Counselor Actions to Facilitate Client Change During Life-Design Counseling

The authors examined whether and how counselor interventions foster client change during life-design counseling (Savickas, 2015). Two counseling sessions were conducted. Interviews with the 2 clients and the counselor after each counseling session were done in accordance with interpersonal process recall (Larsen, Flesaker, & Stege, 2008). The results indicated a scheme of counselor interventions that corresponded to client change. Specifically, the counselor fostered client reflection and reflexivity by (a) exploring original constructions, (b) identifying problematic themes in the constructions, (c) interpreting those themes, (d) identifying and recording client change and reflection, (e) connecting the themes to current issues, (f) facilitating a process of critical review, and (g) facilitating the reconstruction process. The results add a counselor's perspective to the research on client change and suggest a study of cases facilitated by counselors with diverse styles and skills that could further identify links between client change and counselor intervention.     

Impact of Computerized Rapid Assessment Instruments on Counselors and Client Outcome

Abstract

The effect of the availability of Rapid Assessment Instrument (RAI) (1) computer scoring, and (2) computer administration on: (3) counselor behavior, and (4) client outcome was inspected. Counselors without computer assistance employed fewest RAIs with their clients; those with computer scoring available employed more RAIs, and those with computer administration available employed RAIs most frequently. When more RAis were employed, clients improved more in counseling, terminated against medical advice less frequently, and were also more satisfied with their counseling experience.     

Assumptions Regarding Vocational Counseling

Vocational counseling interviews involve the client and counselor in viewing each other, as the term inter-view indicates. As counseling begins, counselor and client view each other's assumptions about the nature of counseling processes and outcomes. Clients have assumptions about the kind of help they need to make occupational choices, what they can expect of counselors, what they can expect from any tests used, what they may be asked to do, and what will occur in the total process. Counselors need to understand the kinds of results clients expect from vocational counseling. Many assumptions, when held by either clients or counselors, lead to client (and possibly counselor) dissatisfaction with counseling because the assumptions build false anticipations for the client. Essentially, both clients and counselors often expect more definite outcomes and less effort from each party than is reasonable. This paper is written to promote counselors' reflections on their own and their clients' vocational counseling assumptions.     

Contributions of the Working Alliance in the Practice of Career Counseling

We see the working alliance, a construct well articulated in the psychoanalytic counseling literature, as a key element in enhancing the counseling of those with career concerns. This article describes the working alliance as that sector of the overall experience of counseling participants characterized by their collaboration, mutuality and cooperation with regard to the work of counseling. The dimensions of the working alliance, the counselor and client contributions to it, and the perspectives of others about it are discussed. This study reviews obstacles to building and sustaining the alliance, such as resistance in the form of fear of counseling, and confusion related to counseling goals, tasks, and bonds. Finally, mention is made of the possible research and policy implications of emphasizing the working alliance in career counseling practice.     

Student and Counselor Perceptions of Career Counselor Work Activities in a Community College

This study examined whether differences exist between student and counselor perceptions of work activities performed by the latter group in a large Southern California community college. Participants responded to a 40-item questionnaire indicating whether tasks were actually performed, and whether they ought be performed by counselors when providing career guidance. Chi-square with Yates's correction for continuity and Fisher's Exact Test were used to analyze the data. Statistically significant results indicated that students did not believe that counselors were actually performing the majority of tasks commonly and ideally associated with career counseling services. Although students and counselors agreed on ideal career counselor work activities, counselor responses revealed no difference between their actual and ideal duties.     

Mental Health Mobile Apps’ Instruction: Technology Adoption Theories Applied in a Mixed Methods Study of Counseling Faculty

This objective of this research was to determine factors influencing counselor educators’ behavioral intentions to teach counseling students about mental health mobile applications (MHMAs), factors influencing values of MHMAs as therapeutic tools, and to what extent counselor education programs are contributing to future counselors’ technological competence with regard to evaluating and integrating MHMAs. The conceptual basis was a theory triangulation approach using theories of technology use and acceptance and diffusion of innovations. Nine quantitative, two qualitative, and two mixed methods research questions served to guide the study. Participants were 132 faculty members from 99 university counseling programs. Participants completed an initial survey, an evaluation of an evidence-based mental health mobile application (app), and a postmeasure. Hierarchical multiple regression, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), independent samples t-tests, and paired samples t-tests were used to analyze quantitative data. Results indicated that unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) variables along with anxiety/apprehension and ethical concerns are related to behavioral intentions to teach students about MHMAs. Semistructured video interviews were conducted and analyzed in the qualitative phase to add depth and explain quantitative findings. This study has implications for graduate counselor education programs and related accrediting agencies.     

