Counseling Course Research Articles

The Pedagogical Potential of Podcasts: Using Digital Audio to Enhance Learning in Marriage and Family Counseling Courses

Podcasts are a convenient, portable, and increasingly popular resource for conveying and consuming information. Accordingly, the ever-expanding catalog of podcast content offers counselor educators, counseling students, and clinicians a wealth of free learning materials. This article provides an overview of current podcast trends, prior uses in educational and clinical settings, and outlines several strategies for utilizing podcasts to enhance student learning and development in marriage and family counseling courses.

Psikolojik Danışman Adaylarının Bireysel ve Kültürel Farklılıklara Duyarlılıkları, Empatik Eğilimleri ve Fonksiyonel Düşünme Becerileri

Bu kesitsel araştırmanın amacı psikolojik danışman adaylarının bireysel ve kültürel farklılıklara duyarlılıklarının, empatik eğilimlerinin ve fonksiyonel olmayan tutumlarının sınıf düzeylerine bağlı olarak incelenmesidir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda bir devlet üniversitesinde öğrenim gören 523 psikolojik danışman adayı (%72.5’i kadın, %27.3’ü erkek) arasındaki farklılıklar sınıf düzeylerine göre karşılaştırılmıştır. Bireysel ve kültürel farklılıklara duyarlılık becerisi Kişisel Bilgi Formunda yer verilen ve adayların değerlerini araştıran bazı maddeler aracılığıyla incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın diğer veri toplama araçları Empatik Eğilim Ölçeği ve Fonksiyonel Olmayan Tutumlar Ölçeğidir. Araştırma sonuçları son sınıf öğrencilerinin diğer öğrencilerle karşılaştırıldıklarında empatik eğilim puanlarının daha yüksek ve fonksiyonel olmayan tutum puanlarının daha düşük olduğunu göstermiştir. Ancak bu öğrenciler değerleriyle çatışan durumlarda danışma yapmayı diğer sınıf düzeylerine göre daha düşük oranda tercih etmişlerdir. Adayların çok kültürlülük/kültüre duyarlılık becerilerini içselleştirilebilmeleri için Kültüre Duyarlı Psikolojik Danışma dersini alt derslere ayırma ve bu alt derslerde yaratıcı yeni yöntemlere yer verme önerilmektedir.

The counselor education experiences of foreign‐born faculty: Teaching multicultural counseling

AbstractWe explored the experiences of eight foreign‐born faculty who taught multicultural counseling courses and found six themes related to intersectionality, negative experiences, and environmental factors. Implications for this study include suggestions for supporting foreign‐born faculty on environmental, departmental, and interpersonal levels.

Using Historical Site Visits and Photography to Develop Ethnocultural Empathy in a Multicultural Counseling Course

ABSTRACT Museums and memorials on sites of historical trauma can operate as physical spaces through which individuals better understand and process traumatic events. In visiting these sites, and by engaging in creative experiential activities such as photography, reflective journaling, and critical thinking exercises, students enrolled in counselor education programs may deepen their understanding of, and empathy for, the experiences and plights of people from cultures different from their own. Developing counselors may find immersion experiences, such as visiting sites of trauma, coupled with creative exercises and guided activities, both meaningful and insightful. This article includes a multicultural experiential course project designed to promote multicultural awareness and competency as they relate to ethnocultural empathy.

Embodied Social Justice Learning: Considerations for Curriculum Development and Training in Counseling Programs

Social justice curriculum development continues to be an evolving area in the educational and professional training of counselors and counseling psychologists. While many programs facilitate trainees’ exploration of social justice knowledge through infusion into multicultural counseling courses, there is a growing trend in counseling curriculum development to provide students with specific social justice-oriented awareness and approaches to advocacy. This article describes the development of two-course sequence in a mental health counseling program where trainees are introduced to multicultural and social justice content pedagogically organized around liberation and critical history frameworks. The theoretical frameworks, process of implementing specific curricular activities with a focus on a culminating service-learning experience, and strategies for enhancing social justice and advocacy curriculum development through an embodied social justice learning curricular approach are discussed. This article aims to advance curriculum development by encouraging faculty in counseling programs to consider implementing curricular activities that are guided by social justice embodiments and critical-liberatory frameworks to facilitate trainees’ social justice knowledge and their approach to advocacy in their roles as helping professionals.

