A wellness paradigm may hold promise for unifying and strengthening the identity of the counseling profession. The construct of wellness may also hold implications for assessment of entering master's-level counseling students, as a tool for continuous evaluation of students, or for overall program evaluation. In this study, the only counseling-based wellness assessment measure, the Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle, was tested for its relationship to two other constructs: psychological disturbance and social desirability. In order to test the research hypotheses, a total of nine programs (in five states) and 204 entering master's-level counseling students completed instrumentation packets comprised of the Five-Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle, the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and the Outcome Questionnaire – 45.2. The results of the analyses indicated statically significant relationships in 52 out of 55 correlations between the instruments' total scores and subscale scores. The first null hypothesis was rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis; there was a statistically significant negative relationship between level of psychological disturbance and level of wellness. The results of the study failed to reject null hypothesis two; the relationship between wellness and social desirability was found to have no statistical significance after removing the influence of psychological disturbance. Null hypothesis three was rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis; there was a statistically significant negative relationship between level of psychological disturbance and social desirability. Number and percent of participants exceeding psychological disturbance cutoff scores was examined. Measures of central tendency and the effects of demographic variables for each of the instruments were presented. Exploratory data analysis revealed that the first-order wellness factor, second-order wellness factors, and social desirability mean scores of those scoring above the cutoff for Severity of Disturbance, difficulty in Interpersonal Relations, Symptom Distress, and Difficulty in Social Roles were lower than those scoring below each cutoff score. Results of the study were summarized, factors to consider in the interpretation of the results were discussed, and implications for counselor education and future research were provided.

Early termination and low retention of clients is a common problem in counseling, with between 65%-80% of clients terminating treatment before the 10th session (Garfield, 1994; Lambert, 2013). Researchers (Lampropoulous, Schneider, & Spengler, 2009; Owen, Smith, & Rodolfa, 2009) have found that predictors of early termination include client age, race, socioeconomic status, and level of perceived distress. Furthermore, racial and ethnic minorities underutilize mental health services and have low retention when engaged in services, highlighting the need for counseling professionals to empirically explore factors that may be contributing to client engagement of the counseling process. Exploration of multicultural competence and working alliances may increase understanding of the therapeutic factors that influence client outcomes. The purpose of this research study was to investigate relationships between multicultural competence, working alliance, and client outcomes as perceived by counselors-in-training and their clients (N = 191; n = 72 counselors'-in-training, n = 119 clients). The Tripartite Model of Multicultural Counseling (Arredondo et al., 1996) was used as the primary theoretical framework in which the study is grounded. This investigation explored clients' perceptions of their counselors'-in-training ' multicultural competence as measured by the Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory ([CCCI-R]; LaFromboise, Coleman, & Hernandez, 1991), the working alliance as measured by the Working Alliance Inventory- Short Revision ([WAI-S]; Horvath & Greenberg, 1989; Tracey & Kovocivic, 1989) and prediction on client outcome as measured by the Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 ([OQ 45.2]; Lambert & Burlingame, 1996), after controlling for social desirability (as measured by the (Social Desirability Scale-Short Form [SDS; Reynolds,1982]). This investigation also examined if there were any differences in clients' and counselors'-in-training perceptions on multicultural competence (as measured by the CCCI-R) or the working alliance (as measured by the WAI-S). Results from the investigation indicated that counselors'-in-training perceptions of their multicultural competence was a predictor of client outcomes. However, counselors'-in-training perceptions of the working alliance or clients' perceptions of their counselors'-in-training multicultural competence and the working alliance were not predictors of client outcomes. Positive relationships between clients' and counselors'-in-training perceptions of counselors'-in-training multicultural competence and the working alliance were found. The results of this investigation contribute to a gap in the counseling literature on multicultural competence, the working alliance, and client outcomes. A review of the literature on the constructs of interest, research methodology, data analysis, results and implications are discussed.

