Effect of disabled counselors' self-disclosures on client perceptions of the counselor.

In a videotaped counseling analog, 2 male counselors each portrayed (a) an obviously disabled counselor in a wheelchair and (b) a not obviously disabled counselor with visual impairment. Within each condition, counselors did or did not make self-disclosures about their disability. Ss were 169 university students, none of whom was disabled or had close friends or relatives who were disabled. Results indicate that counselors in several of the disability conditions were rated as being significantly more expert and attractive than able-bodied counselors. Counselor self-disclosures did not have a clearly negative or positive effect on Ss' perceptions. The hypothesis that awareness of a counselor's disability may enhance client perceptions of his or her credibility is discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality of counselors' intake evaluations as a function of client presenting concern.

The effects of type of client concern (vocational or personal-social) and its relationship to intake quality were investigated. University students (n?=?90) presented vocational or personal concerns to intake counselors (n?=?12) at 3 university counseling centers. Intakes of vocational cases were less lengthy, less useful-adequate, and less comprehensive than were intakes of personal cases. There was no difference in clients' ratings of the counseling relationship or of the quality of intakes. Counselors wrote moderately longer intakes of personal-social cases, which contained more information on personality dynamics, presenting problem, and history than did vocational intakes, which contained more on clients' interests and values. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of client pretesting on counseling outcome.

Tested 27 college students in 2 groups, 1 prior to and both after counseling. The hypothesis that pretesting would "reactively influence counseling" was partially upheld in that "pretesting was significantly associated with measured adjustment of clients after counseling." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of race and level of understanding between counselor and client.

Investigated inter- and intraracial differences in understanding during an initial counseling interview. Ss were 16 black and 16 white undergraduates and 4 white and 4 black graduate students in counseling. Excerpts of the interview were utilized in stimulated recall sessions, and 3 trained raters independently evaluated the degree of understanding. Results indicate that race is related to understanding in counseling. Black counselors understood black counselees best, and white counselors understood white counselees best. Overall white counselors understood both white and black counselees better than did black counselors. (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)     

Influence of client diagnosis--cancer--on counselor decisions.

Numerous authorities have pointed to the fear of cancer among professionals as a stumbling block to service delivery for cancer patients. Yet systematic efforts to study the parameters and ramifications of this impact on health-care delivery personnel are few. In this study, 34 practicing counselors were asked to complete a series of tasks related to counseling and service delivery with the cancer patient. Ss were administered Form O of the Attitude Toward Disabled Persons Scale to assess their attitudes toward individuals with 4 disease-related disabilities (i.e. renal failure, heart disease, cancer, and paraplegia). Results strongly support general conclusions in the literature that counselors are likely to provide less counseling and case services to cancer patients than to patients with other equally devastating disease-related disabilities. A relationship was demonstrated between case service, attitudes toward the cancer patient, and personal fear of cancer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of nonprofessional counselors' physical attractiveness and sex on perceptions of counselor behavior.

Previous research has suggested that the physical attractiveness of male counselors differentially affects observers' reactions to brief counselor self-introductions. 96 female undergraduates were exposed to audiotaped counseling interviews conducted by nonprofessional counselors of both sexes who were physically anonymous or were identified photographically as physically attractive or unattractive. Dependent measures including the Relationship Inventory were selected on the basis of their relevance to current counseling theory and research and included counselor trait attributions, perceived facilitative conditions, motivations for continuing counseling, and counseling outcome expectations for a variety of presenting problems. Multivariate analysis of the data produced consistent findings which were unmitigated by counselor sex. The counseling behaviors of unattractive counselors were judged to reflect less desirable traits and conditions and engendered weaker commitment and less optimistic expectations than did identical behaviors attributed to physically attractive or anonymous counselors. Conclusions are discussed in terms of counseling conditions which might potentiate or eliminate these initial effects of counselor physical attractiveness. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of race on the manifestation of leadership.

