The purpose of this introductory article is to provide a context for how experiential growth groups are typically used to train counselors, to preview the contributions in this issue, and to suggest future directions for researching and implementing such groups.

There is a paucity of research in the area of teaching group counseling within an African context. In this article we describe and reflect on our experiences teaching group counseling at an institution of higher learning in the country of Botswana. We discuss cultural traditions and strengths that support an environment of group work in Botswana,…

Uncertainty about future career prospects has increased enormously for students enrolled in higher education Information Technology (IT) programs. However, many computer science programmes pay little attention to career counselling. This article reports the results of a pilot study intended to develop group counselling for IT students to promote…

A total of 330 members of the American Counseling Association were surveyed to determine current group training models in counselor education. The results indicate: (1) the most common model is to have a full-time faculty member both instruct the group work course and facilitate the experiential group, (2) ethical concerns do negatively impact…

Parental involvement is crucial to facilitating a child's high school success and enhancing their post-secondary opportunities. Unfortunately, the ability for Latina/o parents and guardians to engage in parental involvement is hindered by a general lack of familiarity with U.S. educational systems and post-secondary options. With these…

The group's absence norm, a construct from the applied psychology literature, was used to examine session absences in personal growth groups. Rather than examining the absence norm statically, we modeled it dynamically as a time-varying covariate (Tasca et al., 2010). We also examined moderation by modeling the interaction of the absence norm and…

The present study explored the process and experience of online group counseling using a text-based synchronous program, particularly addressing how the process compares to face-to-face group counseling. Six students in a masters-level group counseling class voluntarily chose to participate for eight sixty minute online sessions on a weekly basis,…

Therapeutic Enactment (TE) groups, as presented in the article, "Time-Limited Service Alternatives: Using Therapeutic Enactment in Open Group Therapy," offer an exciting and promising addition to the types of groups traditionally offered in university counseling centers. The brevity of member participation, the lack of empirical evidence of…

This report provides descriptive national data on the prevalence and characteristics of services and support programs for military service members and veterans at postsecondary institutions in the United States. This survey provides the first nationally representative data on this topic. The data presented in this First Look were collected for the…

The current college counseling literature reports increases in the number of requests for counseling services on campuses, as well as increases in the complexity and severity of client problems. These changes have lead counselors to search for alternative means of providing effective and efficient therapeutic assistance to students in need. In…

The literature is extensive about explanatory behavioral and social effects with an individual or micro focus. A somewhat less programmatic literature exits in social justice that considers systemic or macro factors: for example, mental health service and its structures that perpetuate inequity and disparity in service delivery. Social privilege…

Examined sources for articles published in The Journal for Specialists in Group Work up to the March 1984 issue. Authors and their institutions are rated based on a point scale. (Author/JAC)

Describes an instructional project that adds interest and practicality to a didactic group counseling course. Explains class project for group counseling course in which students prepare a written proposal for organizing, leading, and evaluating a group. A general outline for the class project is appended. (Author/NB)

Analyzed data for 48 adults participating in personal growth groups. Members composed, rated, and delivered positive and corrective feedback. Findings indicated that group members were more reluctant to give corrective feedback than positive feedback. Group members feared that corrective feedback would be regarded as harmful by recipient and by…

Discusses how change happens, not always in dramatic ways, but usually in small, ordinary ways. Also discusses some personal experiences of the author and how building a sense of community has become difficult. Introduces this special issue by describing the articles included. (MKA)