Test Interpretation Competence: A Comparison of Microskills and Mental Practice Training

To study the effects of behavioral versus mental rehearsal in acquiring test interpretation skills, we randomly assigned students in a counseling-related testing course to one of two training groups or to a delayed-control (DC) group. The treatment groups received identical instructions, modeling, feedback, and review of target skills but practiced in either a microskills (MS) or mental practice (MP) mode. Ratings of videotaped interviews of the MS and MP trainees did not differ but were superior to the DC group's ratings on measures of general counseling and test interpretation skills. Those in the MS group had more confidence in and perceived greater benefits from their training than did those in the MP group. Implications are discussed, and a suggestion is made for combining MS and MP training methods.     

The Infusion of Counseling Observations Into a Graduate Counseling Program

This article discusses innovative methods for incorporating both live and videotaped counseling sessions conducted by faculty into a graduate counseling program.     

The Fakability of the Personality Orientation Inventory

Attempts to fake a good impression on the POI typically result in lower scores for subjects unknowledgeable in self-actualization, and in higher scores for knowledgable subjects. POI fakahility during counselor selection procedures was investigated through two test administrations with a group of 21 new graduate students in counseling. Subjects were not given self-actualization information. Scores under counselor selection fake-set procedures were significantly higher (p <. 05) on 4 of the 12 scales than scores obtained under standard testing instructions. The results imply new counseling students have sufficient information about self-actualization to dissimulate POI scores.     

Self-representations of International Women Postgraduate Students in the Global University 'Contact Zone'

This article explores some aspects of the role of race and gender in shaping women postgraduate students' experience of intercultural study. It focuses on various social and cultural aspects of their sojourn. These were suggested by data from two small pilot research projects investigating the experiences of two cohorts of international women postgraduate students, the one studying in an Australian university and the other, a Canadian. The authors focus particularly on the intersections between the students' representation of themselves as women and the way they see themselves represented by their host cultures. In other words, they are interested in the students' understandings of themselves as 'other', and how this impacts on their representations of 'self'. The authors suggest that these representations reflect a process of negotiation of identity that occurs in what they call the globalising university 'contact zone'. The concept of contact zones derives from post-colonial theory. A further goal of this article, then, is to examine how such data appear when viewed from a post-colonial perspective.     

Stalking the Academic Appointment

This article describes the successful job application process of 4 assistant professors. Insights and caveats for prospective counselor education job applicants are offered.     

Effect of Experimentally Induced Sets of High and Low ‘Expertness' During Brief Vocational Counseling

A study was designed to evaluate the effects of an experimentally induced set of “expertness” on clients' evaluations of their selected experiences during brief vocational counseling. Thirty-one college freshman males were randomly assigned to two induced sets of high and low expertness, and client responses to both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the interview were obtained. The results suggested that (a) clients responded more favorably to relationship aspects of the interview with a counselor who was introduced as a nonexpert than with a counselor who was introduced as an expert, (b) informational recall was greater for clients interviewed by the expert counselor, and (c) global ratings of counselor effectiveness did not differentiate between expert and nonexpert counselors. Implications for counselor training and counselor practice are discussed.     

Improving Cross-Cultural Effectiveness of Counselor Trainees

This article describes a training program called the Ethnic Student Training Group (ESTG), a process that helps university counseling center staff learn how to counsel students from ethnic groups more effectively. The members consist primarily of counseling center practicum and intern trainees and counseling center staff psychologists. Members of ESTG represent a variety of culturally diverse backgrounds (i.e., Hispanic, Black, Asian, Native American, and Jewish American). Members gain knowledge and skills by participating in numerous training activities including case presentations, brief lectures on cross-cultural issues, and counseling ethnic students.