Counseling on Personal Decisions: Theory and Research on Short-Term Helping Relationships

This book is designed to assist counselors to be more effective in their relationship with clients who seek help in choosing and adhering to a difficult course of action. It presents a thoughtful theoretical analysis of the conditions that lead to successful short term counseling and then tests these hypotheses through a series of controlled field experiments carried out in a variety of counseling situations.

In his initial chapters, Irving Janis identifies three critical phases of activity...