This article proposes a pilot therapeutic intervention for counseling Black male substance abusers within the carceral system. Despite the noted fact that Black males are disproportionately represented as drug‐using offenders, few treatment models exist that are germane to this population. The current model emanated from an African‐centered theoretical framework. Additionally, it employed the therapeutic community approach that addresses substance use and mental health issues among inmates. Specific considerations for counselors and future research are discussed.
inviting style that nudges the interviewee to relax and offer more than required to strictly answer the questions. This is evident in light of the revelations the therapists questioned gift us with. For example, when asked about the standard instructional videos produced for counselor training, Jeffrey Kottler responds: "When I've watched [those videos] I've felt humbled and insecure. I think to myself I could never do that, never be that skilled. The videos don't look at all like the work I do, which is often awkward and ugly." Whether seasoned therapist or counselor in training, I suspect most will benefit infinitely more from this kind of candor than from any produced, polished, and selectively edited intervention video. This ability to elicit such candor from interviewees helps to explain why Rosenthal has been dubbed "the Walter Cronkite of the mental health arena."A word needs to be said about the writing style behind "Therapy's Best." While the book is excellently suited for both professional practitioners and graduate students, the mode is relaxed, conversational, and even humorous. This resonates with me and in itself provides a useful service. While what we do as counselors and therapists is indeed serious work, it need not be somber. So often this is the case. Let us be honest. Counselors and books on counseling often suffer from a surfeit of earnestness and gravity, if not sheer maudlinness. This book combats that unfortunate tendency.As I write this review, Halloween approaches. In "Therapy's Best," one finds a bagful of delicious treats, with nary a trick in the lot.
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