Brief Therapy: A Model for Early Counselor Training

Early counselor training has traditionally stressed acquisition of basic listening skills while underemphasizing instruction in specific problem-solving competencies. This bias may be partly responsible for such frequently observed supervision issues as counselor anxiety, inefficient counselor management of interview time, inadequate problem clarification, and premature intervention. Models for conducting brief, problem-focused counseling seem well-suited for teaching trainees the verbal skills and structuring methods that promote efficient problem clarification and resolution. The purposes of this article are to present one such model, to identify its skills requirements, and to discuss the advantages of using this model in practicum training.     

Systematic Training in Client Documentation: Strategies for Counselor Educators

Specific teaching strategies are identified that counselor educators can infuse into existing course work to provide a more systematized approach to training in client documentation.     

Self-Understanding Seminars: The Effects of Group Psychotherapy in Counselor Training

This study was conducted to determine whether significant benefits would be derived from providing counselor trainees with psychoanalytically oriented group psychotherapy. Twenty trainees were divided into 2 therapy groups that met for 30 1.5-hour weekly sessions. Each experimental trainee was matched with a control (no treatment) trainee counterpart on the basis of sex, number of graduate credits, and counseling specialty. The instruments administered were: the Tennessee Self Concept Scale, the Elmore Psychological Anomie Scale, the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, and the Porter Counseling Inventory. There were no significant differences on the Tennessee Self Concept Scale. On the Elmore Psychological Anomie Scale, the control subjects had an increase on Valuelessness (p = .181). On the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule, the experimental subjects had an increase on Deference (p = .033) and a decrease on Exhibition (p = .190) and Change (p = .091). On the Porter Counseling Inventory, the experimental subjects achieved an increase in Evaluative (p = .112) and Interpretive (p = .034) responses and a decrease in Understanding (p = .083) responses. The relevance to training of both the lack of definitive differences on some of the variables and the significant findings were discussed. The data were interpreted as providing support for the value of a psychotherapeutic experience as part of training programs, particularly those that accept a psychoanalytic orientation.     

A Model for Adapting Counselor Training to Community Agency Needs

Projections of employment opportunities for graduates in traditional educational specialties indicate limited growth, while a demand for community counselors is expected to grow more rapidly. In order to provide training applicable for counseling students anticipating employment in a community setting, there is need for a planned, systematic approach to program development. This article proposes a three-phase model for change that considers departmental resources, student characteristics and agency needs.     

A Model for Training Group Counselors

A teaching model is presented which was used for increasing the skills and interests of practicing school counselors in group counseling. A significant aspect of the model is its inclusion of learnings designed to explore both affective and cognitive aspects of the group process. Although the model described was used in an in-service workshop for counselors, the format might also be useful in designing a university course in group counseling.     

Three Counselor Training Models: A Comparative Study

This study investigated the effects of three prepracticum counselor training approaches on counselor performance: T group, behavioral skills, and discussion control. Pre- and postmeasures consisting of 30-minute video-recorded counseling interviews were administered to all subjects. Counselor performance was evaluated by client completion of the Counseling Evaluation Inventory (CEI) and by three trained judges' ratings of four five-minute interview segments using the Counseling Strategies Checklist (CSC). Data from each instrument were subjected to a 3 × 2 factorial analysis of variance. A significant group × time interaction occurred for the CEI. Significant time effects occurred on four of the seven dependent variables of the CSC. The results of the study have implications for both the length and type of training approach used in effective counselor education practices.     

School Counselor Field Supervision: A Model

Little attention is devoted, in literature, to posttraining supervision. Collective bargaining procedures have produced a need for systematic approaches to the field supervision of practicing school counselors. A supervision model based on a ten-month counseling contract is described.     

Counselor Education Program Development: A Communication-Information Model

The common core concept was presented as the vehicle for developing a more adaptive educational program for the counseling profession. The communication model developed was based on the assumption of common elements of role behavior for counselors across agency settings. The model also depends upon the explication of communication and information needs necessary for adequate functioning of the counselor across as well as within settings as the basis for curriculum content. An organizational structure for implementing the communication model was explicated in a training program setting to facilitate the implementation of the model.     

Portfolio Assessment: A Model for Counselor Education

Portfolio assessment can be used to measure counselor-in-training growth over time. The benefits to counselor education programs, including the ability to evaluate counselor progress, are discussed.     

Group Work in Counselor Education: A Decade of Growth

This study was designed to assess the current status of group work preparation in counselor education programs. The authors sent a questionnaire to a 10% (N = 310) stratified random sample by state of the membership of the Association for Specialists in Group Work. Respondents provided demographic information that was compared with two similar studies conducted 10 years ago. The results showed that counselor education programs are providing more and broader didactic and experiential group work preparation for graduates who are gaining employment in diversified work settings. In addition, the respondents surveyed indicated an increase in females as group workers and a more “active-instructive” role on the part of group counselors.     

Career Problem Assessment: A Conceptual Schema for Counselor Training

Counseling students learn about various theories, models, and career assessment measures during their training. However, the transition to practicum and internship often challenges students to decide on when to apply career theories and measures to specific problems. An assessment schema is proposed to assist counselor trainees with a systematic approach to conceptualizing a client's career problem. With this assessment schema, counselor educators can help trainees organize data into meaningful categories, reduce conceptual confusion, and engage students in the study of careers.     

Cybercounseling: A New Modality for Counselor Training and Practice

The practice of professional career counseling has evolved to include various computer technologies and services including the Internet. Due to the Internet becoming a pervasive part of society, increasing numbers of mental health practitioners around the world are incorporating the electronic medium into their service delivery. As increasing numbers of counselors use the Internet, professional organizations are developing ethical guidelines for practitioners to follow. This paper discusses ethical considerations related to cybercounseling and provides implications that practitioners should consider when evaluating the medium.     

Basic Counselor Skills Training and Counselor Cognitive Complexity

This study examined the relationship between basic counselor skills training and cognitive complexity levels in counseling trainees. Data from graduate counseling trainees enrolled in basic skills training courses and a control group were collected (N = 72). Cognitive complexity levels were measured using the traditional 2‐person form of the Role Category Questionnaire (B. R. Burleson & M. S. Waltman) in a pre‐ and posttest design. Participants exposed to the basic skills training course showed a significantly higher cognitive complexity level than the control group when posttest means were compared.     

Older Peer Counselor Training

This article relates an older peer counselor training program which was developed for paraprofessional volunteers, 55 and over, to assist elderly widowed people in their adjustment process. The training had three goals: to develop group cohesiveness, to broaden trainees' understanding of widowhood adjustment, and to develop one-to-one interpersonal skills. Training outcomes, including the findings of pre- and posttest assessment of attitudes, indicate that the training program was effective in eliciting widowhood and counseling attitude change, and in providing the trainees with the opportunity for personal growth. The results replicate other studies, demonstrating that procedures employed to train young counselors can be used to train elderly paraprofessionals.