Teaching Cultural Competence and Social Justice in a Mental Health Counseling Graduate Course: Reflection and Review of the Literature

Cultural competence and commitment to social justice are foundational to counselors’ professional identity. There is significant attention in scholarly literature and ethical codes on what this means for the education, training, and practice. This has led counseling and counselor education programs to actively incorporate issues of cultural diversity and social justice into coursework and fieldwork requirements. Research trends indicate graduate students in counseling and counselor education benefit personally and professionally from the knowledge, skills, and awareness they develop in and outside of the classroom. Coursework on multiculturalism and social justice is a standard part of these programs, but knowledge on best practices for students’ personal and professional growth is still accumulating to reflect dynamic social and political changes within the United States and abroad. This manuscript describes a required counseling course for mental health counseling students implemented in the spring of 2020. This course integrated topics related to cultural diversity and social justice and introduced conceptual frameworks for counseling and advocacy. The description of this course includes sample readings, in-class activities, and graded assignments that fulfill the learning objectives. Comparisons to research trends and existing recommendations are made, and future directions for course design are highlighted.

Using a Consultation Assignment to Enhance Trainees’ Understanding and Implementation of Consultation and Social Justice in Career Counseling

Social justice advocacy and career counseling are foundational competencies for counseling professionals. However, training in advocacy and consultation outside of the classroom (i.e., in the community) is infrequent and career counseling courses, despite conceptualizing systemic issues, often focus on individual-level interventions. There is an opportunity to merge these competencies into a single experience for graduate trainees. Graduate students in a clinical psychology master’s program completed a pilot, semester-long assignment in their career counseling class, which required them to work as consultants to organizations on a social justice oriented, career counseling focused project. We used a multi-method qualitative approach to analyze students’ career theory knowledge and application and social justice advocacy. Data were generated through students’ written assignments. Using coding reliability thematic analysis, data indicated most students were able to describe consultant and individual difficulties from an advocate and social justice framework, but about half the students struggled to integrate these social justice frames into career counseling theories and interventions. Five themes relating to student development emerged (e.g., recognizing privilege, self-efficacy), alongside three themes related to the logistics of the assignment design and implementation. Results are discussed alongside how to improve the assignment.

Developing Career and Counseling Self-Efficacy: Evaluating a Self-Efficacy Enhancement Approach to Counselor Education

PurposeWe applied Barnes’s self-efficacy enhancement approach (e.g., mastery experiences, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, and perceptions of psychological states) to two separate evaluation studies focused on teaching career counseling to master’s level rehabilitation counselors-in-training and doctoral level counselor educators-in-training.MethodsStudy 1 employed a pre/post, single group design with 24 master’s level rehabilitation counselors-in-training. Study 2 employed a longitudinal, single group design with 13 counselor education doctoral students. Students in each study participated in a 14-week semester-length career counseling course designed using Barnes’s self-efficacy enhancement approach. In both studies, students participated in a mini-practicum, completed several measures of self-efficacy and perceived competence during multiple time points across the semester.ResultsFindings from Study 1 indicated an increase in career counseling self-efficacy and helping skills self-efficacy. Findings from Study 2 indicated an increase in career counseling self-efficacy and perceived counseling skills when working with people with disabilities.ConclusionFindings from Study 1 and Study 2 support Barnes’s self-efficacy enhancement approach when teaching career counseling to rehabilitation counselors-in-training and doctoral students in counselor education.

