This book could be described as a rough guide to person-centred training. A book borne out of personal experience in more ways than one, this volume started life as an idea in a person-centred training group. Laura Buchanan and Rick Hughes then set about collecting hundreds of personal accounts of person-centred training from all over the UK. The book covers all the topics that prospective trainees could wish to know about from funding and course applications through to what happens when you finish the course. It is a compendium of unsentimental testimony from dozens of trainees with some contributions from trainers to complete the picture. Aimed at anyone contemplating embarking on person-centred counselling training, the book may also be of help to those considering trainings in other counselling and psychotherapeutic approaches. An excellent preparation for counsellor training, Experiences of Person-Centred Counselling Training will help prospective applicants ask themselves some key, perhaps painful, questions before starting the course application stage. Deliberately priced to suit the pockets of hard-pressed prospective trainees, it is packed with personal experience and useful information.

In his foreword to the book, Professor Dave Mearns writes: There are precious few texts explicitly about person-centred counselling training and those which are written by trainers must be regarded with the appropriate suspicion that they may be offering a gloss on events. This book is written for trainees, therefore it must be read by trainers. Nor should they feel apprehensive about the prospect, for the critique offered by their former trainees is both balanced and considerate as well as insightful. Also, many parts of the book cover areas where the trainer has no direct experience, such as the moving section on the impact of the training experience upon relations with peers, partners and parents ... Some counselling trainers might be apprehensive about this book - it is possible that it may deter some prospective trainees. My own view is that, hopefully, this will be the case.

After Person-Centred training from the University of Strathclyde, Rick Hughes gained experience as a counselling practitioner in primary care, education and privately in the workplace. He completed his MPhil researching the impact of emotions at work. He is on the Executive for the Association for Counselling at work (a division of BACP)and has become the editor of 'Counselling at Work Journal'. His Honorary Research Fellowship from the University of Strathclyde allows him to engage in further research activities and ad hoc consultancy assignments.