Participant and symbolic modelling training programmes: Changes in self-efficacy of youth counsellors

A training programme for youth counsellors, aimed to improve counsellors' self-efficacy and their ability to cope effectively with stressful situations, was developed and implemented. Two versions of the training programme were evaluated: one based on Participant Modelling; the other on Symbolic Modelling. As predicted, the self-efficacy of subjects of the Participant Modelling group increased significantly compared to the self-efficacy of subjects of the Symbolic Modelling or the contrast groups. Both training methods positively affected self-efficacy when compared to the contrast group.