Group counseling

This article reviews the major concerns of group counseling and differentiates among group guidance, group counseling, and group therapy. It also evaluates the research status of group counseling. Finally, the author presents implications for the future of this approach.     

Reciprocity counseling: A rapid learning-based procedure for marital counseling

Existing marital counseling procedures have not been experimentally evaluated or generally have not been based on an experimentally derived theory. The present study formulated a model of marital discord based on reinforcement theory, developed a marital counseling procedure based on that theory and experimentally evaluated its effectiveness. The model viewed marital discord as the resultant of non-reciprocated reinforcement. The counseling procedures attempted to establish general marital reciprocity of reinforcement by teaching reciprocity in several specific areas of marital unhappiness. The reciprocity procedure was conducted for about 3–4 weeks with 12 couples, after first conducting a catharsis-type counseling as a control procedure. The results showed that the reciprocity procedure increased reported marital happiness, whereas the control procedure did not. Once reciprocity was achieved in a specific problem area, the benefits generalized somewhat to other yet-to-be counseled areas. The increase in marital happiness occurred for each of the specific areas of marital interaction, for 96 per cent of the clients, and was maintained and increased during the available follow-up period. These results indicate that the procedure is an effective, rapid and enduring method of producing marital happiness.     

Rational divorce counseling

Although most couples' problems are brought to marriage counselors, a great percentage of these marriages, treated or not, will end in divorce. In this article, the importance of the role of the therapist's values and attitudes about divorce is stressed as a significant ingredient in the therapy on this difficult decision. A number of the tasks of RET divorce counseling are reviewed, including helping the individual(s) decide whether to remain married or divorce, reviewing their perceptions for distortions of data and their cognitions for distortions of evaluation or reasoning,and helping them to implement the decision, survive the aftermath, and work out a changed relationship with the exspouse.There have always been many things you can do short of actually ending an unhappy marriage—buying a house, having an affair, and having a baby are the most common, I suppose. Nora Ephron,Heartburn     

Deepening our counseling

Abstract

The counselor deepens his therapeutic work by analyzing what happens during the counseling session. Subtle details in the off ice interactions are used to refer to personality traits and behavioral patterns manifesting themselves in the client's daily life. The counselor must also be sensitive to his own feelings and reactions and employ these as indicators to objective elements in the client's personality.