The Relationship Among Substance Abuse Counselors' Spiritual Well‐Being,Values, and Self‐Actualizing Characteristics and the Impact on Clients' Spiritual Well‐Being

This study explored the relationship between scores on the Spiritual Well‐Being Scale and subscales from the Rokeach Value Survey and the Personal Orientation Inventory of substance abuse counselors in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This study also examined the impact of counselors' spiritual well‐being on the spiritual well‐being of patients in their clinical care. The results indicated that the values of wisdom and loving from the Rokeach Value Survey and self‐acceptance from the Personal Orientation Inventory accounted for approximately half of the spiritual well‐being variance. These variables could be used as indicators in the supervisory process, could help promote substance abuse counselors' spiritual well‐being, and could educate counselors on burnout prevention. Follow‐up findings indicated a statistically significant change score on patients' pretest and posttest scores on the Spiritual Well‐Being Scale, indicating an increase in patients' spiritual wellbeing while in inpatient addiction treatment.     

Lesbians With Physical Disabilities: A Qualitative Study of Their Experiences With Counseling

The authors interviewed 25 lesbians with physical disabilities about their counseling experiences. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, the authors identified 9 themes. Five themes addressed participants' perceptions of their counselors: general satisfaction or dissatisfaction, counselors' general effectiveness, counselors' awareness and education regarding sexual orientation and/or disability, discrimination and bias, and counselor identity. Three themes related to the participants' attempts to negotiate the counseling process: coming out or self‐disclosure, self‐advocacy, and accessibility/accommodations. The final theme related to depression.     

Asian Americans' and African Americans' Initial Perceptions of Hispanic Counselors

This study examined the effects of Hispanic counselors' race and speech accent on Asian American and African American students' initial perceptions. Results show that students' gender, race, and level of “universal-diverse” orientation, along with counselors' speech accent, predicted students' initial perceptions of the counselors and of the counseling relationship.     

The Effect of Gender and Self‐Care Behaviors on Counselors' Perceptions of Colleagues With Depression

This study examined the effects of gender and self‐care behaviors on counselors' perceptions of depressed colleagues. Three hundred and six respondents completed 1 of 8 versions of vignettes describing either a male or female counselor responding to his or her depressive symptoms through the use of antidepressants, counseling, alternative therapies, or no course of action. Target counselors who took antidepressants were perceived as more competent than counselors who practiced holistic measures and those who chose no course of action. Target counselors who sought personal counseling were perceived as more ethical than those choosing no course of action.     

An Exploration of Counselor Experiences of Adolescents With Sexual Behavior Problems

This grounded theory study of 18 American and Australian counselors explores the impact of working with adolescents with sexual behavior problems. Findings are reported reflecting the counselors' own histories of abuse, their feelings regarding sexual information, their sexual and emotional responses to clients, and the importance of self‐care and self‐monitoring. Implications are discussed regarding management of such reactions.     

Influence of Counselor Spirituality and Training on Treatment Focus and Self‐Perceived Competence

Spirituality is a potential area of concern for counseling clients. This study presents the empirical results of a survey completed by 572 counselors to determine if counselors' spiritual beliefs, experiences, or training had an impact on their focus of therapy or self‐perceived competence. A counselor's personal spirituality, spiritual experience, and spirituality training did significantly influence treatment focus as well as self‐perceived competence to counsel a client with spiritual concerns.     

Job Satisfaction and Effective Performance of School Counselors

This study examines the relationships between job satisfaction and the effectiveness of the performance of first-year school counselors. Co-workers and administrators rated the counselors' effectiveness in 6 job activities, and clients rated the counselors in 3 aspects of the counseling interview. The performance ratings were correlated with the counselors' job satisfaction in 8 areas. Several job satisfaction dimensions were related to effective performance of selected activities by the co-workers, administrators, and clients. Satisfaction with their future and security in the job, relations with associates, involvement in the job, and training for the job were the dimensions most frequently related to job satisfaction. The nature of the relationships among the criteria of effective performance indicated that 3 groups had different perceptions of the counselor.     

Predicting burnout and job satisfaction in workplace counselors: the influence of role stressors,job challenge,and organizational knowledge

The present study examines the antecedents of burnout and job satisfaction among counselors employed in workplace settings. Workplace counselors face the unique demands of managing dual client relationships (individual and organization) within the counseling setting. Antecedents of the job‐related outcomes of burnout and satisfaction are likely to vary from other counseling settings as a function of these unique demands. Survey results from 82 workplace counselors indicated that role conflict was a significant predictor of the experience of burnout and that intrinsic job satisfaction was significantly predicted by the counselors' perceptions of job challenge, as well as by the level of organizational knowledge.     

The counselor and exceptional pupils: a critical review

Elementary and secondary school counselors seem to neglect certain students while providing services to others, without knowing the results. This article suggests that school counselors do not deal systematically and consistently with exceptional children's needs. It appraises counselors' work with mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and gifted students.     

