Exploring Counselor Experiences of Training in Relational Depth: An Interpretative Phenomenological Inquiry

Relational depth is an emergent counseling construct that captures the profound connection felt by client and counselor in moments of therapeutic encounter. We used interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand how 10 doctoral counseling students perceived curricular experiences designed to facilitate their ability to engage in relational depth. We identified the following themes: mutuality, counselor growth, externalized to internalized expectations, authenticity, impact of relational depth educational experiences, and relational depth reflection and articulation.     

Counseling applications of RET in a Chinese cultural context

To explore the potential of Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) with clients of Chinese background, a brief review is conducted with respect to parallels between RET philosophy and some key components of Chinese culture and ways in which Chinese think. Arguments are advanced as to why RET is particularly suitable for use within a Chinese cultural context. Issues involved in using RET with Chinese clients are addressed including the appreciation many Chinese have for the logical and rational aspects of RET, the most appropriate type of client-counselor relationship to facilitate RET therapeutic progress, appropriate ways to dispute, and some cautionary words on the use of “emotive methods”. Areas where the RET counselor needs to be particularly sensitive to the cultural background of the client are highlighted. Charles P. Chen holds a master's degree in educational counseling and is currently a Ph.D. student and instructor in the Department of Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His interests include cross-cultural and multi-cultural counseling, career counseling, and group counseling.     

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.     

A Practical Account of Autonomy: Why Genetic Counseling is Especially Well Suited to the Facilitation of Informed Autonomous Decision Making

In genetic counseling, facilitation of autonomous decision-making is seen as a primary aim and respect for autonomy is used to justify a nondirective counseling approach whereby clients are free to make their own choices after being given all necessary information. However in the genetic counseling literature, autonomy as a concept appears to be interpreted variably and often narrowly. We offer a practical account of autonomy that is coherent, consistent and philosophically defensible for the genetic counseling setting. At the same time we demonstrate how nondirective counseling may serve to frustrate rather than facilitate client autonomy. We suggest that promoting purposeful dialogue rather than counseling that is nondirective is more conducive to client autonomy.     

Entering the Sacred: Using Motivational Interviewing to Address Spirituality in Counseling

Despite the salience of spirituality in the lives of many clients, counselors are often hesitant to explore spiritual issues in counseling, largely out of a valid concern of imposing values on the client. Motivational interviewing provides a framework within which a counselor can both assess spirituality and facilitate client exploration of spiritual issues without fear of imposing values.     

Spiritual Disclosure and Ego Resiliency: Validating Spiritual Competencies

Counselor spiritual and religious competency depends primarily on the ability to facilitate client spiritual disclosure. Little is known, however, about the empirical qualities of spiritual disclosure. In a sample of 318 adults (mean age = 44 years), spiritual disclosure independently predicted ego resiliency, a critical quality for stress‐related growth. Spiritual disclosure predicted ego resiliency over the partial mediators of the 5 factors of personality, general global disclosure, and congregational support. Implications for professional counseling ethics are discussed.     

Commentary on “Life as a Pregnant Genetic Counselor”

The genetic counseling role is complex. There are frequently challenges raised for the genetic counselor both personally with the client and through factors external to the genetic counselor such as the clinical setting. The pregnant genetic counselor working in a prenantal diagnosis center may be confronted by her own countertransference towards the client or by the client’s tranference. The processes of transference and countrtransference need to be clearly understood, identified and dealt with in a sensitive self aware manner to facilitate the role of communicating empathically and giving genetic information to facilitate informed client decision making. Regular professional supervision and debriefing for the genetic counselor are essential to develop professional boundaries and to develop self awareness.     

Providing a Transcultural Genetic Counseling Service in the UK

This paper uses a broad definition of culture to explore the practice of transcultural genetic counseling through three case studies. The first case involves a White genetic counselor seeing an Asian family, the second, an Asian genetic counselor seeing an Asian family and the third, a hearing genetic counselor seeing a culturally Deaf client. Boundaries, transference and countertransference reactions are considered within each transcultural encounter and the author of each case reflects in detail on their role in the client interaction and their impact on the transcultural dynamic. The cases are used to illustrate some cultural beliefs or characteristics that may challenge the genetic counselor’s expectations. The value of identifying and interpreting these differences to facilitate useful clinical work is considered. The paper debates, where possible, whether it is helpful to culturally match genetic counselor and client.     

