Perceptions of the Supervisory Relationship: Recovering and Nonrecovering Substance Abuse Counselors

The unique set of dynamics found in the substance abuse field (i.e., recovering and nonrecovering counselors and supervisors) calls for a separate examination of the supervisory relationship within this context. The authors examined differences in counselors' perceptions of the supervisory relationship based on counselor and supervisor recovery status, and the match or mismatch of counselor and supervisor recovery status. Substance abuse counselors (N = 547) working in a statewide public mental health system located in the Southeast rated satisfaction with supervision and reported perceptions of various dimensions of the supervisory relationship. Results of the 2 (counselor recovery status: nonrecovering and recovering) × 2 (supervisor recovery status: nonrecovering and recovering) multivariate analysis of variance indicated no significant differences in ratings of satisfaction or relationship dimensions based on either the counselors' or supervisors' recovery status. A significant interaction effect for counselor and supervisor recovery status (i.e., match or mismatch of recovery status) was found for all satisfaction and relationship measures.     

Biological Foundations of Behavior: Implications for Counseling

Professional and social movements of the 1980s demand that counselors have a basic knowledge of biological foundations of behavior, a knowledge that has been neglected in counselor training programs, theories of counseling, and theories of personality. This article discusses biological explanations of human behavior and problems, along with implications and applications for the counselor in terms of the counseling setting, client problem, counselor role, counselor training, and the counseling profession.     

What Client Behaviors Make Counselors Angry? An Exploratory Study

Counselors may feel anger when clients do not behave according to their expectations of what is a good client. Client resistance, client impositions, verbal attacks on the counselor, and overinvolvement by the counselor in client dynamics seem to be relatively common occurrences that annoy counselors. Possible counselor responses to these feelings are discussed.     

“Meeting Someone at the Edge”: Counselors’ Experiences of Interpersonal Stress

Using consensual qualitative research, the authors explored the factors that contribute to counselors’ experiences of interpersonal stress and how counselors respond to interpersonal stressors within therapeutic settings. Thirteen professional counselors representing a variety of counseling contexts and settings participated in semistructured interviews. Through consensus building, the authors identified 4 domains within the data: client characteristics, relationship dynamics, counselor response, and personal vs. professional self. The findings suggest that client characteristics and relationship dynamics are catalysts to counselor interpersonal stress responses, which shape their conscious awareness of the experience. Implications for clinical practice, clinical supervision, and counselor wellness are discussed.     

Career counseling meets motivational interviewing: A sequential analysis of dynamic counselor–client interactions

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a client-centered communication style with the aim to resolve client ambivalence within a change-related counseling. Its potential benefit for career counseling has been discussed by several scholars but no empirical research has investigated MI in this context so far. The current study used process measures from MI to investigate dynamic interactions within a career counseling intervention. Overall, we analyzed two videotaped sessions of 14 unique counselor–client dyads. Verbal behavior of counselors and clients were coded with two observational coding schemes from MI (one for counselors and one for clients, respectively). Behavior profiles of counselors were compared with benchmarks of good MI. Furthermore, client verbal ambivalence was compared between sessions. Finally, we conducted lag sequential analyses to analyze temporal dynamics between counselor behavior and immediate client verbal responses across N = 6883 behavioral events. Our results showed, first, behavior profiles of career counselors did significantly differ from recommended counseling benchmarks of good MI practice. Second, as assumed on the basis of past studies, client ambivalence decreased across sessions. Third, MI consistent counselor behaviors showed a positive sequential association with client positive career talk, whereas MI inconsistent counselor behaviors showed the reverse pattern. Our results suggest that counseling behaviors recommended from MI are facilitating career interventions. We discuss how trainings in MI could amend career counseling interventions and provide ethical implications when integrating MI into career counseling programs.     

Counselor Education and Supervision: The Development of the CACREP Doctoral Standards

The purpose of this article is to illuminate the unique features of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs guidelines and accreditation standards that shaped doctoral preparation in counselor education. Current issues that affect advanced training in counselor education and implications for future doctoral standards revisions are also presented.     

Suicide: Dynamics and Implications for Counseling

‘The authors discuss the dynamics of suicide, how to work with a potentially suicidal client in the counseling relationship, and legal and ethical implications for the counselor.     

Case Report: Depression vs. Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease: The Genetic Counselor's Role

Awareness of depression in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer disease is essential for genetic counselors seeing patients at risk for early-onset familial Alzheimer disease (EOFAD). The genetic counselor is in a unique position to recognize depression as the cause of symptoms mimicking early-onset Alzheimer disease. While generating a family medical history, the counselor can evoke significant emotional history as well. Based on this information, appropriate referrals can be given for neurological and psychological evaluation. The counselor also serves to explain EOFAD and the benefits and limitations of genetic testing for each individual patient. Whether or not patients choose testing, they can benefit from correct diagnosis of troublesome, or even debilitating, symptoms that imitate symptoms of the feared hereditary disease.     

Counselor Signals

A humorous comparison of athletic and counselor signals is made, and the authors note unique aspects of counseling that make it more than a sport.     

