Transitional Adolescents,Anxiety, and Group Counseling

One hundred-eighty college-bound high school seniors were studied to determine whether small group counseling would affect their anxiety level. 60 students comprised the experimental group and 60 students each the 2 control groups. 6 small group counseling sessions were conducted during the spring just prior to high school graduation and 6 more in the fall, following college enrollment. Comparison of anxiety levels was made at the conclusion of each series of counseling sessions. The students of the experimental group showed significantly lower anxiety scores than did those of the control groups, both in the spring and in the fall. The conclusion was drawn that experience in small group counseling was followed by significantly lower levels of anxiety in transitional adolescents.     

Selfishness,Greed, and Counseling

Although the concepts of greed and selfishness have often been used in discussions about human nature, there seems to be little attention to these characteristics in the disciplines of psychology and counseling. The author considers characteristics of greed and selfishness as encountered in counseling from a multidisciplinary perspective. Factors that modify selfish behavior in social science research are identified. The author discusses implications for counselors in clinical practice.     

Counseling Competence and Perceptions

A motion picture test of counselor perceptions of counseling interview segments was developed in order to analyze change in trainee perceptions during a practicum, and to explore the relationship between counselor perceptions of others and counseling competence. Cross-validation results from a group of 30 NDEA Counseling and Guidance Institute trainees demonstrated a significant relationship between post-practicum counseling competence and both pre-practicum and post-practicum test scores. The test appears to be relatively independent of other commonly used selection criteria.     

Counseling for Dropout Prevention: Applications From Multicultural Counseling

Although high school dropout rates have declined over the past several years, rates remain high for many segments of our population. Most of the attention devoted to dropout prevention counseling has focused on group counseling or programmatic issues, whereas individual counseling has largely been ignored. This article draws on commonalities between multicultural counseling and dropout prevention to produce a general framework for individual counseling with students who have potential to drop out of high school.     

Scapegoating: Dynamics and Interventions in Group Counseling

Scapegoating in group counseling may be understood from the perspective of 3 levels of group functioning: intrapsychic, interpersonal, and the group as an entity. Intense scapegoating interactions tend to trigger defense mechanisms among group members. The article reviews a progressive 3‐stage conceptualization of group development that contributes to a more complete understanding of the means to initiate therapeutic change of the phenomenon. Various interventions outlined in the article can assist the group counselor in effectively responding to scapegoating in group counseling.     

Counseling in context

In these tense times of campus turmoil the expertise of the counselor is more needed than ever, but as an agent of change he should emerge from the closet of his office and be involved in group counseling in contexts where student and faculty feelings are starting to ferment. This would require expanding his role to include collaborating with teachers to improve the psychological settings in their classrooms, conducting informal “rap sessions” with both faculty or students, and setting up opportunities for group guidance activities both in and out of the classroom.     

抑郁的团体心理治疗

本文研究了团体心理咨询在治疗大学生的抑郁症方面的效果。我们采用的治疗形式是团体心理咨询 ,治疗方法是认知行为疗法 (包括理性情绪疗法 ) ,被试是四名大学生。我们对团体活动的效果采用了多种方法进行评估 ,结果发现 ,团体心理治疗可以有效地减轻大学生的抑郁程度。活动中我们取得了一定的经验 ,但同时也发现了一些问题 ,值得我们做进一步的研究     

Counseling blacks

As a subcultural group in our society, blacks have developed unique environmental perceptions, values, and attitudes which intrude in the counseling relationship, making it difficult for the counselor to establish and maintain a positive rapport with Negro clients. This article examines attitudinal ingredients posited by Carl Rogers for their relevance to this problem, and it suggests in-service training to help counselors and other professionals relate more effectively with inner-city blacks.     

Counseling Men in Groups

This article advocates group counseling as an effective intervention strategy for problems that characteristically confront men. It is maintained that aspects of the traditional male socialization process create therapeutic obstacles for counseling men in groups; the purpose of the male's defenses is anxiety reduction, although the male's coping behaviors are usually an excellent example of his inner personal problems. Counseling men in groups also has implications for group counselors, specifically with regard to counselor sexism, countertransference issues, and special applications of group counseling techniques and skills.     

Brief Answers to 20 Questions About Group Counseling

The author, President of the Association for Specialists in Group Work, a counselor trainer, and a consultant on group counseling, reports the questions he is most often asked and frames his responses in plain language so they may be immediately understood and useful. Although mindful of beginning group counselors, the author speaks clearly in this article to practicing group counselors, drawing on his own extensive experience.     