An Exploration of Young Clients' Experiences in Counseling With Post‐Master's Counselors

This phenomenological study adds to current literature about clients' meaningful experiences in counseling by exploring the experiences of eight young clients (ages 8–18) in individual counseling with post‐master's counselors in an outpatient setting. Interviews with these clients revealed the following six themes: (a) the process of growth, (b) having a safe place to talk, (c) counselor accepts and meets the client where they are, (d) counseling is a team effort, (e) supportive accountability from the counselor, and (f) understanding self and others. The final theme includes two subthemes: learning coping and emotion management skills, and learning better ways to communicate and behave. Findings and implications for counselors are discussed.     

Does Receiving Genetic Counseling Impact Genetic Counselor Practice?

This study was an investigation of whether genetic counselors have received genetic counseling and if so, how they believe it affects their practice. One thousand genetic counselors were mailed surveys about the nature of genetic counseling services received, impact on their clinical practice, frequency and reasons for disclosing about their receipt of counseling to their clients, and demographics. Ninety-three of the 510 respondents reported receiving genetic counseling. Of these, almost three-fourths were practicing genetic counselors while receiving services. Reasons for services include prenatal concerns, family history of cancer, and history/risk of other genetic conditions. Frequently endorsed effects on practice include increased empathy and understanding of client decisions, feeling more connected with clients, greater emphasis on psychosocial support, and sympathy. Forty-six respondents disclosed to clients about their receipt of genetic counseling. Prevalent reasons include client asked, help clients feel they are not alone, demonstrate counselor understanding, decrease client anxiety, build rapport, and normalize client feelings. Practice and research recommendations are given.     

Developmental Therapy: Integrating Developmental Processes into the Clinical Practice

The facilitation of development may be considered the primary goal of counseling and therapy. Developmental theory, however, remains relatively divorced from direct clinical work. Developmental therapy is oriented toward identifying how to use basic developmental theory in clinical consultation. Developmental therapy differs from life span developmental psychology in emphasizing specific processes of change, growth, and development rather than outcomes and life stages. Thus, developmental therapy supplements life span theory and provides specific suggestions for clinical-counseling interventions that may be used to assess the developmental level of a client on a specific task, select counseling skills and theory to match client cognitive-developmental level, and obtain feedback on the effectiveness of the intervention that will enable one to change counseling style to meet client needs. Basic to developmental therapy is a modern adaptatio of Platonic and Piagetian constructs that allows the systematic integration of counseling and therapy theory. Implications of the model for training and practice are discussed.     

Chaos,creativity, and counseling: Aspects of a Transtheoretical model of the counseling process

Counselors ask their clients to become creative in their personal lives and within their counseling process. The process of counseling is a creative process. Growth is necessary for effective improvement in the counseling process. This paper will examine creativity from the point of view of the affective experience of the creator, and the relationship of this experience to the client in counseling.

The position here is that the process of counseling is both a creative process and one that involves tensions and turbulence. Based on a model of nonlinear dynamics, and ideas about the creative process, this study draws a dynamical fractal movie of the counseling process in which the counselor serves as an attractor for the construction of opposites in the client behavior that allow for growth and the construction of a new state of psychosocial events.     

Person-centred approach in schools: Is it the answer to disruptive behaviour in our classrooms?

