Trends in Gerontological Counselor Preparation

This study identifies current trends in preparation of counselors to work with older persons, including specialty course work in gerontological counseling and the extent to which gerontological counseling content and issues are incorporated into existing required and elective counselor preparation courses. Recommendations for increasing such content in existing courses, rather than the introduction of new specialty courses, are presented.     

Vicarious Traumatization,Trauma‐Sensitive Supervision,and Counselor Preparation

Counselor educators have an ethical responsibility to prepare counselors and supervisors to detect and resolve vicarious traumatization in themselves and their supervisees. This article reviews relevant literature on vicarious traumatization and strategies to mitigate it. Also included is a review of the American Counseling Association's (2005) ACA Code of Ethics and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs' (2007) proposed 2009 standards as each relates to trauma counseling and vicarious traumatization. Specific counselor preparation practices are suggested.     

Bridging the Gap Between Counselor Educators and the Administrators of Programs for the Elderly

This article compares the results of a nationwide survey of gerontological counseling experts and a sample of executive directors of Area Agencies on Aging identifying, confirming, and rank ordering the goals and roles of gerontological counselors. The data indicate that a wide gap exists between gerontological counselor educators and administrators of social service programs for the elderly in the priority they ascribe to the goals and roles of counselors of older persons. Social service program administrators, however, indicate that counseling can be readily incorporated into the aging services network as it presently exists.     

Competencies,Credentialing, and Standards for Gerontological Counselors: Implications for Counselor Education

Nationally endorsed competencies, a certification process, and standards for specialty training in gerontological counseling have been developed and approved. Implementation of the gerontological counseling specialty in counselor education is considered.     

Integrating Social Justice Advocacy With National Standards of Practice: Implications for School Counselor Education

Social justice in the education of all K‐12 students begins with school counselors; preparing school counselors as advocates and leaders who can implement these principles in U.S. schools begins with counselor educators. Suggestions for intentional preparation of school counselors to be social justice advocates in schools by integrating the principles of the National Center for Transforming School Counseling with the American School Counselor Association National Model for School Counseling Programs (2005) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs 2009 Standards are described. Ideas for educating school counselors as effective advocates in the context of specific training experiences throughout counselor training programs are provided.     

An Examination of the Clinical Preparation of School Counselors

Clinical training is considered the capstone experience (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2001) for preservice counselors. This exploratory study examined pedagogical practice for clinical preparation in a purposeful sample of 59 school counseling internship syllabi. A qualitative analysis revealed wide diversity in content regarding supervision, student assignments, and, in particular, on‐site requirements.     

Essential Characteristics of Master's Level Counselors: Perceptions of Agency Administrators

The purpose of this study was to determine to what degree the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) standards represent skills and knowledge that mental health agency employers use to judge candidates for master's level counseling positions. A total of 84 professionals who hired master's level counselors in their agencies rated the likely effect of each CACREP knowledge and skill area on their judgment of a potential candidate. Respondents also checked specific knowledge and skills they considered important and the type(s) of master's degrees typically possessed by counselors hired by their agency. Data suggested that each knowledge and skill area may have a moderate to significant impact on the employers' judgments, although some competencies were clearly seen to be more relevant than others. Family intervention was the most highly endorsed specialization, and candidates with social work degrees were hired far more frequently than was any other single type. Implications for counselor education programs and graduates are discussed.     

The Preparation of Master's‐Level Professional Counselors for Positions in College and University Counseling Centers

This study investigated college and university counseling center directors’ perceptions of the adequacy of the preparation of master's‐level counselors for work in college and university counseling centers. Results indicated that counselors were rated on average as prepared; however, many directors had concerns about counselors’ ability to work with students presenting more severe mental health issues. Findings are discussed, and implications for the training and preparation of college counseling practitioners are presented.     

Inclusion of Substance Abuse Training in CACREP‐Accredited Programs

Professional counselors and counselors‐in‐training continue to serve clients who have substance abuse issues, yet systematic training in substance abuse counseling is not available to many counselors. The authors investigated the extent to which students in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2001) are exposed to clients presenting with substance abuse issues and the relationship between state licensure or certification in substance abuse and the resulting perception of the need for the inclusion of substance abuse training in these programs. Three methods are presented for possibly including substance abuse training in CACREP standards.     

Interactive Training Model: Enhancing Beginning Counseling Student Development

The authors propose the Interactive Training Model (ITM), a full classroom role play experience, as a method for helping student counselors develop essential interviewing and counseling skills and self‐awareness as required by the 2009 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs Standards. This pre‐post, quasiexperimental study involving 45 master's‐level students indicated that those who participated in the ITM made greater gains in supervisee development compared with those who participated in a traditional peer feedback model. Narrative student feedback regarding the use of ITM in an essential skills course is presented, and implications for counselor education are discussed.     