Innovative Uses of the FIRO-B in Couple Counseling*

The use of the Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Orientation-Behavior (FIRO-B)inventory in couple counseling is viewed as a cooperative counselor-client procedure that aids both counselor and client in conceptualizing interpersonal compatibility, specifying counseling goals, assessing behavior change, and facilitating an action oriented counseling process. Case histories are used to illustrate the use of the FIRO-B as an integral part of the counseling process.     

The Relationship Between Counselor Verbal Response Modes and the Working Alliance in Career Counseling

The authors examined the use of counselor response modes in career counseling, including the overall proportion of each response mode and the relationship of each response mode to the working alliance. Participants were 19 counselors‐in‐training and 26 clients in 78 sessions, making this the largest reported study of career counselor response modes. Seventy‐nine percent of the counselor responses were information, paraphrase, or close‐ended questions. None of the categorized counselor responses was significantly and positively related to the working alliance, although counselor self‐disclosure had a significant negative correlation with the alliance. The type of self‐disclosure used was largely irrelevant or self‐deprecating.     

Career Counseling From the Counselee Perspective: Analysis of Feedback Questionnaires

The effectiveness of career counseling as perceived by counselees was measured using evaluation questionnaires. The results showed that 75% of the respondents rated the career counseling they received as satisfactory. A systematic difference was found between satisfaction with counseling as a result of the enhancement of the counselees' personal understanding and satisfaction as a result of the assistance they perceived in decision making. Respondents were more positive concerning their gains in self-understanding than about the help they felt they were given in arriving at a career decision. On the average, counselees rated discussions with the counselor as more important in counseling than were objective tests, interest inventories or vocational information. Respondents who reported that counseling helped them in both their personal and career problems were more satisfied than those who reported being helped solely in either their personal problems or their career decisions. The theoretical and practical implications of these results for career counseling are discussed.     

College Counselors’ Perceptions and Practices Regarding Anticipatory Guidance on Firearms

Abstract

Objectives: This study assessed college counselors’ anticipatory guidance on firearms for student clients. Participants: The membership of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors was used to identify a national random sample of counseling centers (n = 361). One counselor from each center was selected to survey. Methods: In the winter of 2008, a 3-wave mailing procedure was used to maximize the response rate. Completed surveys served as consent (as approved by the University Human Subjects Committee). Results: A total of 213 counselors (59%) responded. They were unlikely to provide anticipatory guidance (6%), chart/keep records on client ownership/access to firearms (17%), or to counsel the majority of clients from various diagnostic categories on firearms. Conclusions: University personnel are likely to refer students with suspected mental health problems to university counseling centers. The findings indicate that few counseling centers will address firearm issues with students.     

The Social Influence of Two Computer-Assisted Career Guidance Systems: DISCOVER and SIGI

Perceptions of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness of computer-assisted guidance systems, as measured by an adapted version of the Counselor Rating Form (CRF), were compared for 107 college students in two treatment conditions (DISCOVER and SIGI) and a computer imaging control condition. Findings showed that students in the DISCOVER and SIGI conditions had more positive perceptions of the attractiveness of systems than those in the computer imaging group. In a review of related studies using the CRF in actual counseling, students seemed to attribute comparable levels of expertness to the computer, but not so with attractiveness or trustworthiness. Implications of these findings for the optimal use of CACG systems and for research are discussed.     

Identification and Integration of Career Theory: Students’ Perspectives on the Process

In many counseling programs, while students are learning about career theory, they may be tasked in a separate course with identifying a theoretical approach to counseling. This may result in a dichotomous situation in which students lack an understanding of the relationship between career theory and counseling theory. Career counselors have long recognized the artificial distinction between career counseling and general counseling. However, counselor education programs generally lag, and there is a dearth of literature regarding the process of identifying and integrating career theory and counseling theory. This phenomenological study examined 6 students’ perceptions of the process of career theory identification and integration. Analysis of in‐depth interviews yielded 5 major themes: theory identification and integration, perceptions of career counseling, resources, personal dimensions, and application across the life span. Findings of this study have the potential to inform counselor education pedagogy regarding career theory identification and its application to the counseling context.     

