The Structured Peer Consultation Model for School Counselors

School counselors typically receive little or no supervision of their counseling. Results of an evaluation of the Structured Peer Consultation Model for School Counselors indicate that the model may help meet the needs of school counselors for ongoing feedback on their counseling with student-clients.     

Counselors' Attribution of Responsibility,Etiology, and Counseling Strategy

This study surveyed 167 counselors working at university counseling centers on their etiology and responsibility attributions and models of helping. Participants responded to vignettes describing either a male or female client experiencing symptoms of either an identity or adjustment problem. Counselors endorsed all of P. Brickman et al.'s (1982) models of helping for both problem types. Predictions concerning etiology attributions were partially supported. Counselors selected attributions logically consistent with an internal cause for the identity problem. However, counselors did not make external attributions for the adjustment problem. No significant results were observed for the influence of client sex.     

Using Emotional Intelligence to help College Students Succeed in the Workplace

Research related to the characteristics that are sought by recruiters and prospective employers in graduating college students suggests that emotional intelligence (EI) skills are as important as, if not more important than, job‐related skills. Counselors working with college students, however, usually focus on career management and job search skills and neglect the development of EI skills. EI seems to be an excellent framework to use in helping college students find a job and succeed in the workplace. By using the Confluence Counseling model, counselors working with college students can effectively combine career counseling with personal counseling in a holistic manner.     

Systematic Counseling: The T-F-A Model for Counselor Intervention

Counselors in educational settings are usually not free to select the kinds of clients and problems with which they may work most effectively. Therefore, counselors must select counseling strategies that maximize the probability of helping all clients achieve personal goals. These strategies may focus primarily on changing how clients think, feel, or act (T-F-A). Combinations of thinking, feeling, and acting strategies are illustrated along with relationships to different counseling theories. Effective counselors need to systematically use varying combinations of T-F-A strategies that will be of maximum value in helping individual clients to change their behavior.     

Christian Couple Counseling by Professional,Pastoral, and Lay Counselors from a Protestant Perspective: A Nationwide Survey

Couple counseling is widely practiced by Christian counselors, but there are almost no empirical data investigating it. The present study presents data from a national web-based survey of counselors from the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). We describe the nature of Christian couple counseling, as well as counselors' religiousness and their attitudes toward integrating religion and spirituality into couple counseling. Christian couple counselors were highly religious and their personal religiosity affected their attitude toward incorporating religion in counseling. There were differences between professional, pastoral, and lay counselors suggesting that each be treated separately rather than be lumped generically as Christian couple counseling.     

Elementary School Counselors in California

The number, school location, academic preparation and experience, and functions and duties of “elementary school counselors” in California were studied. Questionnaires were answered by 175 counselors, 118 elementary school principals, and 312 teachers in schools employing counselors. The number of children in the participating schools was 133,125, or five per cent of all pupils in grades K-8 in the State. Counselors reported that they spent 50 per cent of their time working with pupils, 17 per cent with teachers, 10 per cent with administrators, 12 per cent with parents, and 11 per cent with probation, welfare, and other officials. The counselors and the principals generally agreed on the rank order of importance of the functions of elementary school counselors and on the most important skills and personality characteristics counselors should have. The teachers reported that counselors gave them most help by testing individual pupils, counseling with pupils, helping them with classroom problems, and participating in parent conferences. Elements of an ideal counseling program at the district and school level as well as deficiencies in present programs were described by the respondents.     

Spiritual Assessment in Genetic Counseling

One hundred and twenty seven full members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors participated in this study exploring current spiritual assessment practices of genetic counselors and reactions to a spiritual assessment tool. While 60% of genetic counselors reported they had performed a spiritual assessment within the past year, fewer than 8.7% of these counselors assessed spirituality in more than half of their sessions. Counselors reporting high perceived relevance of spiritual assessment performed an assessment more frequently than those reporting a low perceived relevance. Barriers to spiritual assessment included lack of time, insufficient skills, and uncertainty regarding the role of spiritual assessment within genetic counseling. Almost two-thirds of counselors expressed that having a spiritual assessment tool would increase their ability to elicit relevant information. These data suggest a need for increased training regarding the methods for and relevance of spiritual assessment in genetic counseling. Recommendations for future directions of research are explored.     

Teaching Genetic Counseling Skills: Incorporating a Genetic Counseling Adaptation Continuum Model to Address Psychosocial Complexity

Genetic counselors are trained health care professionals who effectively integrate both psychosocial counseling and information-giving into their practice. Preparing genetic counseling students for clinical practice is a challenging task, particularly when helping them develop effective and active counseling skills. Resistance to incorporating these skills may stem from decreased confidence, fear of causing harm or a lack of clarity of psycho-social goals. The author reflects on the personal challenges experienced in teaching genetic counselling students to work with psychological and social complexity, and proposes a Genetic Counseling Adaptation Continuum model and methodology to guide students in the use of advanced counseling skills.     

Inundating the School Board with Support for Counselors: An Eleventh Hour Strategy for Saving an Endangered Species

Counselors in the Santa Barbara (California) High School District recently faced the threat of abolishment of all counseling positions. This article describes how a guidance task force, consisting of counselors and teachers, sought and obtained community and professional support needed to defeat the proposed staff realignment plan.     

