Evaluation of a counselling skills course for health professionals

A counselling skills course run by a London hospital for 11 health professionals was evaluated. The course covered family counselling skills and child management techniques. Qualitative and quantitative measures were used at five times of testing over a period of 10 months. It was found that participants improved self-perceptions of their counselling ability, increased their knowledge of counselling theories, and considered the course to be helpful in their subsequent work with families. There was no significant change in trainees' self-concept scores. Regular supervision was regarded as helpful in consolidating skills and exploring aspects of practice in a safe environment. Issues relating to evaluation research are discussed.     

Moral counselling: a method in development

This article describes a method of moral counselling developed in the Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen (The Netherlands). The authors apply insights of Paul Ricoeur to the non-directive counselling method of Carl Rogers in their work of coaching patients with moral problems in health care. The developed method was shared with other health care professionals in a training course. Experiences in the course and further practice led to further improvement of the method.     

Financial and practical implications of counselling psychology training: A student survey

It is common knowledge that students make considerable sacrifices in order to pursue a course of study, and there is no reason to belive that counselling psychology trainees are any differnt in this regrd. The results are presented of a survey of 56 postgraduate students in the greater London area which addressed some of the practical and financial implications of counselling psychology training. While none of the respondents was registered on a BPS recognised course, the majority intended to become Chartered Counselling Psychologists. Many t rainees had considerable debts as a consequence of having to pay tution fees, for personal psychological counselling and in some cases to for the supervision of their practical work with clients. Most trainees found that they had to set up their own practice placements, which were unpaid, and had difficulty doing so. The majority of respondents devoted, on average, 30 hours per week to their studies while nearly 60% had a paid job (not related to counselling) to help them cover their expenses. Inplications are discussed for conunselling psychology training in the 1990's and beyond.     

An evaluation of the long-term outcomes of small-group work for counsellor development

A questionnaire was designed which enquired into the long-term professional applications and outcomes of Rogerian small-group and Tavistock Group Dynamics training. The 92 respondents were graduates of either a Master's degree or a Diploma in Human Relations or Counselling Studies in a university course where a 'small-group' module was a compulsory element of the taught course. Respondents were drawn from graduates of these one-year full-time or two-year part-time courses over a 21-year period. All respondents were involved either directly in professional or voluntary counselling, in the application of counselling skills in their work, or in training in counselling and counselling skills at work. The respondents reported no loss of learning gains over time: ascribed the application of many specific counselling skills to the small-group training process; reported on the affective component of the learning process; and provided only minimal evidence of forms of psychological damage which could be directly ascribed to the experience. These outcomes have to be considered in the light of the relatively low response rate of 33% and the difficulties in monitoring the precise behaviour of the facilitators in the groups.     

In-Service Courses in Human Relations: One Teacher's Learning

Human relations training includes counselling as an important ingredient. This case-study reports the learning of one primary deputy headteacher during a six-day course, and her continuing efforts to use and extend that learning during the following year. She reported an improvement in classroom discipline, and less stressful and more effective relationships with colleagues and pupils, linking these gains with insights and skills developed on the course. The value to course designers of goal-setting structures is illustrated by the study. Such structures provide an opportunity to take part in, and study, counselling interventions which have real problems as their focus.     

Telephone counsellors' conceptualising abilities and counselling skills

Telephone counsellors must make accurate assessments of callers' needs so as to provide appropriate counselling help or referral. But few researchers have examined counsellors' conceptualising abilities in relation to their counselling skill. Two studies involving telephone counsellors were carried out. The first relied on counsellors' post-interview conceptualisations of callers' problems and needs and found no link between the accuracy of these conceptualisations and counselling skill. The second used Kagan's Interpersonal Process Recall (IPR) to retrieve counsellors' conceptualisations made during the course of their interviews. The accuracy of these conceptualisations-in-action was related to level of counselling skill. Implications for training and research are discussed     

Addressing disparities: The impact of a lesbian,gay, bisexual,and transgender graduate counselling course

Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals experience serious mental health disparities and treatment inequities. Counsellor education has been identified as both a contributing factor to these problems as well as an ameliorating mechanism to address these inequalities. Aim: The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of an LGBT‐affirmative counselling course. Method: A total of 23 students enrolled in a graduate LGBT counselling course were administered the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS, Bidell, 2005) and the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Counseling Self‐Efficacy Inventory (LGB‐CSI, Dillon & Worthington, 2003) pre‐ and post‐course. In addition, a comparison group of 23 matched counselling students was obtained from an existing data source in order to make further assessments of the course's effectiveness. Those in the comparison group were not enrolled in the LGBT course, but were administered the SOCCS at analogous time intervals. Results: After completing the LGBT course, enrolled students demonstrated significant improvements regarding their sexual orientation counsellor competency and self‐efficacy. In addition, these students showed significant gains in SOCCS scores versus those in the comparison group. Implications: Results from this study show the positive effect a full‐credit LGBT psychotherapy course can have on graduate counselling students' sexual orientation counsellor competency and self‐efficacy. The findings also indicate that such a course can significantly impact counselling skills, a facet of LGBT cultural competency found to be the most attenuated. Findings are discussed in conjunction with LGBT‐affirmative counsellor training and clinical practice.     

Psychodynamic counsellor training integrating difference

Abstract

Psychodynamic counselling has been criticized for being inflexible, authoritarian, antiquated and unresponsive to the issues of modern-day society. Psychodynamic counsellor training is sometimes seen as a poor relation of ‘proper’ psychotherapy therapy training. This article is written by two psychodynamic counselling course trainers who have wresded with the above criticisms and who have striven to deliver a training course that is coherent in its adherence to a psychodynamic counselling model but which embraces equal opportunities issues and takes account of a diverse society. The article focuses on ways in which sexual identity, race and culture are integrated into the course curriculum and indeed into the course philosophy and community. Traditional psychoanalytic interpretations of homosexuality are challenged and multicultural counselling ideas are merged with psychodynamic counselling theory and skills.     

Globalising counselling: humanistic counselling in Kenya

This paper explores the application of a Western, psychologically-based model of counselling and counselling training in contexts where the social and cultural conditions differ from mainstream Western societies. A group of Kenyan trainee counsellors following such a course are interviewed about their experience of training. The interview data are analysed to provide a tentative answer to the question of the appropriateness in a Kenyan cultural milieu of a humanistic counselling training model developed in the UK. It is concluded that such application is possible and desirable, if it is undertaken as shared and respectful learning between trainers and trainees.     

Spirituality in counsellor education: a new course

This article describes a graduate course in spirituality in counselling with the hopes of encouraging and supporting other counsellor educators in preparing and offering their own courses in this area. Learning objectives, activities and assignments are outlined. Students' personal experiences of the course are shared through excerpts from their final reflective papers.     

Ripples in the pond: A qualitative study of graduates' perceptions of the impact of counselling training upon their work within the core professions

A small-scale qualitative study was conducted in order to examine the value of counselling training when incorporated into a person's established professional role. Questionnaires were sent to graduates from an MA/diploma in counselling course in order to identify those who had continued working within their core profession. This was followed by in-depth exploration of the issues through a focus group and interviews. Twelve respondents, from a variety of work settings, took part in this second stage. Results indicated that counselling training had impacted on all aspects of their work role and that there can be a benefit of such training in the workplace. Participants developed a tripartite understanding with regard to the self, clients and the organization, and change was experienced in each of these three dimensions. A larger-scale study, among graduates from a number of courses and also among employers, is indicated.     

The effectiveness of UK student counselling services: an analysis using the CORE System

Despite concern surrounding the mental health of students, brought about by the government's policy of widening participation and increasing demands upon students, the effectiveness of student counselling has been a neglected research area. This study examines data from seven UK student counselling services using the CORE System in the routine evaluation of their services. Results indicate that counselling is effective, with 70% (service range 67% to 83%) of clients with outcome measures available showing reliable improvement on the CORE-OM from pre- to post-therapy. However, students who complete a course of counselling show significantly greater improvement, according to practitioner pre- and post-therapy severity ratings of depression and anxiety, than those clients who drop out or have an unplanned therapy ending (effect size 1.03, 0.85, respectively). The stage at which students drop out of therapy is important, with those students dropping out of therapy before the third session being the most vulnerable. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Rehabilitation Counselling: The Development of a New Course Specialism in British Counselling

The introduction of rehabilitation counselling to the UK in 1990-initially as a diploma and now as an MSc—is described. The worldwide development of rehabilitation counselling from its beginnings in America in the 1950s is outlined, highlighting key areas of debate. Evidence of the need for rehabilitation counselling in the UK is presented, and the current course is described with reference to its integrative counselling approach and specialist areas of enquiry. The future development of rehabilitation counselling in the UK is considered, emphasising the need for this specialism as we move towards more holistic models of care.     

