Counselor Self-Disclosure

Self-disclosure in the counseling-therapy relationship has been an important area of research and study, with considerable emphasis placed on counselor self-disclosure. This study was initiated to explore further the phenomenon of counselor-therapist disclosure through direct assessment of potential clients' desires for disclosure and through development of a measure of counselor disclosure. Implications for counselor disclosure and for the counselor-client therapy relationship are discussed.     

Counselor Bilingual Ability,Counselor Ethnicity,Acculturation, and Mexican Americans' Perceived Counselor Credibility

This study examined the effects of counselor bilingual ability and counselor ethnicity on client‐perceived counselor credibility and cultural competence. Participants were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment conditions created by crossing counselor ethnicity with counselor language. No significant differences were found. Regarding rank ordering of the conditions, the European American bilingual counselor was perceived to be more culturally competent than were the Mexican American bilingual counselors. Findings underscore the importance of bilingualism for European American counselors when working with bilingual Mexican American clients.     

Counselor Credentialing and Interprofessional Collaboration

The history and development of counselor credentialing are presented, including the dimensions of standards, accreditation, certification, and licensure. Unresolved issues critical to the success of interprofessional collaboration are analyzed. The authors offer predictions for the future of the nonmedical mental health professions, based on their assessment that collaboration is an essential but often neglected ingredient.     

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.     

Language Switching and Mexican Americans' Emotional Expression

This study examined the effects of counselor language switching and counselor ethnicity on bilingual Mexican American participants' emotional self‐disclosure. Counselor language (English only and Spanish with English) was crossed with counselor ethnicity (Mexican American and European American) to produce 4 treatment conditions. Judges' observations revealed that the European American counselor who language switched elicited the most emotional expression from participants. Este estudio examinó los efectos que un cambio de idioma por parte del consejero y la etnicidad del consejero tienen sobre la auto‐revelación emocional de los participantes México Americanos bilingües. El idioma del consejero (sólo inglés, y español con inglés) se combinó con su etnicidad (México Americano y Euro Americano) para generar 4 condiciones de tratamiento. Las observaciones de los jueces revelaron que el consejero Euro Americano que cambió de idioma obtuvo el mayor número de expresiones emocionales de los participantes.     

Minnesota Employment Counselor Activities

Employment counselors, counselor supervisors, managers, and counselor educators were surveyed in Minnesota concerning the amounts of time that are now spent and should be spent in eleven employment counselor activities. All respondents generally agreed on the amounts of time that are now spent and should be spent in the activities. They also agreed that there should be significant increases (p > .05) in the amounts of time that should be spent in counseling, teaching, and research/follow-up, and decreases in the amounts of time that should be spent in selection/intake and records/clerical activities. Employment counselors in main offices indicated that they now spend significantly less time than counselors in subordinate offices in counseling, consulting, and staff activities, and significantly more time in testing.     

The Role of Expectations in Effective Genetic Counseling

The goals for this investigation were to assess individuals' expectations for social support from genetic counselors, and to explore how these expectations influence perceptions of genetic counselor effectiveness. Two studies were conducted to address these goals. Results from the first study show that individuals most frequently expect genetic counselors to provide options and support following the disclosure of distressing test results, while data from the second study demonstrate that expectations play a significant role in individuals' assessment of genetic counselor effectiveness. These findings shed light on what individuals expect from genetic counselors following the disclosure of medically positive test results and inform how these expectations influence the success of genetic counseling sessions.     

Ethical Consideration of Counselor Education Teaching Strategies

Counselor educators rely on a variety of teaching strategies to augment clinical instruction and enhance student learning. Such strategies include action methods, audio/video material, and self‐exploration. While using these strategies, educators are responsible for remaining sensitive to fundamental ethical issues, varied student needs, and academic/professional standards. Despite appearing straightforward and routine, this aspect of counselor education requires ongoing appraisal to ensure adherence to ethical guidelines, program integrity, and student well‐being. This article reviews various teaching strategies, discusses ethical implications associated with each strategy, and provides preliminary guidelines to enhance counselor educator ethical practice and student well‐being.     