Investigated whether racial differences influence the manifestation of dominance (do). 60 black and 60 white female undergraduates who scored high and low on the cpi do scale were paired in a task in which 1 had to lead and the other follow. The rate of leadership assumption by the high-do white ss paired with the low-do black ss was significantly lower than the rate of leadership assumption by the high-do ss in the other groups. Analysis of the decision-making process suggests that this stemmed from the reluctance of the high-do white ss to assume leadership over the low-do black ss coupled with increased assertiveness on the part of the low-do black ss when paired with a white partner. (20 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselors' attitudes regarding bisexuality as predictors of counselors' clinical responses: An anlogue study of a female bisexual client.

Ninety-seven counselors read a fictitious intake report about a bisexual woman who was seeking counseling services for several psychological concerns. Counselors then rated the woman's psychological functioning and their own anticipated reactions to having the woman as a client. As the authors hypothesized, counselors with the most negative attitudes regarding bisexuality were more likely than others to have negative reactions to the client, anticipate responding to the client in a biased and judgmental manner, believe the client had problems in areas related to bisexual stereotypes, and rate the client as having a low level of psychosocial functioning. Attitudes regarding bisexuality were significantly related to counselors' clinical judgments and reactions even after controlling for attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of client sex and ethnic group on counselor judgments.

Asked 198 secondary school counselors to predict the academic success and choose an appropriate career for 4 hypothetical cases in which the sex and ethnic group designation were varied systematically. Results show that variation in sex and ethnic group designation did not produce variations in counselor evaluations. Counselor sex was not related to systematic variance in evaluations. Several reliable sources of variability were identified, including the target situation the client was projected into and counselor response style. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of model's race and sex on interviewees' self-disclosure.

Assigned 48 White college students, 24 of each sex, to 1 of 8 modeling conditions, which varied for model's race (Black or White), sex, and length of disclosure (20 or 60 sec). Ss were exposed to a videotape of a model who disclosed on 10 topics (half favorable and half unfavorable); then they responded to the same 10 topics. Ss' depth of disclosure, speech duration, and number of self-references were not related to model's race, length of disclosure, or to their scores on the Self-Disclosure Questionnaire. However, Ss disclosed at greater depths and for longer durations after observing models of the same sex. Significant negative correlations were found between self-disclosure scores and the Ss' ratings of the importance of a counselor's sex, age, and socioeconomic status for the counseling process. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of counselors' etiology attributions on college students' procrastination.

Clients come to counseling with personal theories about their problems' etiology. Counselors bring other hypotheses to the table. Counselors may be more helpful either when they accept clients' theories or when they provide new ones. A third option is that problem etiology is irrelevant in finding solutions. This study tested the cognitive dissonance theory of interpretations (L. Levy, 1963; S. R. Strong, J. A. Welsh, J. L. Corcoran, & W. T. Hoyt, 1992), which argues that discrepant interpretations are most helpful. Eighty two college-aged procrastinators (25 men, 57 women; ages 17–23, M?=?18) interacted with a counselor who (a) agreed with them about procrastination's causes, (b) disagreed with them, or (c) said it was not important to specify a cause. Contrary to prediction, the 3rd condition led to more improvement in participants' self-reported procrastination. This finding is discussed in terms of possible responsibility attributions implicit in the 3rd condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of counselors' marital status, sex, and age on college and noncollege women's counselor preferences.

Examined women's preferences for counselors differing in marital status, sex, and age in 2 studies. Ss in Study 1 were 32 female undergraduates, and Ss in Study 2 were 32 noncollege women. The experimental design for both studies was a 2.24 split-plot analysis of variance with 2 levels of marital status, 2 levels of counselor sex, and 4 age groupings. Results of Studies 1 and 2 indicate that college women and noncollege women preferred female counselors older than themselves to male counselors on a number of hypothetical process measures. Changing trends in women's counselor preferences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of client aphasia on client evaluation and counselor behavior.

