Setting the scene / Sheelagh Strawbridge -- Mapping training routes into working as a therapist / Ray Woolfe -- Effective essay writing / Frances Mielewczyk -- Handling and processing a referral / Mary Creaner -- Assessing a client's mental state / Yvette Lewis -- The first session with a new client: five stages / Riva Miller -- Constructing stories about clients' need: developing skills in formulation / Sarah Corrie and David A. Lane -- Written communication and counselling / Peter du Plessis and Fiona Hirst -- How to write a client case study / John Davy -- How to write a process report / Christine Parrott -- Supervision: making it work for you / Damian McCann -- What do I do if...? Questions commonly asked by trainees / Malcolm C. Cross and Linda Papadopoulos -- The clinical placement in mental health training / Brett Kahr -- Guidelines for professional practice / Tim Bond -- Getting the most out of personal therapy / Mark Donati and Charles Legg -- Pyschopharmacology: a primer / Diane Hammersley, Jo Sexton and Charles Legg -- Planning, conducting and writing up research / Don Rawson -- A trainee's perspective / Geof Alred -- Student top tips / Tami Avis, Fran Smith, Genevieve Solomou and Ingrid Sorhus -- Preparing for a job / Paul Hitchings and Jeremy Ornellas -- Looking to the future / Shelagh Strawbridge.