Death attitudes and experiences of rehabilitation counselors

A survey of the death attitudes and experiences of 54 rehabilitation counselors indicated that their personal beliefs could potentially influence service to disabled people, particularly in the areas of terminal illness and suicide. To balance such influence, contined training of counselors and research efforts concerning this problem are recommended.     

Spirituality,Religion, and CACREP Curriculum Standards

Survey data of the general population, counselors, and counselor educators indicate that spiritual and religious issues are therapeutically relevant, ethically appropriate, and potentially significant topics for counseling and counselor education in secular settings. In this article, the authors propose that a balanced, thoughtful inclusion of these topics in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) core curriculum areas is a reasonable and sound approach to preparing counselors to work ethically and effectively with these issues in secular counseling settings. Methods and examples for achieving this inclusion are presented for each of the CACREP core curriculum areas.     

Counseling Outcomes: Counselor Characteristics and Client Results

Eighteen counselors in one of the administrative areas of the California Department of Human Resources and 697 of their closed cases were studied in order to discover whether differences in employability outcomes did exist. The study attempted to answer the following questions: (a) How many clients achieve employability during their relationships with employment counselors? (b) What is the final disposition of cases that are closed other than employable? and (c) To what degree do counselors engage in placement activities and what influence do these activities have on employable closures? The study provides evidence that some counselors had significantly more clients achieve employable status than did other counselors.     

Genetic Library: Grief and Bereavement

As genetic counselors, we frequently encounter families that have experienced a significant loss, be it a pregnancy, a child, or a parent. The purpose of this Genetic Library is to introduce genetic counselors to some of the research that is currently being conducted in the areas of grief and bereavement support, as well as end-of-life care. Of course, it is impossible to capture the richness of these articles in one or two paragraphs. We therefore encourage interested genetic counselors to request and review the full version of these papers.     

The Genetic Counseling Workplace—An Australasian Perspective. A National Study of Workplace Issues for Genetic Counselors and Associate Genetic Counselors

Genetic counseling in Australasia (Australia and New Zealand) has been recognized as a profession since the 1980s and has steadily expanded over the past 20 years. The demography of major cities with metropolitan sprawl and sparsely populated rural areas has led to the establishment of 3 types of genetics units: main units in cities, metropolitan outreach, and rural outreach units. A questionnaire was developed to obtain information about the needs, resources, and day-to-day operation of the genetic counselors. The questionnaire addressed the areas of resource availability, professional development, responsibility of genetic counselors in the clinical setting, and their involvement in promotion of the service and public education. Differences observed between the 3 settings in all of these areas included large clinical loads for metropolitan outreach counselors, varying responsibilities in the clinical setting, and a lack of support and resources for rural outreach counselors. Australasian Genetic counselors were found to have a significant interest in developing mechanisms for supervision and were keenly interested in maintaining credentials and professional role development. The results of this study allows genetic counselors themselves to have a better understanding of the roles of their colleagues in the different units; they can also be used by service providers in establishing and supporting genetic counselors, and identifying inequalities and deficiencies in the different practice areas.     

Themes That Facilitate the Success of Female Counselors in Specialty Areas

As the profession of counseling continues to grow and expand, counselors’ careers are diversifying across specialty areas and practice settings often led by women. However, information regarding how these women accomplished this career expansion is lacking. The authors used a qualitative case study to identify 8 themes that influenced and empowered female counselors to develop careers that successfully extended into specialty areas: (a) managing family and career choices, (b) the importance of mentors, (c) overcoming career obstacles, (d) parental support with expectations, (e) integrating experiences with passions, (f) overcoming personal life challenges, (g) a sense of uniqueness, and (h) resourcefulness.     

PROFILE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE COUNSELORS

As a guide to program planning, the United States Employment Service makes periodic surveys of the numbers and characteristics of counseling staff employed by the various State Employment Services. The information obtained from these studies helps to provide answers to many administrative questions regarding recruitment, staffing, training, and utilization of counselors as well as their physical facilities. The most recent survey indicates that overall substantial progress has been made in staffing to meet increasing responsibilities and in upgrading the professional qualifications of counselors, although there are still some problem areas.     

