Counseling Clients Research Articles

Evaluation of a Counselling Service for the Elderly

An evaluation of WellElder, a counselling service for the elderly, was conducted using four years of accumulated client information and counselling outcome data. This information was collated, analysed, and compared with the New Zealand literature and with information from other countries on counselling the elderly. Findings showed that there was considerable similarity between clients using the WellElder service and clients of all ages at other community-based services in New Zealand and abroad. In addition, outcome data demonstrated that the large majority of clients were receiving brief counselling, fewer than six sessions, and that the counselling being offered to clients was effective in meeting their needs. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to agency policy and development.

Capacity-Building Through Digital Approaches: Evaluating the Feasibility and Effectiveness of eLearning to Introduce Subcutaneous DMPA Self-Injection in Senegal and Uganda.

Training health workers is one of the biggest challenges and cost drivers when introducing a new contraceptive method or service delivery innovation. PATH developed a digital training curriculum for family planning providers who are learning to offer subcutaneous DMPA (DMPA-SC), including through self-injection, as an option among a range of contraceptive methods. The DMPA-SC eLearning course for health workers includes 10 lessons with an emphasis on informed choice counseling and training clients to self-inject. In partnership with Ministries of Health in Senegal and Uganda, the course was rolled out in select areas in 2019-2020, including during the COVID-19 pandemic when physical distancing requirements restricted in-person training. We conducted evaluations in both countries to assess the practical application of this digital training approach for contraceptive introduction. The evaluation consisted of a post-training survey, an observational assessment conducted during post-training supportive supervision, and an estimation of training costs.In both countries, a majority (88.6% in Uganda and 64.3% in Senegal) scored above 80% on a DMPA-SC knowledge test following the training. In Senegal, where there was a comparison group of providers trained in person, those providers scored similar on the post-test to eLearners. Providers in both groups and in both countries felt more prepared to administer DMPA-SC or offer self-injection to clients after receiving a supervision visit (93%-98% of eLearners felt very prepared after supervision as compared to 45%-72% prior). The evaluation results suggest that digital approaches offer a number of benefits, can be cost-effective, and are most optimal when blended with in-person training and/or supportive supervision.

Relational processes of cultural humility in counseling: A structural equation modeling study

AbstractThe relational nature of cultural humility (CH) has been evident since the beginning of its conceptual and empirical explorations in multicultural counseling. However, few studies have intentionally used a theory‐driven framework to examine the relational processes of CH. In the current study, we used a structural equation modeling approach to examine the relationships between CH, empathy, therapeutic working alliance, and real relationship through a common factors framework. Using a sample of 610 adult counseling clients, we found that CH accounted for approximately 60% of the variance in the working alliance and 58% of the variance in the real relationship. Moreover, we found that empathy partially mediated the dispositional and situational effects of CH on both relational outcomes. We discussed strategies to cultivate CH in counseling relationships. We also recommended future researchers identify other theoretically related mediators and moderators.

Leveraging BIM for Sustainable Construction: Benefits, Barriers, and Best Practices

The building sector is still criticized for its excessive energy use and negative environmental effects, even with significant improvements in recent years. It makes a major contribution to the world’s energy, waste, and water use. This study investigates the possible benefits of using Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology in environmentally friendly building methods. It also seeks to identify and rank the major obstacles to the industry’s integration of sustainability and BIM. The study aims to accomplish its research objectives by means of a questionnaire survey approach. The three primary categories of the possible benefits associated with BIM are social, economic, and environmental, which correspond to the generally acknowledged elements of sustainable development. The provision of a centralized database that facilitates the administration of the full building lifetime, less material waste, and increased design efficiency have all been noted as key benefits. In the building industry, BIM approaches have shown to be quite successful in improving sustainable practices. The study does, however, point out a few difficulties. The number of people with a BIM degree has increased significantly, but there are still not enough qualified professionals with the necessary knowledge and experience. Project managers with the necessary skills are needed to oversee BIM deployment successfully. They should be able to advice and counsel clients and other stakeholders on the benefits of BIM. Building professionals may maximize the environmental performance of structures across their lifetimes and make well-informed decisions by integrating sustainability concepts into the BIM process.

