Counselor Education Research Articles

Beyond multiple choice: Clinical simulation as a rigorous and inclusive method for assessing genetic counseling competencies.

Educational use of clinical simulation is a way for students to immerse themselves within a realistic yet safe and structured environment as they practice clinical skills. It is widely used in healthcare training and evaluation, and there are best practices for design, implementation, debriefing, and assessment. An increasing number of genetic counseling graduate programs use simulation in various ways, ranging from role-plays to working with professional simulated/standardized patient (SP) actors. At this time, there is very little consistency across programs, research on the approaches, and standards by which simulation is incorporated into training. Simulation is an understudied but promising approach for genetic counselor (GC) education and assessment. After graduation, GCs demonstrate their competence as entry-level providers through American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) multiple-choice examination (MCE), along with their participatory clinical encounters from graduate training. Data from genetic counseling and other professions highlight the limitations and biases of MCEs, suggesting they not only fail to accurately capture competency, but also that they disadvantage underrepresented individuals from entering the field. In addition, MCEs are limited as a tool for assessing nuanced counseling and communication skills, as compared to more quantitative scientific knowledge. We propose that innovative, evidence-based approaches such as simulation have the potential to not only enhance learning, but also to allow GCs to better demonstrate competency during training and in relation to the board examination. Collaborative approaches, research, and funding are needed to further explore the viability of routinely incorporating simulation into GC training and assessment.

Examining Counselor-In-Training Self-Efficacy Through a “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” Classroom Activity

ABSTRACT Creative classroom activities can promote learning environments that foster student development and competency in counselor education. This study examines how a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure classroom activity influences the self-efficacy of Counselors-in-Training enrolled in the helping skills course. Results indicated a significant increase in several subthemes of the Counselor Activity and Self-Efficacy Scales (CASES). Further, the authors present recommendations and future research for counselor educators.

Counselors’ Perceptions of Competencies in the Treatment of Children with Autism

The development of competencies specific to specialized populations is a growing area of interest in the counseling profession. The rise of rates of autism spectrum disorder in children in the United States has garnered the attention of service providers advocating for the advancement of practice to promote comprehensive, quality care to this underserved population. In an extension of these efforts, this phenomenological investigation examined counselors’ competencies in treating autism in children. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 14 counselors resulted in the identification of four themes: (a) Exposure to Autism, (b) Autism Knowledge, (c) Intervention Services, and (d) Counselor Identity. Contributions to promote services for this population in clinical practice and counselor education are discussed.

중년기에 진로전환을 한 여성 심리상담사의 진로결정 경험에 관한 내러티브 탐구

Objectives This study attempted to explore and understand the meaning of the experience and the characteristics that made happenstance events an opportunities for middle-aged women to make career decisions as psycho-logical counselors.
 Methods This study selected two middle-aged female psychological counselors who responded that they made career decisions based on happenstance events and attempted to interpret, analyze, and understand the experi-ences of the study participants through the narrative inquiry of Clandinin and Connelly(2000). Narrative inquiry is a qualitative research method that explores the stories of individual humans' lived experiences for human under-standing(Hong Young-sook, 2015).
 Results Participants in the study experienced happenstance events, recalled dreams that they had not achieved on the journey of their lives, and experienced new challenges. Looking at the meaning of the experience of living an happenstance event through career decision, Lee Eun-joo was a ‘process of self-realization’ and Kim Hyun-joo was a ‘process of overcoming inferiority.’ As a characteristic that led happenstance events to career decisions, Lee Eun-joo stood out for her ‘will to stand under my name’ and ‘husband's support,’ while Kim Hyun-joo had ‘yearning for professional jobs’ and ‘passion for learning.’ In addition, all of the study participants received ‘family support’ and had ‘reflective awareness of middle age,’ which supported the middle-aged study participants in the process of making career decisions based on happenstance events.
 Conclusions This study is meaningful in that it was possible to comprehensively understand how happenstance events lived through career decisions in the context of individual lives, along with the situation of middle age, re-garding the career decision process of two female psychological counselors who changed their careers in middle age. It is hoped that the results of this study will expand to understanding the career change of female psycho-logical counselors and middle-aged women who have changed their careers in middle age, contributing to the process of dealing with happenstance factors in counselor education and middle-aged career counseling.

