The Second Edition of The Essential Counselor is a practical and inspirational text. With a warm and passionate writing style, David Hutchinson demonstrates the process of becoming a counselor and developing key skills from start to finish. The author gains credibility through his real world examples and reflection activities, helping students feel less intimidated. The book covers all the key counseling skills learned in a skills/methods course, including skills for engaging a client, tools for engagement, lab practice activities, listening skills, developing empathy, and more advanced skills such as assessment, goal setting and action planning. Additionally, many of the skills described in The Essential Counselor are exemplified with an accompanying DVD that demonstrates skills used with six different client groups.