THE ROLE OF THE MANPOWER COUNSELOR AS PERCEIVED BY EMPLOYMENT SERVICE PERSONNEL AND COUNSELOR EDUCATORS

This study investigated how manpower counselors, district office supervisors, and counselor educators in the state of Wisconsin perceive the role of the manpower counselor. Questionnaires were mailed to the 26 district office supervisors, to 26 manpower counselors—one from each district—and to 11 counselor educators. Analysis of the data reveals that the perceptions of each group are quite similar. However, the rankings produced an “ideal” rather than a “real” picture. It is suggested that a concentrated and combined effort be made to make the “ideal” “real.”     

AN INNOVATION IN THE PREPARATION OF COUNSELOR SUPERVISORS

Employment Service counselor supervisors were prepared at Indiana University under a contract with the Indiana State Bureau of Employment Security. Our campus program was a combination of didactic and practicum courses. The off campus program consisted of visitation by faculty members to the local offices of the enrollees and involved consulting with the office staff as well as the enrollee. Reaction to the program by total office staffs was favorable.     

EMPIRICAL COMPARISONS OF COUNSELOR ORIENTATIONS

The purpose of this study was to investigate counselor behaviors related to being “counseling oriented” in one's interaction with clients as opposed to being “placement oriented.” The levels of therapeutic conditions (accurate empathy, self congruence, unconditional positive regard, and intensity and intimacy of interpersonal contact) were all positively correlated with being counseling oriented (p<.01). The multiple correlation of the therapeutic conditions with being counseling oriented was .74 with accurate empathy accounting for the major portion of the variance. Further analysis of the frequency of specific counselor responses revealed that counselors who provide high therapeutic conditions, or those who are counseling oriented: (a) manifest a distinctly different pattern of responses; and, (b) are more active in the counseling relationship in terms of total responses.