The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of counselor gender, counselor age, and type of problem on client expectations and preferences for counselors.

Current literature claims that the graduate students’ personal aspects not only influence research training outcomes, but they also serve as a mediator between students’ research activity and research training environment. In previous studies, key predictors of scholarly/research productivity among counseling graduate students have been investigated (Brown, Lent, Ryan, & McPartland, 1996; Kahn, 2001; Kahn & Scott, 1997). However, only 17% of the variance in three factors—research self-efficacy, research interests, and number of years in a program—predicted student research activities directly and research training environment indirectly. Bandura’s social cognitive theory was utilized as the conceptual framework for the study. Data was collected through SurveyMonkey™, an online source that surveyed 292 counseling doctoral students currently enrolled in 90 counseling doctoral programs across the United States. The findings from a factor analysis conducted in the present study indicated, the RIFPQ-R developed by the researcher was a reliable and valid instrument. Additionally, the findings showed that counseling doctoral students’ researcher identity correlated significantly with students’ research activity and research training environment; however, the correlations were weak. Finally, using two multiple regression analyses, students’ research experiences before admission to program, number of credit hours completed in qualitative and quantitative research, number of years enrolled in their program, and weekly hours spent doing research predicted a small portion of variance in students’ reported researcher identity and research activity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate student preferences for content, timing, and method of informed consent within counselor education programs. Participants included 115 students enrolled in counseling internship courses at six counseling programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Participants completed the Informed Consent Preferences Questionnaire (ICPQ), an instrument designed specifically for this study through systematic instrumentation development. Descriptive statistics highlighted participants' moderate to high ratings of perceived importance for an array of suggested content pieces for student informed consent. Participants varied among themselves and between items in relation to preferred timing of informed consent, and they consistently reported a desire for student informed consent to be facilitated through a combination of both oral and written methods. Results of exploratory factor analysis revealed a simple eight-factor structure within the ICPQ and suggested strong internal reliability. Correlations for participant scale scores for the eight factors revealed a variety of small to medium correlations. Results from t-test and one-way analysis of variances (ANOVA) indicated that participant preferences did not vary according to demographic variables. Finally, participants' qualitative responses revealed high levels of support for student informed consent. Findings of this study may aid counselor educators in evaluating current program informed consent practices. As a result of evaluation, counselor educators can affirm existing, and/or design new informed consent practices that accurately reflect the needs and desires of counseling students. Future researchers may also utilize the results to guide additional studies related to the practice of student informed consent.

This study sought to determine the influence of pretherapy religious value information upon potential clients' (a) perceptions of a counselor, (b) willingness to see a counselor and (c) confidence of counselor helpfulness. Two hundred and ten undergraduate college students volunteered for the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and given varying amounts and types of written information about a counselor. Group 1 received just the counselor's credentials. Group 2 received the same information plus statements about the counselor's beliefs about counseling and his therapeutic approach. Group 3 received the same information as group 2 plus a statement of the counselor's religious values. Subjects then viewed a short video tape of the counselor in a counseling session. Results of statistical treatment of dependent variables indicated that subjects' perceptions of the counselor, willingness to see the counselor, and confidence of counselor helpfulness were not influenced by the written information, including the statement of religious values that the subjects received before viewing the video tape of the counselor. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.

This study compared beginning and advanced counselor education students on self-reported sex-role orientation and preference for selected counseling responses. It was assumed that sex-role socialization leads to restrictive attitudes that make it difficult for students to acquire and use selected interpersonal counseling skills. It was anticipated that counselor education training programs would provide a means for students to overcome the limitations imposed by sex-role socialization practices. Subjects in this study were 87 counselor education graduate students, 34 advanced students enrolled in the final two courses required for the master's degree and 53 beginning students enrolled in the first course in the master's degree sequence. Based on scores obtained from the Bern Sex-Role Inventory, subjects were divided into three groups: (1) feminine, (2) androgynous, (3) masculine. The Response Alternatives Questionnaire was used to determine subjects' preference for counseling responses.

Studies investigating aspects of social influence or power in counseling settings have examined the relationship between nonverbal cues and social influence or power. This study investigated perceptions of power, responsiveness, attractiveness, expertness, and trustworthiness by manipulating posture, facial expression and sex of therapist. After viewing photographs of stimulus therapists and listening to audio tapes, 96 male and 98 female undergraduates completed the Counselor Rating Form and a questionnaire measuring therapists' power and responsiveness. Results indicated that facial expression was more salient than posture. Smiling decreased ratings of power and increased ratings of attractiveness, responsiveness, and trustworthiness. Open posture was seen as more attractive and more powerful than closed posture. Surprisingly, females were viewed as more powerful than males. Other gender differences were found only in interaction with other variables.

