A Scale for Evaluating Practicum Students in Counseling and Supervision

This article presents an instrument, the Counselor Evaluation Rating Scale, which can be used as an aid in the systematic evaluation of a student counselor in a supervised counseling experience. Development of the CERS and its reliability are discussed. Some suggestions are offered as to how the instrument can serve as a useful tool for supervisors when faced with the task of conceptualizing and communicating an evaluation.     

Using Cognitive Interventions With Counseling Practicum Students During Group Supervision

The authors argue that students in counseling practicum courses experience many self‐defeating thoughts and anxieties. These worries can impede their performance as new counselors and can have a negative impact on the supervision process. The authors outline innovative methods used by cognitive therapists to address this anxiety. In addition, a model is presented for counselor educators to use cognitive restructuring techniques as a supervision tool. Summary Throughout their studies, counseling graduate students face many possible fears and anxieties that arise from their classroom experiences. The greatest fears and anxieties seem to be related to the counseling practicum experience. This experience is one in which students may feel incompetent, vulnerable, and unskilled as they begin to put their classroom knowledge and experiences into practice. If these fears and anxieties persist, students have a hard time making progress in the area of the counseling relationship and skill building. We have examined how practicum students' fears and anxieties might be addressed, using cognitive interventions. Such interventions allow students to take irrational thoughts and change them to rational thought patterns. This is accomplished by asking students to state their fears verbally, to think about the effects of the fears and the consequences, to think about intervening beliefs and thoughts, and to restate the fears in a rational manner. Our experience suggests that cognitive interventions are useful strategies to help practicum students combat fears and anxieties. Further research might examine the use of other behavioral interventions to address these fears. For example, does role‐playing a counseling technique in supervision make a student less anxious about applying it in a real counseling session? In summary, fear and anxiety can impede the preparation of counselors during their practicum experiences. Understanding the underlying thoughts that cause these fears can help students overcome self‐defeating thought patterns. Cognitive restructuring techniques have been shown to reduce tension and can be used with counseling practicum students to help relieve performance and supervision anxiety.     

Co-counseling Supervision in Practicum

Two groups of 12 trainees were exposed to either monitor-modeling or immediate-feedback supervision in their practicum. Ten-minute individual counseling sessions with coached clients were taped before and after the practicum. Three independent judges rated the tapes, using Carkhuff's scales for gross ratings of facultative interpersonal functioning (Carkhuff 1969). Results indicated that (a) the judges' mean ratings from pretest to posttest increased significantly for the monitor-modeling group but not for the immediate-feedback group; (b) although the results approached significance (p < .09), there were no significant differences on the posttest; and (c) the amount of growth from pretest to posttest was significantly greater for the monitor-modeling group. The data supports the relative effectiveness of monitor-modeling supervision. Additional, more extensive evaluations are suggested to more fully assess the relative value of such team approaches to supervision.     

Peer Evaluation and Practicum Supervision

An investigation was made to determine the interrater reliability and validity of peer evaluations in a practicum setting. The interrater reliability on the Rating Scale of Counselor Effectiveness was high. Validity was determined by comparing student evaluations with supervisor evaluations. Agreement shown by rank order correlations was high, but differences in absolute scores between student and supervisor were significant with students consistently rating their peers higher.     

Using Simulation Techniques in the Counseling Practicum

To help meet the need to educate school counselors in the broader aspects of their work, the application of simulation techniques is suggested. A rationale is provided with discussion centering on the following points: (a) simulation offers an opportunity to provide specific training emphases, and (b) simulation offers a way of providing a wide range of counseling and guidance experiences not easily obtainable under regular practicum conditions. Specific examples of simulation are described, including a case study, a PTA speech, a teachers' meeting, a counselor's day, and a school board presentation. Benefits for counselor education programs which can be realized from simulation experiences also are discussed. Rather than choosing actors to play roles it is suggested that practicing counselors, state department personnel, doctoral students, and counselor education faculty should participate in simulation activities. As role players, they will gain an appreciation of current trends in the education of counselors.     

Structured Peer Group Practicum Supervision: Supervisees' Perceptions of Supervision Theory

The authors discuss a thematic analysis of retrospective phenomenological interviews of 4 group counseling practicum participants. Implications for developmental supervision theory and future research are presented.     

Current Trends in Practicum Supervision Research

This article presents a conceptual framework and explores the results and implications of practicum research published from 1975–1982. Forty-two studies were found pertaining directly to practicum supervision and were divided into two categories: maximizing effectiveness of the practicum experience and specific techniques in practicum supervision. Overall, practicum supervision was found to be a worthwhile and beneficial experience and a necessary part of counselor education programs. Focusing on the personality characteristics or value systems of supervisors or supervisees, however, produced mixed results in predicting training effectiveness. There was greater consistency in the examination of specific techniques in supervision with positive outcomes resulting from the utilization of microtraining, dual supervision, peer supervision, modeling, and IPR. The use of programmed instruction was not supported.     

Review of Research on Practicum Supervision

This six-year review of research on practicum supervision examines articles in terms of findings and the research designs employed. Research is classified according to (a) counselor—supervisor similarity, (b) training methods, and (c) evaluation. Conclusions from the review indicate: (a) the investigators found no support for matching counselors and supervisors according to similar traits; (b) there was some support for modeling, didactic, and experiential methods; (c) there was some support for peer supervision; and (d) an experimental design was used in only 4 of the 19 studies examined.     

Review of Research on Practicum Supervision

This five-year review of research on practicum supervision examines research findings and research designs. Research is classified according to the role of the supervisor, the training procedure, and the rating systems. The major focus of research has been on training in the core conditions of facilitative communication. Modeling techniques have been used effectively in practicum, didactic approaches have been more effective than experiential approaches, and audiotape procedures in training were as effective as videotape techniques.