Empathy is essential to the therapeutic relationship (Rogers, 1957). Altruism appears to be related to empathy, but there has been limited research investigating its development in counselors. This qualitative study explored the development of altruism as perceived by 19 counseling students. The authors discuss the findings and implications for…

Across several decades the effects of matching clients with therapists of the same race/ethnicity have been explored using a variety of approaches. We conducted a meta-analysis of 3 variables frequently used in research on racial/ethnic matching: individuals' preferences for a therapist of their own race/ethnicity, clients' perceptions of…

This case study describes the counseling experience of a college woman undergoing treatment to address self-injurious behavior. The article presents and illustrates a counseling approach that is conceptually based on attachment and object relations theory. The approach emphasizes the client-counselor relationship and the need to establish a…

Despite evidence that First Nations people experience a disproportionate degree of mental health concerns relative to other Canadians, many within this population do not access Western-based mental health services. In this article we extend a socio-political and historical rationale for attending to key cultural differences when working with First…

Spiritual genograms collect and organize family information of a religious or spiritual nature. The authors explored the use of the spiritual genogram in counselor education. Graduate counseling students were assigned to construct and present a spiritual genogram within a course titled "Counseling and Spirituality." An assessment of the quality of…

The author discusses her experiences seeking consent from 16 clients to use clinical material for publication. Sharing case examples from her practice, she elucidates her process with clients and focuses on the beneficial and detrimental effects on the therapeutic relationship. Seeking consent raises issues of confidentiality and stimulates…

The results of this study indicated that a person's response to risk taking in self disclosure is essential in the development of that trust. (Author)

Results indicated that the client sees the therapist as being capable of healthier functioning than himself, and that the therapist sees himself as functioning more effectively than the client. (Author)

The results of this study provide evidence that counselors become involved in the defensive maneuvers of clients when objective self discrepant information is presented. (Author)

When, why, and how clinicians decide to write about clients are ethical concerns. There are risks and potential clinical ramifications as well as responsibilities for how these decisions are made. On the basis of 141 interviews with psychoanalysts who have published in 3 major national and international psychoanalytic journals, the author explores…

During psychotherapeutic work, couples typically present distinctly contradictory stories about their life together. This paper explores how a psychotherapist may promote mutually beneficial change for couples who contradict each other. One suggested tactic is a non-impositional approach to therapy using a narrative-oriented context. Such a tactic…

Using six different measures of therapist empathy employed in previous research, this study correlated the empathy measures with each other, with a measure of therapeutic process (depth of self-exploration), and with several outcome measures. (Author)

Asserts that identifying and analyzing major concepts in counseling is essential if high quality, therapeutic relationships are to be fostered within the discipline. Illustrates one method of concept analysis. Analyzes concept of empathy, recognized as a key to quality counseling and an absolutely essential element in therapeutic relationships.…

The author presents a case study in which play therapy is used with an older child. (BY)