Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Associate Professor Denis O’Hara’s first book examines the role of hope in healing and personal growth, and argues that hope takes a central position both in life, and in the process of therapeutic change. He notes that despite hope being recognised as one of the "common factors in therapeutic...

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Main Author: Jenny Coburn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia 2015-07-01
Series:Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.59158/001c.70981
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author Jenny Coburn
author_facet Jenny Coburn
author_sort Jenny Coburn
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description Associate Professor Denis O’Hara’s first book examines the role of hope in healing and personal growth, and argues that hope takes a central position both in life, and in the process of therapeutic change. He notes that despite hope being recognised as one of the "common factors in therapeutic change, and despite its frequent presence in our daily lives, it remains an elusive concept. The American 19th century poet Emily Dickinson wrote that hope is "the thing with feathers that perches in our soul." (1890/1999, p. 19 my italics). In many ways, hope remains at the periphery of our conscious awareness, defying a concrete definition. This is a point that is embraced by this book. As noted in the preface, "Hope is everywhere yet hardly visible" (O’Hara, 2013, p. ix). One of the aims of this book is to bring hope out of the shadows and make it more visible and available to those of us who work with people therapeutically.
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spelling doaj-art-3e5ae1f3022343f9be51bdfebb6f4a9d2025-08-20T02:38:25ZengPsychotherapy and Counselling Federation of AustraliaPsychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia2201-70892015-07-013110.59158/001c.70981Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and PsychotherapyJenny CoburnAssociate Professor Denis O’Hara’s first book examines the role of hope in healing and personal growth, and argues that hope takes a central position both in life, and in the process of therapeutic change. He notes that despite hope being recognised as one of the "common factors in therapeutic change, and despite its frequent presence in our daily lives, it remains an elusive concept. The American 19th century poet Emily Dickinson wrote that hope is "the thing with feathers that perches in our soul." (1890/1999, p. 19 my italics). In many ways, hope remains at the periphery of our conscious awareness, defying a concrete definition. This is a point that is embraced by this book. As noted in the preface, "Hope is everywhere yet hardly visible" (O’Hara, 2013, p. ix). One of the aims of this book is to bring hope out of the shadows and make it more visible and available to those of us who work with people therapeutically.https://doi.org/10.59158/001c.70981
spellingShingle Jenny Coburn
Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia
title Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy
title_full Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy
title_fullStr Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy
title_full_unstemmed Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy
title_short Book Review for Denis O’Hara Hope in Counselling and Psychotherapy
title_sort book review for denis o hara hope in counselling and psychotherapy
url https://doi.org/10.59158/001c.70981
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