A Counsellor’s Companion
Book Review featured in the Spring 2021 Counselling Australia journal. Read here.
Helpful Resource
I opened Kim’s book and read the ‘Welcome to Counselling’ letter, addressed to a child, and straight away found myself seeing how Kim’s creative and practical approach would be a great fit. Kim’s magic paperclip and Jenga first session strategies, and her ‘Bag of Walnuts’ story were the first I have begun to use.
Kim models her natural, playful narrative therapy skills through 16 case examples from parent intake onwards. The importance of the child’s unfolding identity is central to every page.
Externalising and scaling ‘The Problem’ are amply demonstrated, and the 50 pen and ink illustrations carry forward Kim’s unique and practical guide to those working and living with children from 4yrs to teens.
Kim’s book will help counsellors know what to listen out for, and ways to respond that deepen the therapeutic engagement. Anger, loss, domestic violence and self-harm are just some of the presentations Kim’s book effectively addresses.
Liana Lowenstein | MSW and acclaimed author of play therapy books: www.lianalowenstein.com
Loved it!
Underpinned by narrative ideas, this book is a very playful & practical guide for working with children therapeutically in ways which honour and respect their realities and experiences.
I also loved the ‘actions to take’ section at the end of every chapter which suggests things the reader can do to build their skills and know-how.
A book that keeps on giving!
Roberta
Definitely a companion for every counsellor working with children
An incredibly practical book that is immediate useful and relevant to my parenting work.
KC
A wonderful skilled counsellor has written this book.
An incredibly practical book that is immediate useful and relevant to my parenting work.
Robyn Ball
Easy to read, informative and helpful
I was very lucky to have Kim to be my supervisor, and learned so many invaluable narrative therapy techniques from her that I use every day in my work with children, parents and teachers. So it was really exciting to see that she wrote the book to capture all the amazing ideas and techniques that she uses and teaches.
This book is such an easy-to-read, informative and helpful book both for beginners and experienced therapists to get some creative ideas that they could apply immediately to their practice. I really enjoyed the case studies, the illustrations and the actions to take section. The format of the book follows the beginning to the closure of the therapy, which makes it easy to follow.
Linda Yan
An amazing and helpful book
As a counsellor currently working with adolescents and families, this book has been such an easy to read and helpful tool. I love the way the book is formatted, each chapter with quotes and case studies and stories that bring the ideas and principles to life in your mind. The actions to take at the end of each chapter help consolidate and reflect on what you learn in the chapter.
The case studies are particularly inspiring and I love how the book has wisdom from the young clients themselves.
So excited to keep using this book in my therapeutic work. It really is a counsellor’s companion!
Dona
Counselling Conversations:
10 Powerful Interviews with Seasoned Experts
I was recently delighted to be invited to review Kim’s latest book, Counselling Conversations, and am pleased to share my review here with you.
“Counselling Conversations, Kim Billington’s new book, is like a community of practitioners that welcomes us, the readers, in. We are invited to participate, as witnesses, to conversations between Kim and the diverse group of counsellors and therapists that she interviews.
Kim’s own curious inquiries open up stories of people and practices that have roots in lived experience, in families, cultures and values, that are alive in their real worldness and deeply infused with wisdom.
The community that we are invited to become part of in this book, whilst colourful and diverse, shares a common territory of values, creating a place for us to connect in together. In this place, there are spaces for unconventional stories to be told, shared and witnessed, we can play and explore, experience self-determination and collective determination. Ultimately, this book is a hopeful space, a meeting place, where it is possible to be part of the change we would like to see in the world.”
Dr Carla van Laar | MCAT DTAP AThR carlavanlaar.com
Counselling Conversations comfortably invited me into what felt like a shared reflective space highlighting some of the struggles, insights and therapeutic journeys had by individual practitioners. Engaging each chapter, honest conversations associated with alleviating human pain and suffering opened up, common to both practitioners and clients; reflections of the combined offerings reminding me of the strength held within compassion as a means of establishing, maintaining and repairing connections.
CL
