 

The Physics of Living. Norman Amundson.

Since then we have read

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert. John Gottman

The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients. Irvin Yalom.

On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy. Carl Rogers.

Integral Psychology. Ken Wilber.

Here are a few books suggested by current members that we might read in the future.

 Motivational Interviewing. Miller and Rollnick.

 Bad Therapy: Master Therapists Share Their Worst Failures. Jeffrey  A. Kottler, Jon Carlson

 Letters to a Young Therapist: Stories of Hope and Healing. Mary  Pipher.

 The Mindful Therapist: A Clinician’s Guide to Mindsight and Neural  Integration. Daniel J. Siegel

We are always listening for group members’ suggestions and choose the books collectively.  

Club Guidelines

 If you are thinking of joining, please take a moment to review the guidelines of the Counseling Psychology Book Club.  Some of the points may seem basic or just common sense. The reason for these guidelines is to ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding the book club standards.

• Meetings will take place on Saturday 11am-1pm, approximately every eight weeks, and will last around 2 hours. Each subsequent meeting will be scheduled at the beginning of our book club discussion and the new date will be posted on our website.
• Our meeting place can vary. We may meet at a community centre or library meeting rooms as well as at a member’s home. All meeting places must be accessible by public transit.
• Every two months, a different member of the club can choose to pick the location and host and facilitate  the meeting.   The great thing about  different members hosting the book club is that our meeting styles can vary greatly.
• Each member will have a chance to introduce a book they would like to read and we all will vote on the book we will read next.
• You may find that you disagree with something that another member of the group has said. It is okay to disagree! We all have different training background and different approaches. Flaming and/or inappropriate behavior and/or language will not be tolerated. Please respect the authority of the host. Let’s enjoy differences of opinion that members bring to the table.
• Keep on topic, but feel free to introduce information that is relevant to the discussion (historical facts, bio details, book background, related authors or topics).
• All meetings will start on time.
• All members are required to read the assigned book before the meeting.
• Some meetings will include food or beverages. Food is neither required nor discouraged.

Please note that although we appreciate everyones interest in psychology this book club is only open to individuals currently pursuing their studies or working in the counselling/psychology field.

Would you like to join?
We are open to new participants, although we do ask that you register. Please use our Registration tab. We are passionate about our book club and we welcome Counselling professionals of various backgrounds. We also wish to tighten our circle in order to understand each other better, and make sure we are leading the group in a direction that satisfies each person’s reason for membership. This is why during registration we ask you why you want to be in the book club. Please give us an opportunity to get to know you a little bit.  Tell us about yourself, what your challenges and accomplishments are, and what you want to learn.

Application Process

 We have a board of 3 book club members in charge of reviewing new applications. Once your application has been approved you will receive a welcoming e-mail and further details about the meeting venue.