Counselor verbal response modes and experienced empathy.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 34(3) of Journal of Counseling Psychology (see record 2008-10749-001). The second paragraph of the author acknowledgement should have read as follows: We thank Ian Spalding for supervision of the session recordings, Liz Colley for programming and advice on data analysis, Richard Shillcock and Jane Oakhill for response mode coding, and Robert Elliott for comments on a draft.] Client and counselor perceptions of empathy at different stages in the counseling process were examined in relation to the verbal response modes used by counselors in 24 client–counselor dyads. Each of 6 counselors (aged 32–58 yrs) at college counseling centers was studied in counseling with 4 clients, of whom 2 were in initial sessions and 2 were in sessions drawn from ongoing counseling relationships. Clients perceived counselors as showing significantly greater empathy during ongoing than during initial sessions, and counselors perceived themselves as showing significantly greater empathy during initial sessions than did clients rating the same sessions. Clients rated counselors using fewer general advisements as more empathic, whereas counselors who rated themselves more empathic used more explorations and fewer reassurances. At the moment-to-moment level tapped by interpersonal process recall, exploration was the only category strongly associated with both client and counselor experiences of empathic communication in both initial and ongoing sessions. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of counselor gender on reactivity to clients.

Explored the responses of 40 experienced counselors to videotaped clients. Five female and 5 male counselors saw 1 of 4 clients: angry female or male or depressed female or male. During 4 vignette stops, counselors explored their immediate subjective reaction to the clients. Their verbal material was taperecorded and rated by 2 judges on sympathy, identification, defensiveness, and anger. Counselors themselves rated 4 variables: liking, attractiveness for counseling, empathy, and comfort. Multivariate ANOVA produced 2 significant counselor/gender effects. Female counselors rated themselves as more empathic than did males, and females were rated as angrier than were males. Results are discussed in terms of the method developed for the study. (24 ref) (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)     

Interpersonal influence process in real-life counseling: Investigating client perceptions, counselor experience level, and counselor power over time.

Examined the interpersonal influence process within an actual counseling context over an average of 8 sessions. Counselors were either beginning or advanced practicum students or doctoral interns (n?=?27); clients were 31 students who sought counseling at a university center. Before and after counseling Ss completed the Counselor Rating Form, the Expectations about Counseling measure, and the Counselor Perceptions Questionnaire. Results indicate that (a) the actual counselor experience level did not affect client perceptions of the counselor; (b) perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness changed over time, but not in the same direction across counselors; (c) different levels of client need did not affect clients' perceptions of counselor characteristics; and (d) counselors rated as highly attractive indicated they had more therapeutic power over clients than counselors rated as moderately attractive. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of client and counselor expectancies regarding the duration of counseling.

Asked 594 college students seeking counseling at a university counseling center to indicate duration expectancies in the form of estimates of the number of sessions needed to resolve the problem(s) they were presenting. Following the initial interview, 40 counselors who saw the clients gave their own duration expectancies for 434 of the clients. The results of a comparison of estimates showed that clients consistently gave significantly lower mean estimates than counselors. No significant correlations were obtained between client or counselor duration expectancies and the number of weeks remaining in the school term or year. Clients with career development concerns and counselors of clients with these concerns gave the smallest mean estimates. Large mean and modal discrepancies occurred between client and counselor estimates for personal/social problems. (21 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)     

Client and counselor characteristics and engagement in counseling.

Examined relations among various client and counselor characteristics and engagement in counseling for more than 1 session with 5 female and 4 male practicum counselors and 203 of their clients (128 women, 75 men) who had come to a university counseling center for the 1st time. After the initial interview, clients rated counselors' interest, helpfulness, competence, warmth, and genuineness; counselors rated clients' verbalness, intelligence, capacity for insight, likability, and the severity of clients' problems. Clients also indicated the extent to which counselors identified concerns for which the clients did not initially seek counseling. Findings show that 71 clients returned for more than 1 counseling session. Counselors' perceptions of clients as more disturbed and counselors' desire to see the clients were positively associated with clients' returning for counseling after intake. Identification of concerns for clients by counselors at intake was also positively related to engagement in counseling. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Client perceptions of the therapeutic relationship as a function of client and counselor age.

