Counseling Mexican American Seniors: An Overview

This article examines assessment and counseling techniques that correspond to the sociocultural framework of Mexican American seniors. Acculturation, familial, and adaptation themes are delineated for ensuring appropriate interventions. Case vignettes elucidate these perspectives.     

Counseling Older Japanese American Clients: An Overview and Observations

Older Japanese American clients bring a unique set of historical and cultural characteristics to the counseling setting. Several important aspects of providing counseling to this group are discussed, including ethical issues based on cultural differences and nontraditional approaches to counseling.     

An Overview of Genetic Counseling in Cuba

This brief report provides an overview of the history and current status of genetic services in Cuba. In 1971, the University of Medical Sciences of Havana began to train doctors in medical genetics according to the medicine development plan in Cuba. With the aim of introducing genetic services to the population, two main issues were identified: the impact of neural tube defects as a cause of infantile mortality, and a founder effect resulting in a high frequency of sickle cell anemia, which increased the mortality rate and impacted the quality of peoples' lives. The impact of consanguinity is variable; it depends on the isolation of the population, with rates of 1 to 11% in different regions for first and second cousin marriages. From 1981, the services of medical genetics began to expand to the entire country, according to a government directive, and the need to design a program for the specialty became evident. From 1995 to 2000, two Masters-level programs were designed by professors of the Department of Medical Genetics, University of Medical Sciences of Havana, and authorized by the Ministry of Higher Education. One program in medical genetics was designed for physicians with other specialties, and the second program was designed to train professionals to become genetic counselors. The majority of graduates from the latter program are working at the primary level of healthcare     

Empathy: An Integral Model in the Counseling Process

Expanding on a framework introduced by Carl Rogers, an integral model of empathy in counseling uses empathic understanding through 3 ways of knowing: Subjective empathy enables a counselor to momentarily experience what it is like to be a client, interpersonal empathy relates to understanding a client's phenomenological experiencing, and objective empathy uses reputable knowledge sources outside of a client's frame of reference. Across the counseling process, empathy is integral to treatment strategies and interventions.     

Broaching the Subjects of Race,Ethnicity, and Culture During the Counseling Process

The authors define broaching as the counselor's ability to consider how sociopolitical factors such as race influence the client's counseling concerns. The counselor must learn to recognize the cultural meaning clients attach to phenomena and to subsequently translate that cultural knowledge into meaningful practice that facilitates client empowerment, strengthens the therapeutic alliance, and enhances counseling outcomes. A continuum of broaching behavior is described, and parallels are drawn between the progression of broaching behavior and the counselor's level of racial identity functioning.     

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.     

Race and Ethnicity: An 11‐Year Content Analysis of Counseling and Values

Using the Dimensions of Personal Identity Model proposed by Arredondo and Glauner (as cited in Arredondo et al., 1996 ), the authors reviewed the last 11 years of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling's journal, Counseling and Values, specifically regarding the “A” dimensions of race and ethnicity. Twenty‐five of the 235 articles reviewed (11%) contained a multicultural perspective defined in these terms. Other aspects of cultural inclusion, such as authorship and type of study, were also considered.     

Assessment of Psychosocial Outcomes in Genetic Counseling Research: An Overview of Available Measurement Scales

The aim of the present paper was to describe and evaluate many of the measurement scales currently used in genetic counseling outcomes research. A team of three researchers reviewed the available literature and selected a variety of validated instruments suitable for measurement of genetic counseling outcomes. There are numerous scales to assess each of the following outcomes among counselees: satisfaction with genetic counseling; knowledge; decision-making; psychological adjustment; coping; perceived personal control; perceptions of disease risk; and family communication about genetic risk. However, the strengths and limitations inherent to each instrument warrant careful consideration prior to implementation. In the genetic counseling context, scale selection should be undertaken with thought directed towards the characteristics of the research sample (e.g. levels of literacy, culture, medical condition), the practicalities of the research setting (e.g. available funding and resources, time restrictions, researcher expertise), the purpose of the research (i.e. the specific aspect of the genetic counseling experience to be studied), and the science underlying the scale (e.g. theoretical framework, psychometric properties).     

Addictions Counseling Certification: An Emerging Counseling Specialty

This article summarizes the national standards for addictions counseling of 4 different professional groups or boards. The new addictions specialty certification standards that are being developed jointly by the National Board for Certified Counselors and the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (a division of the American Counseling Association) are compared with the standards of 3 other groups.     

Adventure Based Counseling: An Innovation in Counseling

Increasingly, Adventure Based Counseling (ABC) is recognized as providing a significant means to help clients. This article describes the outdoor and indoor adventure experience and its relationship to counseling. A conceptual framework of ABC has been developed to provide a better understanding of the process and potential benefits of this approach and to serve as a model for researchers. Counseling theories, educational theories, setting, programming, processing, and transferring client gains to real life are explained as well as the potential psychological, educational, sociological, physical, and spiritual benefits of ABC.