The researcher set out to investigate the effectiveness of a specific phototherapy intervention on counselor-in-training’s empathy, self-awareness, and self-disclosure development through participation in a personal growth group using Davis’ (1980) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) Govern and Marsch’s (2001) Situational Self-Awareness Scale, and behavioral observations. The study also explored the relationship between the three factors. The study looked to see if there was a difference in the change over time between the group receiving the phototherapy intervention and those participants who did not receive the intervention. The data was collected and measured through a (a) repeated measures MANOVA, (b) independent samples t-test, and (c) Pearson product correlation. The study used 41 participants who were currently enrolled in a group counseling course at a CACREP-accredited master’s program in the Southeast. The students were either on a marriage and family, mental health, or school track. Both the treatment and the comparison group consisted of four groups and met weekly for a total of 10 meetings. Each group used a manualized treatment developed by the researcher with the treatment group incorporating the use of images. The findings showed that the phototherapy intervention did not have a significant impact on affective empathy or selfawareness when compared to the comparison group. Cognitive empathy showed a significant difference between the two groups over the course of the study. There was no difference between the observations of self-disclosure for the treatment and comparison groups, and the factors of empathy, self-awareness, and self-disclosure were not correlated. The results did show a significant change for both groups when looking at self-awareness. As a whole the study iv attempted to fill a gap in the literature surrounding how the factors of empathy, self-awareness, and self-disclosure are taught in counselor training programs and proposed next steps for future studies.

Doctoral counselor education programs are charged to develop effective researchers; however, limited investigations have examined research constructs in counselor educators-in-training. Therefore, this study will investigate a national sample of doctoral counselor education students’ levels of research self-efficacy (Research Self-Efficacy Scale; Greeley, et. al 1989), interest in research (Interest in Research Questionnaire; Bishop & Bieschke, 1994), and research mentoring (Research Mentoring Experiences Scale; Hollingsworth & Fassinger, 2002). A cross-sectional, correlational research design will be used to test if doctoral counselor education students’ year of preparation (1st, 2nd, or 3rd year) predicts their research self-efficacy, interest in research, and research mentoring scores. In addition, the study will investigate if doctoral students’ research practices, (e.g., publishing refereed journal articles, presenting papers at national conferences) correlates with their levels of the three research constructs. Limitations and implications for the study will be discussed.

Intuition is an important aspect of counseling, several revered counselors have either attested to the powers of their intuition or have had such powers attributed to them by their contemporaries. Moreover, many counselors believe that their intuition is more influential in their work with clients than are evidence-based practices (EBPs). However, the academy criticizes intuition for its susceptibility to cognitive errors and its poor performance when compared to statistical methods. In addition, the exact nature of intuition’s role in counseling is largely unknown. Therefore, its contribution to client outcomes is equally a mystery, making it difficult for counselors to justify their reliance on its powers. Until this study, counselor intuition has been regarded as a, more or less, phantom construct in need of evidence to even suggest that it does in fact exist. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop the Counselor Intuition Scale (CIS). The construction of the CIS began by adapting the methodology of instruments already in existence and whose purpose was to measure interpersonal and emotional sensitivity. The construction of the CIS began by creating a series of 39 video segments (lasting approximately two minutes each) depicting a client discussing a presenting problem. The video segments were then reviewed by two rounds of counseling experts (N = 45) whose intuitive responses to the clients featured in the CIS were used to create the criterion responses of the instrument. The expert responses were analyzed using Q-Methodology, the results of which suggested that the counseling experts approached the clients from a unidimensional perspective, which the researcher named "counselor intuition." The expert ratings were also analyzed using generalizability theory to assess the consistency of expert responses, the results of which iv suggested that interrater reliability was excellent, ranging from .88 to .85. Lastly, the experts identified 263 criterion responses that can be used for the future development of the instrument. The implications of the study’s findings, as well as the recommendations for future research are discussed

This investigation examined the impact of an eight-week group counseling intervention on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) older adolescents’ (aged 18-20) levels of hopefulness, coping skills, and suicidality. An experimental, randomized-controlledtrial research design was employed to identify differences between the intervention group and waitlist control group participants’ hopefulness, coping skills, and suicidality scores. In addition, the relationship between the LGBTQ+ participants’ outcome variables (hopefulness, coping skills, and suicidality) scores was examined. Furthermore, the impact of group therapeutic factors experienced by the LGBTQ+ participants in intervention group for the variables of hopefulness, coping skills, and suicidality was examined. Key findings included a significant interaction between time and group placement, indicating that the intervention group participants experienced significant improvements on measures of hopefulness, coping behaviors, and suicidality when compared to participants in the waitlist control group. In addition, hope was demonstrated to be a strong and significant predictor of suicidality. Furthermore, it was found that group therapeutic factors had a positive effect on intervention group participants’ Adaptive Coping scores, but did not have an effect on Hopefulness, Maladaptive Coping, or Suicidality as hypothesized. Lastly, there was no significant differences between the demographic variables perceptions of parental/guardian support, perceptions of peer support, gender identity, or ethnicity on their hopefulness, coping behaviors, or suicidality. There was, however, a significant difference between bisexual’s and lesbian’s post-test scores on Suicidality, with bisexuals scoring significantly lower. No other significant differences were observed between sexual orientation and the other key constructs.