Effects of Structuring on Students' Perceptions of Career Counseling

This study examines the effects of the use of structuring on participants' impressions of a counselor during an initial career counseling session. A total of 232 undergraduate students viewed a videotape of an initial career counseling session. Both groups observed the identical tape with the exception that one group was additionally shown a brief structuring segment. The 2 groups were compared across the variables of attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness as measured by the Counselor Rating Form. The participants were also asked to rate their willingness to see a counselor about a career issue before and after viewing the videotape. Significant differences were found across the dependent measures. Implications of the findings for counselors are discussed.     

Eliciting reconceptualization innovative moments to foster change in Career Construction Counseling

This study tests an add-on procedure to foster change in Career Construction Counseling by eliciting reconceptualization innovative moments. After the career counseling intervention with 42 participants, 21 participants were allocated to the add-on procedure, consisting of two additional sessions focused on eliciting reconceptualization innovative moments In turn, participants in the comparison group attended two extra intervention sessions in which the lifetime task was used. Outcome measures assessing vocational behavior and psychological distress were applied at the onset, at the end of counseling and after the two additional sessions. The findings show that Career Construction Counseling was effective, allowing a significant increase in vocational certainty, vocational identity, career decision-making, and a decrease in psychological distress. After counseling, participants in the add-on intervention fostering reconceptualization innovative moments revealed greater gains in vocational identity and psychological distress than those in the comparison group. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Attitudes Regarding Career Counseling: Perceptions and Experiences of Counselors‐in‐Training

The authors explored attitudes regarding career counseling. Interview data were analyzed and conceptualized using grounded theory methods. Peers, faculty, and programs influenced participants' attitudes. Participants' observations regarding instruction and developed understanding of their own career development figured into favorable attitudes regarding career counseling. Data revealed that students did not perceive that they were competent or confident conducting career counseling. Implications for counselor education are discussed.     

Important Events in Career Counseling: Client and Counselor Descriptions

The authors used a content analysis system to classify career‐counseling participants' responses to questions about the helpfulness of their recently completed counseling experiences. Both clients and counselors most frequently identified client gains associated with self‐exploration and with emotional support as most helpful. Members of both groups frequently identified ineffective counselor‐selected activities as least helpful. Clients rated their experiences as significantly more effective than did their counselors. The authors discuss implications of these results for the validity of the content analysis system and the nature and practice of career counseling.     

School counseling practices related to postsecondary STEM participation

This qualitative exploratory cross-case analysis analyzed the beliefs and practices of high school counselors related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academic advisement, postsecondary planning, and career participation. Interviews were conducted with high school counselors (N = 13) who were purposively sampled to represent a diversity of schools in terms of demographic variables. Findings indicated that high school counselors perceived that (a) sociocultural factors influenced student preparation for STEM, career planning, and decision making; (b) students’ STEM-related career goals and academic behaviors were sometimes misaligned, and academic advisement often mediated this tension; and (c) their professional STEM knowledge, beliefs, and practices were influenced by professional preparation, workplace characteristics, and their academic experiences. Implications include the need for early, sustained high school STEM counseling and academic advisement; accessible professional development in STEM preparation and careers to promote multiple pathways and reduce school counselor bias; and encouraging family involvement in STEM career decision making.     

The Job Club Redux: A Step Forward in Addressing the Career Development Needs of Counselor Education Students

The career development needs of counselor education students beginning a professional job search have not been systematically explored. Although job clubs have been linked to positive outcomes, there is no empirical evidence that they meet the needs of this group. The purpose of this study was to examine how counselor education students viewed a proposed job club intervention using focus group data. The findings suggested that students had strong interest in a group that emphasized empowerment and collaboration, offered predictable social support, and provided training in specific job search skills. Implications for counselor education and career counseling practice are discussed.     

ARE GOALS AND TOPICS INFLUENCED BY GENDER AND MODALITY IN THE INITIAL MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY SESSION?

Establishment of a goal is crucial to therapy, but identification of therapeutic goals may be difficult in conjoint therapy because each participant may identify a different problem. We examined the influence of gender on ability to successfully introduce therapeutic topics in marital and family therapy by conducting two studies. The first study evaluates the ability of therapists to identify therapeutic goals that matched goals prioritized by both women and men clients on pretherapy questionnaires. The second study examines the process of initial therapy sessions to see whether gender influences a client's ability to introduce a therapeutic topic. Results suggest that therapeutic topic is influenced by the interaction of gender and treatment modality. Specifically, therapists were better able to match women's pretherapy stated goals in marital therapy than family therapy, men were more successful at introducing topics in family therapy, and women were more successful at introducing topics in marital therapy.