Religious leaders can motivate men to cede power and reduce intimate partner violence: Experimental evidence from Uganda

Violence committed by men against women in intimate relationships is a pervasive problem around the world. Patriarchal norms that place men as the head of household are often to blame. Previous research suggests that trusted authorities can shift perceptions of norms and create behavior change. In many settings, a compelling authority on behavior in relationships is religious leaders, who are influential sources of information about proper conduct in relationships and gatekeepers of marriage, but may also uphold traditional gender roles. One way leaders exert their influence is through premarital or couples counseling courses. In this study, we test whether, if given an opportunity to offer a more progressive religious interpretation of gender roles during these courses, religious leaders could motivate men to share power and thereby reduce violence. Building on existing faith networks of Christian religious leaders in western Uganda, we conducted a large pair-matched, randomized controlled trial among 1,680 heterosexual couples in which participants were randomized to attend a 12-session group counseling course or wait-listed. We find that the program shifted power from men to women and reduced intimate partner violence by five percentage points, comparable with more intensive secular programs. These improvements were largest among couples counseled by religious leaders who held the most progressive views at baseline and who critically engaged with the material. Our findings suggest that religious leaders can be effective agents of change for reducing violence.

Online Teaching Self-efficacy of Group Counseling Instructors during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many counseling-related programs switched to online teaching modalities. Group counseling instructors may face various challenges in teaching group counseling courses online. With a mixed-method design, this study explored group counseling instructors’ online teaching self-efficacy by collecting survey responses from 39 group counseling instructors and interviewing eight instructors from the programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The instructors demonstrated a general high teaching self-efficacy with concerns about students’ engagement. Facilitating and hindering factors related to online teaching self-efficacy are identified. Implications and recommendations for instructors, counseling-related programs, and the counseling profession are also discussed.

A programme to support resilience and clinical excellence in inherited cardiac conditions nurses based in the hospital and charity sector during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Funding AcknowledgementsType of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): The Burdett Trust for NursingBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic affected health care systems profoundly. Inherited cardiac condition (ICC) specialist nurses were redeployed to intensive care or acute settings which either left services with no nurse or a single nurse manning a normally busy service (Bueser 2020). An exponential rise in patients reaching out to patient support charities was seen (Charity Today 2020) and at the peak of the pandemic, nurses based at an ICC charity dealt with 599 inquiries which was a 328% increase in activity. The toll on the mental health of nurses during the pandemic is well documented and programmes have been suggested to address this which includes peer support and psychological support by clinical psychologistsPurposeThe aim was to develop and strengthen collaborations between ICC specialist nurses in a tertiary hospital and those working in the community charity sector; and provide peer and psychological support to enable consistent high quality patient care.MethodsThe project was based on Wenger’s (1999) Communities of Practice (COP) framework model of situational learning, collaboration among peers, working to a common purpose. To develop the counselling aspect, a psychotherapist led a scoping exercise with the group. The 4Rs Skilled Helper Programme (SHP) of reflective learning, supervision and continuing professional development was then adapted as a bespoke programme - combining 30 hours of formal counselling, communication and reflective learning skills with equal attention to the normative, formative and restorative components of support and development needed to ensure practitioner health and wellbeing and the safety and quality of patient careResultsNine ICC nurses from a tertiary hospital and 3 from the charity sector participated in the project. Nine nurses undertook the tailored 4RS SHP course, adapting Egan's 3 stage problem-solving, decision-making and opportunity development framework as the vehicle for personalised, psychosocial, time-sensitive decision-making and informed consent for patients, and for the identification of support and development strategies that represent the 'best fit' for both clients and practitioners in their particular social and organisational circumstances. Counselling supervision is ongoing on a whole group, team and individual basis and provides opportunities to discuss collaborations, gain support for challenging clinical cases and work situations; and promoting psychological well-being.ConclusionsThe COP established through this project alongside the development of a bespoke counselling course and psychological supervision is an exemplar of how nurses can be empowered to continue to provide excellent care despite challenging circumstances. The 4RS SHP course also specifically addresses the competency needs for ICC nurses as move towards a genomics-driven, personalised health care delivery model.

