Stage differences in the dependencies of topic initiation and topic following behavior.

I examined the topic initiation/topic following sequence data from the beginning, middle, and late stages of 16 counseling dyads (a successful and less successful dyad from each of eight counselors). I hypothesized that the beginning, middle, and end of successful counseling would demonstrate different patterns of dependency in the sequence data. Client and counselor topic initiation and topic following behavior was examined by using loglinear analysis to see the extent to which they varied because of the previous behavior of the other participant (interchain dependency), their own previous behavior (intrachain dependency), outcome (determined by a composite of client and counselor evaluations), and stage. Although high interchain dependencies were present for all the clients and counselors, significant variation was related to stage and outcome. Further, both clients and counselors in successful dyads demonstrated significant increases of intrachain dependency in the end stage, but no similar increases were found for either clients or counselors in the less successful dyads. These results are discussed with respect to relationship formation and development, differences in client and counselor role, and implications for future studies on interaction sequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Complementary interaction over time in successful and less successful supervision.

Over the course of supervision, the interaction sequence was examined in 6 supervision dyads. The dyads comprised 3 supervisors each meeting with 1 successful and 1 less successful trainee. The presence of D. J. Kiesler's (in press) hypothesized high-low-high pattern of complementarity over time for successful supervision was examined. Each speaking turn was categorized into 1 of the interpersonal circumplex quadrants, and the sequence of these quadrant responses was examined using loglinear analysis. Results indicate no support for the hypothesized 3-stage model of successful supervision, but there were differences in supervisor responding to trainee hostility across outcome. Results are discussed with respect to the definition and utility of the construct of complementarity to supervision. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dominance and outcome: A sequential examination.

Used a statistical dependency definition of control to examine J. Haley's (1963) contention that successful counseling is characterized by the counselor being in control, or dominant. The 3 best and the 3 worst dyads, in terms of both client- and counselor-rated outcome, were selected from 15 time-limited counseling dyads at a university counseling center. All interactions were rated for topic-initiating or topic-following responses. The extent to which each participant's topical response was predictable based on the other's previous response was calculated. These 2 indices of dependence, one for the client and one for the counselor, were then compared for differences. Results demonstrate that counselors were dominant in the successful dyads, whereas dependency was equal in the unsuccessful dyads. To determine if these results were associated with certain stages of the process of the successful dyads, a post hoc analysis was conducted, testing for dependency differences across the stages found by the author and P. B. Ray (see record 1984-16374-001). Counselor dominance was found only in the middle (conflict) stage. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The interpersonal process of cognitive–behavioral therapy: An examination of complementarity over the course of treatment.

Data from 20 clients seeing 4 experienced therapists conducting time-limited, cognitive–behavioral therapy in a university counseling center were examined with respect to the pattern of complementarity and its relation to outcome. The Interpersonal Communication Rating Scale—Revised (S. R. Strong, H. Hills, & B. Nelson, 1988) was used to determine levels of complementarity. Results of growth curve analyses support the covariation of the U-shaped pattern of complementarity with outcome. More successful dyads demonstrated a pattern of initial high levels of complementarity, decreasing levels in the middle of treatment, and then increasing levels at the end, but not as high as at the beginning. Less successful dyads did not demonstrate this pattern. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of individual differences on dyadic conversational strategies.

Tested 18 male and 18 female university-undergraduate dyads in 3 conditions designed to reflect the complementarity of the dominance predispositions of the partners: high–low (complementary), and high–high and low–low (noncomplementary). Ss discussed issues on which they were known to disagree, and it was predicted that although the rates of successful and unsuccessful interruptions (simultaneous speech events) would increase over time for the high–high dyads, they would remain constant for the other 2 conditions. There were no effects for unsuccessful interruptions, but the hypothesis was confirmed for successful interruptions. The main effect for sex was not significant, but a separate analysis showed that female listeners provided significantly more verbal back-channel cues than male listeners. The discussion topics were obtained from a questionnaire that was also administered after participation in the dyads, and an analysis of opinion change indicated that significantly greater change had occurred in the low–low than in the high–high dyads. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential helpfulness of counselor verbal response modes.

28 counselor–client dyads (analog sample consisting of 15 graduate students and faculty and 28 undergraduates) and 16 client–counselor dyads (counseling sample) rated the helpfulness of particular counselor responses in just-completed counseling sessions, using Interpersonal Process Recall. In the counseling sample, counselors also rated the helpfulness of the same responses. The responses were measured for type of response made by objective raters, clients, and counselors. Interpretations received the highest helpfulness ratings from both client and counselor. Advisements were rated as slightly more helpful than nonadvisements, and questions were rated as slightly less helpful than nonquestions. However, counselor response modes account for only a small proportion of the variance in helpfulness ratings, which points out the need for research on contextual variables and response mode subtypes. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Termination in short-term counseling: Comparison of successful and unsuccessful cases.

