Development of a Pre-practicum Counseling Skills Model

This article presents a model and rationale for training specific counseling skills prior to the practicum experience. Recent research on counseling process and counselor behaviors is integrated into a pre-practicum training laboratory with the following objectives: reducing social behavior inappropriate to professional counseling, learning to tolerate and use silence as a tool, learning to listen, learning to identify feelings through verbal and nonverbal communication channels, developing a repertoire of counselor responses and counseling strategies, and developing a professional self-image. Acquisition of these skills and attitudes in a pre-practicum permits a consultation-professional model for practicum that focuses upon the accumulation of experience rather than skills.