Impact of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training on the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

We examined the impact of the implementation of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) across the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's national network of crisis hotlines. Data were derived from 1,507 monitored calls from 1,410 suicidal individuals to 17 Lifeline centers in 2008–2009. Callers were significantly more likely to feel less depressed, less suicidal, less overwhelmed, and more hopeful by the end of calls handled by ASIST‐trained counselors. Few significant changes in ASIST‐trained counselors' interventions emerged; however, improvements in callers' outcomes were linked to ASIST‐related counselor interventions, including exploring reasons for living and informal support contacts. ASIST training did not yield more comprehensive suicide risk assessments.     

The Effect of Client Demeanor Upon the Verbal Responses of School Counselors

In a study of counselor verbal behavior as a function of client stimulus input, a counseling paradigm was employed using 4 client-actors and 30 counselors. Independent variables were hostile or friendly client behavior, amount of counseling experience, counselor sex and client sex. The dependent variable of counselor verbal behavior was measured by a revision of the Bales Interaction Process Analysis Categories. Analysis of variance led to the finding that all of the independent variables had a statistically significant effect upon the counselors' verbal responses, but the number of response categories affected varied from 1 to 7 depending on the variable involved. Significant interaction effects were also found. From the data, it was concluded that client demeanor and client sex significantly influenced counselors' verbal responses, but counselor experience and counselor sex were relatively unimportant in their effect upon the counselors' behavior.     

Racial/Ethnic Identity,Gender‐Role Attitudes,and Multicultural Counseling Competence: The Role of Multicultural Counseling Training

Researchers and practitioners have been pursuing how to enhance counselors' multicultural counseling competencies (MCC). With a sample of 460 counselors, the author examined whether multicultural training changed the relationship between (a) racial/ethnic identity and MCC and (b) gender‐role attitudes and MCC. The author found significant interaction effects of (a) racial/ethnic identity and multicultural training and (b) gender‐role attitudes and multicultural training on multicultural knowledge but not on multicultural awareness.     

Substance Abuse Counselors and Moral Reasoning: Hypothetical and Authentic Dilemmas

This exploratory study examined the assumption that the level of moral reasoning (Defining Issues Test; J. R. Rest, 1986) used in solving hypothetical and authentic dilemmas is similar for substance abuse counselors (N = 188). The statistical analyses used were paired‐sample t tests, Pearson product‐moment correlation, and simultaneous multiple regression. This study found that when solving dilemmas of a personal nature (authentic dilemmas), substance abuse counselors' level of moral reasoning was lower. Implications for counselor education are presented.     

School Counselors' Experiences With Lockdown Drills: A Phenomenological Investigation

Lockdown drills are used in pre-K–12 public schools throughout the country; however, little research exists regarding their impact on students and school staff (Ilk, 2018). Because of school counselors' role in both prevention of and response to school gun violence (American Counseling Association, 2018), we used a phenomenological approach to investigate their experiences with lockdown drills (N = 26). Results included the following three themes: (a) school counselors' sense of duty to follow school protocol, (b) unintended emotional consequences related to lockdown drills, and (c) school counselors navigating complexities. Implications for school counselors and corresponding school procedures are discussed.     

Employment and Roles of Counselors in Employee Assistance Programs

The authors studied employment and roles of master's-level counselors in employee assistance programs (EAPs) and the services offered by different types of EAP organizations. The study focused on programs, workshops and seminars: assessment; counseling; consultation; and evaluation and marketing services offered by EAPs. Master's-level counselors were found to be similar to those with Master's of Social Work (MSW) degrees in employment rate and percentage of EAP staff. Both groups were the most frequently employed and constitute the greatest percentage of the professional mental health staff in EAPs. Also, counselors were found to be involved in all of the service areas studied within each type of EAP. Differences in counselors' roles among EAP types are discussed.     

Vocational Counselor Success Rate as a Criterion for Client Assignment

Although researchers have suspected that rehabilitation counselors may often experience different success rates with different kinds of clients, little effort has been made to determine the best methods of assigning clients to counselors. Our study represents an attempt to provide insight into the desirability of assigning clients to counselors with a high proportion of successful closures with members of the clients' disability group. The criterion of desirability was the Cooper-Rubin suitability-of-placement index. Results indicated no positive relationship between counselors' proportion of successful closures and their average Cooper-Rubin index scores.     

African American Muslims: Intersectionality and Cultural Competence

Although African American Muslims constitute 40% of all American‐born Muslims (Pew Research Center, 2011), they are virtually absent from the literature. Increasing the presence of African American Muslims in the literature may improve counselors' cultural competence when working with them. Using intersectional theory, the authors outline the rich history of African American Muslims and highlight ways counselors can improve their cultural and spiritual competence when working with African American Muslims.     

Parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in an academic counseling relationship

The role of parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in the context of an academic counseling relationship was investigated. Prior to participation in a 10‐hour academic counseling program in college, 91 students completed scales assessing perceptions of their current relationship with their parents and their attachment style. Students' support‐seeking behaviors and counselors' sensitivity, as reported by both participants (students and counselors), were evaluated twice during the counseling process, and general feelings of support were evaluated at the end of the program. Parental representations and attachment style both predicted students' support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in counseling. The strength of the prediction differed as a function of time of measurement and source of evaluation. In addition, student‐perceived counselor sensitivity was found to mediate the relation between parental representations and support‐seeking behaviors in counseling