Male Gender Role Conflict,Depression, and Help Seeking: Do College Men Face Double Jeopardy?

To investigate the previously untested hypothesis that college men with higher levels of male gender role conflict (MGRC) experience both increased risk of depression and more negative attitudes toward seeking counseling services, this study used latent variable modeling to examine these relations. Two components of MGRC were identified: restriction-related MGRC, which predicted 25% of the variance in help-seeking attitudes, and achievement-relatedMGRC, which predicted 21% of the variance in depression. It is suggested that outreach programs designed to increase college men's willingness to use counseling services attempt to counter the option-limiting aspects of male gender roles, whereas counseling with depressed college men incorporate an examination of their perceptions of success and achievement.     

Counselor Empathy or “Having a Heart to Help”? An Ethnographic Investigation of Chinese Clients' Experience of Counseling

Current understanding of counselor empathy is almost entirely based on Western culture. Clients'; perceptions of counselor empathy are scarcely investigated within any non-Western group. Using ethnographic interviews, this study explored the concept of counselor empathy from Chinese counseling clients'; perspectives by exploring their experiences of therapeutic relationships. Although informants did not commonly and explicitly consider counselor empathy as a priority in counseling, preliminary results suggest that they may perceive it in Chinese counseling relationships as a different phenomenon linguistically and conceptually.     

Parental Involvement in School Counseling Services: Challenges and Experience of Counselor

School counselors include parents as informants in school counseling for various reasons like for consultation and client’s intervention which could lead to a different experience. The objective of the present study was to explore the challenges faced by school counselors when involving parents in the school counseling process and the ways they handle the challenges. The participants consisted of seven school counselors, with whom in-depth interviews were conducted. The subjective experiences of the school counselors were objectively interpreted by the researcher using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The research results were categorized into master and subordinate themes using double hermeneutics. The results revealed that although school counselors have their own individual perceptions of challenges and methods of handling parental inclusion in the school counseling context, there still exist similarities in their methods of handling. The study highlights school counselors’ beliefs about parents’ perceptions and expectations of counseling as well as parents’ reaction toward their child’s problem as a challenge. The findings throw light on the need for stronger evidence-based practices and policies for school counseling programs. Training and competence-building programs for school counselors would improve the service delivery.     

Depth of discussion of multicultural identities in supervision and supervisory outcomes

The present study empirically examined the relationship between perceived depth of discussion of multicultural identities in clinical supervision and supervision outcomes in 132 practicum trainees and interns from American Psychological Association-accredited doctoral programs in counseling, clinical, and combined psychology. Results indicated that ethnic minority trainees and gay, lesbian, and bisexual trainees perceived increased depth of discussion of their corresponding identities compared to White trainees and heterosexual trainees, respectively. However, women and men reported no difference in perceptions of depth of discussion regarding gender. Perceived depth of discussions of three multicultural identities (gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation) was significantly and positively correlated with supervisory working alliance, multicultural intervention self-efficacy, and general counseling self-efficacy, and significantly and negatively correlated with role ambiguity and role conflict. These relationships between perceived depth of discussion and role ambiguity and working alliance-rapport remained significant for the three identities while controlling for past training experiences. The relationships between perceived depth of discussion of gender and role conflict, of race/ethnicity and working alliance client focus, and of sexual orientation and role conflict, multicultural intervention, and working alliance client focus also remained significant while controlling for past training experiences. Implications for supervisory practice, training, and research are discussed.     

Lesbians With Physical Disabilities: A Qualitative Study of Their Experiences With Counseling

The authors interviewed 25 lesbians with physical disabilities about their counseling experiences. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, the authors identified 9 themes. Five themes addressed participants' perceptions of their counselors: general satisfaction or dissatisfaction, counselors' general effectiveness, counselors' awareness and education regarding sexual orientation and/or disability, discrimination and bias, and counselor identity. Three themes related to the participants' attempts to negotiate the counseling process: coming out or self‐disclosure, self‐advocacy, and accessibility/accommodations. The final theme related to depression.     