Counseling in Italy

The counseling profession in Italy is in an early stage of development. No university preparation programs exist, and counselors are not employed in schools. Counselors maintain private practices, work in agencies, and are employed by the government. Counselors receive their preparation in Italy from professional associations in programs that include 450 to 500 hours of instruction. The social and political climate in Italy suggests that the profession of counseling will continue to develop.     

Rehabilitation Counseling and the Ex-Offender

Ex-offenders present a number of difficulties to rehabilitation counselors. Counselors must be aware of their own strengths and limitations, the special needs of their clients, and society's perceptions of ex-offenders. In many respects ex-offenders can be seen as “socially disabled” persons, subject to the same treatment as other minority groups. Both counselors and clients must work to overcome barriers in the counseling relationship. Certain affirmative approaches are discussed, including self-help groups, peer counseling, and the use of paraprofessionals.     

Status of guidance in the elementary school: 1968–69

This study investigated some aspects of elementary school guidance and counseling in the 50 states and the 4 territories of America. Specifically such matters as number of counselors employed, their sources of financial support, professional background, certification, and state standards were examined. Counselors now working in elementary schools in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands total 6,041. The majority are supported in part by federal funds, with 36 percent supported locally. Eighty to 90 percent of the counselors are trained in guidance and counseling. To date, 23 states indicated certification requirements specifically for counselors at the elementary level.     

Transforming School Counseling to Serve the Mental Health Needs of At-Risk Youth

School counselors have an important part to play in helping schools respond to the increasing number of students whose mental health needs place them at risk for school failure. This article identifies the shortcomings of the current developmental guidance and counseling service delivery model as it relates to work with at-risk youth. In addition, a transformed model is proposed, with suggestions for changes in program organization and planning, school counselor role and function, and skills and expertise. Potential barriers to change are also identified.     

Counselor,Social Worker,Psychologist: Let's “Ecumenicalize”

This paper examines the possibility of a closer relationship between the school counselor, the school psychologist, and the school social worker. It describes the background of each of the trio, then describes the various functions and the professional education of counselors, psychologists, and social workers. The various steps that might be taken to inaugurate an “ecumenical movement” between the three professional groups are then discussed. School counselors are described as being the logical individuals to take the initial steps in such a proposed movement, and the new functional title suggested for each of the three is “school counseling psychologist.”     

Collaborative Consultant: A New Role for Counselors Serving At-Risk Youths

School and community counselors have important roles in developing and implementing mental health programs for youths and families. Counselors who are working with the more complex issues of at-risk youths can enhance implementation of prevention programs by altering their roles to function within a collaborative consultation model. This model represents a new paradigm in that counselors interdependently and collaboratively partner with people previously considered their “consultees.” Such collaboration can result in more comprehensive and integrated programs, and it can prevent fragmentation and duplication of efforts. Collaborative consultation is described and contrasted with more traditional consultation models, and a 5-stage implementation process is presented. Personal and systemic factors that support the collaborative process are examined.     

Coping with the stress of pastoral counseling

Using a stratified random sample of the three membership categories of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, this study investigated the experience of stress, related to the pastoral counseling profession, among 143 pastoral counselors and 95 of their spouses. In addition, the study examined how pastoral counselors were coping with stress by evaluating self-reported functional and dysfunctional behaviors. The data indicated that pastoral counselors and their spouses did not report high levels of stress related to the pastoral counseling profession. However, significant differences were found by work setting and age for pastoral counselors regarding the level of stress experienced. The data also indicated that pastoral counselors reported using more functional stress reduction behaviors than dysfunctional stress reduction behaviors.     

research techniques for counselors: the multiple baseline

Practitioners in counseling must also be applied researchers. Counselors can no longer rely on intuition, personal opinion, or statistical studies to determine their effectiveness. In this article multiple baseline techniques are offered as applied research strategies for counselors who wish to evaluate the effects of the techniques they are using.     

Philosophical Orientation of Counselors in Iowa Secondary Schools

Guidance and counseling in the schools lack focus and direction. Some attribute this confusion within guidance and counseling to a lack of a philosophical foundation. Little is known about the philosophical assumptions of counselors functioning in secondary schools. In this study, the counselors in the secondary schools of Iowa identified most frequently with the phenomenological orientation. The experience of the counselors was related to their philosophical orientation. Counselors with less experience subscribed to an existential orientation.     

Advocating for Atheist Clients in the Counseling Profession

Atheism is a controversial topic, with individuals who identify as atheist reporting high rates of discrimination. Despite increasing literature discussing religious/spiritual views and beliefs, few scholarly discussions of atheism in the counseling field can be found. Counselors need to be made aware of the issues facing atheist clients and educated on the best interventions to use in collaborative work with clients. Counselors should also be prepared to advocate for atheist clients in multiple domains. This article aims to explore the relevant literature around atheism, identify implications for counselors, and provide a path to advocacy for counselors in their work with atheist clients.     

Counselors as environmental engineers

Counselors should engineer extending and corrective experiences for their counselees. If appropriately selected, such experiences can prove a powerful adjunct to the more traditional one-to-one counseling relationship. Ways are pointed out in which counselors can use school and community experiences to accomplish guidance goals