Crisis in the Curriculum? New Counselors' Crisis Preparation,Experiences, and Self‐Efficacy

Professional counselors are responsible for providing crisis assessment, referral, and intervention ( Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2009 ); however, little is known about their preparation and experiences in these areas. This study examined new professional counselors' (N= 193) crisis intervention preparation, crisis intervention self‐efficacy, and crisis intervention experiences. Although participants had limited crisis preparation during their master's programs, most engaged in crisis intervention during their field experiences. Implications for continuing education and counselor education are explored.     

A Model for Retooling School Counselors

If school counseling is to continue as an ongoing dynamic profession, counselor educators must address their attention to the improvement of practitioner competencies as well as toward counselor preparation. The development of a program designed to accomplish both tasks must be dependent upon the needs of counselors, counselor educators, and considerations emanating from the environments in which they work. The purpose of this paper is to share one educational approach which can facilitate movement toward achievement of these desired needs.     

School Counselors' Perceptions of Their Academic Preparedness and Job Activities

School counselors are trained in academic preparation programs for future job activities. However, job expectations taught in such programs can differ from actual school counseling activities. This article reports the findings of a national survey of school counselors' (N = 1,052) perceived preparation and practice.     

Counselor Commitment and Career Development

The relationship between preparation and career commitment is explored by studying the degree to which counseling personnel actively involve themselves as school counselors after training. If counselor education programs are truly concerned with preparing professionals for a career, then long-term involvement is an important criterion reflecting the success of counselors and their prior preparation. Results from a study tracing 406 graduates from 20 NDEA institutes six years after training showed that only 45 percent immediately entered and remained in counseling for six years. The existence of a teacher-counselor-administrator promotion ladder is presented as being a major source of loss from the ranks of school counseling. A related finding showed non-entry to counseling to be caused by a return to classroom teaching after counseling preparation.     

Salience of Emotional Intelligence as a Core Characteristic of Being a Counselor

The authors investigated the association between emotional intelligence and counseling self‐efficacy. Participants were 140 counseling students and practicing counselors who completed the Emotional Judgment Inventory and the Counseling Self‐Estimate Inventory. Emotional intelligence differentiated counselors from noncounselors (Mdn d = .6650) but provided mixed results in differentiating counseling students and counselors. Moreover, the emotional intelligence factors Identifying Own Emotions, Expressing Emotions Adaptively, and Using Emotions in Problem Solving successfully predicted counseling self‐efficacy of both counseling students and practicing counselors (R = .537). Emotional intelligence may be another marker for individuals exploring professional counseling as a career and for improving students' counseling self‐efficacy.     

中小学心理辅导的现状研究

本研究设计了“中小学心理辅导现状调查问卷(校长问卷)”,通过对浙江省8个地区148所中小学的抽样调查,对当前中小学心理辅导的现状作了研究,并对影响心理辅导效果的因素进行了相关研究。研究表明:(1)大多数中小学校长对学校开展心理辅导只停留在思想认识上,而在具体实施时,表现得不够重视;(2)学校为心理辅导建立专门的管理体系、每年一定经费的投入、配备一定数量的心理辅导教师、对教师进行专业培训、采取多种辅导形式等五方面因素与心理辅导的实际效果均有显著相关;(3)在经费投入与教师培训方面存在着城乡差异。     

Supervision in Schools: Building Pathways to Excellence

The authors summarize the special section in the journal of Counselor Education and Supervision (Vol. 45, No. 4, June 2006) on school counseling supervision and present implications to guide the practice of school counselor supervision. The implications for practice, training, research, and professional standards for school counselors are discussed.     

Survey of CACREP‐Accredited Programs: Training Counselors to Provide Treatment for Sexual Abuse

The author discusses the importance of training counselors to provide adequate treatment for survivors of sexual abuse, presents the results of a survey of programs approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs regarding current training practices, and offers recommendations and a model for developing a training component in sexual abuse counseling.     

Roles for Counselor Education Departments in Marriage and Family Counseling: Current Status and Projections

Preparation of counselors for marriage and family counseling roles is an increasingly important aspect of counselor education. This study sought to determine current level and projected involvement of a nationwide sample of counselor education departments in marriage and family counselor training and to assess the extent to which counselor educators in the sample agreed with 30 marriage and family counseling competencies.