O11 Development and Pilot Implementation of an Online Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) Educational Module for Graduate-Level Nutrition Students

<h3>Objective</h3> To improve students' attitudes and empathy for creating therapeutic relationships by introducing a trauma-informed approach to nutrition care. <h3>Use of Theory or Research</h3> We adapted a published educational approach tested with pediatric residents. The teaching strategy included principles of Sociocultural Learning Theory. <h3>Target Audience</h3> Participants included 25 students pursuing a master's degree in nutrition. <h3>Curriculum Description</h3> We implemented the TIC educational module within an online nutrition counseling course strategically placed after two modules focused on patient-centered care, cultural humility, and health equity. Students took a pre-test, and we provided them with pre-class reading about TIC, the origins of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, and the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities research framework. The live and synchronous online classroom time for the TIC module included a didactic presentation on the rationale for practicing universal TIC, the link between trauma and chronic disease, examples of TIC practices in nutrition care, and an interactive neonatal abstinence syndrome case-based scenario. In addition to a post-test, we required students to post a learning diary reflection within three days of the TIC module. <h3>Evaluation Methods</h3> We assessed attitudes with an 8 item pre and post-test (5-point Likert scale) in Qualtrics and through online learning diary entries within the Canvas learning management system. <h3>Results</h3> We conducted a paired-samples t-test to evaluate the impact of the TIC education module on students' attitudes with the pre to post-test. There were statistically significant (<i>P</i> < 0.05) changes in attitudes in 5 out of 8 questions with moderate (.37) to large (.95) effect sizes. In the learning diaries, all students reported that the TIC education module was impactful, and most students wrote about how the module challenged their biases and assumptions. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Participation in an online trauma-informed care education module led to significant differences in attitudes that may enhance students' abilities to create therapeutic relationships in future nutrition practice. <h3>Funding</h3> None.

Determining the Training Needs Regarding the “Structuring Dimension” in the Individual Counselling Process

The psychological counselling process is commenced with structuring. Since the clients do not know what to do or what is expected of them in psychological counselling sessions, counsellors are required to provide information about the process in this dimension. 20 students (12 female, 8 male) who took Individual Counselling Course in the spring term of 2019 - 2020 academic year constitute the study group. Phenomenology method, one of qualitative research methods, was employed in the current study. Audio recordings of counsellor candidates from eight sessions were classified according to categories based on the sub-divisions of the structuring dimension. In light of the data obtained, the training needs and qualification levels of counsellor candidates were attempted to be revealed. When the results of the sub-division of information about the counselling, the first stage of the structuring dimension, were examined, it was observed that counsellor candidates did not have a significant problem in terms of this skill. In the sub-division of explaining the processes and principles of structuring dimension, counsellor candidates were observed to have difficulty in the skill to provide accurate information about the process. On the contrary, at the end of the supervision during the second and third sessions, it was indicated that, in terms of the related skill, their qualification levels increased and there were no problems in the subsequent sessions. Concerning the data regarding the sub-division of the objective of structuring dimension, it was determined that the counsellor candidates had difficulty in the skill to clarify the boundaries of the counselling process. Therefore, certain training regarding this skill is required.

Student engagement and counseling skill self‐efficacy: Comparing two course formats

AbstractA between‐group, repeated‐measures study compared sections of a career counseling course. One course used a flipped classroom design, while the other used a lecture. The flipped classroom yielded higher ratings of career counseling self‐efficacy and active engagement among students. There were no differences in helping skills self‐efficacy between the courses.