A Test of Two Competing Explanations for the Attraction-Enhancing Effects of Counselor Self-Disclosure

The authors tested two theoretical explanations for the attraction-enhancing effects of counselor self-disclosure: the similarity hypothesis and the social exchange hypothesis. A counseling analogue was constructed to discriminate between these two explanations by varying the valence (positive or negative) of the counselor's disclosure and its relevance (relevant or irrelevant) to the client's presenting problem. Dependent variables were perceptions of the counselor's attractiveness, empathy, and level of regard for the client. Results were mixed, supporting the social exchange explanation for empathy and the similarity explanation for level of regard.     

An Exploratory Study of Counselor Judgments in Multicultural Research

Archival data were used to explore intake judgments made by 45 counselors about 344 African-American and White clients seen at a counseling center during a 2-year period. Counselor gender was significantly associated with ratings of client severity of current condition. Neither ethnicity nor counselor experience were predictive of intake judgments.     

Psychological Openness and Counselor Effectiveness: A Further Investigation

The purpose of this study was to crossvalidate previous findings which lend credence to the widely hypothesized positive relationship between a student's psychological openness and his effectiveness as a counselor. Rorschach indicators of psychological openness were compared with supervisor ratings of competence and scores obtained from the application of the Truax Scales of accurate empathy, genuineness, and nonpossessive warmth to tapes of actual counseling sessions. The data offer further support for the hypothesis that psychological openness is an important predictor of success in counselor training.     

Counselor Responsiveness to Client Religiousness

An understanding of the degree and Quality of client religiousness and the connections between client issues and religion can enhance counselor resposiveness to the potentially religious dimension of client issues.     

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.     

Infusing Professional Ethics Into Counselor Education Programs: A Multicultural/Social Justice Perspective

Multiculturalism and social justice counseling issues influence counselors' ethical thinking and behavior. Counselor educators are responsible for facilitating students' understanding of the relevance of multicultural/social justice counseling issues and ethical standards for professional practices. Added insights in these areas aid students to work within a culturally diverse society. This article focuses on the importance of addressing these complex issues by outlining strategies to infuse ethics into counselor education programs from a multicultural/social justice counseling perspective.     

Are Genetic Counselors and GLBT Patients “on the Same Page”? an Investigation of Attitudes, Practices, and Genetic Counseling Experiences

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals comprise a growing patient population in genetic counseling, yet literature on working with this population is scarce. This study sought to investigate GLBT patient experiences in genetic counseling and genetic counselor attitudes and practices when counseling GLBT patients. Twenty-nine GLB individuals who had previously participated in genetic counseling, and 213 genetic counselors completed online surveys. No individuals identifying as transgender participated. The patient survey assessed disclosure of orientation, discrimination in genetic counseling, and quality of services received. The counselor survey assessed comfort with and attitudes about counseling GLBT patients, disclosure of counselor orientation, and whether they counsel differently with this population. Every patient denied experiencing discrimination during their session, but 17% reported their genetic counselor assumed they were heterosexual, and 45% indicated intake forms were not GLBT-inclusive. A majority of counselors (91%) reported having counseled GLBT patients and indicated they were comfortable doing so (86%), and 72% indicated no differences in their counseling approaches with GLBT patients. Few counselors (17%) received training in GLBT issues, and most (61%) desired such education. Additional findings and practice and research recommendations are presented.     

School Climates and Student Behavior: Implications for Counselor Role

The current research on the study of school climates is described, and implications of this research for counselor role are indicated. This research has examined the nature of educational climates and environments, as well as the relationship of various environments to student achievement, attitudes, and behaviors. The research provides information about the nature of school environments as they are affected by staff characteristics and behaviors and student peer group characteristics. This research indicates that schools do have quite different climates which are supportive of diverse types of student and staff behavior. It appears that the adjustment and success of an individual student may well be a function of (a) the type of climate of the school he attends, and (b) the extent to which the school climate is supportive of his individual needs. After an extensive review of nine methodologies for studying school climate, possible applications of these research findings by the counselor are described.     

Integrating the Spiritual Dimension Into Traditional Counselor Education Programs

The author explores the issues involved in integrating the spiritual dimension into traditional counselor education by creating a joint community and addictions counseling master's program based on a hybrid of the wounded healer and wellness models. Such a hybrid encompasses both the skills and knowledge approaches to counselor education advocated by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and the spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous's 12 steps. After a theoretical discussion of this hybrid model, an experimental master's program based on the model is described.