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the experiences of school counselors who implement yoga into a comprehensive school counseling program. Over the past decade, yoga has gained popularity as a prevention and intervention tool in public school settings. Prior to this study, the role of the school counselor in this process has not been explored. This study investigated the lived experiences of 10 school counselors who integrate yoga into a comprehensive school counseling program. Through data analysis, five significant themes and subsequent subthemes emerged: 1) intentionality (personal experiences with yoga impacts professional intentions, yoga intentionally tied with comprehensive school counseling goal); 2) yoga integration (organic commonalities between school counseling and yoga, methods of yoga delivery, overlap of yoga philosophies and ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors standards); 3) logistics of yoga integration (accessibility of yoga, managing yoga myths and stereotypes, program supports); 4) perception of yoga impact, (overall impact on school, impact on student, examples of students taking yoga “off the mat”); and 5) impact of yoga integration on school counselor (yoga as a self-care strategy, yoga is a meaningful aspect of school counselor role). Findings from this study suggest that yoga is a viable and valuable tool to include in a comprehensive school counseling program. Moreover, as the yoga in schools movement continues to grow, school counselors should be regarded as essential stakeholders in the development, implementation, and evaluation process. Results from this study provide a foundation for future research concerning school counselors and yoga.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of counselor education doctoral students who participated in multiple roles and relationships. Random purposeful sampling was used to conduct in-depth interviews with current doctoral students in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs who had completed at least one year of full-time enrollment as a doctoral student, participated in a minimum of two multiple roles that were provided in an a priori list, and had access to videoconferencing software in order to participate in the study. The participants in this study reported and described perceptions of their lived experiences as counselor education doctoral students. The primary research question for the study was “How do counselor education doctoral students experience the phenomenon of multiple roles and relationships?” A review of the literature that examined types of multiple roles and relationships between counselor educators and students, ethical standards, and models for ethical management provided the foundation for the study. Semi-structured phenomenological interviews comprised of open-ended questions were used to collect data via videoconferencing software. Audio taped interviews were transcribed and analyzed for key words and descriptive terms. The data were coded into categories, categories were clustered into themes and themes were cross-analyzed to create super-ordinate themes. Super-ordinate themes were used to address the primary and secondary research questions. Three super-ordinate themes emerged: awareness and education, multiple roles and relationships as transformative, and experiential learning. Implications for counselor education doctoral students and programs are presented along with recommendations for further research. Personal reflections of the researcher were provided.

A qualitative phenomenological design was used to explore the lived experiences of college women who reported sexual assault to law enforcement officials. Utilizing a feminist conceptual framework, the purpose of the present study was to identify the essence of the reporting experience for college women who experienced a sexual assault. Six college women agreed to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with open-ended questions to better understand the experience of the phenomenon under investigation. The Modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data (Moustakas, 1994) was utilized for analysis of the data collected in order to identify meaning units and themes. Four common themes emerged from the narratives of the six participants: Making the Decision to Report, Internal Experience of the Reporting Process, Following the Report, and Making the Report. The identified themes contributed to the participant descriptions, which highlighted the essence of the participants’ lived experiences of reporting sexual assault to law enforcement. The identified themes provided insight into how counselors can better serve college women who have reported or are considering reporting sexual assault to law enforcement officials. Implications for counselor educators, college counselors, and campus police and off-campus police officers were also addressed.

This study investigated the extent to which formal training in developing effective case conceptualizations increased counselor competence among participants compared to those who were not exposed to the training. A total of 145 counselor trainees were recruited from three South Florida Universities. Participants in both the treatment group and comparison group received a brief lecture on case conceptualization, while those in the treatment group were trained to develop effective case conceptualizations using an integrative model. The brief lecture effectively reduced myths about case conceptualization for both the treatment and comparison group participants (p < 0.001). Oneway ANOVA results showed the effectiveness of the specific training (p < 0.001). The treatment group had a significantly higher mean score (M = 44.12; SD = 9.84) than the comparison group (M = 24.23; SD = 8.29). There was no significant difference in participants’ CCEF pre-test scores, therefore, they were treated as a non-treatment group and compared to the CCEF post-test scores of the comparison group and treatment group. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection