Effect of time-limited counseling on client change.

24 college-student clients seeking help from a counseling center for emotional or personal-social problems were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment conditions: time-limited or undetermined-time counseling. Pre- and postcounseling measures were obtained relating to client status and problems. These included the Personal Orientation Inventory and Strupp's therapist questionnaire. Findings indicate significant improvement in terms of self-acceptance and increased independence as well as on various other self-report statements for clients in the time-limited group over a period of 8 wks. In addition, assessment by clients and the 15 counselors of improvement in both groups was significantly related. Implications of findings in terms of use of time-limited counseling in a time-limited environment, e.g., college counseling centers, are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initial client expectancies in time-limited counseling.

Assessed the effects of (a) whether counseling was time-limited (12 sessions), (b) the interaction of time limits with the chronicity of the client's problem, and (c) the rationale given for time limits (time limits effective/appropriate vs a long waiting list) on the initial expectancies of clients. 80 female college students were asked to place themselves into the role of a client they saw interacting with a counselor on film. Pre- and postfilm written material manipulated the independent variables. Results show that Ss in the chronic (vs acute) problem condition had the most negative expectancies for the counseling relationship and outcome when the counseling was time-limited (vs unlimited). While the rationale for time limits did not affect the primary dependent variables, post hoc analyses of Ss' essay responses indicated that the waiting-list rationale stimulated more negative expectancies than the time-limits-effective/appropriate rationale. Contrary to predictions, time did not affect Ss' expectancies for client activity and responsibility and for counselor activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Racial similarity of client and counselor and client satisfaction with counseling.

Client evaluations of a precollege counseling interview were obtained for 13 black and 13 white students counseled by 3 experienced black counselors and 8 experienced white counselors. Black students tended to react more favorably to black and to white counselors than did white students. In general, racial similarity of client and counselor was not an important factor in these counseling interviews. The hypothesis that counselors are differentially effective in counseling students of a different racial background than their own lacks support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Templates of client change in short-term counseling.

A qualitalive analysis was performed of the change process experienced by 10 female clients engaged in short-term counseling (8–21 sessions). At the end of each session, clients completed the Important Events Questionnaire in which they described the most important event in the session, the reason for its importance, their thoughts during the event, their thoughts between sessions, and any change they were experiencing. These written responses were examined by 4 judges who attempted to map change processes over time. Three different patterns of change were identified: consistent change, interrupted change, and minimal change. The implications of these results for the understanding of change processes in short-term counseling are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential client attractiveness in a counseling analogue.

Investigated the effects of variations in conceptual complexity level of counselor and client on counselor attraction to the client. 40 counselor trainees (characterized as having either high or low conceptual level—Paragraph Completion Test) in 2 groups rated the attractiveness of clients following each of 2 counseling analog tasks in which the client was depicted as exhibiting high or low conceptual level. Results of a 2?×?2 analysis of variance (Counseling Complexity?×?Analog Complexity) indicated only that the more complex clients were more attractive across both levels of counselor complexity. Results are discussed in terms of 2 models of interpersonal attraction and the implication for socioeconomic status, as it relates to conceptual level, as a factor in counselor–client role constraints. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived counselor characteristics, client expectations, and client satisfaction with counseling.

Examined (a) the relationship between perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and client satisfaction; (b) the relationships between specific client expectations on perceived counselor characteristics and client satisfaction; and (c) the effects of actual counselor experience level on perceived counselor characteristics and client satisfaction. The 55 counselors who participated in the study were either beginning or advancing practicum students, doctoral-level interns, or PhD counselors; clients were 72 students who sought help at a university counseling center. Clients completed an Expectations About Counseling (EAC) questionnaire before entering counseling, as well as the Counseling Evaluation Inventory (CEI) and Counselor Rating Form (CRF) after several weeks of counseling. CRF and CEI were correlated, but EAC scores were not strongly related to the CEI or CRF scores. Actual counselor experience level did not differentially affect CEI or CRF scores. Findings are discussed in terms of several variables (e.g., legitimate power, source variables, and client satisfaction) that may differentially affect the influence process over time. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral analysis of client learning style during counseling.

Examined differences in the verbal behavior of 17 undergraduates classified as deep–elaborative learners and 13 undergraduates classified as shallow–reiterative learners on the basis of their scores on the Inventory of Learning Processes. Ss discussed personal problems in 2 30-min interviews with 1 of 2 female counselors. Verbal behavior of deep–elaborative Ss was rated as clearer, deeper, and more conclusion-oriented and personal than that of shallow–reiterative Ss by 2 male trained raters. Solely on the basis of this verbal behavior, both the raters and the counselors correctly identified the information-processing group to which each S belonged. There were no differences between groups on counseling satisfaction. Discussion of relationship problems was rated most deep–elaborative and discussion of academic problems most shallow–reiterative. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improved detection of the early defecting counseling client.

Research into the factors predisposing clients to terminate prematurely from counseling often requires the ability to measure and predict defection or continuation, the readiness variable. This study attempted to improve upon the Counseling Readiness Scales by the empirical development of correction keys using the remaining items from the Adjective Check List. Ss were 186 female and 243 male undergraduate counseling clients. This effort was successful as far as improved discrimination between both male and female true negatives (clients predicted to drop who actually drop) and false negatives (clients predicted to drop who actually stay). However, similar efforts to improve the discrimination between true positives (clients predicted to stay who actually stay) and false positives (clients predicted to stay who actually drop) were unsuccessful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselor touch on counseling outcome.

Examined the effect(s) of counselor touch on client evaluation of counseling and level of self-exploration. 25 counselors and 100 undergraduates participated. Nonverbal condition (touch, no touch), sex of counselor, and sex of client were the factors. Each S participated in a single individualized vocational counseling session to discuss their performance on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory. All 50-min counseling sessions included 6 clusters of verbal and nonverbal procedures that were administered by counselors at predetermined periods of time. Data were collected by means of questionnaires (Counseling Evaluation Inventory and Depth of Self-Exploration Scale) and audiotapes that were submitted to independent raters for analysis. Contrary to previous studies, counseling touch did not have a significant effect. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Posttherapy congruence on client symptoms and therapy outcome.

Examined whether therapists' accuracy on the level of clients' symptoms as perceived by the client (congruence of perception) was related to outcome in the cases of 50 adult clients. Clients completed a 90-item symptom check list, which was scaled on 9 symptom dimensions (e.g., depression, anxiety, hostility) and a global pathology index. Therapists rated clients directly on these dimensions. As hypothesized, posttherapy congruence correlated significantly with both client-rated and therapist-rated outcome. Congruence of perception at the beginning of therapy was unrelated to outcome. Better congruence was associated more with successful outcome than was either therapists' or clients' components of the congruence level. Findings suggest that therapists' posttherapy conceptual congruence of client functioning is highly associated with successful outcome. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in counseling center client problems across 13 years.

Are perceived increases in symptom severity in college counseling center clients real or imagined? Counseling center staff, retrospectively, reported that client problems are more severe now than in the past. Yet studies examining client distress levels at intake have found no significant increases. This study examined counseling center client problems across 13 years from the perspective of the treating therapist at the time of case closure. Increases were found for 14 of 19 client problem areas, whereas other areas retained stable levels, and 2 problem areas had a quadratic trend over time. These changes directly affect counseling service practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factor analysis of the domain of client expectancies about counseling.

446 college students completed a questionnaire measuring 20 expectancies regarding counseling. After item analysis, the instrument was reduced to 135 items comprising 17 expectancy scales. Scale scores were calculated for each S, and data analyzed using principal-components analysis with varimax rotation. Evidence of 4 expectancy factors was obtained: Personal Commitment, Facilitative Conditions, Counselor Expertise, and Nurturance. To clarify interpretation, scores on the 4 factors were correlated with Ss' responses to 13 items measuring how realistic respondents' expectancies were. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical attractiveness: Interactive effects of counselor and client on counseling processes.

192 college students, selected on the basis of their scores on an attractiveness battery, assumed the role of a client having social skill problems during 3 counseling sessions. Exp I was a factorial design in which the major variables were counselor's physical attractiveness, client's physical attractiveness, and sex of client. Exp II studied the interaction between physical attractiveness of the counselor and client's susceptibility to attractiveness as determinants of outcome. In both experiments, Ss roleplayed a client who interacted with a female counselor. The counselor's physical attractiveness had a major impact on her perceived therapeutic effectiveness and the client's expectancies about future success, irrespective of the client's physical attractiveness or sex. Male clients generally attributed a higher level of skill to the female counselor than did female clients. When the counselor was unattractive, clients who were more susceptible to attractiveness perceived her as less skillful than clients who were less susceptible to attractiveness. Physical attractiveness of the counselor accounted for over 50% of the variance in perceived effectiveness and future expectancy measures in both experiments. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonverbal communication and counseling outcome.