The person-centred approach based on the work of Carl Rogers (1902–1987) was designed to promote openness, growth and change in understanding the counseling processes. It is an approach which is practical and helpful in education, because it can solve some of the problems outside the curriculum faced by students. For example it provides a way of understanding and solving issues of relationships, emotional development and ethical behaviour that seem to be at the root of most of the problems in school and society at large. However, it is essential to incorporate some accelerating ingredients to inform conditions which facilitate growth. These include acceptance, empathy and positive regard from others. For example it has been realized that if an individual is denied acceptance and positive regard they fail to relate the meaning of their experience to themselves and positive growth in such a relevant way is inhibited. However, the approach is faced with some drawbacks which will be explored. Teaching today in British schools is a very challenging job. It is becoming increasingly difficult to establish a classroom environment that is free from disruptive behaviour. The person-centred approach, where the student as the client is made responsible of his or her own behaviour, could be part of the solution. This could be the focus of an educational yet assertive discipline program. This paper will discuss the person-centred approach in counseling touching on the process of the helping relationship, empathy, congruence, unconditional positive regard as important concepts of the approach and some suggestions on classroom management.     

Ethical Implications of a Critical Legal Case for the Counseling Profession: Ward v. Wilbanks

This article presents the official position of the American Counseling Association on a seminal legal case for professional counseling: Ward v. Wilbanks. The focus is on three key questions: Is it permissible to deny counseling services to a homosexual client on the basis of a counselor's values? Can referrals be made at any time a counselor wishes to do so? When is a client a client?     

The Use of Humor in Counseling: The Laughing Cure

The benefits of humor are briefly reviewed, and the ways in which humor can be effectively used in the client—counselor relationship are explored (i.e., using humor as a diagnostic tool and as a therapeutic tool). Finally counseling vignettes are provided and admonitions regarding the improper application of humor in counseling are reviewed.     

Client Quest—A Key to Counseling

The expression quest is proposed to represent any unifying theme of client purposes. Counseling is then defined as an interview in which client quest is superordinate to counselor quest. It is suggested that client quests be classified by their direction. Thus, quests may be for understanding or change, and, at a higher level, for mastering self or environment. The identification, clarification, and management of client quests becomes central to effective counseling. Ideally, as an expert in human learning and development, the counselor is a hypothesis maker who works with his client to facilitate conquest. Dissonance is said to occur when the purposive balance is inappropriate to counselor or client quests. The congruent counselor reduces dissonance by discussing changes in the purposive balance openly with the client and by avoiding professional roles in which client quests are subordinated.     

Ethical Implications in Cross-Cultural Counseling and Training

The nonspecificity of the ethical guidelines forces counselors to develop personal philosophies in regard to serving culturally unique clients. The resulting variability in the quality and availability of services threatens the growth and dilutes the integrity of the counseling profession. The worldview of the counselor is discussed as it affects client welfare, self-determination, and cultural autonomy in the counseling alliance. Ethical issues surrounding the development and implementation of cross-cultural training programs are reviewed and discussed.     

Building on an Empirical Foundation: Strategies to Enhance Good Practice

Reviews of the research literature on outcomes in counseling agree that counseling works. It is also possible to use research to identify strategies for increasing the probability of successful counseling. Such strategies include careful assessment of the client, matching the client and counselor on demographic and attitudinal variables, and maintaining a productive working alliance through open disclosure to the client of the counselor's background and procedures, inquiry into the client's experience of counseling process, and management of client resistance.     

Disguised Ideologies in Counseling and Social Justice Work

A social justice orientation for counseling is appealing to many but appears to some to violate counselor neutrality and respect for client freedom and rights. Confusion about neutrality and advocacy in the counseling field seems to reflect confused assumptions and values in the wider culture. As a result, counseling is guided more by a disguised ideology of liberal individualism than an objective theory or value‐neutral principles. The authors suggest that a hermeneutic, dialogical framework for counseling has the potential to resolve much of this confusion and to refine and broaden a social justice approach in needed ways.     

Buddhist Perspectives for Addressing Values Conflicts in Counseling: Possibilities From Practice

In recent years, the issue of value conflicts in counseling has become more salient, whereas equitably working with such conflicts has been increasingly contested. Interest in the confluence of counseling and spirituality has also grown. Using relevant Buddhist principles, the authors offer a spiritual framework that is illustrated through clinical case studies. These are used to conceptualize concerns, understand the conflict, and find ways to be responsive to the disjunction between client and counselor.