Counselors (N?=?85) rated the level of outcome for 2 recent short-term counseling cases of equivalent lengths and reported the termination activity that occurred for each case using the Termination Behavior Checklist—Therapist. It was predicted and found that, in comparison with their report of successful cases, counselors reported in unsuccessful cases less frequent discussion of the end of counseling, less review of the course of counseling, less activity bringing closure to the client–counselor relationship, and less discussion of clients' affective reactions to termination. Furthermore, results of this study, which was based on counselor report, paralleled important findings of J. A. Marx and C. J. Gelso (1987), which was based on client report. Counselors were encouraged to end counseling in a more complete manner with unsuccessful cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactional correlates of premature termination.

Examined the relation of premature termination (PT) from individual psychotherapy to topic determination (TD), which was defined as the proportion of the topic initiations subsequently followed by the other participant, in 2 studies. It was hypothesized that those therapist–client dyads that terminated prematurely would evidence lower degrees of topic determination in the early sessions than continuing dyads. Study 1 compared 4 continuing dyads (2 successful and 2 unsuccessful) and 2 PT dyads. All dyads involved nonpsychotic female clients (mean age 22 yrs) seen at a university counseling center using a time-limited therapy format. The PT dyads had lower levels of TD than the continuing dyads. Specific threshold levels of TD were associated with client failure to return. Study 2 examined 12 dyads that included male and female clients (mean age 22 yrs) of average disturbance (based on psychiatric outpatient norms). Results confirm the PT–TD relation and the TD threshold found in Study 1. For the continuing dyads, low TD values were also found to be associated with client "no-shows" but not cancelled sessions. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of sex of model and media of model presentation on skill development of counselor trainees.

Examined the effect of written vs videotaped model presentation and the effect of a male vs a female model on beginning counselor trainee's production of counselor tacting response leads (CTRL). 65 beginning master's degree students in counseling were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatment conditions—videotaped male model, videotaped female model, written model present, written model not present, and control. Each S's responses to a series of 16 videotaped client vignettes were rated for frequency and quality of CTRLs. As hypothesized, no differences were found between male and female models. Significant differences for the 3 qualitative measures of CTRLs were found for videotaped models over control and for the written models over control. No differences between the videotaped models and written models were obtained. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gay and bisexual male clients' perceptions of counseling: The role of perceived sexual orientation similarity and counselor universal-diverse orientation.

A recurring question in multicultural counseling is whether client–counselor similarity on sociodemographic characteristics benefits counseling. A related issue is how counselor orientation to diversity relates to counseling process and outcome, both as a main effect and in interaction with counselor–client sociodemographic match. This cross-sectional study investigated these questions in relation to gay and bisexual male clients' counseling experiences by examining clients' perceived similarity to their counselor in sexual orientation, as well as counselors' self-reported orientation to diversity (assessed in terms of level of universal-diverse orientation [UDO]). Data were from 83 male–male client–counselor dyads recruited from lesbian/gay/bisexual-affirming counseling practices, where clients identified as gay or bisexual and counselors identified as gay, bisexual, or heterosexual. Counselor UDO was positively and uniquely associated with client ratings of the working alliance, session depth, and session smoothness. Perceived sexual orientation similarity was not directly related to any of the counseling-related criterion variables. Moreover, when counselors reported low levels of UDO, perceived similarity was negatively associated with the client-rated alliance and perceived improvement. Client religious commitment—a control variable in all analyses—was uniquely and negatively associated with client ratings of perceived improvement in counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselor response behavior on clients' impressions during vocational counseling.

We examined the effects of four counselor response types—self-disclosure, self-involving, empathy, and open question—on subjects' impressions of the counselor during vocational counseling. A total of 201 undergraduate students viewed videotapes of an initial vocational counseling interview, in which the counselor used either self-disclosure, self-involving, empathy, or open-question statements. Using a 2 (counselor sex)?×?2 (client sex)?×?4 (response type) design, a three-way interaction was found in regard to counselor social influence. However, for the most part, a general lack of significance was found across the dependent measures. These results are interpreted relative to vocational counseling and then compared to the literature on personal–social counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor technical activity in cases with improving working alliances and continuing-poor working alliances.

