Counselor Competency in the Courtroom

This article outlines general courtroom procedures and offers systematic practical advice for the counselor testifying as an expert witness. Major topics include the counselor role in court, preparing for testimony, answering questions, and dealing with the cross-examination.     

'Fear of panic': an investigation of its role in panic occurrence, phobic avoidance, and treatment outcome

The concept of 'fear of fear' has recently received empirical attention regarding its role in panic occurrence and phobic avoidance. Overall, the results of such studies have indicated that anticipation of panic is positively correlated (albeit weakly) with self-reports of avoidance. The present study examined the relationship of panic anticipation--panic occurrence, phobic avoidance and treatment outcome, using a more direct measure of this fear than has been used in previous studies. Results indicated that anticipation of panic was slightly correlated with breadth and severity of avoidance, and moderately correlated with overall clinical severity. In addition, anticipation of panic was found to decrease significantly throughout treatment, but appeared to be independent of actual panic experience. These results may suggest the operation of an intervening variable which accounts for the reduction of both anticipated and actual panic events. Implications for assessment and treatment are discussed.     

Effects of eating abnormalities and gender on perceptions of desirable body shape

Men and women differ when choosing the figure drawings that most resemble (a) their own current figures (CURRENT), (b) their ideal figures (IDEAL), and (c) the figure thought most attractive to the opposite sex (OPPOSITE) (Fallon & Rozin, 1985). In the present experiment, women with high Eating Attitude Test (EAT) scores, indicating abnormal eating patterns, choose differently from those with low scores. All women's IDEAL and OPPOSITE figures are thinner than their CURRENT figures, whereas men rate all three nearly identically. Only the high-scoring women choose an IDEAL figure thinner than their OPPOSITE. This suggests that whereas men are satisfied with their figures, women desire to be thinner than they think they are, and women with abnormal eating behaviors desire to be even thinner than what they think men find attractive.     

The psychological reactions to infertility: Sex roles and coping styles

The purpose of this study was to determine if sex roles would predict the extent to which people experience problems in coping with infertility. Based on questionnaire responses of 164 medical patients, it was found that patients scoring higher in masculinity or androgyny reported fewer problems in coping with infertility, as measured by self-esteem and body image. It was also found that groups of infertile, formerly infertile, and fertile patients were no different in levels of coping. It was suggested that physicians might be able to identify patients at risk for poorer coping with infertility by screening new referrals for self-esteem and historical-background variables.