Assessing the Efficacy of Contextualized Group Counseling Education in Asia: A Mixed Methods Study

Many experiential learning teaching models are developed in Western cultures, with their efficacy not tested in non-Western cultures, especially in counseling education. This study examined the learning experiences of students (n = 52) enrolled in a culturally contextualized experiential teaching method implemented across a 3-year period in a Malaysian university Masters-level group counseling course. The course changes included group demonstrations by lecturers and peers, live group participation and observation, group dynamics map drawing and debriefing, paired group proposal writing and presentation, and group note- taking. This study adopted a mixed method approach with a short survey consisting of both standardized scales and open-ended questions, administered at the beginning and end of each 12-week semester. Archival data on students’ evaluation was also retrieved from the year before the intervention, to compare with the 3 years of intervention. Results showed a statistically significant improvement in students’ perceived group leadership skills and leadership characteristics at the end of the course. Students’ overall satisfaction with the course quality also improved significantly from the year prior to the implementation of the new teaching method. Qualitative coding identified three major themes–active learning classroom that led to confidence in group counseling knowledge and skills; experiential activities in the tutorial sessions, with opportunities to carry out their proposed group activities; and formative feedback given throughout the semester during tutorial settings contributing to the higher course satisfaction rate. To conclude, we discuss the implications of contextualized experiential learning for higher education counseling pedagogy in the Asian region.

Reducing intergroup anxiety: Applying an imagined contact intervention with counselors‐in‐training

AbstractThis study assessed the impacts of an (elaborated) imagined contact intervention (eICI) with graduate‐level counseling students (N = 38) in a multicultural counseling course. Participant levels of intergroup anxiety were assessed, comparing those who completed an eICI versus those who did not. Intergroup anxiety decreased for both groups over time, albeit with a greater immediate reduction for those who received the ICI. Qualitative commentary suggests specific student learning from the activity.

التوجه نحو الهدف وعلاقته بأساليب التعلم لدى طلبة كليتي التربية للعلوم الصرفة والإنسانية في جامعة الموصل

The study aimed to identify the level of goal orientation among students of the Colleges of Education for Pure Sciences and Humanities at the significance level of 0.05, as well as to identify the differences in statistical significance at the level of 0.05 between the average degrees of goal orientation according to the variables: College of Education for Sciences (Pure and Humanities), the second and fourth grades ) and gender (males and females), as well as identifying the learning methods followed by the students of the study sample and identifying the statistical significance at the level of 0.05 for the relationship between goal-orientation and learning methods among the students of the study sample, as the study sample amounted to (363) male and female students from the Colleges of Education for Pure and Humanities Sciences .The goal-orientation scale was built based on the goal theory and theoretical frameworks, as it was relied on the classification of goal patterns by Elliot, McGregor and Gibbels (1999) and formulating the special paragraphs for each type of goals and patterns of goals (mastery-performance, mastery-sizes, performance-foot, performance- sizes) as (10) was formulated. Paragraphs for the first type of objectives, the second type (8), the third type (6) paragraphs, and the fourth type (6) paragraphs. Thus, the tool consisted of (30) paragraphs, and (3) paragraphs were excluded from statistical analysis because they were undistinguished, and thus the scale consisted of (27) paragraphs, and its apparent sincerity was verified, and the percentage of agreement was (95%) and it reached a stability coefficient. Its stability (85%), and it was also relied on a tool to measure learning methods (for Al-Sanawi, 2013) and applied to university students, and its apparent validity was verified, and the percentage of agreement reached (100%) and its stability coefficient reached (80%), and the data were treated by using statistical methods: Cranach’s alpha equation and Pearson's stability correlation coefficient Point Passerial and the T-test for one sample and for two independent samples, and the results showed that the students of the study sample had positive orientations towards the goals (mastery-performance) and (performance-foot) and negative orientations towards the goals (performance-sizes) and (mastery-sizes), while it did not appear Statistically significant difference for the level of goal orientation according to the college variable (pureand humanities), the academic grade (second and fourth) and gender (males and females), while it appeared that the students relied on the visual method with a higher percentage than the verbal, the practical method higher than the contemplative, the sequential method higher than the total, and the sensory method higher than the intuitive, and there was no relationship between Any average for trends towards. The goal and learning methods of the students, or in the direction towards the goal of performance-action, the visual-verbal style, the goal of performance-action and the practical-reflective style, it showed the existence of a positive relationship, and in light of the results of the study, the researcher came up with a set of recommendations, including the establishment of counseling courses for students on how to direct them towards the goal and the importance of observing the goal and learning methods. Complementary proposals for study were formulated. Keywords: goal orientation, learning styles.