32 women pseudoclients from each of 2 age groups (25–35 and 60–70 yrs) met with a woman crisis counselor from 1 of the 2 age groups for a 50-min face-to-face interview. Results suggest that age of clients and counselors did not exert a significant influence on clients' perceptions of counselor facilitative skills (e.g., empathy, congruence, regard) or client satisfaction with the therapeutic interview. Age similarity between the client and counselor did not necessarily improve the working alliance. Clients of a specific age group view some counselors of a particular age as more facilitative and empathic than other counselors of that same age. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selected process variables as a function of client type and cognitive complexity in beginning counselors.

Investigated the effect on 4 selected counseling process variables by utilizing multiple measures of cognitive complexity and varied counseling tasks. Cognitive complexity was assessed with 5 separate measures (interconcept distance measure of cognitive complexity, intolerance of trait consistency, intolerance of ambiguity, category width, and paragraph completion test), and counseling tasks consisted of 2 counseling sessions with simulated clients. Ss were 33 22–44 yr old 1st-yr counselors grouped according to their cognitive style. The process variables were counselor–client congruency, counselor empathy, counselor verbal mode, and subrole. The principal findings of the study are as follows: (a) Counselor cognitive complexity did not significantly discriminate between measures of the 4 process variables. (b) There was a significant difference in performance on 3 process variables (counselor subrole, verbal mode, and accurate empathy) between the 2 counseling tasks. (c) There was a significant interaction effect between counseling tasks and the low-complexity group on accurate empathy. Within certain restrictions, it is concluded that differences in the simulated clients appear to be more influential on certain process variables than the information processing style of the student counselor. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex of client and sex and experience level of counselor.

Examined how sex of client and sex and experience level of the counselor affected behaviors in counseling. 12 male and 12 female counselors, half inexperienced and half experienced, each recorded the 2nd counseling session with 1 male and 1 female client. Satisfaction items, frequency counts of counselor and client verbal behavior, activity levels, and judges' ratings were obtained for each session. Results indicate that same-sex pairings had more discussion of feelings by both counselor and client, and that inexperienced males and experienced female counselors were more active and empathic and elicited more feelings from clients than did their counterparts. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Counselor deliberate postural lean and communication of facilitative conditions": Correction.

Reports an error in "Counselor deliberate postural lean and communication of facilitative conditions" by Gary L. Hermansson, Alan C. Webster and Ken McFarland (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1988[Apr], Vol 35[2], 149-153). The date of receipt indicated for the revision of this article was incorrect. The correct date of receipt is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1988-36435-001.) This experimental study examined the relation between counselor deliberate postural lean and the communication of intensity, empathic understanding, respect, and genuineness. Results, from 12 male counselors acting as their own controls under three postural lean conditions (forward, backward, and choice) in counseling interaction with female clients, suggested compensatory processes in operation. Making a required lean forward was associated with decreased facilitative levels and backward with increased levels. The latter effects were more marked, with significant differences in intensity and respect. The effects were also more marked with those counselors who, as revealed in their choice session, preferred to move forward rather than backward, with these counselors also being the most effective as assessed by communicated empathy levels. It was concluded that for effective counselors in particular, deliberate postural lean results in a subtle maintenance of an equilibrium of verbal–nonverbal communication behaviors judged as most appropriate to the moment. (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)     

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)     

An interpersonal analysis of affinity, clarification, and helpful responses with American Indians.

