This study examined how role-plays impacted 27 counseling students' overall skills as measured by instructor ratings and self-ratings during practice triads in a microskills course. A Mann-Whitney U nonparametric test revealed no significant difference for scripted versus personal concerns role-plays. Students indicated a strong belief that…

An instructional technique derived from photovoice was compared with a didactic approach for empathic skill acquisition among 38 master's-level counselors-in-training. Participants in the photovoice condition demonstrated marked improvements in quality of empathic statements compared with those receiving didactic lecture. Considerations for…

This study compared the change in counseling student's self-efficacy and skill related to suicide assessment and intervention through the use of a novel intervention-oriented evaluation method, evaluation focused discussion groups, in an experimental embedded mixed methods design. An innovation counselor pedagogical tool, Suicide Risk Assessment…

Working from their proposed model of counseling competence, the authors address critical implications and applications of the model. First, they present a 10-parameter juxtaposition of the model of counseling competence and the microskills training model, including points of comparision and contrast. Second, they discuss implications of the model…

This article describes a study on the effects of a self-instruction training programme in communication skills for psychology students at the Open University of the Netherlands in comparison to a fully supervised training. We expected both training programmes to increase students' knowledge and skills, as well as their self-efficacy and motivation…

Studied behavioral versus mental rehearsal in acquiring test interpretation skills. Treatment groups practiced in either a microskills (MS) or mental practice (MP) mode. MS and MP trainees did not differ but were superior to controls on measures of general counseling and test interpretation skills. (Author/MCF)

Three studies compared self-instructional training with classroom-oriented, traditional approach to skills training for teaching basic counseling skills to graduate student counselor trainees. Results of three studies revealed that two instructional methods were equally effective methods of teaching such skills to this population of students.…

Thirteen graduate students in a one-year counseling psychology program were compared with 13 psychology undergraduates. Counselor verbal responses were analyzed. Graduate-trained counselors used more open questions and more confrontations and tended to use fewer interpretations than did undergraduates. Graduates increased their inner-directedness…

A training procedure that appears to facilitate both empathic understanding and selective response to client statements is one built around the training of Zen Buddhist monks. Subjects trained in Zen techniques of external and internal concentration were found to increase their ability in these two counseling behaviors. (Author/LA)

Investigated the effects of yoking role-play practice to modeling treatments designed to teach rudimentary counseling skills of reflection of feeling. Counselors-in-training (N=28) were assigned to one of the four treatment conditions. There were significant differences between students who received an opportunity to role-play practice and those…

Most research on counselor training programs has focused on the trainee's responsive skills, while little research emphasis has been placed on the trainee's initiative dimensions that pave the way for more systematic action programs to help clients change their behavior. To examine various approaches to teaching one of the initiative skills, i.e.,…

Two techniques of videotape recorded modeling for training counselors to ask open-ended questions (OEQ) were examined. Undergraduate peer counselors (N = 18) were randomly assigned to pure video models, corrective video models, or notreatment control. Findings support that a pure video model results in greater learning than a corrective video…