Motivation, responsibilities, and experiences of HIV/AIDS counselors in the Volta Region of Ghana: a descriptive phenomenological study

BackgroundThe provision of professional counseling services for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) is crucial in the prevention and treatment continuum of the disease. However, for counselors of people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leading to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) to give their best, their motivations to become counselors and the challenges they face in their line of duty need to be contextually understood and addressed. We ascertained the roles, motivations, and experiences of HIV/AIDS counselors in the Volta Region of Ghana to inform HIV/AIDS counseling decision-making in the region and the country.MethodsA phenomenological study conducted among sixteen (16) HIV/AIDS counselors from five HIV/AIDS sentinel sites in the Volta region of Ghana, recruited through a purposive sampling approach and interviewed to ascertain their HIV/AIDS counseling-related experiences. The data were thematically analyzed using the Atlas. ti software, and sub-themes supported with verbatim quotes.ResultsFive motives for becoming an HIV/AIDS counselor were found. These include being randomly assigned to the unit, developing interest in the job, because of the status of a relative, witnessing bad attitudes of healthcare providers, and seeing HIV- clients lacking knowledge of the condition. The study found that these counselors performed six core roles: providing nutritional counseling, educating clients on HIV, treatment, and medication provision, conducting testing and comprehensive counseling of clients, providing social support to clients, and offering financial support to clients. The experiences these counselors had were boosting clients’ health status, counseling clients back to a normal mental state, cooperation from clients, participants gaining knowledge on HIV through counseling, counseling clients to accept their status, and when a client delivered an HIV-negative baby. Their negative experiences included clients denying their HIV status, clients defaulting on their treatment, uncooperative clients, death of clients due to fear of breach of confidentiality, self-stigmatization among clients, and the myths some people hold towards HIV/AIDS.ConclusionBy organizing capacity-building training programs for HIV/AIDS counselors in the Volta region and addressing the negative experiences they encounter, they could be empowered to provide effective counseling, curative, and social services to people living with HIV in the region, leading to improved health outcomes.

Partial incision blunt scissors lamellar keratectomy under topical anesthesia for the treatment of presumed calcific corneal degeneration in dogs.

The aim of the study was to investigate clinical features of lamellar keratectomy for presumed calcific corneal degeneration in a population of geriatric dogs using blunt scissors dissection under topical anesthesia. Retrospective analysis of dogs with clinically diagnosed calcific degeneration treated by keratectomy under topical anesthesia between 2015 and 2021 at two veterinary ophthalmology practices was performed. Descriptive data regarding signalment, concurrent systemic and ocular disease, complications, healing time, and recurrence were collected. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to calculate 1-year recurrence probability. Sixty-five eyes in 57 dogs met inclusion criteria. All 54 eyes with follow-up healed within a median of 14 days (7-74), including 17 with complicating factors of infection or deep stromal ulceration. Globe rupture occurred intraoperatively in three eyes (4.6%), for which subsequent conjunctival graft was performed. Calculated 1-year recurrence probability from 47 eyes followed long term was 25%. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard modeling showed a significant association between documented systemic disease and time to recurrence (p = .035), irrespective of topical EDTA use (p = .432). Median follow-up time available for all cases was 249 days. Blunt lamellar dissection with corneal scissors can be performed in dogs under topical anesthesia, yielding healing times and recurrence comparable to previously reported treatments for calcific corneal degeneration. Globe rupture is an inherent risk of both the disease and procedure and occurred in 4.6% of treated eyes. This approach expands non-anesthetic treatment options for affected patients but should only be performed with advanced microsurgical training and client counseling on individual risk and benefit.

Preparing counselors‐in‐training to address religion and spirituality: Fostering competency through the lens of the addiction curriculum

AbstractBeginning with a brief review of the literature related to the importance of religion/spirituality (R/S) in counseling clients with substance use disorders and addictions, this article provides classroom exercises that educators can use in the addiction curriculum to foster student insight and awareness, leading to increased R/S competency.

The Assessment in Counseling for Mental Health

Assessment is one of the skills that a counselor needs to have when conducting counseling sessions involving clients who are experiencing mental health problems. Accurate assessments can help counselors make assessments when planning appropriate interventions for clients. Consequently, this article delves into the fundamental concept of assessment and explores the connection between it and client counseling. Counselors carry out an assessment process that involves four main phases: test selection, test administration, test interpretation, and communication of findings. All the processes involved in conducting the assessment are still integral to the counseling process. The types of tests that counselors usually use to look at these issues are also talked about: the BDI-II for depression, the STAI for anxiety, the STAXI-2 for anger, the self-harm inventory for self-harm, and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) for eating disorders. Accurate assessment is essential in conducting counseling sessions for clients with mental health concerns to enable the counselor to develop a suitable intervention plan and assist the client in addressing their specific challenges.

