Ideas for this research were conceived
following a discussion I had with the Director of the
Canberra Marriage Counseling Service (CMCS) in 1979.
Three aims of the research were identified.
Firstly, to collect information about the
counseling received by clients at the CMCS, from their
points of view. Secondly, to collect information about
the premature termination of some clients from marriage
counseling interviews at the CMCS. Thirdly, to discuss
other research findings in the light of this research
and so provide a structure from which future research
could be conducted.
Clients were interviewed according to a
questionnaire which I designed. Before the study began,
a pilot study was conducted with a small group of
clients, primarily, to assess the adequacy of the
questionnaire.
Clients who were involved in the study itself,
all completed initial interviews with new counselors
between and including the first day of February and the
last day of March, in 1981.
I interviewed all clients by telephone, who
were usually at home between eight and nine o'clock, on
Monday to Thursday evenings inclusive.
Clients were asked questions about the counseling
process, from the time that they presented with precipitating
problems to the time that they considered
returning to the CMCS or recommending its services
-. to others.
Raw data was collected on the following topics:
clients' precipitating problems, expectations, motivation
to attend counseling, rapport with their counselors,
experiences during the counseling process, premature
termination and counseling outcomes.
Results were compiled by cross-correlating the
raw data to obtain a composite picture of clients'
counseling experiences. Many statistically significant
findings were obtained and numerous recommendations have
been made on the basis of the findings.
Further research is recommended in three areas.
Firstly, a study similar to this one should be conducted
on a national scale to ascertain general standards of
marriage counseling across Australia. Secondly, a series
of experimental studies should be conducted on a number
of specific issues raised in this research. Thirdly, case
studies of individual clients should be conducted by CMCS
counselors which would enable them to easily incorporate
research work into their training and supervision
programmes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219516 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | Szuty, Helen, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Helen Szuty |
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