Counseling for Dropout Prevention: Applications From Multicultural Counseling

Although high school dropout rates have declined over the past several years, rates remain high for many segments of our population. Most of the attention devoted to dropout prevention counseling has focused on group counseling or programmatic issues, whereas individual counseling has largely been ignored. This article draws on commonalities between multicultural counseling and dropout prevention to produce a general framework for individual counseling with students who have potential to drop out of high school.     

Premarital Counseling

Abstract

A number of different approaches to premarital counseling have been developed to better prepare couples for marriage. A variety of these of approaches will be described here, including those used in churchsettings, where the majority of premarital counseling is performed. A brief summary of the premarital counseling research will also be presented, including what research suggests are important ingredients to designing effective premarital counseling approaches.     

Counseling Adult Males

This article suggests that counselors must examine their own gender-role issues, become aware of the body of knowledge about men which is emerging in the literature, examine the implications of that literature on counseling men, and develop an effective approach to counseling men. The author presents a counseling focus on male gender-role issues similar to a decision model for counseling and explores the use of that focus for both counseling and research with adult males.     

Genomic Counseling: Next Generation Counseling

Personalized medicine continues to expand with the development and increasing use of genome-based testing. While these advances present new opportunities for diagnosis and risk assessment, they also present challenges to clinical delivery. Genetic counselors will play an important role in ushering in this new era of testing; however, it will warrant a shift from traditional genetic counseling to “genomic counseling.” This shift will be marked by a move from reactive genetic testing for diagnosis of primarily single-gene diseases to proactive genome-based testing for multiple complex diseases for the purpose of disease prevention. It will also require discussion of risk information for a number of diseases, some of which may have low relative risks or weak associations, and thus, may not substantially impact clinical care. Additionally, genomic counselors will expand their roles, particularly in the area of health promotion to reduce disease risk. This additional role will require a style of counseling that is more directive than traditional counseling and require greater knowledge about risk reducing behaviors and disease screening.     

BRCA1 Testing: Genetic Counseling Protocol Development and Counseling Issues

This article discusses the genetic counseling protocols which were developed and counseling issues that have arisen in the first 2 years of evaluating a large kindred with a BRCA1 mutation. The rationale for the development of the genetic counseling protocols and specific genetic counseling visual aids are presented and discussed. The protocols and counseling aids can serve as models for other programs offering cancer susceptibility testing. The observations of study counselors about study subject concerns and responses to genetic testing at the time of the pretest and posttest counseling sessions are presented.     

Empowerment in Counseling

This article examines the use of empowerment as a central component of counseling and as a criterion for evaluating counseling interventions. Definitions of empowerment across several perspectives are discussed and a definition of empowerment in the context of counseling is proposed. Based on this definition, potentially empowering and disempowering aspects of counseling are presented. Measurement and research issues and recommendations related to empowerment are highlighted.     

Counseling with aliens

This paper addresses the issue of the semantic problem frequently found in cross denominational counseling in terms of the theological-psychological question of openness versus closure. It secondarily touches upon the issues of establishing and maintaining a level of trust in cross denominational counseling; suggestions of several tools for the counselor to use in such counseling situations; and the advantages of counselor tensions within the confines of a cross denomination counseling situation.     

Counseling Psychology in China

Bien que le counseling et la psychothérapie soient pratiqués en Chine depuis bientôt deux décades, la psychologie du counseling n'a pas émergé comme profession ou discipline. Dans cet article, les auteurs utilisent la méthode SWOT pour analyser le développement de la psychologie du counseling en Chine. Les forces, les faiblesses, les opportunités et les menaces quant au développement d'une psychologie du counseling sont circonscrites ainsi que les directions futures.
Although counseling and psychotherapy have been practiced in China for almost two decades, counseling psychology has not emerged as a profession or discipline. In this article, the authors used the SWOT method to analyse the development of counseling psychology in China. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats were traced, and future directions for the development of counseling psychology in China were considered.     

Cross-Cultural Counseling Concerns

The problems and concerns of cross-cultural counseling and psychotherapy are evaluated. Specific questions are raised along with suggestions for cross-cultural counseling researchers and practitioners.     

Personality Assessment and Counseling Psychology

This article examines the place of personality assessment in counseling psychology. Three areas are considered: (a) the types of tests counseling psychologists use, (b) the perspective counseling psychologists apply to the use of tests, and (c) projective techniques and counseling psychology. Each area is examined, and the issues it raises for counseling psychology are presented. Some conclusions about personality assessment practices in counseling psychology are made, and several directions for future training are identified.     