From Cohort to Cohesion: Application of Relational-Cultural Theory to Doctoral Cohort Development

ABSTRACT Developing a doctoral cohort has its challenges. Likewise, doctoral programs are responsible for adapting programming to serve students experiencing challenges. To address these challenges within a doctoral cohort, we applied relational-cultural theory (RCT) as a framework that can be used to support cohort experience development. With its emphasis on growth-fostering relationships, Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) supports fostering genuine social connection, mutuality, and empathy in relationships, which could alleviate isolation and suffering, which are barriers to academic success and emotional development. We use case vignettes to highlight barriers associated with cohort development and cohesion and discuss implications and future directions for counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors.

Counselor candidates’ experiences regarding counselling supervision

Supervision process, which plays a critical role in the professional development of counselor candidates, is an important part of counselor education. In this sense, an increasing number of studies have focused on understanding the supervision process in recent years. Thus, this research, designed as a case study, aimed to investigate counselor candidates’ experiences during individual counseling supervision process. The study group included ten female and five male senior students in guidance and counseling undergraduate program. The participants carried out six to eight individual counseling sessions with their clients under supervision. During the supervision process, both individual and group supervision sessions were carried out and the supervisees took feedback from the supervisors and their peers. Study data were collected with an evaluation form containing 11 open-ended questions to obtain student experiences. Content analysis results yielded four themes: a) challenges, b) facilitative elements, c) professional and personal development, and d) suggestions. The findings were discussed in the light of existing literature and recommendations for counseling supervision were presented.

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.

Intercoder Reliability for Use in Qualitative Research and Evaluation

Intercoder reliability can increase trustworthiness, accuracy, rigor, collaboration, and power sharing in qualitative research. Though not every qualitative design can utilize intercoder reliability, this article highlights how positivist qualitative research, community-based participatory research, and participatory evaluation all strengthen when intercoder reliability is sought among coding teams. Basic calculations for intercoder reliability can be completed manually or with software, making it an accessible metric to inform counseling research and evaluation, benefitting counselor education and practice. Interpreting metrics like percent agreement or kappa statistic largely depends on data context and potential impact of the study, which warrants researchers and evaluators to assess and understand the consequences of their work. Using ICR with clinical data such as interviews and other qualitative sources can be utilized to teach trainees the method in counseling research and evaluation and help make visible the important contributions of qualitative research using collaborative teams in counselor education.

Professional Identity Development of Black Doctoral Students in Counselor Education: A Reflexive Model

Professional Identity Development of Black Doctoral Students in Counselor Education: A Reflexive Model

Research on the strategy of counselors’ ideological and political education under the background of “micro era”

As a double-edged sword, the Internet not only brings opportunities for ideological and political education, but also brings some challenges, and puts forward higher requirements for counselors’ work. As an important medium to guide the growth of students and cultivate the quality of students in all aspects, counselors should grasp the development trend of The Times, innovate the working mode of posts, and improve the level of ideological and political education. This paper takes the strategy of ideological and political education of counselors under the background of “micro era” as the research object, expounds the characteristics of “micro era”, analyzes the positive and negative influence of “micro era” on the ideological and political work of counselors, and puts forward several suggestions on how to promote the ideological and political education of counselors, hoping to provide references for relevant people.

The Evaluation of a Hip Hop and School Counselor Education Course

The Evaluation of a Hip Hop and School Counselor Education Course

A Model of Retention and Remediation for Online Counselor Education

A Model of Retention and Remediation for Online Counselor Education

The Class of 2019: Academic Employment Prospects for Counselor Education Doctoral Graduates

The Class of 2019: Academic Employment Prospects for Counselor Education Doctoral Graduates

A Phenomenological Study of Federally Funded School Counselor Educators’ Non-Dual Educator-Counselor and Antiracist School Counselor Identity

A Phenomenological Study of Federally Funded School Counselor Educators’ Non-Dual Educator-Counselor and Antiracist School Counselor Identity

Professional Ethics in Counselor Education: Ethical and Unethical Situations from The Sopranos TV Series

The aim of this study was to present examples of ethical and unethical situations through therapy scenes and therapy-related scenes of The Sopranos TV series and to create a supportive teaching material for ethical decision-making processes. The ethical codes of American Counseling Association (ACA) and Turkish Counseling and Guidance Association (TCGA) were taken as reference in the evaluation of ethical situations. Document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. Research data were collected from therapy scenes and therapy-related scenes in all episodes of The Sopranos series (6 seasons and 86 episodes). As a result of this research; ethical and unethical behavior examples were determined in counseling relationships, multiple relationships, boundaries, confidentiality, dangerous clients and professional competence. This study shows that the therapy and scenes related to therapy in The Sopranos can be used as experiential learning materials while teaching professional ethics in counselor education.

