Eleven Christian former clients were sampled to uncover factors contributing to positive versus negative experiences in secular psychotherapy. The qualitative results indicated that although many participants felt hesitant to discuss their faith due to uncertainty about their therapists' reactions, positive experiences were reportedly facilitated…

Some studies on mental health outcomes research have found that when clients and therapists are ethnically or racially matched, this tends to be related to greater satisfaction and better outcomes. However, the precise underlying mechanism for the match effect has not been extensively examined. In this experimental study, we tested the effect of…

Anglo-American and Mexican-American women, assigned to pregnancy counselor descriptions based on ethnicity and choice philosophy, rated counselor's credibility and attractiveness. Ethnically similar counselors were not viewed as more credible or more attractive. Individual choice philosophy was not dependent on ethnicity. Mexican-American women…

Investigated the effects of positive and negative counselor disclosure using typescripts of hypothetical counseling interviews. Results indicated impact of condition was mixed, with each having some desirable effects. (PAS)

High-facilitative counselors were perceived more positively than were low-facilitative counselors. The data suggest a relationship between Strong's and Carkhuff's models for counseling. The capacity of the Counselor Rating Form to differentiate both between and within counselors was also supported. (Author)

Positive feedback was more desirable and impactful than negative feedback. There was no difference in credibility ratings. The only significant difference found in relation to the self-concept variable was a more favorable desirability rating for negative feedback by high-level self-concept subjects. (Author)

Undergraduates rated the importance of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness for a friend and a mental health professional from whom they might seek help. Results indicated salient attributes of a professional were perceived expertness and trustworthiness. Salient attributes of a friend were perceived attractiveness and trustworthiness.…

This article examines concepts of the trustworthiness, or credibility, of qualitative research. Following a "researcher-as-instrument," or self-reflective, statement, the paradigmatic underpinnings of various criteria for judging the quality of qualitative research are explored, setting the stage for a discussion of more transcendent standards…

There were no significant differences in the way explicit and implicit counselors were perceived. Subjects preferred seeing counselors with whom they agreed on the values issue. Subjects hearing the explicit counselor value statement rated the counselor as more trustworthy when they agreed with her values. (Author)

The study demonstrated that: (1) interviewer trustworthiness can be manipulated in an analogue interview setting; and (2) interviewer trustworthiness is related to interpersonal influence in the interview setting. Findings follow a pattern of outcomes predicted by cognitive dissonance theory. (Author)

Examined the precounseling effects of reputational cues on high school students' preferences for counselors and perceptions of the counselor's credibility and interpersonal attractiveness. Students observed videotapes presenting reputational cues with and without a counseling session, or only the counseling session. Reputational cues strongly…

Revised the Counselor Rating Form (CRF) creating the Counselor Rating Form-Short version (CRF-S). Tested reliability and validity of the CRF-S. Results indicated reliabilities of CRF-S scales were comparable to those for the CRF. Factor analytic comparison showed three correlated factors corresponding to the attractiveness, expertness, and…

Investigated the predictions of social influence theory with respect to client resistance to counselor influence. Data offered support for the social influence theory in that subjects' expectations of others' instrumental behavior were lower for those who viewed illegitimate counselors. (Author)

Review of research of counselors' influence on clients indicates clients respond more to the counselor role rather than to the individual. Nonverbal communication is often more effective than verbal statements in affecting clients' perceptions. Counseling may be considered an instance of social influence. Further research is recommended. (JAC)

The Indian students clearly rated the simulated interviews more positively when the counselors enacted trustworthy roles. The ethnicity of the counselor may not be important provided that the non-Indian counselor is trained to use culturally appropriate communicative and trustworthy behaviors. (Author)