Nonverbal abilities and behaviors and verbal–nonverbal (VB–NVB) congruence of both counselor and client were studied in relation to judgments by counselors and clients of counseling outcome. 40 university students were clients; 20 counseling or clinical psychology graduate students were counselors. 40 counseling dyads were videotaped during 30-min counseling sessions. NVB abilities were assessed by the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity and an encoding task. Raters judged the presence of 7 NVB behaviors for each 5-sec segment of the videotaped session. Congruence was measured through postsession recall by counselor and client of consistency of feelings expressed through VB and NVB channels of communication. Only VB–NVB congruence was significantly related to outcome, suggesting that the NVB dimension is important primarily as it interacts with the VB dimension. Recommendations are made for use of new methodologies in future research to examine the complex interactions involving NVB communication. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality correlates of vocational counseling outcome.

Investigated the relationship between scores on the Adjective Check List (ACL), Educational Interest Inventory (EII), and the Vocational Decision-Making Checklist (VDMC) and several vocational counseling outcome measures. 60 male undergraduates unsure about their choice of major received either model-reinforcement counseling, traditional counseling, or no counseling. Correlations between the ACL and EII scores, change in pre- and postcounseling certainty of major, and change in VDMC scores were analyzed. Results suggest that personality factors are related to progress in vocational counseling. The improving client, in general, appears to be outgoing, self-confident, and to have a tendency to be controlling. Data also suggest that change as a result of the traditional, more nondirective counseling may require more self-confidence and a greater ability to assert oneself in interpersonal situations than is necessary with a behavioral counseling approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of contrasting degrees of privacy on client self-disclosure in a counseling setting.

Studied the effect of reduced privacy in a counseling setting on client self-disclosure. A laboratory analog simulating an invasion of privacy by a 3rd party in a counseling setting was developed, and 74 undergraduates were randomly assigned to 3 experimental conditions: private--an interviewer and S were alone in an interview setting; invasion--a 3rd party (a confederate) invaded the privacy of the interview; spatial divider--a 3rd party again invaded the interview, but spatial dividers were introduced to enhance privacy. Results demonstrate that reduced privacy decreases client self-disclosure. Spatial dividers influenced the client's perception of privacy but failed to increase self-disclosure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of client needs and counseling center staff roles and functions.

Used a national sample of 205 university and college counseling center staff members to obtain ratings of Ss' perceptions of changes in client presenting problems, changes in agency expectations with regard to 9 service-related tasks, and their comfort and skill in performing these tasks. Ratings were obtained from past and present time perspectives to aid in assessing perceived changes in these areas. Results indicate that Ss perceived client problems to be changing from more informational/educational to more serious emotional/behavioral problem areas. At the same time, staff members across all experience levels reported an increased pressure to perform in 7 of the 9 tasks listed. Staff members generally rated themselves as able to meet current service demands. Implications for counseling training programs indicate that an emphasis on acquiring traditional therapy and assessment skills may become increasingly important and that opportunities for specialty training should be expanded. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of briefing upon client satisfaction with the initial counseling contact.

Administered the Counseling Readiness scale of the Adjective Check List to 44 male and 41 female student naive clients at a counseling center. Half of the Ss were then provided relevant information about therapist directive-nondirective behavior prior to initial contact. Results show female Ss who had been briefed and were high in counseling readiness were most satisfied with initial contacts, and able to elicit more directive interviewer behavior. While briefing failed to influence the initial subjective satisfaction of male and female clients with low-counseling readiness, it did significantly reduce the incidence of early termination in this group. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A metalanguage analysis of counselor and client verb usage in counseling.

Examined the verb type and noun case role usages of a counselor and client from the 1st, 11th, and 25th interviews in a single counseling case, using the rationale from a computer-assisted language analysis system and a case grammar approach. The analysis indicated that the participants were remarkably similar in the frequency with which they used (a) specific verb types and (b) case roles of particular noun phrases within each interview. Moreover, Ss were similar in their changes to higher or lower frequencies of these units of linguistic structure over the 3 interviews. The counselor and client appear to be "tracking" each other in their use of given verb types as methods for relating named things to each other. In the beginning of the series, the majority of verbs that both participants used identified the client member of the pair as the agent of some action. By the end of the series, a majority of verbs that both participants were using identified the client as the object of some inner state, or as the experiencer of a psychological process of feeling, sensing, or knowing. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of client characteristics on initial counselor perceptions.

Analyzed the reactions of 30 professionally employed counselors to a role-played, videotaped intake interview with a potential client by a counselor who was not in view. The Ss assessed the probability that they would elect to counsel the person. They also rated both themselves and the client on A. Barak and M. LaCrosse's (1975) Counselor Rating Form (CRF). Results indicate that the trustworthiness dimension seemed to incorporate those characteristics that most influence initial counselor perceptions. It is suggested that the CRF can be used to obtain counselor as well as client perceptions and that the use of relativistic measures of attributes, that is, the use of scores that reflect the differences between one's own attributes and those of the other, may be a valuable methodological addition to research that uses the CRF. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)