Multicultural Competence and Counselor Training: A National Survey

The extent to which practicing professional counselors perceive themselves as multiculturally competent and the basis for their training experiences in multicultural counseling have not been determined. This article reports the results of a survey on practicing professional counselors' perceptions of their multicultural competence and the nature of their pre- and in-service professional preparation in this area. There was no significant difference in self-perceived multicultural competence between graduates of Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited and nonaccredited programs. However, ethnicity was related to higher levels of perceived multicultural competence.     

Spirituality in the Counselor Education Curriculum: A National Survey of Student Perceptions

Interns (N= 335) from 36 programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs completed a survey about their preparation to integrate the 9 Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Issues in Counseling (ASERVIC) Spiritual Competencies into their counseling practice. Most respondents felt prepared to integrate all but 1 of ASERVIC's competencies. Spiritual topics of wellness, meaning, hope, and faith were addressed most frequently in course work and were associated with feeling prepared to integrate 8 of the competencies. Classroom discussion, experiential activities, and reading were the modalities most useful for learning about spirituality.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences: A 20-Year Content Analysis of American Counseling Association and American School Counselor Association Journals

The purpose of this content analysis was to illustrate trends related to the use of the term adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), or terms related to the 10 components of ACEs, within 140 peer-reviewed articles published in 22 journals affiliated with the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) between 1998 and 2018. Of the 9,120 articles published in the 22 ACA- and ASCA-affiliated journals in that time, only three articles (0.03%) explicitly mentioned the term adverse childhood experiences in the title, abstract, or keywords. Authors of 93 journal articles mentioned terms related to the original 10 categories of ACEs 104 times (1.0% of all published articles). The need for consistent language across research and practice is highlighted. Implications include ways that the counseling field may benefit from an increased clarity and focus around ACEs.     

Counselor Values: A National Survey

A national sample (n = 479) of counselors representative of the 1993 American Counseling Association membership was surveyed regarding their value orientations in four domains: universal values, mental health values, individualistic-collectivistic values, and religious-spiritual values. Results yielded a multifaceted, generally concordant (although by no means unanimous) value profile for professional counselors across these value domains, presenting an overall content pattern that might be globally summarized as a strong core valuing of holistic-humanistic empowerment related to personal development and interpersonal and social concern. Implications for counseling practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Counselor Demographics,Ageist Attitudes,and Multicultural Counseling Competence Among Counselors and Counselor Trainees

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship among counselors’ self‐reported multicultural counseling competence and their attitudes of the geriatric population. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between participants’ attitudes of the geriatric population and their self‐reported multicultural counseling competence. Implications for training and practice are provided.     

Counseling and Spirituality: A Historical Review

Evolution of the relationship between counseling and spirituality since 1840 is examined in terms of the number of publications that have appeared over time that include these terms. The author retrieved the data using the American Psychological Association's PsycINFO database. A similar search was done adding the term training. The rise of behaviorism and cognitive psychology is discussed as possible explanations for the absence of a discussion of spirituality in the early psychological literature. A. H. Maslow's (1969a, 1969b; Association for Transpersonal Psychology, n.d.) work; the evolution of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling; and multiculturalism are suggested as possible influences on the growth in the number of publications on spiritual and counseling issues over the last 30 years.     

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.     

American Counseling in the Mind of a Chinese Counselor

Illustrating three instances he encountered here in the States, the Chinese counselor argues that American counseling is deeply rooted in rugged individualism, and often at expense of family and community. The suitability of American counseling for other cultures is thus questioned.     

Spirituality in Counselor Training: A Content Analysis of Syllabi From Introductory Spirituality Courses

The authors discuss the results of a content analysis of 14 syllabi of introductory courses on spirituality in counseling. Course syllabi were examined to determine trends in the content of these courses and to determine if the instruction is consistent with 9 competencies developed at the Summit on Spirituality. Results suggested that there was substantial variance in the extent to which the competencies were covered in the syllabi. The authors discuss implications for teaching courses on spirituality in counseling.     

Spirituality and Multimodal Therapy: A Practical Approach to Incorporating Spirituality in Counseling

The purpose of this article is to describe how the dimension of spirituality can be added to an existing counseling theory, multimodal therapy (MMT; A. A. Lazarus, 1984), to provide counselors with a practical approach to incorporating clients' religious and spiritual beliefs in the counseling process. An explanation of MMT is given, as well as its supporting research. The context of spirituality in counseling is discussed, and the process by which it can be integrated into the MMT model is explained. Two case studies are described to demonstrate how spiritual issues can be assessed and used to strengthen the counseling process. Finally, implications for counseling are discussed.     

