A National Survey of AIDS Training in Counselor Education Programs

A review of the literature suggests that counseling professionals may not be receiving substantive training related to AIDS. In this article, all U.S. counselor education programs were surveyed to determine the extent of such training. The responding programs (N = 243) identified AIDS as a high priority for inclusion in curricular programming, yet nearly 40% of the responding programs did not include any AIDS training in their curricula. Implications for counselor education and the counseling profession are discussed, and suggestions are made for including AIDS-related training in programs.     

Techniques for Teaching HIV Counseling: An Intensive Experiential Model

This article provides a thorough guide to experiential as well as didactic methods that have been used in teaching an HIV course at two separate graduate counselor education programs. This model is based on sound pedagogy, experimental techniques, and effective debriefing methods to enhance the skills of counselors in working more effectively with clients affected by HIV/AIDS. Pertinent themes that have emerged in the classes are discussed.     

A Survey of Consultation Training as a Part of Counselor Education Programs

A survey was devised to obtain feedback from counselor educators throughout the country regarding the teaching of consultation skills in their master's degree programs. This survey was mailed to 410 counselor education departments, with the request that the faculty member most closely associated with teaching consultation at the master's level respond. Usable survey forms were returned by 144 programs. A phone follow-up survey of selected nonrespondents substantiated the indicated findings. Reported survey results indicate the extent to which counselor education programs include training in consultation skills, the number of students involved, and the emphasis placed on various consultation skills.     

Individual attitudes and perceived social norms: Reports on HIV/AIDS‐related stigma among service providers in China

This study examined HIV/AIDS‐related stigma among Chinese service providers by comparing their personal attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS with their perception of social norms related to people living with HIV/AIDS. We randomly selected three provincial hospitals, four city/prefecture hospitals, 10 county hospitals, 18 township health clinics, and 54 village clinics from Yunnan, China. Doctors and nurses were randomly sampled proportionally to the doctor–nurse ratio of each hospital or clinic. Lab technicians were over‐sampled in order to include an adequate representation in the analysis. A total of 1,101 service providers participated in a voluntary, anonymous survey where demographic characteristics, individual attitude and perceived social norms toward people living with HIV/AIDS, discrimination intent at work, general prejudicial attitude and knowledge on HIV/AIDS were measured. A majority of the sample demonstrated a similarity between their personal views and what they thought most people in society believe. Multiple logistic regressions revealed that participants who were younger or reported personal contact with people living with HIV/AIDS were significantly more likely to report personal attitudes toward the population that were more liberal than their perceived social norms. Holding a more liberal personal attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS than perceived social norms was significantly and negatively related to the level of discrimination intent at work, perceived discrimination at interpersonal level and the level of general prejudicial attitude toward people living with HIV/AIDS. Results underscored the importance of understanding social norms and personal attitudes in studying HIV‐related stigma and called for the incorporation of existing human capital into future HIV stigma reduction programs.     

Graduate Training of Counselors in the Addictions: A Study of CACREP-Approved Programs

Results are reported from a survey of counselor education programs approved by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The survey focused on counselor training in the addictions.     

The Development of Professional Counseling in Uganda: Current Status and Future Trends

Professional counseling in Uganda has foundations in traditional cultures of its peoples, guidance offered in schools, and counseling to curb the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Currently, a definitive professional counselor profile in Uganda is being established. The Uganda Counselling Association continues the process of seeking legal authority to regulate counselor training, supervision, and practice. Counselors need to carry out more research to make counseling more relevant to the African situations, cultures, and customs.     

Marriage and Family Counseling in Counselor Education: National Trends and Implications

The authors report the results of a survey of 274 counselor education chairpersons asked to respond to a series of questions concerning the current status of marriage and family counseling in counselor education. Respondents indicated that marriage and family programs in counselor education are continuing to grow in popularity, identified courses most frequently employed in the training of such counselors, provided information about support that AACD could give to enhance the development of marriage and family counseling, and gave their opinions about how marriage and family counseling programs should be accredited.     

Empathy,Knowledge, and Personal Distress as Correlates of HIV‐/AIDS‐Related Stigmatization and Discrimination

This study investigated the influence of empathy, knowledge, and personal distress on HIV‐/AIDS‐related stigmatization and discrimination in a normal population (N = 346). Participants ranging in age from 18 to 69 years responded to a validated questionnaire. The results showed a significant main and joint influence of empathy, knowledge, and personal distress on stigmatization and discrimination. Stigmatization and discrimination are thus identified as great obstacles in the fight against and prevention of HIV/AIDS. Stakeholders in the HIV/AIDS arena should embark on mass education to increase knowledge of HIV/AIDS; also attitudinal change programs should be initiated, while health institutions should be effectively monitored to ensure best practices.     

A radical change in counselor education and certification

The new Washington state certification plan for school counselors includes promising innovations. The plan calls for behaviorally stated performance standards related to client outcomes. Resulting programs for in-service as well as pre-service counselors are developed in a partnership among professional associations, school districts, and university counselor education personnel. Professional identity and involvement are encouraged through counselor self-assessment against specific performance criteria, individualized training and self-renewal programs, and lifelong professional development plans. A new role is developed of a counselor staff development specialist who functions as a school training consultant and counselor educator.     

