This volume is intended to help practicing therapists and counselors, as well as students of these professions, to explore more fully and systematically the processes of self-improvement in their work and lives. It captures the reader's interest by discussing some of the therapist's personal and professional challenges in a refreshingly honest way. The book deals with a number of standard areas of self-supervision, such as self-monitoring and working with mentors, and provides a framework and a process for examining one's own strengths and weaknesses, then taking steps to improve excellence across a host of domains.

Doing Better is intended to help therapists and counselors to explore more fully and systematically the processes of self-improvement in their work and lives.

In this very personal book, W. Paul Jones sees the diverse experience of individuals as the backbone of spirituality, and claims that the Trinity affirms a rich diversity within God and within God's way of relating to the world. He considers each Person of the Trinity as being involved in each "function" of God--as creator, redeemer and sanctifier--and arrives at nine dimensions of God's life that invite a response. Jones develops each of the nine dimensions with an extended meditation, followed by a series of practical and creative spiritual exercises.

Paul Jones offers a fundamental and comprehensive approach to spiritual direction. He describes the eight major types of spiritual direction and indicates basic characteristics expected of a spiritual director. In addition to providing insights for personal spiritual direction, Jones advances a chapter for doing communal spiritual direction based on John Wesley's model of covenant groups.

While examining foundational principles of spiritual direction, Jones's book rests in concrete clarity. He concerns himself with teaching people how to do spiritual direction. Jones explores Christian faith as a process of redemption, detailing how spiritual direction particularizes healing for each unique person.

This comprehensive manual employs case studies. The book includes appendixes that include Group Consensus Discernment, Myers-Briggs usages, the Enneagram, TDF Inventory, Family Systems, and the Jo-Hari Window. Jones's approach makes this book an exceptional textbook for colleges and seminaries as well as for those who seek understanding of spiritual direction.

By exploring five common Christian perspectives ("theological worlds"), this volume helps readers understand the basis of their own Christian attitudes, identify the sources of their confusions about life and the church, and come to a deeper appreciation of the assumptions and motivations of others.

Author W. Paul Jones demonstrates that each of the five "theological worlds" has a legitimate basis in both Scripture and tradition. He explores why the "citizens" of each world have great difficulty understanding and accepting the legitimacy of other worlds, and why people of goodwill often misconstrue the words and intentions of others.

Theological Worlds offers thoughtful insight to all Christians who want to understand and deal effectively with other human beings. Christian educators will appreciate the references to literature--books, plays, songs, poetry--which illustrate the characteristics of residents of the five worlds and point toward ways to achieve nurturing experiences for students and congregations. Preachers will find the volume helpful as a means of crafting sermons that speak to the diversity of experience among their church members.

Foreword by Sr. Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking.
Gripping account of one man?'s spiritual transformation while in solitary confinement.
Clayton Fountain was thought by most to be beyond all hope of redemption. Serving several life sentences for five violent murders (four of them committed while behind bars), he was condemned to live out his days in solitary confinement, entombed in a cell of concrete and steel built specifically for him at the U.S. Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. Yet even this ruthless murderer was not beyond the limits of divine mercy. Although he never again emerged from his cell, Fountain undertook a profound spiritual journey that led to a genuine religious conversion and his decision to become a hermit and a brother in the Trappist Order. Now, eight years after his untimely death, W. Paul Jones, who served for six years as Fountain?'s spiritual advisor, shares his inspiring story.

Here is a tightly-focused, reader-friendly guide to making sense of--and using--any of the diagnostic systems used by the outside mental health professionals you encounter. It will help you cut through the jargon and get to the real meaning of what's bothering "Johnnie" or "Janie". You'll learn to understand the coded language of the mental health professionals you deal with. Become familiar with the coded vocabulary of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). You'll be able to sharpen your counseling skills and become a greater asset to your school and to the students you serve. You'll be able to * Cut through the jargon * Translate diagnostic codes into language that makes sense to everyone * Sharpen your knowledge of learning disorders, attention-deficit disorders, and conditions specifically related to problems of adolescence You'll be able to communicate the results of diagnostic testing to educators and parents in terms they can understand. This is an essential reference that belongs on the shelf of every school counselor.