Client dogmatism and perceived counselor attitudes

This study examined the relationship between client dogmatism and perceptions of the counselor's empathy, level of regard, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. Counselor dogmatism was held constant. It was hypothesized that the client's dogmatism would be negatively related to his perceptions of these four counselor attitudes. The analysis revealed small but significant negative correlations between client dogmatism and three of the four counselor-expressed attitudes (congruence, empathy, and unconditional positive regard).     

Microcounseling: the counselor as trainer

The skills of the counselor are too important to be used only in the guidance office. The counselor should move into the school and the community to teach others the various skills of counseling and interpersonal communication. Microcounseling is a systematic method for teaching counseling skills in a short period of time. The author explains the relationship of microcounseling and counselor education to the role of the practicing counselor. He believes that conducting systematic training programs in such skills as microcounseling should become an important role for counselors.     

Community as counselor

This article discusses a process in which people in a community setting offer counsel to one another. The author shares with us the results of an experiment in group living and learning based on a personal growth model. As the experiment progressed, the community itself—rather than the counselor in a formal role—became the catalyst for growth and change.     

The counselor as metaphysician

Despite their scientific temper of mind, counselors should be interested in metaphysics because of its concern with, among other things, the problem of distinguishing the real from the not-real—obviously, a vital issue to every counselor and client. This article sketches the scope of metaphysical inquiry as this discipline is understood in the traditional philosophical sense. The authors also illustrate the significance of metaphysics for counseling by presenting the principal tenets of one metaphysical position—personalistic idealism—and by delineating some implications for counseling that flow from an adherence to this metaphysical view.     

The counselor as psychoecologist

Counselors may be in need of a new model of practice. Current approaches based on the intrapersonal models of psychotherapy are not congruent with institutional realities. More important, they assume, often falsely, a “disturbed” person who must be adjusted to a “normal” environment. This article suggests that emotional disturbance be viewed as an ecological phenomenon that exists in the transactions among people. The task of the counselor is to alter disturbed transactions in ways that promote individual competence. The implications for practice of viewing the counselor as a psychoecologist are discussed and illustrated through a case study.     

Volition as cognitive self-regulation

Living organisms exhibit various levels of self-regulation, the highest of which is man's ability to regulate the operation of his conceptual faculty. Ayn Rand's theory of free will, the basis of this article, identifies this level of self-regulation with volition. The locus of direct volitional choice is placed in the choice “to think or not to think,” where thinking is understood as rational, purposefully directed cognition. The nature of this choice is analyzed in detail, with special emphasis on Rand's concept of mental “focus.” The epistemological status of the theory is discussed, including the role of introspective evidence in its behalf. It is argued that one's volitional control over one's own thinking has the status of an axiom, and that any attempted denial of this control is self-refuting.     

The counselor as contingency manager

Aspects of contingency management are discussed as they relate to counseling. Three case studies illustrate the role of a counselor as a contingency manager and adviser to teachers in the application of behavior modification techniques to common classroom problems.     

The pastor as genetic counselor

The pastor as pastoral counselor in the setting of the church can play an important role on a genetic team. This article explores the role the pastor plays in the definitive stage: delivery of information, educating, supporting, and counseling in human genetics. Problems that are encountered by team members, patients, and families, and dominant feelings that seem to exist in couples or individuals who discover that their children have a birth defect or that they themselve are carriers of a faulty gene are revealed and illustrated through clinical examples and interviews. Further suggestions are given on how a constructive team approach can help provide information regarding birth defects and how pastors can help and participate in this process.The Rev.M. Wayne Clark, D. Min., is a United Methodist pastor in Sidney, Iowa, and has completed Care and Counseling's two-year graduate training program for pastoral counselors in St. Louis, Missouri. He has served as a consultant to the Division of Medical Genetics at the University Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, and has worked with the staff of Regional Genetic Consultation Services of the Iowa State Department of Health. He is a member of A.A.P.C. and a clinical member of AAMFT.