The influence of group size and training duration on the development of empathic understanding in beginning counseling procedures students was examined. Nine-five master's level students grouped into four groups representing long and short duration, large and small size, were evaluated on the basis of taped counseling sessions. A team of expert…

Periods of silence in counseling groups may be productive or nonproductive for individual members. Specific constructive counselor behaviors are presented for dealing with silence in counseling groups. (Author)

Compares the relative effectiveness of facilitator-directed (FD) and self-directed (SD) programmed treatments on the same participants. The programmed treatments were tested for their capacity to induce change in the quality of group member verbal interaction, and for their differential semantic meaning. Results are inconclusive. (Author/HMV)

This research examined use of reciporcity procedures with married couples in a group format. Couples (N=7), enrolled in a non-credit extension course, participated in an eight-week workshop. Commitment to and optimism about marriage and ratings on three of nine areas of couple interaction significantly increased over the eight-week period. (Author)

Tests the hypothesis that cognitive-experiential pretraining is beneficial in promoting openness and honesty among members of a psychotherapy group. The hypothesis is supported. (HMV)

The unprecedented development of self-help groups confirms their importance, but few studies have focused on prevention and self-help groups. Two methods for investigating preventive potential are outcome studies and process analysis. To assess the presence of helping processes in self-help group meetings, a process analysis was developed to…