This paper focuses on aspects of the relationship that develops between people offering daily support and those seeking those supports. We interviewed 16 personal assistants employed in two agencies in the Pacific Northwest. Both agencies are members of a community of practice among organizers of person-centered supports that is coordinated…

Romer and Walker's "Appreciative Inquiry," which obtained input from 16 capable personal assistants, challenges some influential assumptions about personal assistance and opens a way to think about the demanding work of developing capable and committed personal assistants. Attempts to depersonalize the relationship between people…

This article discusses the complexities associated with adopting a not-knowing stance in Child and Youth Care practice. By highlighting some of the challenges, it also clarifies the distinctions between practitioner lack of knowing how to proceed and an intentional, uncertain attitude when working with children, youth and families. Recommendations…

Focused on isolating variables that might be both measurable and essential to effective helping, locating appropriate measures for them, and factor analyzing the variables to determine whether the characteristics were truly independent or could be represented by a smaller number of variables. Subjects (n=99) were helping professionals. Results…

The author presents a model of the ideal counselor. (BY)

An effective counselor is described as one who has and uses his ability to help others. Techniques and trappings are secondary and may vary greatly from one effective counselor to the other. (Author)

Female snake-phobic subjects were assigned to one of three treatments: warm automated therapist procedure, cold automated therapist procedure, or control. Results showed significantly more improvement among subjects in the first group. (Author)

The present study investigates the relationship of the temporal characteristics of therapists' verbal behavior to the communication of empathic understanding in psychotherapy. (Author)

These findings, along with prior ones from the same investigation, suggest that outcome is affected by the attitudes and beliefs of therapists concerning prognosis for lower-class and severely disturbed clients: therapists who believe they can help such clients can often do so. (Author)

The librarian-counselor is not proposed as an ideal substitute for a full-time counselor. However, in a small, financially pressed school with no counselor, the librarian may well be the best candidate for a part-time counselor position. (Author)

Addresses art therapy for homebound people, giving special attention to the set of needs for this environment; the desired personality traits of the in-home therapist; the structure of the therapeutic relationship; and appropriate art therapy goals. Presents two case studies of home-bound art therapy which demonstrate the complexities and…

This digest on counselor intentionality notes that the counseling profession has historically searched for characteristics and behaviors that contribute to successful helping relationships. It identifies one such characteristic, the counselor's level and degree of intentionality, as relating to the notion that successful counselors select their…

Examines the factor structure of ratings made with Carkhuff's revised scales of facilitative conditions. The general assumption has been that these counselor characteristics were discrete counselor variables; however, this study suggests that at least two of the variables are closely related aspects of the same underlying quality. (Author/PC)

Comments on a companion article by STRUPP on same subject in same issue. Compares conception of essential conditions for change with views concerning hypothesized factors in psychotherapy, and delineates some apparent similarities. Rejoinder by STRUPP follows. (Author/CJ)

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if levels of accurate empathy, nonpossessive warmth and genuineness provided by counselors in the initial counseling interview had continuing or termininating effects for normal persons, compared to the effects found with severe chronic schizophrenics. (Author)