A Brief,Collaborative-Structured Approach for Personal Development Groups

A brief, collaborative-structured approach to group counseling was evaluated. The technique specifically differs from traditional development groups in that the content was chosen and the group norms established in the context of a structured and limited framework. The results indicate that this approach may be a viable alternative for understaffed counseling centers.     

Preventing Violence on College Campuses

The author examines violence on college campuses by reviewing its types, prevalence, and underlying factors. Institutional responses to prevent campus violence through tertiary, secondary, and primary prevention activities are discussed.     

An A-B-C-D-E Worksheet for Promoting Beneficence When Considering Ethical Issues

An A-B-C-D-E worksheet has been prepared to promote beneficence when considering ethical issues. The components of the worksheet are derived from ethical principles and ethical decision-making models. The worksheet makes abstract concepts of decision-making models concrete and practical. In addition, it provides a shorthand for remembering key elements necessary to good ethical decision making. It is systematic and useful and can aid students of ethics and mental health professionals to think more critically about ethical dilemmas.     

School Counselor Selection: A Systematic Approach

This article presents an objective-based model for the selection of counselors. The model places emphasis on a systematic approach, with staff involvement and clear objectives for the process, and includes suggestions for avoiding ineffective behaviors based on traditional approaches.     

RELATIONAL DISTANCE IN MANAGING CONFLICT

This study assessed the extent to which providing a problem-solving structure to conflicting dyads might impact members' use of language to mark their relational distance. It was hypothesized that conflicting subjects instructed to use a set of decision rules to resolve the conflict would use less immediate and more formal relational code choices than conflicting subjects free to resolve the conflict in any manner they chose. This hypothesis was confirmed for the immediacy, but not the formality variable. The discussion section suggested that because decision rules may encourage conflicting dyads to use less “liking” language to resolve their dispute, such rules may serve to discourage participants from creating more integrative solutions to conflicts.     

Communication Schemata Within the Family

Analyses from a random sample of 169 families established a dear relationship between schemata for marital and parent-child communication. Hypotheses were derived by theoretically relating the Relational Dimensions Inventory and the Revised Family Communication Patterns instrument. In families headed by Traditional, Separate, and Separate/Traditional couples, all three family members saw the family interaction as high on conformity orientation. In families headed by Independent and Traditional couples, all three family members saw the family interaction as high on conversational orientation. In general, couple types dovetail with the various family types. For example, Traditional couples have Consensual family interaction patterns in that they value conformity and conversation. Families who share the same family communication schemata appear to agree on a number of other dimensions of family life. A new scale, Family Communication Environment, which may be used to tap into family communication schemata, is presented.