Counseling Chinese-Americans

The Chinese-American student's cultural background plays an important part in his expression of personality traits and the manifestation of his problems. This article presents an analysis of Chinese values and suggests that the counseling situation may arouse intense conflicts for many Chinese-American students. It also suggests a modified counseling approach that can be used in working with these students.     

Developmental Relational Counseling: Applications for Counseling Men

Developmental relational counseling (DRC) is a conceptual model designed to help people gain a deeper awareness of their relational functioning. DRC is informed by relational‐cultural theory and influenced by the Enneagram personality typology and cognitive and narrative theories. This article outlines the DRC model in counseling practice with men. Men involved in counseling services may use this approach to expand their personal awareness and promote mutual understanding in their relationships.     

Neurotic-Symbiotic Counseling Relationships

Two individuals can be so closely involved with one another in a counseling relationship that they become mutually interdependent and yet neither experiences growth. This paper discusses several kinds of these neurotic-symbiotic counseling relationships and examines some possible reasons for the continuation of counseling in the absence of therapeutic change. Some general characteristics of neurotic-symbiotic relationships are discussed, and a comparison is drawn between these growth-preventing relationships and those that are productive of growth.     

Sex Bias in Educational-Vocational Counseling

Literature pertinent to sex discrimination in educational and vocational counseling is reviewed. Among the many factors that contribute to inequitable counseling are the sex role socialization that clients bring to the counseling interaction, the sex role attitudes and biases of counselors, deficiencies in counselor training, and shortcomings of tests and other source materials used in counseling practice. Recommendations are made toward more comprehensive counseling services for women and men.     

Generic Models of Counseling Supervision: Counseling/Instruction Dichotomy and Consultation Metamodel

Major conceptual models for counseling supervision are described and compared: supervision as a counseling analog, as an instruction or teaching analog, and as a role that includes counseling and teaching aspects. Although each of these approaches avails supervisors of familiar roles, none adequately provides the scope and utility required of a model for such a complex function. Thus, a higher order metamodal, supervision as consultation, is presented, and this consultation metamodel is related to the psychoeducational model for counseling psychology.     

Spa in Counseling

A place may be made in nearly every counseling session for spa: uplifting, positive experiences in which the focus is placed directly on helping clients feel good about themselves. With many clients, a few minutes at the end of each interview may be saved for these positive experiences; with some clients the entire effort of an individual session may be that of spa. The simplest of the several examples of spa in counseling offered in this article is the activity “Things I Can Do,” in which the counselor helps the client focus on and savor some of the most often-repeated actions of which he or she is capable: breathe, walk, talk, eat, sleep, think, and so on. All counseling clients can benefit from the emerging sense of wellness that can come from spa in counseling.     

Genetic Counseling Outcomes: Perceived Risk and Distress After Counseling for Hereditary Colorectal Cancer

Genetic counseling may turn risk information into cancer prevention behavior by modifying health beliefs and cancer-related distress. We assessed the effect of genetic counseling on these factors in 101 adult first-degree-relatives of colorectal cancer patients from families with known or suspected hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. Before counseling and once afterward, subjects completed self-report measures of perceived lifetime risk and cancer-distress. Most persons overestimated their cancer risk, and higher perceived risk was associated with believing that colorectal cancer cannot be prevented. Individual perceived risk changed after counseling, although mean perceived risk was unchanged. After adjusting for baseline risk, older persons and those with higher estimated objective cancer risk had larger postcounseling decreases. Distress after counseling was positively correlated with baseline distress and anxiety symptoms, and inversely correlated with tolerance for ambiguity. The findings suggest counseling interventions that should increase the likelihood of screening and offer hypotheses for future research.     

Physical Facilities for Elementary School Counseling

This article describes 3 desirable counseling centers for elementary schools with student populations of four to eight hundred. Adaptations for schools outside these population limits will readily be seen. 4 assumptions about the counseling setting are discussed: that it should (1) be attractive, (2) permit group as well as individual counseling, (3) encourage the use of play media in counseling, and (4) permit observation of counseling. Functional aspects of the counseling setting are presented in diagram and outline form. It is hoped that this presentation will encourage dialogue relative to the setting for elementary counseling, and that some direction may be found by those who are planning counseling offices or centers.     

Marriage and Family Counseling

This article provides an overview of marriage and family counseling, including the growth and interest of this specialty within the American Counseling Association (ACA). Areas discussed include the evolution of marriage and family counseling within ACA, standards for training, credentialing, and unique ethical considerations when counseling couples and families.