Flexibility: A Primer for Multicultural Counseling

The place of multicultural counseling in counselor education programs should be studied for the continuous growth of the profession. A flexible approach affirming both the similarity and differences of people is important.     

Effective Counseling for Racial/Ethnic Minority Clients: Examining Changes Using a Practice Research Network

Studies have shown that counseling decreases students' academic distress. These findings, however, are based primarily on European American students. This study explored the impact of counseling on academic distress for treatment‐seeking racial/ethnic minority college students using the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms–34 ( Locke et al., 2012 ) Academic Distress subscale. Results indicated that there are significant differences in academic distress at intake based on race/ethnicity. Furthermore, findings revealed that change in academic distress over the course of treatment varies by race/ethnicity.     

Native American Indian College Students: Implications for College Counseling Practice

College counselors can enhance the development of Native American Indian college students. College counselors need to be aware of traditional Native American Indian values, interpretation of mental health, content and process concerns in counseling, and indigenous healing practices. These areas are discussed, as well as implications for counseling practice.     

A Review of the Empirical Basis for Counseling: Implications for Practice and Training

This article reviews the empirical literature in terms of three components of counseling including existing counselor and client factors, the counseling process, and the outcome of client change. The counseling process is based on the therapeutic relationship, general factors, and common techniques or interventions, as well as specific counseling approaches. The review supports the contention that there are common factors exhibited by skilled therapists that are empirically related to positive client change. Recommendations are made for the use of this information by counselor educators in training student counselors and designing training programs.     

Counseling Center Intake Checklists at Academically Selective Institutions: Practice and Measurement Implications

Psychometric evaluation of presenting problem checklists is vital, given increasing clinical severity among college students. However, checklist research has focused on students at public universities and utilized inappropriate methodologies when doing so. It is unclear whether checklists used at academically selective universities reliably and comprehensively assess the potentially unique presenting problems of their students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with independent samples examined the checklist used at an academically selective university's counseling center. A six-factor model best fit the data, suggesting that this checklist reliably and comprehensively assesses presenting problems at this university. This model holds detailed assessment, outreach, and policy implications for counseling centers.     

College Counseling and Student Retention: Research Findings and Implications for Counseling Centers

College counseling centers may come under increasing scrutiny by administrators regarding how their services contribute to student retention. College counselors can use data to demonstrate a positive influence of counseling on retention, but they also need to educate administrators that student retention should be a consideration among many when evaluating the efficacy of services. The author reviews findings from studies on the impact of college counseling on retention and addresses implications for counseling centers.     

Happiness as a Goal of Counseling: Cross-cultural Implications

The article examines the construct of happiness within the context of counseling and holistic health (body, mind and spirit). It discusses happiness as a goal of counseling as reflected in selected counseling theories that focus on humanistic principles, holistic health, positive psychology, personal growth and the client’s intentional choice-making in life. Moreover, the article considers within-cultural and cross-cultural implications of happiness, and presents recommendations for counseling professionals who counsel clients or train future counselors.     

Unrealistic Expectations for Suicide Prevention: Implications for Counseling Centers

Counseling centers are under intense pressure to prevent student suicide. When a student dies by suicide, the counseling center practitioner may be held liable as though all such deaths are ultimately preventable. Expectations that suicide can be prevented 100% of the time conflict with the actual capabilities of treatment providers and disregard their limited power to control the behavior of others. These expectations also fail to recognize that mental health professionals’ ability to accurately predict suicide is no better than chance. Nonetheless, the unattainable demands placed on clinicians do not originate with higher education but from the treatment community itself. Some of the consequences of these high expectations regarding the behavior of clinicians are reviewed. A plea is made for the treatment community to adopt more reasonable expectations internally and to promote them outwardly among stakeholders.     

Hidden Hypnotic Patterns: Implications for Counseling and Supervision

The purpose of this article is to examine the hypothesis that many subtle hypnotic patterns used by Milton H. Erickson are found in the person-centered approach to counseling espoused by Carl Rogers. The authors point out that counselors and supervisors need not be trained in hypnosis, but that they should be aware of the possible hypnotic elements embedded in seemingly simple suggestions. Examples of counselor-client and supervisor-trainee dialogue are presented to demonstrate the ways in which a counselor's and supervisor's behavior and words can have profound hypnotic influences. Throughout the article the deep respect afforded the client or trainee as a person and views of self and the world held by Erickson and Rogers are cited to demonstrate the similarities of basic philosophical convictions about the facilitative and therapeutic process.     

