Program Evaluation: The Accountability Bridge Model for Counselors

The accountability and reform movements in education and the human services professions have pressured counselors to demonstrate outcomes of counseling programs and services. Evaluation models developed for large‐scale evaluations are generally impractical for counselors to implement. Counselors require practical models to guide them in planning and conducting counseling program evaluations. The authors present the Accountability Bridge Counseling Program Evaluation Model and discuss its use in evaluating counseling services and programs     

The Development of Genetic Counseling Services and Training Program in Saudi Arabia

In 2005 the first Saudi genetic counseling training program was established by the Department of Medical Genetics at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH&RC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The program has graduated five genetic counselors with high diploma-level degree. This brief report describes the development of the genetic counseling training program and the factors that led to its establishment. Special emphasis is made to unique cultural practices including consanguinity, religious influence, and termination of pregnancy. This report also describes the current status of the genetic counseling services offered by KFSH&RC and availability of genetic testing.     

Parents' Experiences with Genetic Counseling After the Birth of a Baby with a Genetic Disorder: An Exploratory Study

Little is known about factors determining which families utilize genetic counseling services. We conducted semistructured interviews with parents of four children born with cystic fibrosis (CF) and ten with Down's syndrome (DS) to ascertain reasons for using, or not using, genetic counseling services in the state of Victoria, Australia. We also explored the usefulness of genetic counseling for the families who had experienced it, and the perceived role of genetic counseling. All mothers of children with CF see a genetic counselor as part of a structured education program following diagnosis through newborn screening. Information overload was identified by them as an important problem. There is no specific program for families of children with DS. Six of them had received genetic counseling and four had not, either because it was not specifically offered to them or because they did not pursue it in the context of misconceptions about its purpose. The timing of the offer of genetic counseling is important and needs to take into account parents' coping strategies after diagnosis. Several parents commented on the favorable aspects of counseling, including getting information they needed to deal with the diagnosis and relief of guilt. Better awareness of genetic counseling by referring physicians, and providing counseling at more than one visit, may contribute to a more effective service.     

Description of a Teenage Pregnancy Program

The authors describe a teenage pregnancy program with three major components—medical care, education, and counseling. The services, particularly the counseling program, are discussed.     

Counseling today's veterans: a program and its implications

The need for improved counseling and guidance services has emerged as one of the most crucial aspects in the myriad of problems faced by the Vietnam war era veteran. This article focuses on the interagency overseas counseling thrust launched by the federal government in 1971 and designed to mitigate the debilitating effects of the civilian reentry crisis experienced by veterans. The overseas counseling program of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, operating in Europe, the Far East, and Vietnam, was organized and formerly administered by the author and is highlighted here because of its implications for counseling and guidance.     

Accountability Systems in the Employment Service

Counseling services often culminate in various positive outcomes, many of which are difficult to adapt to a system of accountability. If counseling is to continue to develop, then it must become responsive and accountable to priorities determined by management policies. In the employment service this means how well counseling services relate to clients being placed in meaningful jobs. This article discusses the issues of accountability in the counseling profession, provides information on the basic employment service computerized data systems, and introduces two analysis and planning forms which can be used to derive meaningful data from these systems. Information from these sources will enhance budget and resource planning and evaluation of performances as well as provide other information which state and local offices can profitably use in developing a more standardized and accountable counseling program.     

Genetic Counseling Services and Training of Genetic Counselors in Israel: An Overview

Genetic counseling services have existed in Israel since 1964 and are available in almost all the major hospitals. Given the socialized healthcare system and small country size, genetic services are generally accessible and often free. The existence of founder mutations in various communities in Israel makes genetic testing easier to perform. Yet, the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of the population has major implications on the design of the screening programs and the use of genetic services. The Israeli Association of Genetic Counselors (IAGC) was established in 2008 and had existed informally since 1989. There are two Master level genetic counseling training programs (6 students/class, 2 year program): Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School (established in 1997) and the Technion (established in 2009). Genetic counselors’ clinical training is largely observational and 2 years of supervised counseling sessions post degree are required for board exam eligibility. Genetic counselors are licensed and lead counseling sessions individually, but currently must work under medical geneticist supervision. This is the first article to summarize the history and training of Master level genetic counselors in Israel. Genetic services, coverage and regulations are also described.     

College Students' Perceptions of the Relationship Between Fee and Counseling

Fee as a variable that could have an impact on college students' perceptions of counseling was explored because of the authentic concerns about college counseling centers needing to charge direct fees for their services. Participants (N = 350) represented a cross-section of potential consumers of psychological services, not just individuals currently receiving services. On an overt level, fees seemed to be less influential in counseling considerations, but were taken into account on a more covert level. This study supports the psychological literature, which suggests that fee is not the most important factor in clients' decisions to seek counseling. Implications for counselors, administrators, researchers, and program planners are discussed.     

Incorporating a Psychological Counselor in a Cancer Risk Assessment Program: Necessity, Acceptability, and Potential Roles

Evidence suggests that cancer risk assessment may be associated with increased psychological distress. This exploratory study assessed the necessity and acceptability of incorporating psychological counseling into routine clinic procedures at a cancer risk program. Following a visit to a university-based cancer risk clinic, patients (N = 102) completed an anonymous self-report instrument. Participants reported experiencing current stress and anxiety (41%), depression (29%), and suicidal ideation (2%). Patients with a history of cancer were more likely to be experiencing current emotional difficulties. Sixty-nine percent of the participants found the visit with the psychological counselor to be helpful, while 41% of the participants reported interest in follow-up psychological services. Interest in receiving future psychological services was positively correlated with levels of anxiety, depression, and cancer worry. This pilot study demonstrates the acceptability and potential role for psychological counselors in increasing adjustment in high-risk patients undergoing genetic counseling for inherited cancers.     