Психологическая помощь лицам в стадии острой травмы (на материале работы с жертвами террористического акта в «Крокус Сити Холле»)

<p>The paper presents a description of methods and techniques for providing psychological assistance to people in the acute stage of trauma, using specific cases of psychological counseling of clients in the days following a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall as an example. The main research objectives were to identify characteristic signs of acute trauma and propose possible ways to provide psychological support for adults, children, and adolescents. The article analyzes domestic and international literature on the psychological consequences of terrorist attacks, considering the main mental disorders and symptoms associated with the trauma of being a witness, as well as methods and techniques for working with individuals who have experienced mental trauma. Five specific cases of people seeking psychological help are described in the article. Based on personal experience, the authors suggest a possible algorithm for dealing with trauma in witnesses and describe some effective techniques: eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), breathing exercises, and imagotherapeutic techniques using a metaphor (“Resource (safe) place”, as well as techniques aimed at muscle relaxation and self-regulation.</p>

Apologies, Remorse, and Amends: Empirical Legal Studies Across Domains and Disciplines

The role of apologies in law is offered as an example of a topic that cuts across legal fields, and one that is quintessentially interdisciplinary. Because apologies are an often-desired response in the wake of a wrongful act, they can be significant in many legal settings. Apologies or the lack thereof affect attributions of responsibility and blame, provide information, and alter relationships. Apologies play a role in motivating or forestalling legal action, shape settlement in civilcases, influence punishment in criminal cases, provide alternate or complementary means of accountability, and impact relations among parties to conflict from the interpersonal to the geopolitical. An understanding of apologies is enriched by research conducted by legal scholars, sociologists and psychologists, economists and political scientists, historians and linguists, and criminologists, using methods drawn from each of these fields. This range of empirical research is necessary to successfully develop a better understanding of the desire for, effects of, and limits of apologies across varied legal contexts and the implications for client counseling and legal strategy, for legal reform and systems design, for political decision making, and for procedural, restorative, and transitional justice.

Assessment of the Midwifery Education Program at the University of British Columbia – A Survey of Graduates and Midwife Mentors

The Midwifery Program at the University of British Columbia is the only academic centre for midwifery education in British Columbia. The program consists of arts and science courses, midwifery theoretical and clinical courses, problem-based learning tutorials, laboratory simulations, clinical experiences in community midwifery, and a semester of interprofessional placements in a local or global setting. As university based midwifery education is new to British Columbia, critical evaluation of the curriculum is essential. Between 2005 and 2010, we examined the curriculum annually from the perspective of new graduates (n=34) and their mentors (n=21) to inform curriculum renewal and development. Overall graduates felt well prepared for clinical practice after graduating, and highly valued their clinical placements. Both graduates and midwife mentors reported competence with most clinical skills, and senior midwives noted the graduates’ fluency with both the hospital and home setting. Need for improvement was noted with respect to suturing and venipuncture. There were some discrepancies in the assessment of competencies. While all graduates felt well or adequately prepared to recognize and manage when a normal birth changes to abnormal, not all mentor midwives agreed. Conversely, midwife mentors felt that graduates were prepared in the area of client communication and counseling, yet graduates felt less confident in this area. Over the years, the Midwifery Education curriculum has evolved to address feedback received via the yearly curriculum evaluation. The academic calendar has been modified to allow students and faculty more time for preparation, integration and reflection during the introductory year, to facilitate the consolidation phase in the core clinical courses, and to facilitate senior research projects. Courses on counseling, pharmacology for midwives, lactation consultation, global maternity care, and anatomy labs have been added to the curriculum. The program continues its effort to enhance theoretical and clinical teaching by offering regular preceptor workshops.

Assessing social determinants of mental health: Client experiences and counselor practices

AbstractIncreasing socioeconomic challenges and their impacts on mental health support the importance of assessing clients’ social determinants of mental health (SDMH) challenges. We examined counseling clients’ (N = 390) experiences with SDMH assessment in counseling using the Client Perceptions of SDMH Assessment Scale (CP‐SDMH). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a three‐factor structure for the CP‐SDMH. Results suggest potential biases in SDMH assessment practices. Clients reported that SDMH assessment most often occurred verbally and in relation to health and economic issues. Disparities emerged, indicating higher assessment frequency for Black/African American clients compared to White clients, and lower SDMH assessment rates for clients in specific settings, such as private practices. Furthermore, results indicate a significant positive correlation between assessment of SDMH challenges and client satisfaction. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.