Examined whether differences exist in counselor behaviors toward and evaluation of an aphasic client in comparison to a nonaphasic client and whether such differences are related to counselor training. 40 counseling students were divided into 2 groups of 20, based on level of counselor training. 10 Ss in each group counseled individually with an aphasic-speaking client for 10 min, and the remaining 10 in each group counseled with the same client as a nonaphasic speaker. Counselor behaviors and evaluations of the confederate client were compared. Results demonstrate that irrespective of training, client aphasic speech significantly affected counselor behavior and evaluation of the client. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helping the suicidal client: Some aspects of assessment and treatment.

All manifestations of suicidal intent need to be taken seriously by the clinician, who must make an assessment of the level of suicidal risk and implement an active suicide prevention plan when risk is judged to be substantial. Suicidal behavior is more difficult to predict in schizophrenic compared with depressed people; factors correlated with increased risk of suicide in both contexts are elaborated. Hospitalization is indicated when acute suicidal risk is assessed to be high; its length is ideally limited to the period of acute risk, which may be as short as several days. During hospitalization, there should be active intervention to change real-life conditions, such as lack of social support, which may be central to the person's motivation to commit suicide. Antipsychotic medication may be introduced and the person helped to continue with it as an outpatient. For those at lesser levels of acute risk, outpatient treatment is seen as appropriate and effective. An important feature of such a plan is the involvement of the person's family and associates. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of cognitive style and counselor–client compatibility on client growth.

Tests of 2 cognitive style dimensions (serialism–holism and field dependence–independence; measured by the Gandlemuller Test and the Group Embedded Figures Test, respectively) were administered to 60 counselor trainees in graduate clinical and counseling psychology programs and 60 volunteer clients drawn from a university-level applied psychology course. 32 counselor–client pairs matched or mismatched on the 2 dimensions were formed. Counselor and client pairs engaged in 2 50-min therapy sessions that focused on client self-enhancement. In independent rating sessions, matching effects for field dependence–independence were obtained in clients' subjective ratings of improvement in self-exploration skills and in clients' and counselors' subjective ratings of the ease of relating with each other. Implications and applications for achieving maximum counselor–client compatibility in a person–environment interaction model are discussed. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of client preparation and problem severity on attitudes and expectations in child psychotherapy.

Assessed the effects of client preparation and problem severity on children's and parents' understanding, attitudes, and expectations of child psychotherapy. 38 children (aged 6–12 yrs) with 1 of their parents served as Ss. Half of the children and parents received preparation information, and the other half were not prepared. Following preparation vs no-preparation procedures, children and parents completed questionnaires assessing problem severity, knowledge of and attraction to therapy, and prognostic expectations. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist, and therapists rated problem severity and expectations for treatment outcome. Results indicate that preparation increased children's and parents' knowledge of therapy, attraction–receptivity to therapists and treatment, and expectations for therapy outcome. Children and parents were found to be quite attracted and receptive to psychotherapy and to have very positive expectations for treatment outcome. Findings indicate that therapists saw the children's problems as more severe and had lower prognostic expectations than did children and parents. No relation was found between problem severity and attraction–receptivity to treatment or expectations for treatment outcome. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of client socioeconomic status on selected behaviors, attitudes, and decisions of counselors.

Seven male and 9 female graduate students in counseling psychology were asked to interview an actor and an actress whom they believed to be real clients. To half of the counselors, the players posed as well-to-do individuals, and to half they posed as working class individuals. They briefly mentioned their socioeconomic status at the beginning of the interview and then told the counselor about some of the problems they were experiencing. When the clients were presented as having lower status, a significant correlation coefficient existed between (a) the counselor's self-reported degree of personality similarity to the client and the counselor's self-reported liking for the client, and (b) the counselor's self-reported liking for the client and the counselor's estimate that the client would benefit from long-term counseling. No significant correlation coefficient existed for data collected during high-status interviews. These results suggest that counselors may unconsciously employ a different decision-making process for high- and low-status clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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)