Comparative Effects of Teaching Basic Counseling Competencies Through Brief Microskills Practice Versus Mental Practice

Abstract

Students enrolled in an introductory counselor education course who lacked training and experience as interviewers were randomly assigned to one of two short‐term attending and responding skills training groups or a wait‐control (WC) group. Brief microskills practice (MS) and mental practice (MP) training methods were used in the two treatment groups. All students conducted posttraining simulated counseling interviews, and their videotapes provided data for analysis of the quality of their interview competence and their proficiency with attending and responding skills. MANOVA and follow‐up analyses of data from independent ratings of the videotapes indicated that MS was superior to MP and WC on attending skills, MP led to superior performance on responding skills, and neither MP nor MS led to significant differences in perceived competence on qualitative dimensions.