Chinese University Students' Awareness and Acceptance of the COVID-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PurposeThe emergence of the mutant virus has exacerbated the COVID-19 epidemic, and vaccines remain an effective and viable means of resistance. As a socially influential young group, university students’ awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine are crucial to achieving herd immunity. This study aimed to assess the awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among Chinese university students and identify possible factors associated with their awareness level and vaccine hesitancy.Patients and MethodsAn anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese university students between 10 and 28 June 2021. We collected information on the demographic characteristics, awareness and acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine, and influencing factors. Sleep disturbances and anxiety disorders were also evaluated. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsAmong the 721 participants (aged 18 to 23 years) with a female predominance (68.9%), 40.4% of cases exhibited moderate awareness the COVID-19 vaccine, and 87.4% of cases expressed high acceptance of the vaccine. Participants’ awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with gender, ethnicity, region of residence, grade level, satisfaction with current state of pandemic control, the perceived likelihood of a COVID-19 pandemic rebound, the source number of COVID-19 information, concerns about differences in vaccine manufacturers, acceptance of current state-approved vaccines and insomnia level. Furthermore, age, preferred channels for vaccination and the acceptance of current state-approved vaccines were significantly associated with their acceptance of the vaccine.ConclusionThis study reflected Chinese university students’ high acceptance, but insufficient awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine, some students have insomnia and anxiety problems. These require the government to take measures such as individualized publicity and education, adding professional psychological counseling courses to improve the university students’ awareness of vaccines and public health events, and comprehensively promote vaccination to cope with the ever-changing situation of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Determining the Training Needs and Qualification Levels of Counsellor Candidates regarding “Therapeutic Skills” in the Process of Individual Counseling Training

This study is aimed at determining the training needs and qualification levels of counseling candidates concerning invitation to speak, reflecting feelings, minimal encouragement, reflection of content, personalization, self- addition, self-disclosure, summarization and confrontation skills during the psychological counseling process. In the present study, summative content analysis was used. 20 students (12 female, 8 male) who took Invidividual Counseling Course in the spring term of 2019- 2020 academic year constitute the study group. “Counselor Qualifications Evaluation Form” developed by Eryılmaz and Mutlu- Süral was employed to identify the qualifications regarding the skills. Supervision was observed to be sufficient in terms of developing the qualifications of minimal encouragement, reflection of content, reflecting feelings (except from counselor’s prolonged speech), summarization and self- disclosure. On the contrary, it was seen that supervision was not sufficient in developing other qualifications as personalization, initiation to speak and self- addition and it was found that candidates needed training regarding confrontation skills.

PERSEPSI MAHASISWA TERHADAP PEMBELAJARAN BLENDED BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN PENINGKATAN HASIL BELAJAR

Nutritional counseling is an essential component of nutrition students to be equipped to address nutritional problems. The objective of the study was to analyze the correlation of nutrition students for teaching presence perception in blended learning to improve the learning outcomes of nutritional counseling stages. The study used a cross-sectional research design, nutrition students in nutritional counseling courses completed the 13-item Community of Inquiry (COI) questionnaire for teaching presence. The results showed that students had higher agreement across the level of teaching presence. The findings of this study suggest that perceived teaching presence was significantly related to improving the learning outcomes of nutritional counseling stages.