Stigma, social risk, and health policy: public attitudes toward HIV surveillance policies and the social construction of illness.

Data from a 1999 national telephone survey with a probability sample of English-speaking US adults (N=1,335) were used to assess how support for HIV surveillance policies is related to AIDS stigma and negative attitudes toward groups disproportionately affected by the epidemic. Anonymous reporting of HIV results to the government was supported by a margin of approximately 2-to-l, but name-based reporting was opposed 3-to-l. Compared with other respondents, supporters of name-based surveillance expressed significantly more negative feelings toward people with AIDS, gay men, lesbians, and injecting drug users. More than one third of all respondents reported that concerns about AIDS stigma would affect their own decision to be tested for HIV in the future. Implications for understanding the social construction of illness and for implementing effective HIV surveillance programs are discussed.     

The Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Persons Who Are Gay and Persons With AIDS,and HIV and AIDS Knowledge

A total of 86 counseling students were assessed on their attitudes toward persons who are gay, attitudes toward persons with AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and level of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS knowledge. Demographic data consisted of sex, age, and HIV- and AIDS-related training. Results indicated that the attitudinal and knowledge variables were correlated so that positive attitudes toward both groups corresponded with high levels of knowledge. There were no significant differences among these variables on the demographic factors. Implications of these results are discussed, with special emphasis placed on counselor education.     

Assessment of the Fiji-Based Condom Social Marketing (CSM) Program

This paper discusses the results of a systematic review of the Condom Social Marketing (CSM) program which was implemented in Fiji by a non-profit organization for a period of 5?years. The CSM program was introduced during a decade when Fiji was recording an escalating number of new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections. The aim of the program was to increase the awareness and utilization of safe sexual practices among the most vulnerable group??the youths??which had reported the highest incidences of sexually transmitted infections. Program assessment revealed that the CSM program had reportedly increased the acceptability, accessibility, and usage of their TRY TiME condoms in Fiji. We conducted a survey on a sample of sexually active people during January?CFebruary 2009 to examine their prevailing level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS, sexual behavior/practices, and risk perception. The results showed that, despite the high level of awareness about HIV/AIDS among survey participants, people did not consistently practice safe sexual behavior and commonly identified themselves as at low risk of acquiring HIV. This paper concludes that more extensive behavior change programs are needed in order to influence people to change their risky sexual practices and reassess their risk perceptions.     

Correlates of spirituality and well-being in a community sample of people living with HIV disease

While the past several years have witnessed an increase in the amount of research examining the spiritual perspectives of people living with HIV/AIDS, this literature is still insufficient to guide the conceptualization and development of spiritually based interventions to improve the life quality of people living with HIV illness. The present study assessed a community sample of 275 persons living with HIV disease to examine relationships among their spirituality, quality of life, perceptions of social support, and coping and adjustment efforts. This study found relationships between social support, active problem solving, life satisfaction, and gender and race with higher levels of spirituality among people living with HIV/AIDS. Mental health providers may need to routinely include assessments of spirituality and religious practices. Caregivers, faith communities, and mental health providers will need to assist in developing supportive environments that enhance the spiritual life and social well-being of people living with HIV infection. Additionally, caregiver training programs will need to focus on spiritual practices as a means of establishing a support system that increases the psychosocial well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS.     

A Preliminary Survey of Relationships Between Counselor Educators' Ethics Education and Ensuing Pedagogy and Responses to Attractions With Counseling Students

Literature suggests that counselor education does not consistently teach ethics and that ethical violations currently occur between trainees and faculty. The literature also suggests that ethical dilemmas during training strongly influence later ethical counseling practice. A survey examined the ethics training of counselor educators and ensuing attitudes and actions in professional practice. The author discovered that ethics pedagogy during training was related to later pedagogical strategies and to reactions to attraction with students. Furthermore, no single pedagogical strategy seems to guarantee best teaching or ethical professional practice. This survey reinforces the need for ethics education for counselor educators and suggests directions for research.     

Religious Diversity From a Jewish Perspective

The exploration of spiritual and religious diversity may receive less attention in counselor education than is warranted, resulting in counselors who are unprepared to deal with spiritual and religious issues in counseling. This trend could have a negative impact on Jewish clients, as well as on other religious clients, who feel that issues related to their identity are ignored. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (2001) has recognized that religious diversity is an integral component of the multicultural counseling movement, but counselor education and training programs, as a whole, still need to embrace this standard.     

HIV/AIDS and health care workers: contact with patients and attitudes towards them

Data on a range of variables associated with contact with patients with HIV/AIDS and attitudes towards them were collected from 174 Scottish health care workers. Measures of attitudes and contact (overall, social and physical) were derived from the scales devised by Pleck et al. (1988). The measure of overall contact was not significantly related to attitudes, but those with predominantly social contact with patients with HIV/AIDS had more positive attitudes towards them. This relationship was moderated by occupational characteristics, concern about working with people of unknown HIV status and neuroticism. With all these variables controlled, including social contact, those who had not received in-service training relating to HIV/AIDS had more negative attitudes. The results are discussed with regard to the measurement of social contact with patients, salient beliefs, the occupational characteristics associated with attitudes, and in-service education.     

