A factor analysis of the counsellor attitude scale

A factor analysis was carried out on the pre-training Counsellor Attitude Scale responses of 107 persons. The first seven factors, which accounted for just over two-fifths of the variance, were: counsellor direction, unconditional acceptance, moral responsibility, diagnosis and interpretation, prior information and case history, reliance on client's ability to solve problems, and allowance of self-derogation and of self-pity. These factors are briefly discussed, and some implications of the findings are suggested both, for the scale itself and for counselling practice.