Never ready: Addictions counselors dealing with client death

This study explored the experiences of addictions counselors who have undergone client death and the immediate and long-lasting impacts of client death on addictions counselors through the consensual qualitative research (CQR) method. We conducted semistructured interviews with 10 participants exploring their lived, in-depth, experiences in working with clients with addictive disorders with focus given to the death of clients and how they responded to the experience. Results from a data analysis process using the CQR method indicate eight domains: (a) professional ethics, (b) coping skills, (c) client care, (d) preparation for profession, (e) experience of addiction, (f) agency impact, (g) exploring the death experience, (h) recommendations, and 28 categories embedded in each of these domains. Implications for counselor education, training, and practice are discussed.     

Counseling Military Populations: A Content Analysis of Counseling Journals From 1998 to 2018

Mental health scholarship of military populations is largely guided by researchers in psychiatry and psychology. Recent advocacy efforts have created increased opportunities for professional counselors to serve military clients, but the research within the profession has yet to be explored. A content analysis of 23 professional counseling journals from June 1998 to June 2018 was conducted to determine military population research trends. Findings indicated that counselors are researching topics similar to those of other mental health fields, such as posttraumatic stress, but are contributing to those topics conceptually rather than empirically. Topical areas in which counselors do produce more empirical studies include career counseling, and these studies relied on college student veteran populations. Suggestions for incorporating the philosophical principles of counseling into future research are provided to inform the trajectory of military scholarship in the profession.     

The DSM‐IV‐TR and Culture: Considerations for Counselors

Although counselors receive training in both diagnosis and cultural foundations of human behavior, little literature or research integrates these 2 areas in order to facilitate culturally sensitive diagnostic practices. The authors attempt to rectify that lack by providing a review of the literature on the controversies associated with traditional diagnosis of cultural groups that differ from the dominant culture. Practical guidelines for culturally sensitive diagnosis are provided.     

Providing Counseling for Individuals With Alzheimer's Disease and Their Caregivers

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive condition that results in brain wasting and eventual death. With its increasing diagnosis rate, counselors will likely acquire clients with Alzheimer's disease or their caregivers. Important background information and several practical counseling methods are provided that may assist counselors working with this population.     

Attitudes of school psychologists toward the role of the secondary school counselor

The responses of school psychologists concerning the secondary school counselor's role differ from those of counselor educators and counselors in many respects and seem to reflect a tendency toward role differentiation. In the actual school situation, the roles of these two groups overlap in some areas. The tendency of school psychologists was to emphasize activities of counselors which did not overlap with theirs and to define the counselor's role in these terms. If school counselors were polled concerning their attitudes toward the role of the school psychologist, it is probably that the same tendency toward role differentiation would be found.

These results point to the possibility that friction between these two groups may stem from difficulties in role perception. To improve communication, the unique contributions of both groups should be stressed. On the other hand, where activities overlap, it should not be assumed that the performance of such activities by one group excludes the other group from making a contribution in similar activities.     

Awareness of Death Among Children: Does a Life-Threatening Illness Alter the Process of Discovery?

The authors review studies on death awareness among children who are healthy, chronically ill, and terminally ill. The review suggests that children with life-threatening diseases demonstrate increased understanding of death compared with children who are either healthy or chronically ill. In particular, children with terminal illness, especially during the end stage of their disease, show an advanced understanding of the death concepts of irreversibility and finality. In contrast, healthy and chronically ill children appear to require certain age, cognitive developmental level, or intelligence thresholds to understand these concepts. Possible explanations for the findings in this literature are discussed. The implications of death awareness research for counselors are used as a base for suggesting counseling strategies.     

Employability of Genetic Counselors with a PhD in Genetic Counseling

The development of a PhD in genetic counseling has been discussed for more than 20 years, yet the perspectives of employers have not been assessed. The goal of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the employability of genetic counselors with a PhD in genetic counseling by conducting interviews with United States employers of genetic counselors. Study participants were categorized according to one of the following practice areas: academic, clinical, government, industry, laboratory, or research. All participants were responsible for hiring genetic counselors in their institutions. Of the 30 employers interviewed, 23 envisioned opportunities for individuals with a PhD degree in genetic counseling, particularly in academic and research settings. Performing research and having the ability to be a principal investigator on a grant was the primary role envisioned for these individuals by 22/30 participants. Employers expect individuals with a PhD in genetic counseling to perform different roles than MS genetic counselors with a master's degree. This study suggests there is an employment niche for individuals who have a PhD in genetic counseling that complements, and does not compete with, master's prepared genetic counselors.     

