Surveyed clinical psychologists (n=363) to examine influence of patient and clinician ideology on clinical judgment. Found patients who held extreme ideology were rated more negatively on four clinical judgment dimensions. Suggests patient ideology, therapist ideology, and their interaction influence clinical judgment and that clinicians need to…

Examined client nonverbal behaviors to determine correspondence to client-reported reactions and therapist-perceived reactions to therapist intervention. Found (1) horizontal head movements associated with client reports and therapist perceptions of therapeutic work reactions; (2) vertical head movements associated with client reports of supported…

Examined 32 couples receiving treatment to identify therapist and client behaviors associated with positive response to social learning-based behavioral marital therapy. After each session, therapist, husband and wife independently completed process rating forms measuring therapist and client behaviors during the session. Therapists', husbands',…

Discusses the growth and evolution of the mental health counseling profession, including the impact of various professional associations. Examines the changing roles of the mental health counselor, identity and ethical issues, private practice, reimbursement, and training. Presents an optimistic view of the profession's future, but encourages…

Comments on Weikel and Palmo's article and discusses critical issues for future of mental health counseling: (1) identity of mental health counseling; (2) its relationship to other helping professions; and (3) distinctive nature of practice of mental health counseling. Argues a psychoeducational and developmental focus may be critical for specific…

Examined the hypothesis that positive self-involving and self-disclosing counselor responses would be rated more favorably by college student subjects (N=214) than negative self-involving and self-disclosing counselor responses. Found counselor using positive self-involving responses was viewed as most interpersonally attractive. (Author/ABL)

Outlined method for studying rater bias in counseling and psychotherapy. Used method to study three potential sources of rater bias concerning characteristics of rater, client, and therapist. Examined ratings on Collaborative Study Psychotherapy Rating Scale for 826 sessions of psychotherapy in Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research…

Examined male and female counselors' countertransference reactions to lesbian versus heterosexual client actresses, and the role of counselor homophobia and countertransference management ability in countertransference reactions. Counselors did not exhibit more countertransference with lesbian clients. Countertransference management did not…

A metanalysis of studies showed that ethnic minorities prefer ethnically similar counselors; however, these preferences were influenced by the cultural affiliation of the participants and the research methods used. More precise methods need to be developed to determine the degree to which ethnic minorities' preferences for ethnically-similar…

Examined male counselors' reactions to gay and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected clients. Findings from 34 counselors revealed that counselors experienced greater discomfort with HIV-infected that HIV-negative clients, and counselors' homophobia predicted their discomfort with gay male clients. Client sexual orientation did not affect…

Nonsmoking females (n=270) observed videotaped interview in design that crossed three levels of intensity of counselor smoking, three levels of client presenting problem intimacy, and two female counselors. No interactions were observed, but counselor smoking exerted negative impact on participants' impressions of counselor characteristics and…

Administered Counselor Disclosure Scale to explore amounts and types of counselor disclosures desired by actual clients (n=24) and by undergraduate students (n=24). Results indicated virtually no differences in disclosure preferences between undergraduates and clients. Findings have implications for counseling practice. (Author/NB)

Describes aspects of Afrocentricity, outlining African-American values, beliefs, and cultural characteristics. Contrasts Afrocentric and Eurocentric worldviews, attempts to increase awareness of cultural bias in counseling and testing, and establishes parameters to enable white counselors to work more effectively with black clients. Reviews career…

Conducted factor analytic investigation of Counselor Rating Form, Counselor Rating Form-Short Form, and Counselor Effectiveness Rating Scale (CERS) using data from 160 undergraduate students. Analysis revealed two oblique factors (expertness and attractiveness-trustworthiness), whereas CERS produced single, global evaluative factor. Oblique…

Examined psychometric properties, including factor structure, of the Index of Responding and assessed implications of that structure for counseling research. Index of Responding was used as measure of empathy with 70 elementary and secondary teachers enrolled in undergraduate program in guidance counseling. Factor analysis yielded one wide-loading…