HIV risk perceptions and first sexual intercourse among youth in Cape Town South Africa

CONTEXT: HIV prevalence is high among South African youth. Health behavior models posit that the perceived level of risk of HIV infection is associated with the level of HIV risk behavior; however, there has been limited research in Sub-Saharan Africa on factors associated with perceived risk or on the relationship between perceived risk and risk behaviors. METHODS: Longitudinal data collected in 2002 and 2005 from 3,017 black, colored and white youth in Cape Town, South Africa, were analyzed using multivariate regression to examine whether a reciprocal relationship exists between sexual experience and perceived HIV risk. Independent variables taken from the 2002 survey were used to predict dependent variables taken from the 2005 survey. RESULTS: In 2005, most youth (82% of males and 83% of females) viewed themselves as being at no or small risk of HIV infection. A reciprocal relationship in which higher perceived HIV risk was associated with a delay in sexual debut (odds ratio, 0.8) and sexual experience was associated with higher perceived risk (1.4) was found for females, but not for males. Knowing someone who had died of AIDS was associated with sexual debut and with an elevated perceived HIV risk among females (1.7 and 1.3, respectively). The associations between race and perceived risk of HIV infection varied by gender. CONCLUSIONS: HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs should consider more carefully how gender and race may intersect to influence risk perceptions and risk behaviors. In addition, possible reciprocal relationships between risk behaviors and risk perceptions should be considered in education and intervention programs.     

Training Methods for Delivering Difficult News in Genetic Counseling and Genetics Residency Training Programs

Genetic counselors and clinical geneticists are often in the position of delivering difficult news (DDN) to patients and families. Many studies show that healthcare providers require major improvement in the skills needed in DDN in a manner that is satisfactory to their patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the amount and methodology of DDN training received by genetic counselors and medical genetics residents in their training programs, such as observations of DDN or attending didactic lectures. To our knowledge, there is no previous assessment or study of DDN training in genetic counselor and medical genetics residency programs; therefore, we aim to both assess and compare the training in DDN received by genetic counselors and by genetics residents and determine whether there is a desire for recommendations on DDN training. We invited genetic counseling (GC) and genetics residency program directors to participate in an online survey designed to assess coursework, clinical experiences, and directors’ attitudes toward teaching DDN. Response rate was 85% (28/33) for GC program directors and 26% (14/53) for genetics residency program directors. One hundred percent of GC and genetics residency directors who responded to the survey agreed that it is important for genetic counselors and medical geneticists to be able to deliver difficult news effectively and that training programs should formally teach students how to deliver difficult news. Six of the eight common teaching methods are used by at least 75% of GC programs while two of eight are used by at least 75% of genetics residency programs. Seventy-nine percent of GC and 93% of genetics residency program directors agree that there should be recommendations on how to teach students to deliver this news. Our results show that techniques for DDN are integrated more fully into GC program curricula than genetics residency curricula. Directors of both types of programs desire recommendations and more standardized education for training students to deliver difficult news.     

The Challenges of HIV/AIDS Counselling in Nigerian Secondary Schools: A Case Study of Kwara State

The study investigated the challenges of HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools as expressed by school counsellors in Kwara state, Nigeria. The respondents comprised 132 purposively selected counsellors in Kwara state public secondary schools (Male=85; Female=47). Data were collected with the use of a survey instrument and the data were quantitatively analyzed. The study identified the challenges hindering effective implementation of HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools as ignorance, non-existence of governmental policy on HIV/AIDS counselling in schools and negative attitudes of school administrators, students and teachers to HIV/AIDS. Geographical location and job status had significant influence on the respondents' views of the challenges facing HIV/AIDS counselling in Nigerian secondary schools. The Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON) should enlighten Nigerians on the importance of HIV/AIDS counselling in schools.     

Developing a Model of Advanced Training to Promote Career Advancement for Certified Genetic Counselors: An Investigation of Expanded Skills,Advanced Training Paths,and Professional Opportunities

There are currently multiple paths through which genetic counselors can acquire advanced knowledge and skills. However, outside of continuing education opportunities, there are few formal training programs designed specifically for the advanced training of genetic counselors. In the genetic counseling profession, there is currently considerable debate about the paths that should be available to attain advanced skills, as well as the skills that might be needed for practice in the future. The Association of Genetic Counseling Program Directors (AGCPD) convened a national committee, the Committee on Advanced Training for Certified Genetic Counselors (CATCGC), to investigate varied paths to post-master’s training and career development. The committee began its work by developing three related grids that view career advancement from the viewpoints of the skills needed to advance (skills), ways to obtain these skills (paths), and existing genetic counselor positions that offer career change or advancement (positions). Here we describe previous work related to genetic counselor career advancement, the charge of the CATCGC, our preliminary work in developing a model through which to view genetic counselor advanced training and career advancement opportunities, and our next steps in further developing and disseminating the model.