Spirituality in Counseling: A Faith Development Perspective

This article describes the use of Fowler's (1981) faith development theory (FDT) in counseling. FDT is a stage model of spiritual and religious development that allows counselors to identify both adaptive qualities and potential encumbrances in spiritual or religious expression. FDT offers a nonsectarian model of spiritual growth that permits assessment of spiritual development apart from the specific contents of various faith traditions. This article summarizes Fowler's faith stages and demonstrates their clinical utility through composite vignettes.     

Influence of Counselor Spirituality and Training on Treatment Focus and Self‐Perceived Competence

Spirituality is a potential area of concern for counseling clients. This study presents the empirical results of a survey completed by 572 counselors to determine if counselors' spiritual beliefs, experiences, or training had an impact on their focus of therapy or self‐perceived competence. A counselor's personal spirituality, spiritual experience, and spirituality training did significantly influence treatment focus as well as self‐perceived competence to counsel a client with spiritual concerns.     

The Soul of Supervision: Counselor Spirituality

Because spirituality training for counselors and supervisors is vital to counselor development, the authors examined the relationships between purpose in life, the integration of spirituality into supervision, and the supervisory working alliance among a sample of supervisors and trainees. Supervisors reported a greater sense of purpose and spiritual discussion during supervision than trainees. Trainees' personal sense of purpose was positively related to spiritual discussions with a supervisor and to an emphasis on client issues in supervision.     

The Ethics of Counseling: A National Survey of Certified Counselors

National survey data were collected from 579 counselors certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Participants indicated their beliefs about whether each of 88 behaviors was ethical and also the degree to which they were confident of their judgment about the behavior. Systematic patterns in responding emerged in regard to age, sex, primary work setting, and degree. Participants also indicated their evaluation of 16 sources of ethical information or guidance. Highest ratings were given to American Association for Counseling and Development (AACD; now the American Counseling Association [ACA]) Ethical Standards, AACD ethics committee, the Journal of Counseling & Development, state licensing boards, and colleagues. The lowest ratings were given to local ethics committees, published clinical and theoretical work, court decisions, state and federal laws, and agencies for which participants had worked.     

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.     

Billing for Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling Services: A National Survey

In January 2007 the American Medical Association added a new Current Procedural Terminology® (CPT) code, 96040, for “Medical Genetics and Genetic Counseling Services.” In order to identify the impact of having this new code and to identify issues with implementation of the code, the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) CPT® Working Group surveyed NSGC members using an internet-based survey tool. The majority of respondents (94%) reported being aware of the new code and over half of the respondents (69%) said they were billing for genetic counseling. Approximately 24% of those billing reported using 96040. Many facilities are not using this code and the reported success of billing using 96040 is highly varied. Continued education may be beneficial to encourage reimbursement for 96040 and follow up is needed to assess the ongoing implementation and impact of the new CPT® code.     

Billing and Record-Keeping for Familial Cancer Risk Counseling: A National Survey

We surveyed 111 genetic counselors providing cancer risk counseling (CRC) in order to document their billing and record-keeping practices. Of the 75 respondents, billing was generally done under the supervising physician with a wide variation in charges. Follow-up telephone interviews with 28 counselors who charge patients revealed that billing was usually done using the CPT codes for consultations, and the ICD-9 diagnostic codes for cancer (if applicable), a medical complaint, or a family history of cancer code. Most counselors exclude some clinical information from the patient's medical record. In consultation notes, 81% of counselors document a discussion of genetic testing, but only 37% document the patient's actual testing decision, and only 19% document test results. In anticipation of increased referrals for CRC, data are needed on the components of a CRC visit, the amount of time required to provide CRC, patient outcomes measures, and charges and reimbursement. The feasibility and advisability of keeping results separate from the patient's medical record also needs to be addressed.     

Counseling Expectations Among Mexican American College Students: The Role of Counselor Ethnicity

Sixty‐five Mexican American undergraduates completed a battery of tests, including the Expectations About Counseling‐Brief Form B and the Marlowe‐Crown Social Desirability Scale‐Form XX. Statistical analyses showed significant counselor ethnicity and participant gender main and interaction effects on EAC‐B ratings related to client attitudes and behaviors, counselor attitudes and behaviors, counselor characteristics, and counseling process.     

Contributions of Multicultural Counseling to Counselor Competence With Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Clients

This article outlines the contributions of multicultural counseling to 3 areas of counselor competence with lesbian, gay male, and bisexual male and female (LGB) clients: conceptualization of competence, counselor education, and assessment of counselor competence. The authors describe the foundations of multicultural counseling and extend the concepts to counselor competence with LGB clients. Este artículo resume las contribuciones de la consejería multicultural a tres campos de habilidad consejera con clientes homosexuales y hombres y mujeres bisexuales: la conceptualización de la competencia, educación del consejero, y evaluación de competencia para consejería. Los autores describen los fundamentos de la consejería multicultural y extienden estos conceptos a la competencia consejera con clientes homosexuales, lesbianas, y bisexuales.