Profiling Preferences of the Counseling Paradigm by School Counselors in Indonesia

This study aims to obtain an overview of the paradigm tendencies owned and practiced by school counselors in Indonesia. The study involved 233 school counselors in Indonesia on Sumatra, Java, and Bali islands. The research instrument reveals the counseling model that respondents use in providing counseling services (individual/group) and the reasons for its use. Statistics such as frequencies and percentages are used for quantitative data analysis. Qualitative data for reasons for specific counseling models were analyzed using Miles and Huberman data analysis. The results of this study show that school counselors most widely use behavior counseling models because they are effective in overcoming student behavior problems. This approach suits general needs and concerns and is easily understood with its techniques. The rational-emotive behavior therapy counseling model was chosen because it helps change mindsets to be more realistic and mature. This technique follows the needs and problems that arise and the development of adolescents who often act without consideration. Referring to Cotton's opinion, both models are counseling models that fall into the psychological paradigm. The tendency of school counselors to use psychological paradigms may be due to the psychology-focused counselor education curriculum, lack of resources or knowledge of other paradigms, and limitations of the school environment that encourage the use of traditional psychological approaches. School counselors must work with other school staff to integrate counseling approaches into the school program, which is essential. Professional organizations are expected to encourage training in behavioral counseling and REBT, supporting students' holistic education that includes academic, social, and emotional aspects.

Exploration of Integrity Education of Students' Integrity in Higher Vocational Colleges in China

Honesty is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation, and is the foundation of human beings. With the rapid development of information technology and the increasing complexity of the external environment, the integrity of college students in China has been seriously undermined. Strengthening the supervision of college students' integrity education in higher vocational colleges and doing a good job in establishing and cultivating the moral quality of college students' integrity in higher vocational colleges and universities is the basic requirement for the implementation of the fundamental task of "cultivating people with moral character" in higher vocational colleges and universities. This study aims to investigate the reasons for the lack of integrity of college students by conducting a questionnaire among 209 students in Guangdong Ecological Engineering Vocational College. Analyzing the reasons for the lack of integrity, this study proposes effective solutions from the perspective of counselor education through the investigation of the integrity status quo and integrity moral education of students in Guangdong Ecological Engineering Vocational College.

Dispositional Feedback: Interpersonally Rich and Creative Approaches

ABSTRACT While there is increasing recognition of the need for counselor education programs to identify criteria by which students’ professional dispositions and associated behaviors are evaluated, the literature has yet to explore specific ways in which faculty can engage in the provision of dispositional feedback. This article offers a contemporary review of the related literatures and two specific case examples illustrating how theoretical, research, pedagogical, and clinical knowledge can inform interpersonally rich and creative approaches to formative dispositional feedback, all while fulfilling gatekeeping responsibilities.

“Don’t psych yourself out, you got this!”: master’s counseling students’ narratives about their counseling research methods course

ABSTRACT Researchers suggested a need to further explore training program elements that may facilitate counseling students’ researcher identity (RI). We examined the narratives of sixteen master’s counseling students regarding their counseling research methods course and found themes of anticipation, experience, and reflection. We provide implications for counselor educators to create a research methods course that acknowledges past research experiences, elicits positive feelings about research, and advocates for the RI dimension of overall counselor professional identity (CPI).

Social resources and professional identity: Predicting counselors‐in‐training's burnout and engagement

AbstractThis study investigated the relationships between counselors‐in‐training (CITs)’s social resources, burnout, engagement, and professional identity, using structural equation modeling. Results showed that CITs’ professional identity partially mediated the relationships between social resources and burnout/engagement. Implications for counselor educators and counseling programs to prevent CIT burnout and promote engagement are discussed.