The use of audio and videotape recordings in counsellor education for the purpose of training and
supervision is controversial. Although recordings give counsellors and supervisors direct access to the
counselling session and therefore the skills of the counsellor, a number of concerns have been recorded
both in early research (Betcher & Zinberg, 1988; Frankel, 1971; Gelso, 1973; Goldstein, 1988; Lamb &
Mahl, 1956; Niland, 1971; Van Atta, 1969) and more recently in counsellors’ correspondence to the NZAC
Newsletter (Anonymous, 2006; Grant, 2006) regarding the effects on counsellors, clients and on the
counselling process itself. There is a scarcity of current research on whether or not recording of counselling
or therapeutic interviews actually interferes with the counselling process. The few empirical studies of the
effects of recording are inconsistent in their findings and their methodological flaws preclude meaningful
interpretation of the literature as a whole (Goldstein, 1988). This qualitative research study focuses on one
aspect of recording counselling interviews; the perceptions of counselling students. Thirteen counselling
students enrolled on counsellor education programmes at five tertiary educational settings in Auckland and
Christchurch, New Zealand participated in interviews. They indicated that they perceived the process of
recording to be anxiety promoting, initially having an effect on their ability to be completely present in the
counselling interview. They also reported that recording was extremely beneficial to the development of
effective counselling skills. Counsellors perceived the process of recording to be a potential threat to the
developing relationship between counsellor and client but many were able to manage this concern by
establishing trust and rapport before introducing recording. The majority of the student counsellors
perceived that they became more confident with the process over time, moving from a state of anxiety in
initial recordings to a more relaxed style with practice. This has implications for future practice and for early
introduction to frequent recording in counsellor education programmes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:canterbury.ac.nz/oai:ir.canterbury.ac.nz:10092/3192 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Gossman, Marion |
| Publisher | University of Canterbury. Educational Studies and Human Development |
| Source Sets | University of Canterbury |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic thesis or dissertation, Text |
| Rights | Copyright Marion Gossman, http://library.canterbury.ac.nz/thesis/etheses_copyright.shtml |
| Relation | NZCU |
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