Preparing Counselors to Work with Refugees: Integration of Experiential Activities

The number of globally displaced refugees has increased by record-high numbers. Refugees are forced out of their home countries and many are resettled in the United States. As the number of refugees entering the US continues to increase, there is a need to ensure that mental health counselors understand the unique needs of this population and provide culturally appropriate counseling services. The aim of this article is to present experiential activities that counselor educators can use in counselor preparation programs to better prepare counselors-in-training to work with refugees.     

THE INCREASING SIGNIFICANCE OF EMPLOYMENT COUNSELING

With changes in the world of work and with increased use of employment services, employment counseling is taking on added significance. The transformation of work realities and attitudes toward work are causing problems that the employment counselor must confront. At the same time the once simple world of work has become increasingly complex. This complexity places additional responsibility on the counselor's shoulders as greater demands are made for his services. Consequently, the employment counselor faces many challenges in offering a unique service.     

A Response to Celmer and Winer

According to Celmer and Winer (1990). the presence of an absolute papal ban against women who aspire to the Roman Catholic priesthood creates both a unique opportunity for investigation of vocational theory (Holland, 1985) and a rare sample for the counselor and researcher. While acknowledging our respect for this ambitious and thought-provoking investigation, we found problems with the sample selection procedure, the choice of samples, and the instrument selection that threaten the external validity of the study. As a result of these limitations, the application of this study for the counselor and the researcher was diminished.     

Pupil Personnel Services in the Elementary School

Student personnel services for the elementary school utilizing counselor, social worker, and psychologist are discussed with respect to their overlapping and unique skills. As a solution to the manpower shortage, a program for multidisciplinary training of paraprofessionals is suggested.     

Counseling black college students in special programs

The black college student's encounter with special programs gives rise to special counseling needs which this article describes. In effect, the counselor's task is to assist the student to cope with institutional demands and overcome the alienating effect of the impersonal, white, middle class institution. To do this, the counselor must establish a unique relationship with the student at a critical moment through an outreach approach. Subsequently, the counselor will also be called upon to assist the student in the resolution of an identity crisis. White counselors are not disqualified, but they may need to modify their style of counseling.     

Issues in Multicultural Counselor Education

The author argues for a culture-specific program for counselor education with the caveat that within a culture each individual is unique, examines the process of categorization as a possible device in generating cross-cultural understanding, and suggests that education should identify cultural bias to keep it to a minimum.     

Female Counselor Educators: Encouraging and Discouraging Factors in Academia

Women in higher education encounter unique challenges that influence their occupational satisfaction and quality of life (J. Mirsa, I. Kennelly, & M. Karides, 1999; J. Oleck & R. McNatt, 1999; S. M. Park, 1996; M. D. Sorcinelli, 1994; J. A. Winkler, 2000). This article reports data from a national survey of female counselor educators. The data illustrate factors that may encourage or discourage female counselor educators from remaining in professorial roles. Implications for the counseling profession are also presented.     

Restructuring School Counselor Education: Work in Progress

Responding to the cry for school reform and to the growing demand for school counselors, this article offers a rationale for the pursuit of a new approach to educating school counselors. Based on a set of related assumptions, the proposed model relies on a group-oriented, democratic strategic planning process of empowerment that involves participants in the collaborative development of a school counselor education program.     

Systemic Thinking in a Linear World: Issues in the Application of Interactional Counseling

Counseling practitioners are increasingly being exposed to the theoretical ideas and clinical techniques based in systems thinking. Systemic or interactional counseling approaches are based on an alternative view of causality and symptomatic behavior. As a result, several treatment, ethical, and legal challenges await the counselor who attempts to implement these theoretical ideas. Because of these potential problems, practitioners interested in such approaches must recognize and be prepared to deal with the unique diffculties that accompany this method of counseling. Using spouse abuse as an example, the author reviews the basic components of systemic approaches, identifies the potential problems inherent in their implementation, and offers solutions for the interactional counselor.     

The Employment Interviewer,the Vocational Counselor,and the Dream Weaver

The author elaborates his experiences with three different career counselors at a branch of an employment service. Although all three counselors worked toward the same goal, their methods were different, and the unique approach of one counselor, the “dream weaver,” left a lasting impression in the author's mind.     

Group counseling in a different cultural context: Several primary issues in dealing with Chinese clients

To apply group therapy or counseling, a branch of helping methodology rooted in modern Western psychology, to a culturally different context, such as the Chinese cultural environment, group counselors need to increase their awareness, knowledge, and skills that are compatible with the group climate they encounter. A group counselor needs to understand the general characteristics of the culture. The counselor should use his or her leadership quality to deal appropriately with group clients' psychological dynamics, which bear unique cultural preferences with respect to thinking, feeling, and doing. While many group counseling communication skills from a Western theoretical framework can be helpful and applicable to the Chinese group clientele, some of these skills need to be contextually modified. The counseling goal is to properly integrate Chinese cultural and therapeutic norms into the group process.He also teaches as a Sessional-Instructor in the same department.