Group Counseling with Male Underachieving College Volunteers

The effects of two different methods of group counseling on those personality characteristics that typify the male academic underachiever and on grade-point average (GPA) were studied. Eight groups (N = 81) of male underachievers who volunteered for counseling were equally divided between two counselors who each led two groups in the leader-structured (LS) method and two in the group-structured (GS) method. A like group served as a control. Men in the LS groups increased in ego strength when compared with those in the control group and had a significantly greater rate of positive change in GPA than men in either the GS or control groups. The GS groups' rate of change in GPA was also greater than the controls' after counseling. Counseled men were more able to overtly express hostile feelings than controls. Three months following counseling the LS groups' rate of positive change in GPA was significantly greater than the controls' but not greater than the GS groups'. The results indicated that the LS method of group counseling does significantly affect both the personality characteristics and academic achievement of male college underachievers who volunteer for counseling.     

Managed Care,Ethics, and Counseling

In this article, the author addresses issues of managed care and ethics and how they relate to counseling. Specifically, a recent article published in The Counseling Psychologist (C. C. Cooper & M. C. Gottlieb, 2000) is reviewed. Implications for counselors and counselor educators are then explored.     

Group Employment Counseling Training in Canada

This article outlines the views of the author regarding group training of employment counselors in Canada. The current group training program for employment counselors and the accompanying packages are discussed.     

Spiritual Maturity and Mental Health: Implications for Counseling

Evidence was found to support the validity of Genia's (1997) spiritual maturity typology. Participants (N = 256) were categorized as spiritually growth-oriented, transitional, dogmatic, or underdeveloped. Those in the underdeveloped and dogmatic groups seemed to be more emotionally distressed than those in the growth oriented group. The authors also formed a group, based on scores above the mean on both the Dissociation Scale and the Sexual Abuse Trauma Index (SATI) of the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 (TSC-40; Elliott & Briere, 1992), that they hypothesized were traumatized in childhood. They found that those individuals, compared to the nontraumatized persons, experienced lower levels of spiritual support and were more symptomatic on mental health measures. The traumatized women, especially, experienced psychological distress, particularly in areas of depression, anxiety, and sexual problems. Although trauma generally was associated negatively with spiritual development, some traumatized persons also scored among the spiritually growth oriented, suggesting that such trauma is not associated in all cases with a detrimental effect in the process of spiritual development.     

Group Counseling with College Underachievers

Some of the controversy concerning the efficacy of psychotherapy or counseling has been resolved by recent evidence that studies reporting no effects had indiscriminately lumped together the high and low therapeutic conditions that are associated with successful and unsuccessful outcomes. The present study extends these findings to a group of essentially neurotic underachieving college freshmen. The 24 experimental students who received group counseling showed greater improvement in grade-point average than 24 matched, non-counseled control subjects. Further, those counseled subjects who received the highest therapeutic conditions tended to show the greatest improvement.     

Group Counseling in a Correctional Setting

This article describes a model of group counseling with prison inmates. Members assume responsibility for what transpires and structure is not imposed by the leader. This format contrasts with the high degree of control and rigidity found in the institutional environment. The stages of a typical group are reviewed. The counselor's personality is seen as a crucial variable in the group's success. Those counselor qualities that engender positive group outcomes are explored. The author stresses that highly structured environments, such as prisons, need not be barriers to meaningful counselor intervention.     

Counseling Considerations Among Arab Americans

In keeping with our pluralistic society, counselors have begun the task of attempting to understand issues of multicultural diversity. The purpose of this article is to describe a focus group interview conducted with a group of therapists in a large‐scale, comprehensive family service agency in an Arab American community. Participants represented various countries of origin, helping disciplines, and years of U.S. residence. The interview format was semistructured, and the results confirmed what little was already known about the population and supplemented that body of knowledge with updated information. Implications for counseling and further research are discussed.     

Counseling in Australia: Past,Present, and Future

The author describes the evolution of the counseling profession in Australia within the broader historic and sociocultural context. The process of professionalization is outlined, particularly over the past 15 years, and data on the demographic, professional, and practice characteristics of counselors are reviewed. Future professional directions and challenges are explored.     

Counseling Jewish Americans: Considerations for Practice

Jewish Americans represent both a minority religious group and a minority ethnic group with specific concerns related to Jewish identity, stereotypes, antisemitism, and invisibility as a minority. Counselors may lack spiritual, religious, and overall multicultural competencies for working effectively with this population. The authors offer a brief primer on Jewish Americans, literature on Jewish identity and potential client concerns, practical and clinical considerations, and suggestions for future research.