Initial Exploration of Therapeutic Presence Pedagogy in Counselor Education

A qualitatively modified Delphi approach was used to operationalize therapeutic presence so that it can be further studied as it relates to counselor training and therapeutic outcomes. A total of 12 counselors and counselor educators with over 200 combined years of experience in counselor education participated in this study. The results include a definition of therapeutic presence geared toward counselors-in-training, 13 recognizable signs of students’ expressed therapeutic presence in session, and 17 suggestions for counselor educators to help students develop therapeutic presence. We also discuss implications and recommendations for further investigation.     

Concerns of Beginning Counselor Trainees

The concerns of beginning counselor trainees were factor analyzed. The analysis yielded five distinct variables about which trainees expressed concerns: whether clients liked the counselor, counselor adequacy, counselor role, counseling techniques, and client needs. The relative importance of the concern variables, the specific items that trainees rated of greatest concern, and the implications of these findings for counselor educators are presented.     

Counselor Trainee Effectiveness: More Puzzle Pieces?

This study continues the search for meaningful relationships between counselor trainee characteristics and effectiveness. Self-disclosure, dogmatism, locus of control, Machiavellianism, academic aptitude, and sex of counselor trainees were investigated for their relationships to effectiveness during practicum or internship. The nature of these relationships as well as their implications for the counseling profession are discussed.     

Training of the Career Development Specialist Within Counselor Education

What is the responsibility of counselor education programs in more efficiently preparing students in the area of career guidance and development? This article attempts to explain one department's efforts in this important area. It explains the rationale, development, and implementation of a subspeciality, Career Development Specialist (CDS), in a counselor education program. Covered are areas such as historical/conceptual review of the CDS, competencies and courses, recruitment of students, and where graduates have located jobs. Finally, the implications for counselor education are discussed.     

The Relationship of Counselor Self-Disclosure to Counselor Effectiveness

Counselor self-disclosure was investigated as a dimension of counselor effectiveness with a sample of forty-one graduate students in a counseling and guidance practicum. Effectiveness was measured by ratings from clients and practicum supervisors. Clients rated the counselors in three aspects of the counseling interview and supervisors rated counselors in eight areas. Counselor self-disclosure scores were correlated significantly with all the criterion scores of counselor effectiveness (p <. 05). It was suggested that the concept of psychological disclosure may have important implications for counselor selection and training.     

Eco‐Webbing: A Teaching Strategy to Facilitate Critical Consciousness and Agency

Eco‐webbing is a teaching strategy that can be used to help counselor educators integrate a social justice focus into their courses. Preliminary data indicated increased critical consciousness and social justice agency as a result of using eco‐webbing with counseling students (N = 17). The authors provide implications for counselor educators and future research.     

Transformative Learning for Counselor Trainees: Implementation of the Multicultural Immersion Experience Model

In this qualitative inquiry, we studied the lived experiences of counselor trainees who participated in a short-term study abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. It was found that counselor trainees self-reported transformative growth as a result of their cultural immersion. Specifically, counselor trainees identified an increase in cultural self-awareness, other awareness, and global connection. The implications of applying transformative learning theory and the Multicultural Immersion Experience model to guide cultural immersion programs are discussed.     

Evaluation of Counseling Practicum: National Study of Programs Accredited by CACREP

This study assessed the current status of practicum training in counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Findings and implications for counselor training are discussed.     

The School Counselor Alumni Peer Consultation Group

School counseling literature indicates that school counselors experience isolation and frustration and that partnership projects between counselors and counselor educators are potentially valuable. The author describes the school counselor alumni peer consultation group, which provides (a) support and networking opportunities for new counselors and (b) a forum for studying counseling issues and for developing strategies to solve problems. This innovative strategy for professional development and collaboration has implications both for counselor educators and for school counselors.     

Training Counselors in Persuasion

The interpersonal influence model of counseling has implications for counselor training. The behaviors and other cues used to establish counselor expertness, trustworthiness, and attractiveness—qualities associated with persuasiveness—are described.     