Ethical Issues in Counselling and Pastoral Care

The historical and contemporary context of pastoral care and counselling within the judaeo/Christian tradition is reviewed. Three kinds of pastors who use counselling in their work - Christian, specialist, and generic - are identified and the ethical problems of their positions clarified. The ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice are applied to the counselling work of pastors. Theology's definition of various ethical levels, and the impact of these upon the professional ethics of pastoral carers and counsellors, are explored, and some conclusions for the future drawn.     

More than expected? Psychological outcomes from first-stage training in counselling

This study considers psychological outcomes of first-stage counselling training for nine annual student cohorts. A self-report questionnaire, with both open-ended and closed questions, was employed to investigate initial course expectations, what had been learned about self, and any perceived changes in attributes and skills and in relationships with family, friends and others. Eighty-six out of a total of 148 students returned questionnaires, a response rate of 58%. Students reported having learned more about counselling theories and skills, as they had expected initially, but results show that other important outcomes had been largely unanticipated. Many, for example, felt that, as a consequence of course participation, they had a deeper understanding, and greater acceptance, of self and that a range of attributes and skills, such as sensitivity to others and communication skills, had been enhanced. For many, these outcomes had led to improved relationships with family and friends, and also, for some, with work colleagues. It is concluded that, in this example of introductory counselling training, the course experience had led students to discover more about self and had also impacted on different facets of their lives.     

Peer counselling - a means of actualising Adolescents' helping potential

There is an increasing demand that schools should devote more of their resources to enhancing the emotional and social aspects of students' development, and should relax their competitive achievement-oriented practices. A peer-counselling programme is presented as one approach to affective education. Its principal goal is to form a system within the school through which students can become involved in counselling and helping their fellow-students. The training programme developed was based on four principles: understanding, experiencing, modelling, and application. The pilot study included 50 high-school students in Israel. Four general processes were identified during the training course: formation of learning groups, development of personal involvement, transfer of learning to practical situations, and mastering counselling skills and principles. The steps currently being taken to extend the project are briefly presented and discussed.     

Clients talk about their experience of seeking counselling

The purpose of this study was to explore the help-seeking behaviour of a sample of counselling clients using a questionnaire and follow-up, semi-structured interviews with 20 counselling clients who were seen at a walk-in, affordable counselling agency located in a mid-sized city in New Zealand. Specifically, clients were asked if they had received counselling previously, what efforts they had made to solve their problems before seeking counselling and with what success, why they chose this particular agency, their initial impression of their relationship with their counsellor, and their reactions to participating in the research. The data were analysed to ascertain themes associated with their decision-making and choices. Findings were discussed in relation to the literature on seeking counselling, how clients determine their need for counselling and the process they go through in deciding when and where to get it. Implications for counsellors are discussed.     

An Evaluation of Training in Basic Counselling Skills

A 60-hour course to train community-health professionals in the basic skills of counselling families of children with disabilities was evaluated. Three groups of diverse professionals (25 females and 1 male in all) were trained. The overall approach followed the didactic-experiential programme of Truax and Carkhuff (1967). Teaching methods included discussion, role-play, and feedback. Hypothesised changes occurred in trainees as a result of the course in contrast with a non-training waiting period. There were significant improvements in theoretical knowledge, self-perceptions of counselling ability and counselling behaviour. Evidence from a sub-group of the sample indicated that changes were maintained for up to nine months afterwards. The validity of the results is further supported by a separate study demonstrating benefits in families with whom the trainees subsequently worked. It is concluded that such courses are cost-effective in enhancing the professional skills of health-care workers.     

Clients talk about their experience of the process of counselling

The purpose of this study was to ascertain clients’ experiences of their counselling. This was done through use of a questionnaire and follow-up, semi-structured interviews with 20 counselling clients who were seen at a walk-in agency located in a mid-sized city in New Zealand. Several themes were identified and discussed in relation to the literature on clients’ perceptions of their own counselling. Specifically, clients were asked to comment on whether their counselling was effective, how much of their improvement was due to counselling versus other factors, the quality of the relationship with their counsellor, specific in-counselling events that were helpful or unhelpful, and how their counselling was terminated. Implications for practice were suggested.