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| By: |
Daniel F. Ring Assistant Professor |
Phone: (248)
370-2498 E-mail: ring@oakland.edu |
This pathfinder will consider counseling , not psychology,
although they do overlap. For assistance with psychology
resources, see our pathfinders called "Psychology" or "Death & Dying. "
DICTIONARIES
We have four dictionaries of varying quality, the best being Dictionary of Counseling (Ref. BF 637 .C6 B444 1994). This volume uses longer descriptive entries and references for further reading. A companion volume (same publisher) is Key Words in Multicultural Interventions: A Dictionary (Ref. BF 637 .C6 K493 1999). The Counseling Dictionary (Ref. BF 637 .C6 G5332 2006) covers about 2100 terms and abbreviations used in counseling. Dictionary of Counseling Techniques and Terms (Ref. BF 637 .C6 H34) Dated, BUT the appendices are interesting and include transcripts of verbal techniques, identifying counseling techniques and a few others. You might also look at Interactive Glossary of Mental Health and Disability Terms, Psychology Glossary, The Non-Verbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, And Body Language Cues, Glossary: On-line Psychiatry.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Encyclopedia of Clinical Assessment (Ref. BF 698.4 .E5 1980) is a most important two-volume set, sadly dated (1980). It is divided into "parts," such as Personality Development and then into chapters of about 10 pages on Ego Strength or Temperament. Chapters include references. The Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (Ref. BF 31 .E5 1994) is not exactly related to counseling but there is enough information in this four-volume set to be useful. Chapters are arranged alphabetically, e.g., Coping or Self Esteem. Entries are comprehensive and include a glossary, definition, overview and references. Handbook of Psychology (BF 121 .H1955 2003) is not a handbook at all. It is a twelve-volume set that contains scholarly articles. Two of the volumes are pertinent to counselors: Clinical Psychology and Assessment Psychology. Going a bit further afield consider these books: Encyclopedia of Aging (Ref. HQ 1061 .E53 2006); International Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family (Ref. HQ 9 .E52 2003); and Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol and Addictive Behavior (Ref. HV 5804 .E53 2001). Encyclopedia of Psychological Assessment (Ref. BF 39 .E497 2003), Encyclopedia of Psychotherapy (Ref. RC 475.7 .E55 2002) and Encyclopedia of School Psychology (Ref. LB 1027.55 .E523 2005) are recent additions. Encyclopedia of Human Emotions (Ref. BF 531 .E55 1999) is a two-volume title of scholarly articles such as "Emotions", "Commitment", etc. Encyclopedia of Adult Development (Ref. BF 724.5 .E53 1993) is a one-volume title that includes subjects such as Humor, Homosexuality and Caregiving. N.B.: The Ref HQ 700 area is a good place to browse.
HANDBOOKS
Careers in Counseling and Human Services (Ref. BF 637 .C6 C 325 1996). This book will be useful for students considering a counseling career. It has a wide scope: careers in schools, business and industry and private practice.
TESTS
Mental Measurement Yearbook - Reviews of tests.
PERIODICALS
There are a number of ways of identifying journal articles in Counseling. Probably the best source is ERIC, an acronym for Educational Resources Information Center. ERIC indexes journal and report literature in education and human resources. It covers the dates 1966-current. The journal literature is identified by an EJ and the report literature, which appears on microfiche or online and is not refereed, is identified by an ED. You must start your search by using the Thesaurus of Eric Descriptors, which lives near the Reference Desk. Ask the reference librarian where it is and how to use it. If you do a search without the Thesaurus, you will be relying upon pure luck and it is likely that you will have a sloppy search. Once you have identified your terms, the rest is easy. Access the ERIC database through the link here or from the Find Articles page (click on Databases A to Z). Now what? Again the search will go easier if you ask the librarian as ERIC has many nuances and bells and whistles that can make your search more precise. This version has an online thesaurus.
Another way to identify journal articles is PsycINFO, which indexes journals from 1887- . You will likely find that the journal literature in PsycINFO is more scholarly and more likely to be peer refereed than the EJ portion of ERIC. Like ERIC, PsycINFO uses a controlled vocabulary, meaning that your first stop is the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms. If you do a search without this tome you might be satisfied with the outcome but you can do better. Ask the librarian how to use it and how to do a search.
Sociological Abstracts indexes sociology journal from 1960-. Again, ask the reference librarian how to use it as it has some unique features like an on-line thesaurus.
WilsonSelectPlus - Good for full text articles for a college audience.
AcademicOneFile - Good for peer reviewed full text articles.
INTERNET SOURCES
META SITES
Counseling: Resources for Students, Consumers, and Professionals. Look no further for the HOLY GRAIL of meta sources for counseling. Here it is and done by Kresge Library's own Kris Condic. It is a most comprehensive listing of resources.
