Introduction to Counseling

Jeffrey A. Kottler, Ph.D., is Professor in the Counseling Department at California State University, Fullerton, and one of the foremost authorities and prolific writers in the fields of counseling, psychology, and education. He is the best-selling author of more than 80 nonfiction books that deal with a wide range of subjects including personal development, group leadership, professional development of psychotherapists and teachers, social justice, true crime, and a variety of contemporary issues related to helping and healing, truth and lies, creativity, transformative travel, and stress management. In addition to his private practice, Jeffrey has worked as a teacher, counselor, and therapist in preschool, middle school, mental health center, crisis center, university, and community college settings. He has served as a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Lecturer in Peru and Iceland, teaching counseling theory and practice. He has also served as a visiting professor in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Nepal, and other countries. In addition, Jeffrey is President of Empower Nepali Girls, a foundation that provides scholarships for at-risk children in Nepal. David S. Shepard, Ph.D., has been practicing as a counselor in the Los Angeles area for more than two decades, working with a full range of issues including adjustment problems, relationship issues, struggles with substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. His particular specialty is in gender-sensitive couples therapy--incorporating scholarship on the socialization experiences of both men and women to ensure that both sexes are equally comfortable in and get maximum benefit from couples work. Prior to his counseling career, David worked as a screenwriter in the film and television industry, where he specialized in children's animation. He is also Associate Professor of Counseling at California State University, Fullerton, where he does research in counselor education, the relationship of counseling theory to clinical practice, gender issues in counseling, and the uses of film in teaching counseling.