Health Beliefs,Religious Values,and the Counseling Process: A Comparison of Counselors and Other Mental Health Professionals

A. E. Bergin (1985) studied the religious values and beliefs of mental health professionals and the relationship of those values to the counseling process. This study replicated Bergin's research with a sample of professional counselors. Differences were found in each of 10 beliefs areas and 10 values areas between the total sample in both studies. Within-group differences revealed greater similarities between professional counselors and social workers and marriage and family therapists and greater differences between counselors and either psychologists or psychiatrists. Implications for counseling and counselor training are discussed.     

Preparing Counselors to Meet the Needs of the Handicapped

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94–142) mandates a number of counseling and allied services for the handicapped and their parents. In many cases counselors will need to acquire additional information and training to meet the needs of this special population. This article outlines many competencies that need to be considered in developing pre-service and in-service programs for counselors serving the handicapped. Hosie discusses several professional development areas relating to these competencies, and provides resources and training materials.     

Ethical Guidelines for Counselors When Working With Clients With Terminal Illness Requesting Physician Aid in Dying

In 2005, the American Counseling Association (ACA) introduced a new ethical standard for counselors working with clients with terminal illness who are considering hastened death options. The authors’ purpose is to inform counselors of the Death With Dignity Act and explore relevant ethical guidelines in the ACA Code of Ethics ( ACA, 2005 ).     

Managing Variant Interpretation Discrepancies in Hereditary Cancer: Clinical Practice,Concerns, and Desired Resources

Variant interpretation is a complex process, and classification may vary between sources. This study aimed to determine the practice of cancer genetic counselors regarding discrepancies in variant interpretation and to identify concerns when counseling these discrepancies. An electronic survey was sent to genetic counselors in the NSGC Cancer Special Interest Group. The vast majority of counselors (93%) had seen a variant interpretation discrepancy in practice. A large majority (96%) of respondents indicated that they conducted their own research on reported variants. Most respondents cited variant databases as the most common resource utilized in researching variants. Approximately 33% of counselors spent 45 min or more of extra time researching a discrepancy compared to researching a variant with a single classification. When asked how they approached counseling sessions involving variant interpretation discrepancies, the free responses emphasized that counselors considered family history, clinical information, and psychosocial concerns, showing that genetic counselors tailored the session to each individual. Discrepancies in variant interpretation are an ongoing concern for clinical cancer genetic counselors, as demonstrated by the fact that counselors desired further resources to aid in addressing these discrepancies, including a centralized database (89%), guidelines from a major organization (88%), continuing education about the issue (74%), and functional studies (58%). Additionally, most respondents reported that the ideal database would be owned by a non-profit organization (59%) and obtain information directly from laboratories (91%). This investigation was the first to address these discrepancies from a clinical point of view. The study demonstrates that discrepancies in variant interpretation are a concern for clinical cancer genetic counselors and outlines the need for additional support.     

Consulting With Teachers in Two Areas: Grief and Mourning: Relaxation Techniques

Consultation with teachers remains untried by many counselors despite mandates, role definitions, and models for consultation. Barriers include the preference for the status quo and the lack of information and preparation. Involvement and training can help overcome these barriers. Two possible consultation areas are grief management and relaxation training. Grief is the normal reaction to any kind of loss. Being aware of the various stages is the first step in helping someone through the grief process. Relaxation techniques can be learned with proper guidance. Before tying any new ideas, however, counselors and teachers must have sufficient information and training.     

Confidentiality Revisited: A Response to Manhal-Baugus (1996)

Confidentiality is an important ethical and legal concept for chemical dependency counselors and their clients. This article reviews the issues relating to confidentiality raised by Manhal-Baugus (1996), identifies several problem areas from that 1996 article, and offers additional information about confidentiality not included in the earlier article. Chemical dependency counselors are urged to consider the federal law covering the confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records in their practice.