Dr. Ryan Hancock, assistant professor in Northwestern State University’s Gallaspy (Family) College of Education and Human Development, published a review of Breaking Out II: The Complete Guide to Building a Positive LGBTI Identity, a manual for helping LGBTI individuals develop a positive self-image and acceptance of who they are within society.  Hancock is an assistant professor and clinical mental health field experience coordinator in Northwestern State University’s graduate counseling program.  The book review appears in Vol. 46, No. 4 (2012) of Canadian Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy / Revue canadienne de counseling et de psychothérapie.

In his review, Hancock identifies the text as a guidebook for all individuals seeking to improve their self-esteem, particularly for readers with no counseling background.

“Overall the author’s focus on the individual’s journey of self-examination and personal growth throughout the book provides an excellent framework to improve one’s self-esteem and self-acceptance regardless of the particular group the reader identifies with,” Hancock writes.

The book is an excellent resource for mental health practitioners, Hancock said.

“It will be particularly useful as bibliotherapy when combined with traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy to discuss the client’s completion of the included exercises and experiential activities,” he said.

Northwestern State’s graduate program in clinical mental health counseling is separate from the concentration in school counseling and is designed to prepare professionals for work in hospitals, community agencies and private practices.  The concentration is offered through the Department of Education Leadership and Technology.

For more information on the concentration in clinical mental health counseling, visit delt.nsula.edu/counseling or e-mail Hancock at hancockr@nsula.edu.