Alcohol Awareness Counselor Training: Utilizing a DWI Program

This article describes a cooperative effort of a community agency and a counselor education program in dealing with community alcohol problems. A DWI education and awareness program and a counselor training program in alcohol problems are presented. The training program uses students at four phases of development to counsel court-referred clients. Each phase is described in terms of goals, activity, feedback focus, and expected outcome. This program provides benefits for all involved: (a) students have real-life counseling experiences, (b) the agency maintains contact and uses the resources of university programs, and (c) the university has the opportunity to respond to a current issue in the community.     

Peer Supervision: Toward More Effective Training

This article discusses peer supervision as a vehicle for increasing student responsibility for self-assessment and peer assessment, and increasing independence and interdependence among students for professional and personal growth. The article also explains a model currently in use in a master's degree program in counseling. Included are rationale, definition, implementation, evaluation, and recommendations for use.     

The Counselor's Role in Mental Health: An Evaluation

This study was a follow-up investigation on the counselor's role in community mental health. We surveyed 170 multiservice mental health agencies to evaluate counselor job performance. We received 150 responses. In general, we noted that master's degree level counselors delivered direct care services in a competent manner. The findings also indicated that counselor education departments should consider strengthening student knowledge of psychotropic medication, psychopathology, individual assessment, and use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) (Williams, 1980). Finally, analysis of the data suggested that counselor educators should encourage students to pursue continuing education in program evaluation and budget planning.     

A Competency-Based Model for Counselor Certification

The state of Washington has recently begun several state-wide competency-based certification programs. These programs are being used to evaluate school counselors at three levels of functioning. Examples of the program used by the Southeastern Washington Counselor Consortium to certify counselors at the beginning level are presented. Required competencies, activities that help the counselor achieve proficiency in these competencies, and individual evaluation procedures are included in the program. The purpose of this competency-based program and an evaluation of counselors, programs, problems, and issues are presented.     

Elementary and Secondary School Counselor Preparation Programs: How Different are They?

There is a paucity of current information on training programs for elementary school counselors. Also, criticisms about roles and the need for specialized training for this group are contained in recent literature. This article presents the results of a national survey that focused on the differences in preparation programs for elementary and secondary school counselors. Data on specific courses and number of required courses for elementary and for secondary counselors are included.