Cultural humility, counseling alliance, and counseling outcome among LGBTQ+ clients

AbstractLiterature suggests LGBTQ+ cultural competencies and cultural humility as critical components to providing counseling services to LGBTQ+ clients. Previous research has shown that cultural humility leads to better counseling outcomes through the counseling alliance in sexual minority clients. This study investigated the relationships among cultural humility, counseling alliance, and counseling outcome among 584 LGBTQ+ counseling clients (38.5% were non‐cisgender). The results revealed that all three constructs were positively related to one another. Counseling alliance mediated the relationship between cultural humility and counseling outcome. The overall mediation model indicated that cultural humility had direct and indirect effects accounting for 58% of the variance in counseling outcome when controlling for gender, sexual orientation, and level of education. The findings underscore the importance of cultivating cultural humility among counselors working with LGBTQ+ clients to improve counseling alliance and counseling outcomes.

Gambaran Tingkat Kompetensi Perawatan Spiritual pada Mahasiswa Program Profesi Ners

This study aims to identify the level of spiritual care competence in Ners Professional Program (PPN) students. The research method used was descriptive quantitative, with data collection techniques using a questionnaire. The results showed that the level of spiritual care competence was 76.6% in the high category and 23.4% in the medium category. In conclusion, almost all respondents have a level of spiritual care competence in the high category, but in the aspects of referring, personal support and client counseling, as well as professionalization and improving the quality of spiritual care, only some respondents have a level of competence in the high category. Keywords: Competence, Ners Professional Program, Spiritual Care

여대생의 지각한 사회적지지와 신체만족도와의 관계

Objectives This research was constructed to find out if individual’s sociocultural attitude toward appearance can be seen as mediating parameter for social support affects body satisfaction.
 Methods The research utilized self-response survey focusing on females college students. Responses were gathered from 328 subjects. Applications used consisted of SPSS Statistics 24.0 program and Macro PROCESS v2 for frequency analysis, extracting Cronbach’s α values for descriptive statistics analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis.
 Results First, those who perceive to be subjected to high social support are found to have high body satisfaction. Second, those who perceive to be subjected to high social support are less likely to be influenced by sociocultural attitude toward appearance. Third, those who perceive to be subjected to high social support are less influenced by sociocultural attitude toward appearance and are likely to possess high body satisfaction. Thus one can conclude social support affects body satisfaction with sociocultural attitude toward appearance acting as partial parameters.
 Conclusions The implication of the research is the presenting sociocultural attitude toward appearance as a new mediating parameter for social support affecting body satisfaction. Also in attempting to counsel clients in clinical environment, exploration on the level of social support and the level of internalization of sociocultural attitude toward appearance can be helpful. When the client can gain healthy perceptions on body appearances without wholly accepting standards from social expectations and is able to evaluate such values on own terms, stress from internalization of such pressures on appearances can be expected to be alleviated.

Lived experiences of women during induction of labour at a tertiary hospital in Ghana: A qualitative study.

Induction of labour (IOL) has become a major and vital maternal health intervention to facilitate childbirth and minimize the rising caesarean section rates globally. However, there is limited information to facilitate appropriate client counselling, birth preparedness and informed decision making although the procedure has inherent tendency for adverse maternal/perinatal outcomes. Given the need for optimal client education and shared decision making in maternal health, this study explored women's knowledge and their lived experiences of IOL. This qualitative study used in-depth interviews, conducted at the largest teaching hospital in Ghana. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the study participants. Data analysis was performed based on thematic content using inductive framework synthesis. We included 17 women who had undergone IOL, delivered and discharged. Most participants(52.9%) were ≥30 years old, married(88.2%), and 41.1% had no previous childbirth experience. The main indications of IOL were postdate(47%), pre-eclampsia(29%) and gestational diabetes mellitus(11.8%). Data synthesis resulted in three broad themes: women's knowledge on IOL, women's experiences of care and women's difficult experiences including coping mechanisms. We determined mixed responses concerning the themes explored: adequate versus inadequate knowledge; positive versus negative experiences of care and satisfaction. Nearly all women mentioned vaginal examination as their most difficult experience due to severe pain, extreme discomfort, and being psychologically traumatic. The main coping strategy the women developed to navigate the traumatic vaginal examination was by "psyching" themselves. Our study indicates women encounter significant negative and positive experiences during IOL and childbirth in Ghana with vaginal examination cited as the most painful experience. Appropriate antenatal counselling, women empowerment and pre-labour education on childbirth processes and expectations are recommended to enhance birth preparedness and complication awareness. Health system improvement and regular refreshers courses for health workers are urgently required to promote positive women's experiences of care during labour induction and childbirth.

