The effects of the counselor's religious values on the counseling process has been a focal point recently in the literature on counseling and psychotherapy, especially with regard to how the counselor's announced values might effect potential clients' selection of a counselor. In the present study, the investigator addressed this issue in a study with 125 male and 125 female undergraduate students assigned to five different groups in which they read a script that differed with respect to the counselor's religious orientation. The content of the five scripts ranged from no mention of religious values to describing in detail the specific religious values of the counselor. Subjects' responses to the scripts were measured by having them rate (1) the degree of similarity in their own values and the announced values of the therapist; (2) their rating of how helpful they thought the therapist would be with their problem; and, (3) their stated willingness to see the counselor. Results indicated that subjects who read the script describing an agnostic counselor saw a significant degree of dissimilarity between their own and the counselor's values, but this did not affect subjects' perceptions of the counselor's helpfulness or their willingness to see the counselor. Differences in the degree of religiosity between subjects and sex differences observed were discussed as were implications for future research.

This study explored participants' experiences of being interviewed with the Adult Attachment Interview as a means of supporting counselor self-awareness and fostering effective counselor-client working alliances. A sample of first-year counselor education doctoral students (n = 7) completed an AAI interview and feedback session. Participants completed five reflective journals over three weeks and explored their experiences in individual, semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed according to interpretative phenomenological analysis protocol. Four superordinate themes emerged from the analysis: (a) reactions to the AAI interview process, (b) process with AAI feedback, (c) AAI and intrapersonal process, and (d) AAI and interpersonal process. Additionally, there were eight subordinate themes: (a) surprised by AAI interview process, (b) interview process sparked reflection, (c) initial reaction to AAI feedback, (d) evolving process of integrating AAI feedback, (e) AAI process increased awareness, (f) increased self-awareness increased self-efficacy, (g) awareness from AAI process prompted relational shifts, (h) impact of AAI on clinical work, (i) importance of relationships, (j) importance of self-awareness, and (k) mutual influence of personal and professional. Findings in this study suggest that the AAI is an effective tool in supporting counselor self-awareness regarding attachment strategies. Additionally, findings suggest multiple personal and professional benefits, such as increased awareness of conflict and stress management strategies. Limitations to the study and further discussion of the results are presented. Implications for clinical practice, counselor education, and future research are also included.

The purposes of this study were to determine the accuracy of counselor perception of client attributes after an initial interview, to determine the relationship that exists between counselors' perceptions of a client's attributes and the counselors' possession of the same attributes, to determine the accuracy of counselor self-perception and to determine whether there were significant differences between counselors who are accurate perceivers and counselors who are inaccurate perceivers of client attributes. The findings pointed to the need for more training in the area of person perception in the master's level counseling program. This need is two-fold. First, counselors-intraining need to become more aware of their own personality, needs and emotions and how these might affect what they see in their clients. Second, counselors-in-training need to become more aware of personality attributes, needs, and emotions in their clients.

Due to multiple worldviews, gender biases, and more, Transgender and Gender-expansive (TGE) individuals often face many obstacles in their career development. As ASCA calls for school counselors to address the career needs of all students, this presentation highlights the challenges of the TGE community and offers resources and practical applications for school counselors to assist TGE students with their post-secondary and career transitions.

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Grounded in Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, the purpose of this study was to examine if one aspect of counselor training, counselor educator self-efficacy with technology (SE), was associated with counselor educator teaching distance counseling skills in their classroom (INC). For this correlation study, 176 counselor educators in the United States with experience teaching a skills-based class completed an anonymous online survey. Survey data were used to assess if self-efficacy with technology and demographic data were related to the inclusion of distance counseling skills in the classroom. Point-biserial correlation and logistic regression analysis were used to examine relationships between SE, demographic data, and INC. There was a positive correlation between the Intrapersonal technology integrations scale (ITIS) score, used to measure SE, and INC scoresn=176, rpb=.343, p< .001. A logistic regression was performed to determine the effects of prior experience (EXP), availability of technology (AV), and SE on teaching distance counseling skills. The model was statistically significant, χ2 (3) = 64.342, p <.000., explained 41.5 % (Nagelkerke R2) of the variance in teaching distance counseling, and correctly classified 79.3% of cases. The results of the logistic regression analysis indicated that SE, EXP, and AV were significant predictors of INC. The findings confirm prior research on technology integration in education. Specifically, availability of technology, although an important factor, is not the only variable impacting technology integration. The findings from this study can help guide counselor training programs to prepare students for the expanding use of technology in counseling increasing access to care.

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No description available.

The purpose of this research study was to investigate the directional relationship between college students' attachment styles and social media practices with their relationship development. This investigation tested the theoretical model that undergraduate students' (N = 717) attachment styles (as measured by the Experiences in Close Relationships-Short form [ECR-S; Wei et al., 2007]) and social media practices (as measured by the Facebook Intensity Scale [FBI; Ellison et al., 2007] and Motives for Going Facebook Official Scale [MGFBO; Fox & Warber, 2013]) contributed to their quality of relationship development (as measured by the Parks Relational Development Scale [PRDS; Parks & Roberts, 1998]). Specifically, this investigation tested the hypothesized directional relationship that students scoring in the insecure attachment range (i.e., avoidant or anxious) with higher levels of social media practices would have lower levels of relationship development quality. In addition, this investigation examined the relationship between college students' attachment styles, social media practices, and relationship development quality with their reported demographic information (e.g., age, current school level, and ethnicity). The results of the structural equation model (SEM) analyses identified that college students' attachment style contributed to the relationship development quality (96.04% of the variance explained) and their social media practices (2.56% of the variance explained). Furthermore, the results of the analyses identified that students' social media practices contributed to their relationship development quality (.4% of the variance explained). Implications of the findings from the study include (a) the inclusion of additional psychosocial intake questions for college counselors; (b) identification of current trends in undergraduate students' attachment styles, social media practices, and relationship development functioning for counselor educators to support the development of counselors-in-training; and (c) insight into the instrument development of the ECR-S, FBI, MGFBO, and PRDS.

Counselor education programs strive to promote the personal development and wellness of counselors in addition to cognitive, skill, and professional competencies. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in self-reported levels of wellness of master's level counseling students. The cross-sectional study investigated the influence of time in a counselor education program on the wellness levels of counseling students. Students were surveyed at three points in their counselor education training: the beginning, middle, and end. Participants included 204 master's level counseling students enrolled in three CACREP-accredited counselor education programs located in the southeastern United States. Each participant completed the Five Factor Wellness Inventory (5F-Wel) and a demographic questionnaire. A monotonic trend analysis was conducted in SPSS Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to answer the question of whether master's level counseling students report higher levels of wellness as they advance through a counseling program. Additional univariate analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed in order to answer questions related to the influence of demographic variables. Results of the study yielded no significant trends in self-reported levels of wellness by students as they progressed through their counselor training. Furthermore, gender, cultural background, and a requirement for personal counseling were not significant in accounting for differences in the wellness levels of students. However, those students who reported that their counselor education program offered a wellness course reported statistically significant higher levels of wellness. Responses to an open ended question on the demographic questionnaire, 'What, if anything, have you learned in your counseling coursework that has helped you develop knowledge and skills regarding your personal wellness?" were included in the discussion to provide insight into the results of the study. The findings suggested that, while counselor education programs may not increase levels of wellness in students, evidence from the demographic questionnaire indicated that personal development and wellness were emphasized. Perhaps systematic procedures for teaching and evaluating student wellness could be implemented in counselor education programs to insure that goals regarding personal development and wellness are being met.