The purpose of this study was to describe an appropriate protocol for developing a psychometrically sound instrument to assess perceived influences motivating graduate students to enter the counseling profession. The self-report, 124-item inventory was administered to a sample of 347 graduate students pursuing counseling as a profession. All participants responded to the inventory anonymously. A factor analysis from responses grouped scale items into six different factors, and helped condense the scale into a shorter, more psychometrically sound instrument by identifying those items with low or ambiguous factor loadings, suitable for removal. A factor analysis also identified those items most relevant for interpretation, ultimately yielding six major factors, operationalized by a variety of statements regarding various influences most consistent with students' decisions to pursue a career in the field of counseling. The literature review for this study proposes a model with four "hypotheses" of altruism upon which scale items were based. These theories identified possible motivating influences for prosocial behavior- further generalized to one's the decision to enter the helping-oriented career of counseling. This study may benefit the profession by adding to the research base on scale construction and career choice as well as offering a new inventory suitable for use with future research.

The overall purpose of this study was to investigate counselor educators' attitudes towards evidence-based practices (EBPs) and perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula. Additionally, this study aimed to assess whether counselor educators' level of agreement towards the presence of motivational interviewing (MI) principles in the counseling relationship impacted attitudes towards EBPs. As such, this researcher analyzed four research questions using two instruments and a demographic questionnaire. Two hundred sixty nine counselor educators (39.8% response rate) from the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision responded to an electronic survey, which consisted of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS; Aarons, 2004), the BARRIERS Scale (Funk, Champagne, Wiese, & Tornquist, 1991), and a demographic questionnaire. Specifically, this study investigated four research questions to determine: (a) the difference in attitude towards adopting EBPs among counselor educators with respect to specific individual factors (i.e. specialized training in evidence-based practices, years of professoriate experience, and primary counselor education focus); (b) the difference in perceived barriers towards adopting EBPs into counselor education curricula among counselor educators with respect to organizational factors (i.e. type of program, status of CACREP accreditation, and faculty position); (c) the influence of EBP attitude on perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula; and (d) the correlation between counselor educators reported level of agreement towards MI principles' presence in the counseling relationship and their attitude towards EBPs. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were computed to analyze the data for the first two research questions, while linear regressions were utilized to compute the data for the last two research questions. In terms of individual factors, study results indicated that neither specialized training in EBPs nor years of professoriate experience resulted in significant differences with regards to attitudes towards EBPs. However, data analysis did reveal a significant difference between counselor educators with a clinical focus and counselor educators with a vocational focus. With regards to organizational factors influence on perceived barriers to the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula, analyses revealed that neither CACREP accreditation nor faculty position resulted in any significant differences. Although, analysis did reveal that counselor educators in masters only programs perceived significantly less barriers to the inclusion of EBPs than did counselor educators in doctorate granting programs. Furthermore, results suggested a negative correlation between attitude towards EBPs and barriers towards the inclusion of EBPs in counselor education curricula, and a positive correlation between counselor educators' agreement towards the inclusion of MI principles in the counseling relationship and their attitudes towards EBPs. Limitations of the study, implications for this study, and recommendations for future research as it relates to EBPs in counselor education and the counseling profession are addressed.

Supervisors and counselor educators who identify as LGBTQ+ may face uncertainty in whether or not to disclose sexual or gender identity in professional settings. This presentation will provide a review of current literature and initiate discussion regarding the experiences of LGBTQ+ counselor educators and supervisors, as well as factors that impact decision-making processes to disclose or not disclose marginalized identities within a position of relative power and privilege as supervisors or educators.

Within this research study, a qualitative phenomenological approach was used to explore the lived experiences of Black master's students (n = 10) who engage in mentorship in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs. The participants in this study represent different ACES regions in the United States, including SACES, NARACES, and NCACES. Six themes were discovered as a result of participants' experiences: (a) impact of mentorship, (b) benefits of mentorship, (c) qualities within mentoring relationships, (d) composition of mentoring relationships, (e) saliency and influence of identity, and (f) barriers to mentorship and program satisfaction. Furthermore, I offer suggestions for increasing support for Black master's students in counseling programs as well as recommendations for supporting the professional and personal development of this population.