Client Perceptions of the Impact of Genetic Counseling: An Exploratory Study

Twenty-eight former genetic counseling clients seen at a major Midwestern university were recruited to be interviewed about their genetic counseling experiences, including most and least helpful aspects, what they learned, how this information impacted their decision-making, and their perceptions of their genetic counselors' behaviors. Responses were inductively analyzed, and several themes were identified, including: Clients sought genetic counseling to obtain genetic-medical information; a majority accurately recalled this information; genetic counseling influenced decisions for about 50% of the sample; decision-making was affected by several extra-session factors; a majority experienced distress during the session; most perceived genetic counselor responses as nondirective and liked this approach; counselor behaviors regarded as directive involved discussion of pregnancy termination; participants disagreed about the need for and provision of genetic counselor support; most regarded the session as helpful and stated that they would seek genetic counseling again. Suggestions for addressing these issues in practice and research are given.     

Using mediators and moderators to test assumptions underlying culturally sensitive therapies: an exploratory example

Factors hypothesized to impact Asian American responses to counseling were tested as mediators and moderators of perceived counselor credibility and working alliance. Asian and European American college students (N = 182) were assigned randomly to view simulated directive or nondirective therapy approaches. Mediation analyses examined whether ethnic group differences in initial perceptions were accounted for by therapist understandability and previous therapy experiences. Moderation analyses examined whether expectations for directive therapy, ambiguity tolerance, and resistance influenced initial perceptions across directive and nondirective counseling. Asian Americans rated the counseling approaches significantly less favorably than Europeans Americans. A significant mediation effect was found for therapist understandability, whereas a significant moderation effect was found for expectation for directive therapy on initial perceptions of counselor credibility.     

Gender Aware Therapy: A Synthesis of Feminist Therapy and Knowledge About Gender

The time has come to integrate feminist therapy and knowledge of gender into principles of counseling for both women and men. Gender Aware Therapy (GAT) is such a synthesis. GAT encourages counselors to facilitate the development of women and men through exploration of their unique gender-related experiences. The foundations, principles, stages, and applications of GAT are described.     

Incivility at Academic Conferences: Gender Differences and the Mediating Role of Climate

In a survey study of 458 U.S. women and men, we examined experiences of incivility at an academic conference, a context that represents an important extension of the academic/professional workplace. We hypothesized and found that women reported more incivility, perceived the climate to be more sexist, and reported more conference exclusion than men. Counter to our prediction, men and women did not differ in how negatively they viewed the climate or their conference satisfaction. Since incivility may be a subtle form of bias that targets women more than men, women’s experiences of incivility may lead them to view the environment as more sexist. We found support for this, such that the relationship between incivility and sexist climate perceptions were stronger for women than men. Finally, we proposed that incivility would be related to negative conference outcomes through more negative perceptions of the conference climate for both genders, and through sexist climate perceptions only for women. Results of our path analyses indicated that positive, but not sexist, climate perceptions mediated the relationship between incivility and conference satisfaction for both genders. Further, both sexist and positive climate perceptions mediated the relationship between incivility and conference exclusion for both genders. We discuss incivility as a gendered phenomenon related to sexist contexts, as well as reasons for the observed mediated relationships. Additionally, we discuss the significant role that conference experiences may play for women and men in academia and professional settings, and implications for conference organizers.     

Multiple Identity Considerations Among African American Christian Men Experiencing Same‐Sex Attraction

The authors explored the experiences of African American men who identified as Christian and experienced same‐sex attraction. Participants completed an online questionnaire addressing experiences of same‐sex attraction; meaning attributed to their attractions; the sharing of their experiences with others; and perceptions regarding the intersection of their faith, race, and sexual identity. Most respondents (61.5%) felt different from their peers for gender‐related reasons, and most (80.8%) had had homoerotic experiences during the teenage years. Over 40% of participants indicated that their primary identity was Christian, and several shared their experience sorting out attributions and meanings associated with same‐sex attraction in light of their racial and/or religious identities.     

The importance of feeling sexually attractive: Can it predict an individual's experience of their sexuality and sexual relationships across gender and sexual orientation?

