Family of Origin Violence and Courtship Abuse

Research has shown that family of origin violence is related to later courtship and marital abuse. Few researchers, however, have distinguished between observed and received violence as a child and expressed and received abuse in adult relationships. Questionnaires addressing these issues were completed by 336 undergraduates. Results indicated that 75% of the sample had expressed threats or actual violence and 64% had received such abuse in an intimate relationship. Only 25% had been publicly identified as a result of the violence. In this sample, 30% had parents who abused each other. Less often, the mother (9.1%) or father (8.5%) had been the sole abuser. Most (76.4%) had been abused as children. Multiple regression indicated that being abused as a child predicted receiving and expressing violence as an adult.     

The Healing Circle: An Alternative Path to Alcoholism Recovery

Recovery from alcoholism has typically involved the program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). However, the values espoused by AA, especially those related to spirituality, can be in conflict with the values of traditional Native Americans. This article discusses healing methods founded in the traditions of Native American culture in general and the Oglala Lakota (also called Oglala Sioux) nation specifically. An understanding of these methods gives non-Native American counselors additional tools for guiding Native American clients to an effective program of recovery.     

Résumé Preparation Workshop for University Students

A workshop to help university students prepare résumés is described and evaluated. Part of the workshop discusses the purpose of a résumé and describes its “advertisement” aspect. Another portion encourages participants to inventory their assets and experiences, and to gather information about their chosen occupational areas. The third segment of the workshop explains traditional formats, and the final segment offers suggestions for attractive layout and reproduction. Preliminary evaluations of workshop participants' and nonparticipants' résumés resulted in ratings that were higher for the workshop group. In general, it was found that persons who talk with counselors or friends about résumés produce more effective résumés than those who get their information only through reading materials. A pilot evaluation instrument is included. Implications of this study for counselors are discussed and suggestions for developing similar workshops are made.     

The Influence of Gender on Job Loss Coping Behavior Among Unemployed Managers

Using the Job Loss Coping Behavior scale (JLCB; Leana & Feldman, 1992), this article examines the behaviors of 131 unemployed male and female managers in coping with their Job loss. The results indicate that the men had significantly higher job search efficacy. The article's findings suggest that women may need more help in identifying a network of colleagues and friends to assist with then-Job search activities than men. The authors encourage employment counselors to be mindful of this finding and to help unemployed women to develop more appropriate proactive behaviors and skills that will assist them with their Job search activities.     

Chaos and Change in a Suicidal Family

Chaos theory is an important paradigm shift in science that has significant implications for psychological theory and psychotherapy. The concepts evolving from chaos theory can help clinicians identify patterns in family interactions that are critical if transformations are to occur. This article explores a specific case example from the perspective of chaos theory. Observing how suicidal behavior becomes part of a pattern of family interaction may offer a framework for clinicians to observe the dynamics of chaos.     

The effect of relational stage and intimacy on touch: An extension of Guerrero and Andersen

The effects of relational stage, intimacy, and gender on touch were examined. Participants were 270 partners from 135 couples involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship. Results indicated that touch varies as a function of relational stage. An examination of relational stage and subjects' perceptions of how much they touched their partner and how much their partner touched them generally indicated an asymptotic relationship. Specifically, men's and women's perceptions of how much they touched their partners, and women's perceptions of how much their partners touched them, increased from the casually dating to the seriously dating stage and then leveled off for seriously dating, engaged, and married couples. Men's perceptions of how much their partners touched them increased from the casually dating to the seriously dating stage then decreased from the seriously dating to the married stage. Relational intimacy was also curvilinearly related to self and partner perceptions of touch. Because there were no significant interaction effects between stage and gender, or intimacy and gender, the curvilinear effects of relational stage and intimacy on touch are generalizable to both men and women.     

Bibliotherapy: Does It Work?

Bibliotherapy continues to be used by counselors as an adjunctive technique in their professional work. This article updates the research literature and reports conflicting responses to the question, “Does bibliotherapy work?”     

Improving Research Training in Doctoral Counseling Programs

The authors surveyed the research training practices of doctoral-level, APA-approved counseling psychology programs, non-APA-approved counseling psychology programs, and counselor education programs to identify ways to improve such training. Some differences were found according to program type. No differences were found in percentage of students' publishing or presenting research during 1983–84. Suggestions for improving future research training were assessed; highest ratings were given to required participation in research teams; 1st-year, “hands-on” research experience; and greater emphasis on design rather than statistics training. Programs characterized by high and low student research productivity differed in the areas of required research training, research emphases and research climate, required presentation or submission of research for publication, and material support for student research. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Strategies for Counseling Midcareer Changers: A Conceptual Framework

The authors describe a model designed to help counselors facilitate the midcareer change process. Problems of typical midcareer changers are portrayed using case studies. Intervention strategies are presented in a framework that includes emotional adaptation and cognitive decision making.     

The Effects of Enhanced Informed Consent in a Pro-Life Pregnancy Counseling Center

The current study investigated the effects of an enhanced informed consent condition on attitudes toward a counselor, counseling situation, and decision making in a pro-life pregnancy center. The following questions were specifically addressed: (1) Would enhanced informed consent be related to increased pro-abort decisions? and (2) Would enhanced informed consent be related to more positive attitudes toward the counselor and center? Results suggested that enhanced consent did not lead to increased or decreased decisions to abort nor to differential attitudes toward the counselor or counseling setting. Results are discussed in terms of their support for the provision of full informed consent as consistent with both prevailing ethical and legal guidelines.