The Development of Professional Counseling in Botswana

Among African countries, Botswana stands out for achieving lasting political and economic stability, which has enabled the government to develop a strong system of educational and social services for its people. Development of professional counseling in the country has occurred both through targeted efforts to provide a strong system of guidance services in schools and in response to the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This article reviews the development of professional counseling in Botswana and highlights trends likely to shape its future.     

Vocational Services for Older Adults or “I Want to Work,But …”

The need for counseling and guidance services for the older job seeker has been stated and described in employment and counseling literature. This article describes one program designed to meet that need through 12-hour job readiness workshops, mini-workshops, and an employment information showcase.     

BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING

There is currently considerable impetus for applying behavioral intervention strategies to a variety of counseling settings. This discussion seeks to extend the application of these procedures to the employment security counseling situation. Unemployment is seen as unadaptive behavior, and its antecedent conditions are examined. Behavioral counseling tactics of goal-setting, contingency management, counter-conditioning procedures, and social systems intervention are considered in relation to the employment counselor's repertoire of potential helping responses. A hypothetical case is discussed to illustrate the application of these procedures. This case includes potential applications in systematic desensitization, assertion training, modeling and behavioral rehearsal, manipulation of reinforcement contingencies, and intervention in the employment system.     

Adult Education and Counseling: An Emerging Synthesis

Adult education and counseling are needed facilitative and helping functions for a nation growing older. The current challenge seems to be to make counseling and educational services more widely available to people of all ages. Fulfilling adult needs and helping them adjust to new life circumstances will stretch the counseling system far beyond its traditional settings in schools and public service agencies. Present trends highlight the need for accessible, even convenient, resources for stimulating lifelong learning, adjustment to change, and personal development. In fact, the need structure of most adults seems to be weighted far more heavily in the direction of developmental counseling and learning more effective ways to fulfill their needs. Opportunities for adult education, career planning and assessment, and counseling services head the list of needed resources.     

Student Services for Athletes: A Model for Enhancing the Student-Athlete Experience

A comprehensive outreach program for providing student services to college athletes is described. Sponsored by the Center for Counseling and Student Development, the program attends to the developmental needs of student-athletes. Services include academic monitoring, consultation, workshops, and personal counseling. Benefits and suggestions for implementation of the program are addressed.     

Accreditation Standards for University and College Counseling Centers

The accreditation standards outlined in the article are used by the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc., as the basis for the formal accreditation of college and university counseling programs throughout the United States and Canada. They reflect the program elements and practice standards that are deemed essential in a counseling center that provides high-quality services to students.     

Accreditation Standards for University and College Counseling Centers

The accreditation standards outlined in the article are used by the International Association of Counseling Services as the basis for the formal accreditation of college and university counseling programs throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia. They reflect the program elements and practice standards that are deemed essential in a counseling center that provides high‐quality services to students.     

Counseling— A Friend to Placement

The policy declaring placement as top priority, accompanied by a responsive focus of staff and budget resources, has decreased the availability of counseling services to applicants contacting the employment service. Many people, if they are to be assisted in finding and keeping jobs, need the help given by professional employment service counselors. Management and program planners need an accountability rate of the importance of counseling services in the accomplishment of the placement priority. A study, covering two years of employment activities, was conducted in the Utah agency to gain insight into the question. The statistical material studied concerned available applicants, number placed, number counseled, and counseled applicants placed. The data indicated that counseled applicants have better than twice the chance of being placed on a job than uncounseled applicants. Thus, in Utah, counseling services have a positive influence in the job placement of an applicant.     

The making of an adolescent clinic

This paper addresses the nationwide need for comprehensive health care services directed toward adolescents, outlining a multidisciplinary team program designed to provide such services. The national problem of teenage pregnancy is discussed, and the multidisciplinary team's success with family planning counseling is described. The authors strongly encourage the development of more school- or community-based clinics based on a comprehensive health care team model.     

TRAINING COUNSELING SKILLS: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIAL VALIDATION

A community development perspective suggests the value of using local resources to solve local problems. Two low-income staff of a community service center served as nonprofessional counselors after receiving a training program consisting of written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. The effects of the 40-hour training program were positive for both counseling and problem-solving skills. There was also evidence of generalization of counseling performance across clients, problems, and time. In addition, expert judges' ratings of performance were obtained as a measure of social validity. These findings suggest that the training procedures are effective in enhancing the counseling and problem-solving skills of low-income nonprofessionals.     

Improvements in the community-reinforcement approach to alcoholism

This study evaluated a modified Community-Reinforcement program for treating alcoholics. The previously tested Community-Reinforcement program included special job. family, social and recreational procedures and was shown to reduce alcoholism. To increase the effectiveness of the program further, the present study incorporated a Buddy system, a daily report procedure, group counseling, and a special social motivation program to ensure the self-administration of Disulfiram (Antabuse). The alcoholics who received the improved Community-Reinforcement program drank less. worked more, spent more time at home and less time institutionalized than did their matched controls who received the standard hospital treatment including Antabuse in the usual manner. These results were stable over a 2-year period. The program appeared even more effective and less time-consuming than the previous program. The present results replicate the effectiveness of the Community-Reinforcement program for reducing alcoholism and indicate the usefulness of the additions to the program.