Limited research exists on the implications of feeling sexually attractive for various aspects of sexuality and sexual relationships. This article examined associations between self‐perceived sexual attractiveness and sexual esteem, sexual satisfaction and amount of sexual experience, among both men and women who identified as heterosexual (n = 1017), gay or lesbian (n = 1225) or bisexual (n = 651). Results of the study demonstrated that positive self‐perceptions of sexual attractiveness predicted greater sexual esteem, greater sexual satisfaction, a higher frequency of sexual activity with others and a larger number of sexual partners among both men and women who identified as heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual. The findings suggest that feeling sexually attractive may have implications for how an individual experiences their sexuality and sexual relationships regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. The importance of considering an individual's self‐perceptions of sexual attractiveness when they present with concerns related to their sexual experiences or relationships, and the potential benefits of educational and therapeutic interventions designed to enhance self‐perceptions of sexual attractiveness are discussed.     

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.     

Identification as a Mutation Carrier and Effects on Life According to Experiences of Finnish Male BRCA1/2 Mutation Carriers

Earlier studies have explored post-identification experiences of male BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, but more detailed knowledge of both their experiences and effects of identification as a carrier on their lives is required to improve genetic counseling. Thus, the aim of this study was to acquire deeper and broader insights into their experiences. Qualitative data were collected from theme-based interviews with 31 men carrying BRCA1/2 mutations in Finland, and analyzed using inductive content analysis. Three categories of the participants’ responses to identification as BRCA1/2 mutation carriers were identified (personal, offspring-related and related to other relatives), mainly concerning issues associated with cancer, hereditary transmission of their mutations, and life decisions. Although there were many neutral responses regarding the issues, there were also strong emotional reactions and cancer worries. Identification as a carrier also had several effects on participants’ lifestyles, including adoption of healthier and disease-preventing behavior, and social well-being, such as family planning and attitudes to life. The results provide detailed information about several aspects of male BRCA1/2 mutation carriers’ experiences, which could be used to develop a tentative model of tailored genetic counseling for them.     

Aspects of Homophobia in Italian High Schools: Students' Attitudes and Perceptions of School Climate

This study investigated Italian high school students' negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and their exposure to aspects of homophobia in their schools. Female students viewed gay men and lesbians in similar ways. Male students, on the other hand, held more negative attitudes toward gay men than toward lesbians. Participants reported widespread experiences of homophobic behaviors in their schools, especially verbal abuse. Students' perceptions of a homophobic school climate and respondent sex predicted homophobic attitudes among participants. Homophobic school climate mediated the relationship between respondent sex (male) and homophobia against gay men.     

Political Implications of Group Stereotypes: Campaign Experiences of Openly Gay Political Candidates1

The survey of openly gay officials and candidates was undertaken to investigate openly gay candidates’ perceptions about the role of stereotypical beliefs associated with their group in their political experiences. In addition to examining the general presence of stereotypical rhetoric in the campaign experiences of openly gay candidates, I investigated how its pervasiveness varied with the “liberalness” of the district in which the candidates competed, the timing of the candidates’ sexual-orientation disclosure, and the success or failure of their electoral efforts. While stereotypical beliefs about gay men seem not to play a prominent role in all openly gay candidates’ electoral experiences, generally speaking, their perceived influence is magnified under certain conditions.     

addressing career issues online: perceptions of counselor education professionals

The Internet is the latest arena in which counseling services are available for a variety of issues. This study surveyed counselor education professionals about their perceptions regarding the use of online counseling to address various mental health issues including career counseling. It also examined their perceptions about 3 formats of online counseling: e‐mail, text‐based chat, and videoconferencing. Results indicated that counselor education professionals were open to the use of online counseling to address career issues. The implications for the practice of online career counseling and for the training of counselors are discussed.     

Parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in an academic counseling relationship

The role of parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in the context of an academic counseling relationship was investigated. Prior to participation in a 10‐hour academic counseling program in college, 91 students completed scales assessing perceptions of their current relationship with their parents and their attachment style. Students' support‐seeking behaviors and counselors' sensitivity, as reported by both participants (students and counselors), were evaluated twice during the counseling process, and general feelings of support were evaluated at the end of the program. Parental representations and attachment style both predicted students' support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in counseling. The strength of the prediction differed as a function of time of measurement and source of evaluation. In addition, student‐perceived counselor sensitivity was found to mediate the relation between parental representations and support‐seeking behaviors in counseling