This book is a collection of essays published in a column in "Counseling Today", the newspaper of the American Counseling Association. These essays are written by various counselors who relate their successes, challenges, doubts, and failures; they describe some of the personal issues involved in counseling practice that are rarely discussed. Topics include school-to-work, client expectations, career development, diagnostic labeling, self-promotion, ethical decision making, and counselor burnout. The articles address issues in school, mental health, private practice, military, university, industrial settings, and the profession in general. The book is organized into eight sections: (1) "In the Beginning"; (2) "Feeling Lost"; (3) "Confronting Ourselves"; (4) "Making a Difference"; (5) "Refining Our Thinking"; (6) "Recognition and Self-Promotion"; (7) "Transitions and Transformations"; and (8) "Reaching Out." The text is intended to be useful to both students and experienced practitioners. (LSR)