Conflicts in Counselor Preparation and Professional Practice: An Analysis

The sharp contrast between counselor preparation and professional practice is one of the most perplexing problems in the counseling profession. Most counselor preparation programs attempt to help prospective counselors acquire the skills, the attitude, and the commitment necessary to be helping persons. Too often, however, when the counselor takes a job in a school, he is unable to establish and maintain his helping position. Further, his effectiveness as a helping person may in fact diminish with time on the job. Some possible reasons for this condition include: (a) lack of a systematic approach, (b) regression to attitudes and concerns held prior to entering the profession, (c) conflict between needs of students and institutional demands, and (d) the tendency to set unattainable goals. These conditions contain several implications for the profession and suggest a reexamination of traditional emphases in counselor preparation.     

Counselor Training Via Computer

Findings from a decade of research on using computers in counseling have suggested that the computer may be considered not only as an informational support system and an adjunct to counseling, but also that it may have applications in counselor training. This article (a) outlines the capacities and characteristics currently available in computer technology as they relate to the tasks and methods of counselor education and (b) reviews available computer system models and limitations in terms of implications for use in training efforts.     

Elementary School Students' and their Parents' Preferences for Counselors

This is the fourth in a series of studies underway at Ohio State University exploring the importance of race, sex, and ethnic origin in the expression of counselor preference. This study emphasizes the importance of these variables for elementary school students and their parents and discusses the implications of these findings for counselor preparation.     

Ten Years of Peer‐Reviewed Articles in Counselor Education: Where,What, Who?

Although counselor educators may be called on to justify publication venues, authorship order, and types of articles for purposes of promotion and tenure, there are few sources of data regarding norms for publication in counselor education. The current study examined peer‐reviewed publication venues, article types, and authorship order of 317 faculty members who were employed by 49 doctoral programs in counselor education accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The study reviewed 1,547 articles published between January 1997 and December 2006. Results are presented, and implications for counselor education are discussed.     

Gatekeeping During Admissions: A Survey of Counselor Education Programs

Within counselor preparation, gatekeeping begins during the admission process. This article focuses on the prevalence of screening procedures used in master's‐ and doctoral‐level counselor educator programs (N = 79) accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Additionally, programs' selection and matriculation processes are discussed along with implications for counselor education and supervision.     

Perceptions in Role Change from Teacher to Counselor: Intra-Role Conflict and Motivation for Change1

Twelve former teachers who had been counseling for no more than two years were interviewed on how they experienced the processes of role change from teacher to counselor. This article extends the findings reported in an earlier paper and deals with intra-role conflict and with the motivation for changing roles. The following hypotheses emerged from the study: (a) if teaching experience heightens the conflict in perceived incompatibility of role expectations, then it is dysfunctional to becoming a counselor; and (b) teachers enter counseling primarily because they seek to fulfill an inner desire for growth toward what they perceive as their ideal role in education. The implications of the testimony given by the counselors for counselor preparation programs and for the structure of roles in schools were examined.     

Accreditation of Counselor Education Programs

Over the years there has been a vast array of efforts on the part of numerous individuals and professional organizations to upgrade and professionalize counselor training. These procedures include (a) the development of training standards for counselor education programs, and (b) the establishment of accreditation organizations. This article examines the ongoing process of professionalization in counselor education and will update readers on historical developments that have led to the present status of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Discussion on present trends and future implications for AACD and its divisions are drawn.     

Counseling Students’ Experiences in an Islamic-Based Counseling Course

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of learning and consequent development of twelve students enrolled in a four-year undergraduate counselling program at a higher institution of learning in Malaysia. The students’ ages ranged from 20 to 24 years. Participants outlined their learning experiences after taking a three-credit semester-long course on Islamic-based counseling, which was an attempt at integrating religion and spirituality into counselor training. An experiential learning theory served as the framework of reference, and a qualitative research design was adopted. Results revealed four major themes: (1) increased understanding of counseling, (2) better understanding in regard to the self and relationship with God, (3) applicability to daily practice, and (4) enhancing professional competence as a counselor. Finally, implications for research, counselor education and training, and clinical practice are discussed.