Health care has been an ongoing issue of public concern for decades, well before President Obama took office. Passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in March 2010 and upheld by a Supreme Court in June 2012. With Republicans now in control of both the House and Senate as well as the presidency, the ACA in its current…

This reaction article values the Major Contribution as an opportunity to hear the voices of ECPs who do not feel included in the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) and to engage in dialogue about the SCP as an organization. This response employs Gestalt theories of field and dialogue to understand how all members and affiliates of the SCP…

Drawing upon my critical appropriation of Alasdair MacIntyre's account of the rationality of traditions, I undertake to explain and demonstrate how the competing conceptual frameworks of distinct traditions of educational inquiry and practice can be assessed through dialectical argument. To illustrate the "method" of dialectic, I argue that the…

Responds to previous two articles on session impact in counseling process research. Notes that Session Impacts Scale and Session Evaluation Questionnaire have great potential as research tools. Discusses issues of retest reliability, connection of session-level measures to research strategies based on other units of analyses, and suggested uses of…

Responds to concerns raised by Tracey and Tinsley in previous articles which looked at Galassi et al.'s article on client anticipations and preferences regarding career counseling. Asserts that research in new area should incorporate variety of methods and philosophies including those that are more empirical or discovery-oriented in focus rather…

Contends that what has eluded many social service professionals is the reality that multicultural diversity in principle and practice is effective tool for enhancing client-counselor relationships and client outcomes. Describes how counselors and agencies can enhance their multicultural diversity skills and create milieu where people of diverse…

Notes that service utilization is result of complex and dynamic interaction between social services consumers and providers. Sees effective strategies for change in service utilization based on understanding of characteristics of consumers and their environment. Contends that social work administrators can change utilization by manipulating…

Criticizes previous article by Galassi, Crace, Martin, James, and Wallace on client anticipations and preferences regarding career counseling. Criticisms focus on theoretical grounding of the study, assessment format, data analysis, and data interpretation. (Author/NB)

Responds to previous article by Galassi et al. on client anticipations and preferences regarding career counseling. Shows Galassi et al.'s criticisms of Tinsley and Benton and the Expectations about Counseling instrument to be unfounded, discusses problems with terminology, and analyzes technical adequacy and findings of Galassi et al. Also…

Presents, in light-hearted way, a few rules of evaluation practice wisdom that, if followed, would result in more rigorous and useful evaluations of human services programs. Although none of the ideas is totally original, it is suggested that as a group they provide handy checklist for practitioners who are developing or assessing evaluation…

Describes the concepts and histories of ombudsmen and of case management. Discusses the advocacy role in social work which includes the dimensions of role specificity, client orientation, problem-solving mode, and resources and constraints. Concludes ombudsmen and case managers augment the advocacy function in the human service system. (ABL)

The concept of ideology is discussed. An evaluation design that is based on values and ideologies is advocated so that it can be applied to services in different categories and still produce valid comparisons. (Author/AL)

Addresses role of case management in care of chronically mentally ill persons. Notes that case management can be effective if designed so that services match client needs and service costs are measured accurately. Contends that profit-maximizing nature of U.S. health care system makes some form of capitation likely in design of case management…

Discussion of the relevance of Michel Foucault's ideas in the provision of services to people with mental retardation focuses on the postmodernist thinker's own life including his preoccupation with "limit experiences," transgression against all societal norms, suicide, and death from AIDS. It suggests that the application of discourse…

Presents an interview with the President of the Council for Standards in Human Service Education. Discusses DiGiovanni's participation in the development of the human service field on a national level, and involvement with the standardization of human service competencies as well as the credentialing of human service professionals. (Author/GCP)