The overall purpose of this book is to provide the emerging professional counselor with a more concrete sense of what the practice of professional counseling means. Further, the issues and topics that help define the character of professional counseling will be examined, both from the context of how they contribute to that definition and how they affect the practice of counseling.

1. Exploring Topics of Consequence -- 2. The Counselor's Professional Identity -- 3. History and Philosophy of Professional Counseling -- 4. Professional Preparation Standards in Counseling -- 5. Counselor Licensure -- 6. Becoming a Private Practitioner -- 7. Ethics and Counseling Practice -- 8. Legal Issues in Counseling Practice -- 9. Clinical Supervision : An Overview of Essentials -- 10. Counselor Advocacy : Promoting the Profession -- 11. Counseling and Spirituality -- 12. Technology and Web Counseling.