Pastoral counseling training: training goals in a changing environment

Pastoral counseling training is redefining itself in a changing environment. Theological education and ordination and church relatedness once was the crucible that shaped pastoral counselors. Today that formation process is being redefined as an increasing number of non-theologically trained students who are not seeking ordination come to increasingly fewer pastoral counseling training programs for formation in integrating spirituality and psychotherapy. This article outlines a statement of who an ideal intern would be in one pastoral counseling training program, lists fourteen goals of the training program along with the method of achievement, and who in the training program is responsible to see that the goals are accomplished.     

Teaching assistant training in counseling psychology

We surveyed training directors and counseling psychology graduate teaching assistants at Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs to acquire information concerning Teaching Assistant (TA) training, supervision and teaching experiences, and the extent to which TAs believe their training and supervision helped them to feel competent in their teaching duties. TAs were most satisfied with those training methods related directly to the practice of teaching (e.g., role playing and receiving feedback on practice teaching). Implications for training counseling psychologists as educators are discussed.     

Peer relationships in counseling psychology training

Twelve students from APA-accredited counseling psychology doctoral programs were interviewed about their experiences with peers in their program, and about their values and beliefs about peer relationships in graduate school. Interview data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research. Participants reported a wide range of positive (e.g. collaborative and supportive) and negative (e.g. competitive and hostile) interactions with peers inside and outside of the classroom, in research, and in clinical work. Compared to advisory and supervisory relationships, peer relationships were typically less formal and more open. The sharing of common training experiences generally facilitated mutual understanding among trainees. In addition, a visual analog scale, the peer relationship scale (PRS), was used to measure participants’ closeness with peers. Results from the PRS appeared to be useful in distinguishing participants with the most positive and negative peer relationships, warranting further investigation of its psychometric properties and application in program evaluation and research on training. Implications for training are discussed.     

Psychomotor retardation found in college students seeking counseling

Psychomotor retardation (PMR) has been documented for inpatient populations. Futterman and Tryon (1994) [Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 25, 41–48] provided the first report of PMR in a female outpatient sample. Because 8 of their 11 depressed Ss were receiving medication, the possibility remains that Futterman and Tryon's findings were due to medication side effects. The present study documents PMR in a nonmedicated male and female college population. Two-week, 24-h per day, content-valid behavioral measurements were obtained using step-counters from 73 college students seeking counseling. The 20 males and 53 females completed the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Inventory, and a structured interview. Regression analysis revealed that depression was negatively related to daytime activity. Significant age and gender effects were statistically controlled.     

Ministers evaluate their training in marriage counseling

Summary The results of the study described above have certain implications for planning future training programs. Teaching in this particular field must be primarily learner centered, rather than subject centered. This is borne out by the choices of the respondents that indicate the importance of understanding of the self, and own attitudes, biases, and feelings as they affect the counselor's capacity within the helping relationship; and the emphasis placed upon the strongly teacher-learner-centered method—supervision—as of primary importance. Thus, supervision, which offers support and understanding to the trainee as he struggles to integrate new knowledge and to develop increased sensitivity to others, greater flexibility, and skill, assumes a tremendously important part of the total training experience. This has implications for the training center in relation to the quality and quantity of supervision available to the training person.The question of insufficient time may have psychological as well as practical implications. The importance of a realistic schedule is ovious. The other aspect of this question may have to do with integration and need for time in assimilating a learning experience that requires change and necessarily involves strongly charged affective components. This raises the question of how to maintain a balance between the inevitable anxiety aroused in a new situation, which motivates learning, and excessive anxiety, which may impede progress if the individual becomes more involved in coping with himself than in learning.The need for more training in family-life education is also indicated.     

Personality assessment training in counseling psychology programs

Although data about personality assessment training in clinical psychology programs have often been gathered, little comparable data have been collected about assessment training in counseling psychology programs. To collect such information, we conducted a survey of all programs identified as part of the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. A two-page questionnaire was sent out to the 64 program directors, with 56 (88%) of the questionnaires being returned. Information about availability of required personality assessment courses, availability of elective assessment courses, and types of personality tests covered in the counseling curriculum is presented and discussed.     

Preventing postparchment depression: a model of career counseling for college seniors

College graduates and employers alike have expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of job competencies of new graduates. Both groups suggest that institutions of higher education must do a better job of preparing their students to meet workplace challenges. The author describes the problem and presents a model that is delivered via distance education at one university. One of the major goals of the program presented is to ease the transition of college graduates to the workforce. The practical suggestions are appropriate for practitioners who work with this population, and they can be adapted for individual or group counseling.     

Hardiness training facilitates performance in college

In 25 years of research and practice, hardiness has emerged as a pattern of attitudes and skills that is a pathway to resilience under stressful circumstances. As such, it is important to determine whether hardiness can be trained, and if such training improves performance and health. The few relevant studies available thus far have suggested this training effectiveness among working adults and students. Furthering this theme, the present study involves a large sample of undergraduate students, comparing those who experienced hardiness training as a regular credit course, with those who went through other courses taught by the same teachers. At the beginning of the courses, these two groups did not differ in demographics, hardiness levels, or grade-point-average (GPA). At the end of the courses, the Hardiness Training Group showed higher levels of hardiness, and GPA than did the Comparison Group. This improvement in GPA for the Hardiness Training Group persisted over the following 2-year period, even controlling for GPA and hardiness level prior to the training, and the grade received in the training. These results suggest the importance of hardiness training in facilitating a major indicator of excellent performance in college life.     

Ethical considerations and training recommendations for philosophical counseling

Philosophical counseling is a diverse and burgeoning type of mental health service delivery. Despite competing approaches to theory and practice, the field has largely strayed from an ethical critique of its methodology and counselor training requirements. This article outlines several ethical considerations and training recommendations that are proposed to bolster the quality and effectiveness of philosophical practice. As philosophical counseling gains increasing recognition in North America, recently established national organizations in philosophical practice may profit from revisiting their interim codes for professional conduct. Proposed training suggestions for counselor preparation my further assist institutions and board-regulated agencies in establishing competent and acceptable standards of client care.     

Master's level pastoral counseling training: Skills and competencies

Directors of master's level pastoral counseling training programs were surveyed to determine their perceptions about the skills and competencies in which their students receive training. The data were analyzed as a whole, according to several subsets, and in comparison to similar survey data for master's level counseling psychology programs. A discussion of the findings is included.     

Scaffolding a community of competent practitioners: positioning and agency in a training program for narrative counseling

This article explores the scaffolding of learning experiences in a postgraduate program in New Zealand that offers training in narrative counseling. The authors draw on positioning theory to identify student shifts in learning, and in agency, that help build an increasingly skilled and peer-generated context for learning. We describe a selection of exercises and one key assignment, introduced in the course in a particular order, that we believe enable students to step into positions of agency which ultimately allow a competent community of learner-practitioners to emerge. We also describe a dance of positioning for ourselves as teachers in this program. We suggest that, at any given time, our own positioning is tied up with possibilities for student positioning. Acknowledging relationships of power in classrooms, we explore ways to align poststructuralist counseling practices and the teaching of these practices.     

心理行为训练在高校大学生中的应用

心理行为训练作为一种高校大学生心理健康教育的新模式,它的内涵、核心理念与技术等方面顺应了当代大学生的心理发展特点,通过一系列的实践环节能够有效地促进高校大学生的心理健康。在高校大学生中应用心理行为训练能够有效地解决大学生适应不良、人际交往障碍等诸多心理问题,具有开发潜能、培养团队精神、提升人际交往能力和抗挫折能力等重要功能,从而最终达到促进大学生人格完善和提高心理健康水平的目的。