Treatment for Sexual Assault Survivors at University Counseling Centers

University Counseling Centers (UCCs) provide important services for sexual assault survivors, yet little research has been conducted on interventions used by clinicians in this unique setting. As a preliminary investigation, UCC professionals were asked about services provided to survivors of sexual assault and staff perceptions of the effectiveness of these interventions. Supportive counseling was perceived to be the most effective relative to other interventions, and many participants indicated that they did not use or were not sure if other evidence-based interventions were effective with student victims. Several recommendations for future research on sexual assault services in UCCs are suggested.     

Advocacy Counseling for Female Survivors of Partner Abuse: Implications for Counselor Education

This article outlines ways by which counselor educators may prepare counselors and counselor trainees to be advocates for survivors of partner abuse. Advocacy strategies for counselors and counselor trainees working with survivors of partner abuse are provided, integrating the 5 components of collaboration, context, competence, critical consciousness, and community (E. McWhirter, 1998) within an ecological framework.     

Incest: a laughing matter

Although incestuous rape is considered to be the most prevalent and most devastating form of child sexual abuse being reported in the United States, a review of the most popular child sexual abuse prevention programs currently being marketed, purportedly for use with very young children, reveals that none of them explicitly deals with the subject. This lacuna is routinely justified on the grounds that the transmission of detailed conceptual knowledge of sexual violence violates the "innocence" of children, either frightening them or provoking precocious, possibly pathological behavior. The following analysis of the context and content of the Chulupi Indian myth, "The Man You Could Say Nothing To," unmasks this attitude as a cultural bias which permeates child sexual abuse prevention programs. By maintaining the silence which surrounds incest, one potentially becomes part of the problem that one seeks to resolve.     

Incest victims: inadequate help by professionals

Two surveys studied the inadequacies of professional assistance given to incest victims. In the investigation 130 professionals and 50 adult women victimized as children were interviewed. With respect to young, recent victims, the assistance given was hampered by institutional distrust, the inability of individual professionals to stop the ongoing incest, as well as the frequent breaking off of contact by the young girls themselves. The professionals who helped adult, former incest victims were hampered by shortcomings in knowledge and skills as well as their own emotional resistance. On the average, these adult victims consulted 3.5 professionals over many years. The "long march through the consultation rooms" and the various complaints of the women regarding the professionals are described. In conclusion, recommendations for improvement in assisting incest victims are suggested.     

Doctoral Interns’ Perceptions of Preparedness to Work with Victims and Survivors of Sexual Assault at University Counseling Centers

ABSTRACT

Counselors at university counseling centers (UCCs) should be prepared to provide services to sexual assault victims and survivors, as an estimated 23% of females and 5% of males are assaulted during college, with rates being higher for sexual and gender minority students. We surveyed doctoral interns (N = 49) at UCCs regarding interns’ training and educational experiences during their graduate programs, practicum, and internship placements, as well as the services that the interns and UCCs provide to recent victims. Among our findings, 96% of the sample had expected to work with a recent victim, 82% had already done so, and only 22% perceived themselves as fully prepared to provide such services. In addition, the majority of UCC interns had focused on sexual assault cases during case conferences, didactic trainings, and supervision. These results have implications for graduate programs and internship sites.     

Counseling Made Transparent: Pedagogy for a Counseling Theories Course

The authors describe an innovative practice in classroom pedagogy for teaching counseling theories. In an attempt to make the counseling process “transparent” for students, instructors demonstrated clinical thinking using monologue and dialogue during role plays conducted in class. Support for this approach is offered, and feedback from students in the course is presented.     

Counseling after Dark: Evening Students' Perceptions of Counseling Resources

Abstract

Community colleges have traditionally emphasized the role of educational-vocational counseling for students, although in recent times community college counselors seem to desire more involvement in personal-emotional counseling and to be more therapeutically oriented. This study assessed how evening community college students perceive various professional resource personnel and students' likelihood of consulting these professionals for assistance with diverse kinds of problems. Evening students' perceptions were discussed in comparison to perceptions held by day students and by students attending 4-year colleges and universities. Implications for training and the professional identity of community college counselors were also noted.     

焦点解决短期咨询:学校心理咨询的一种新模式

焦点解决短期咨询是当今国外兴起的、越来越被广泛使用的一种新的心理咨询模式。这种方法包含四个基本的核心要素:目标导向、自我探索、寻找例外和雪球效应。与传统的心理咨询相比较,它体现出了自身的优越性,但也存在一定的局限性。因此,在实际运用于学校心理咨询时应当加以注意,方能收到较好的咨询效果。     

Brief Counseling for Problematic Drinking: A University Counseling Center's Model

This article describes the design of a brief counseling model for students presenting with alcohol use concerns at one state university counseling center.     

International Counseling Traits: Identifying Counseling Traits Ranked most Important by International Counseling Professionals through Q-Sort Analysis

Research has shown an increase in the study and discussion of international counseling throughout the past decade in the mental health domain. The counseling profession continues to take steps to address the lack of access to and the quality of counseling support throughout the world. A Q-sort methodology was utilized in order to capture an understanding of what might be identified as the most important traits for counselors to consider when counseling in international settings. A uniquely constructed Q-sort model developed from a careful review of the literature resulted in 35 items that were evaluated by 43 participants in two phases of analysis. The results from the Q-sort led to fuller consideration of the 12 counseling traits ranked highest. Three core themes that emerged from the data included: valuing people, personal character, and multicultural intentionality. Discussion about the highest ranked traits and core themes provides consideration of research implications and future studies in international counseling as a whole.     

Retrospective Incest Group Therapy for University Women

University life is marked by the challenges of separation/individuation, career life planning, and exploratino of relationships and intimacy. For women with a history of sexual abuse, however, typical developmental issues are complicated by the consequences of an abusive past. Retrospective incest therapy is an innovative treatment approach designed to address the serious and chronic aftereffects of child sexual abuse. A retrospective group treatment approach is outlined, specifically addressing the developmental, psychological and social needs of university women. Attention is given to realistic goals for an eight-week program, screening of members, the use of concurrent inividual treatment, specific content of the sessions, intervention strategies and transferrence/countertransference issues. While not without limitations, the use of retrospective group therapy offers a promising appraoch to the treatment of incest.     

Small College Counseling Centers:

College counseling centers have experienced continued change and development in roles and functions since their inception in the 1930s. Recent shifts include a focus on personal counseling, the broadening of services, and an increased severity in student problems. Administrative policy, restricted staffing, and limited budgets particularly impact small college counseling centers. This article explore these issues through a case study format and discusses the concurrent philosophical and training implications as challenges for the small college counseling center of the 1990s.     

Marketing Counseling: What Counseling Can Learn From Other Health Care Professions

Counselors can benefit from the knowledge gained by health care professionals to meet clients needs more effectively. Marketing strategies can be used as tools to meet this end.     

Trainees Versus Staff: Exploring Counseling Outcomes in a College Counseling Center

Investigators compared counseling outcomes among nonpaid graduate-level trainees and professional staff at a college counseling center. Counseling outcomes for 331 college student participants were measured using the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 (OQ45.2), employing a pretest–posttest design. The two groups of service providers did not differ significantly (p = .179; α > .05). A unique aspect of this study was the statistical control for the clients’ readiness to change. The implications for practice in college counseling centers suggest the use of graduate-level trainees as effective counseling providers and a method to cope with high demand for services.