Measuring the therapeutic bond in genetic counseling: Testing measurement error in the bond subscale of the Working Alliance Inventory.

The therapeutic relationship is a key component of successful genetic counseling. In psychotherapy, a strong therapeutic relationship can improve patient health outcomes and a poor relationship can worsen psychological functioning. Investigation of the therapeutic relationship in genetic counseling has shown evidence for a similar pattern. Reliable measurement of the therapeutic relationship is necessary for consistency across studies in the genetic counseling context. One measure that has been adapted for use in genetic counseling is the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI). However, there have been no studies of the factor structure or item-level method bias analyses for the genetic counseling-adapted version of the WAI. The goal of this study was to test the factor structure of the WAI observer version (WAI-O) bond subscale and assess method bias in a genetic counseling context. We hypothesized that differences in factor structures would exist for items that were positively (n = 9) versus negatively (n = 3) worded (reverse coded). Secondary data analysis was performed on two data sets that utilized the WAI-O in genetic counseling contexts. Data set 1 used simulated genetic counseling sessions that were judged by analog clients recruited through crowdsourcing platforms (N = 861). Data set 2 was conducted with genetic counseling clients, and sessions were evaluated by a research team (N = 120). Principal axis factor analysis with oblique oblimin rotation supported a two-factor solution for the WAI-O bond subscale across data sets. Items factored based on wording, with the positively worded items loading together and the negatively worded items loading on the second factor. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the removal of all negatively worded items from the instrument across data sets. Results suggest that the negatively worded items on the WAI-O may be capturing a construct inconsistent with the positively worded items and support rewording and/or excluding them from use for a more reliable measure of the therapeutic bond.

We Don’t Talk About Perfectionism: Using Encanto to Explore Perfectionism and Growth Fostering Relationships

ABSTRACT There is growing research on the utility of movies to help clients in counseling. Encanto has been used to demonstrate family relationships and generational trauma. In addition, counselors can use Encanto to help clients understand the ways that perfectionism can appear, as well as the meaning and importance of growth-fostering relationships. This article examines Encanto and its themes of perfectionism and disconnection through a relational cultural lens. Methods of incorporating the movie into counseling sessions and implications for clients are discussed.

The need for Hispanic cultural competency in drug abuse treatment training programs: An empirical and ethical evaluation of US universities

Ethical clinical practice requires cultural competency. In the United States, Hispanics report stronger attitudinal barriers to drug abuse treatment than any other racial/ethnic group. Hispanics report feeling that drug abuse treatment providers do not understand their unique cultural needs and are unfamiliar with their experiences of discrimination and immigration. Using this case study to explore broader ethical and policy issues, this study investigates the extent to which US universities train counselors to address the culturally specific needs of Hispanic patients and how this is reflected in practice in Los Angeles County. Based on a content analysis of the required courses, syllabi, and course descriptions at 30 universities related to culture/race/racism/ethnicity/diversity at the undergraduate and graduate levels on the addiction therapist track, and thematic analysis of eight in-depth interviews with counselors working in outpatient rehabilitation centers in Los Angeles, I argue that cultural competency education for drug abuse counselors is too surface level and infrequent to adequately prepare students for a career in addiction counseling for Hispanic clients. Significant changes must be made to how cultural diversity is valued and prioritized in the field of psychology to provide better care for Hispanic people with a substance use disorder and fulfill the moral obligation to eliminate this health disparity. Although this study focuses on counselors in Los Angeles, these findings are relevant for professionals and healthcare systems across the United States and beyond who seek to provide equitable and effective care for Hispanic patients.

A Practical Guide on Conducting a Professional Client Counselling Interview in Nigeria With Reference to the Rules of Professional Conduct 2007

A Practical Guide on Conducting a Professional Client Counselling Interview in Nigeria With Reference to the Rules of Professional Conduct 2007