Counselling People with Cancer is a handy, practical, how to do book for healthcare professionals who are interested in improving their skills on how best to help cancer patients and their families in dealing with their disease, specifically in what concerns the "emotional and humane side" of it and how to overcome the many psychological problems associated with cancer.

It is a thorough resourceful book on counselling, not intended to a specific group of professionals, as the skills of counselling are useful for all health professionals working in clinical settings with cancer patients, enabling them more confidence and efficiency in handling sensitive, touchy, distressing issues that patients and family bring into everyday practice. Nevertheless the counselling/psychotherapy professionals will also find it mostly useful as it addresses all-important critical issues of the cancer experience and the counselling expertise required.

The authors are two authorities in the field of psychosocial oncology widely experienced in working with cancer patients and their families: Mary Burton is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in private practice in London and Maggie Watson is a consultant clinical psychologist with the Royal Marsden NHS Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research in London and Sutton and co-editor of Psycho-Oncology: Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer.

The book covers all essentials issues of all you need and may want to know about how to help or better help cancer patients and their families: how to explore the problems facing cancer patients and their families, how best to address patient’s psychological needs, how the skills of counselling can be best adapted to meet the special needs of people who have cancer, and also presents the three main models of counselling (psychodynamic, client-centred, and cognitive-behavioral) plus how to run a group therapy. It also covers the patient’s experience of having cancer, family issues, couples’ issues and psychosexual problems, communication problems, counselling through the various phases of the course of the illness, and professional issues.

It is rich in examples of how to do and to deal in different situations, it provides various case illustrations, excerpts of dialogues with patients and family, tables with guidelines for addressing and dealing with specific issues, which make it easy to understand as well as to apply it to practice.

In more detail the book contents are organized as follows: chapter 1, begins with the patient’s experience of having cancer, including lay perceptions of the illness; chapter 2, describes the three main cancer treatments (i.e., surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy) and the psychological problems associated with each one, including the issue of psychological morbidity; chapter 3, is devoted to the different coping styles of people with cancer as a basis for understanding how these influence behavior and emotional responses, particular emphasis is given on how to deal with denial, avoidance and anger; chapter 4, addresses the impact of cancer on the family and covers the main issues that might arise or should be considered; chapter 5, focuses on couples’ issues and psychosexual problems and also particularises with the special aspects of colostomy and mastectomy; chapter 6, is devoted to communication problems with cancer patients, including disclosing the diagnosis and prognosis, breaking bad news, guidelines for information-giving, informed consent and patient involvement in the choice of treatment; chapter 7, addresses counselling over the course of the illness, with special emphasis on recurrence and dealing with the issues of dying, including patient's perspective, communication with patient and family, and bereavement; chapter 8, presents the psychodynamic model, describing two techniques used with cancer patients: the psychodynamic life narrative and brief focused psychodynamic therapy; chapter 9, is dedicated to the client-centred model based on reflection of feelings and empathy, presents the general principles of establishing a counselling relationship and a practical guide, with techniques on how to talk with people about their feelings and how to overcome resistance; chapter 10, provides a rationale of a more directive and structured approach based on cognitive-behavior methods, describing a brief psychological intervention designed specifically for cancer patients and their families and the specific techniques used; chapter 11, describes group therapy models, specifically, what type of groups (i.e., psychoeducational, nondirective, other) and how to run a support group (i.e., how to plan, implement and techniques); and finally chapter 12, deals with professional issues specifically how to set up and develop a service.

The book is also enriched with a foreword by Dr. Jimmie Holland who considers it a treasure landmark volume in the psychosocial oncology field and a required reading for those in training in this field, as well as a useful guide to the psychological side of patient care for all clinicians working with cancer patients and their families.