Understanding and Counseling Korean Americans: Implications for Training

Korean Americans are a growing subgroup of the U.S. population with distinct characteristics and counseling needs. These characteristics and needs are considered and implications for counselor training are explored.     

Marketing Counseling: Guidelines for Training and Practice

Counselors in all settings must understand marketing principles and be able to apply them ethically and effectively. Guidelines for counselor training and practice are suggested.     

College Student Binge Drinking: Implications for a Constructivist Approach to College Counseling

This study examined relationships between college students' alcohol consumption and epistemological development. Results indicate students who are frequent binge drinkers have not developed a value system that transcends the influences of peers. On the basis of these findings, a constructivist approach to counseling students with problems related to high‐risk drinking is discussed.     

Effect of Racial/Ethnic Composition on Transfer Rates in Community Colleges: Implications for Policy and Practice

This study examines factors associated with community college transfer rates. Regression models are developed using community college data at the institution level. The analyses employ two different definitions of the transfer rate and two different time spans over which to observe transfer behavior. Holding constant other factors expected to influence differences in transfer rates, the results reveal disparities in transfer rates according to the racial/ethnic composition of the student body. Community colleges with higher percentages of either Latino or African American students have lower 6-year transfer rates. The findings also confirm the results of other studies: community colleges with higher transfer rates tend to have younger student populations, students with higher socioeconomic status and better academic preparation, and a greater focus on academic programs. The important policy implications of these findings for states where the percentages of students of color are increasing are discussed.     

Implications of Self-Monitoring Theory for Counseling Supervision

The author reviews literature on self-monitoring and discusses its implications for counseling relationships, as well as issues germane to the supervision of high and low self-monitoring counselors.     

Discussion of Racial Difference in Counseling: A Counselor's Perspective

Fifty-three counselors at a university counseling center and a university practicum clinic were surveyed using the Working Alliance Inventory–Short Form to examine the effect of acknowledging and discussing racial differences between counselor and client on the working alliance formed during the counseling sessions. Based on the counselor's perspective, a significant relationship between counselor-client discussion of racial difference and the working alliance was found.     

Situation of Divorced Mothers in India: Implications for Counseling

In a culture where high premium is placed on marriage, a divorced mother faces many challenges. Striving for shelter and economic security is harder due to lack of social acceptance, support and inadequate services. For a counsellor the social realities are as important as the psychological ones.This article is based on the observations and experiences of the author who has been a marriage counsellor at the first Family Court in India.     

Racial Group Membership and Multicultural Training: Examining the Experiences of Counseling and Counseling Psychology Students

This study documents various process elements of multicultural training from the perspective of counseling and counseling psychology students within the United States (US). Using a mixed-methods approach, findings indicate that racial group membership is an important variable that differentially impacts White students and students of Color while undertaking a multicultural counseling course. Results of a principal components analysis revealed four components associated with racial group membership, including negative racial experiences and salience of racial diversity. Findings from a grounded theory analysis identified five overarching themes including intense emotional experiences, representing one’s racial group, and issues of safety impacting course experience. Implications for training and future research are offered.     

Racial Implications for the Design of Instructional Materials

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to investigate the influence that selected ethnic variables of an information source have on selected black and white pupils of the sixth grade. The research was focused on the auditory and visual channels of the information source (tape-slide presentations) and their effects on the intended audience. Results indicated that black and white voices are accepted by both white and black pupils. However, white pupils rated visuals representing only black people lower than visuals representing only white people.     

Skills‐Based Occupational Representations: Implications for Career Counseling

The authors used measures of workplace skills to construct graphical representations of occupations. Interpretable groupings of occupations based on similar skills emerged, as did an occupational map with salient skill dimensions. Implications for the use of skills information in a career counseling context are discussed with respect to (a) selection of courses, (b) consideration of alternative careers, (c) honest appraisal of the nature of particular occupations, and (d) planning curricula.     

Occupational Stress Within the Counseling Profession: Implications for Counselor Training

Counselors with higher levels of perceived occupational stress report significantly greater personal strain and less coping resources than do counselors perceiving lower levels of occupational stress.