Counselor technical activity in counseling dyads was examined with working alliances that were client-rated as improving (8 dyads) or as continuing poor (7 dyads). Ss were 15 volunteer clients paired with 15 counselor trainees for 4 counseling sessions. Clients rated the strength of the working alliance for each session, and raters scored counselor technical activity on the dimensions of supportive vs challenging, distant vs involved, permissive vs controlling, thematically oriented vs concretely oriented, and here-and-now oriented vs there-and-then oriented. Counselors were relatively more challenging, thematically focused, and here-and-now oriented in the improving dyads than in the continuing-poor alliance dyads. The implications of these findings for theoretical formulations and counseling practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Session evaluation and recall of important events as a function of counselor experience.

Session evaluation and type of participant-recalled important event were investigated in 25 novice counselor dyads and 9 experienced counselor dyads during 9 sessions of short-term counseling. Counselor experience was the independent variable and session evaluation was the dependent variable. Results based on the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (W. B. Stiles, 1980) showed a significant interaction effect between counselor experience and role of participant (client or counselor) for session depth. Clients also reported an increase in positive affect over the course of counseling. Experienced counselors recalled more important events involving insight, whereas novice counselors recalled more important events involving exploration of feelings or self-critique. The type of important event recalled by clients also changed over the sessions of counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Duration, satisfaction, and perceived effectiveness of cross-cultural counseling.

The relationship between cultural dissimilarity and the duration, satisfaction, and perceived effectiveness of counseling was studied in the context of 70 actual treatment dyads that varied as to the race of the counselor and the client (White or non-White). White counselors provided fewer sessions than non-White counselors, and non-White clients expressed lower levels of overall satisfaction with counseling, regardless of counselor race. No differences in counseling effectiveness were observed as measured by counselor and client ratings of perceived relief, understanding, and coping. Relative to other treatment dyads, however, White clients seeing White counselors attributed their change more to counseling than to other, outside factors. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counseling session impact as viewed by novice counselors and their clients.

The Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) was used to measure the perspectives of 17 graduate-student counselors and their 72 17–39 yr old clients on 942 individual counseling sessions along 2 evaluative dimensions—depth and smoothness—and 2 dimensions of postsession mood—positivity and arousal. A components-of-variance analysis showed that, from both perspectives, SEQ ratings varied greatly from session to session; ratings were only modestly predictable from differences among counselors or among counselor–client dyads. However, averages across 6–20 sessions permitted adequately reliable differentiation among dyads, for example, for comparisons with outcome measures. Correlations between corresponding counselor and client dimensions ranged from moderate to negligible, whether calulated across sessions, across clients, or across counselors, Novice counselors' judgments of session depth and value may have had little relation to their clients' evaluations. On the other hand, counselors' comfort in sessions and postsession positive mood were moderately predictive of client reactions. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of observer ratings of multicultural counseling competence in Black, Latino, and White American trainees.

Using transcribed intake sessions of 52 counselor–client dyads, this study explored the relative contributions of (a) counselor and client race or ethnicity, (b) counselor–client racial or ethnic match, (c) previous academic training in multicultural counseling, and (d) self-reported multicultural counseling competence to observer ratings of trainees' multicultural counseling competence. Results revealed that (a) Black American and Latino American counselor trainees were rated as more multiculturally competent than their White American peers, and (b) prior multicultural training was positively predictive of observer-rated multicultural counseling competence. Implications of the findings for counselor training and practice are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of level of acculturation and counseling style on Hispanic students' perceptions of counselor.

It was hypothesized that level of acculturation and counseling style would affect Hispanic students' perceptions of certain counselor attributes and willingness to see a counselor. Pretesting on an acculturation scale placed 94 Hispanic undergraduate college students in one of three types, Hispanic acculturated, bicultural, or Anglo acculturated. The participants viewed a counseling videotape of one of two White female counselors portraying either a directive or a nondirective counseling style and rated her on two scales. Results indicated that acculturation had a significant effect on ratings of trustworthiness and counselor understanding. Counseling style had a significant effect on the students' perception of counselor knowledge of psychology, counselor willingness to help, and on their own willingness to see a counselor. Sex of the participants had a significant effect on perceptions of counselor attractiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of feminist and nonfeminist women's reactions to variants of nonsexist and feminist counseling.

We were concerned with client–counselor matching along the dimension of attitudes toward feminism. We hypothesized that feminist subjects would be more receptive to the radical feminist counselor, whereas nonfeminist subjects would rate the nonsexist and liberal feminist counselor more positively. College women (N?=?150) viewed 12 videotaped counseling vignettes that were varied by the feminist orientation of the counselor and the explicitness of the counselor's value statement about her approach in 2 replications. Contrary to our expectation all subjects preferred to see the feminist counselor for career and sexual assault concerns; no significant differences were observed across counselors for personal concerns. Significant differences in favor of the feminist counselor were observed on ratings of counselor expertness and trustworthiness. The implications for future research on feminist counseling and therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)