The interpersonal impact of counselor affinity, clarification, and helpful verbal responses used in the initial stages of counseling American Indian clients was examined. In Phase 1 of the study, a panel of 10 practicing counselors provided intent ratings for each type of response; 82 psychology students generated counselor statements in response to written counseling vignettes and rated their intent in providing each response. In Phase 2, 43 American Indian students assumed the role of a client and judged the interpersonal impact of each type of counselor verbal intervention using the Impact Message Inventory. The results with respect to Affinity and Clarification conditions revealed a reaction pattern of friendly submissiveness and supported the interpersonal principle of complementarity. More complex, uncomplementary reactions associated with hostile dominance were evoked by the Helpful condition. Implications of these findings and the utility of the interpersonal paradigm for cross-cultural counseling research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor and client personality as determinants of counselor expectancy effects.

78 students enrolled in summer-session college courses were randomly assigned to serve either as counselors or as clients for a 20-min, role-played peer counseling session. Ss completed a battery of standardized personality measures, including the Personality Research Form. Each counselor interacted with 2 clients. Prior to the sessions, the counselor was led to believe that one of the clients was especially introverted and that the other client was especially extraverted. Dependent measures were based on clients' change scores on a mood adjective rating scale administered before and after the peer counseling sessions. Analyses showed that counselors who were more successful at biasing their clients in the direction of their expectancies (a) scored higher on measures of dogmatism, nurturance, and social recognition; (b) scored lower on impulsivity; and (c) were more likely to be female. Clients who were more susceptible to counselor bias scored higher on the Self-Monitoring Scale, its Other-Directedness subscale, and social recognition. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Client Expectation for Counseling Success, Client-Counselor Worldview Match, and Client Adherence to Asian and European American Cultural Values on Counseling Process With Asian Americans.

After assessing their expectation for counseling success, adherence to Asian cultural values, and adherence to European American cultural values, 88 Asian American volunteer clients with personal concerns engaged in single-session counseling with 1 of 11 female counselors who either matched or mismatched the client's worldview. Clients in the worldview match condition perceived stronger client-counselor working alliance and counselor empathy than those in the mismatch condition. Client adherence to Asian cultural values was positively related to client-counselor working alliance. Client adherence to European American values was positively associated with client-counselor working alliance and session depth. In addition, an interaction effect was observed such that high expectation for counseling success and strong adherence to European American cultural values were associated with increased perception of counselor empathy. (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)     

Effects of perceived etiology attribution similarity on client ratings of counselor credibility.

An experimental design was used to test the hypothesis that clients who perceived their counselors as holding etiology attributions similar to their own would rate their counselors' credibility higher than clients who perceived their counselors as holding dissimilar attributions. 40 undergraduate volunteers participated as clients in counseling role-plays with 11 graduate student counselors. At the end of the 3-session counseling analogue experience, each client was exposed to a mock counselor questionnaire on which the counselor's etiology attributions were manipulated to either agree or disagree with the client's etiology attributions. Results indicated that clients in the similarity of etiology attribution condition rated their counselors to be more credible sources of help than did clients in the dissimilarity of etiology attribution condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal and nonverbal communication of facilitative conditions.

Studied 1 verbal and 5 nonverbal cues in a multichannel communication paradigm to assess their effect on the communication of the facilitative conditions of empathy, respect, and genuineness. 15 trained counselors and 15 clients rated 32 videotaped interactions between counselor and client, each interaction portraying a different combination of verbal message, trunk lean, eye contact, vocal intonation, and facial expression. Results of empathy, respect, and genuineness ratings reveal that (a) nonverbal cues in the paradigm accounted for significantly greater message variance than did the verbal message; (b) counselors and clients differed significantly in their perceptions of the cues, and these differences (reflected in interactions) depended heavily upon the presence or absence of the remaining cues; (c) previously unstudied cues of vocal intonation and facial expression with these dependent variables proved to be significant contributors to the final judgments of facilitative conditions; and (d) the process of decoding the level of facilitative conditions is a factorially complex process which cannot be understood by factorially simple studies. Results are further discussed with respect to the role of nonverbal communication in the counseling process. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)