An Exploration of Empathy and Personality in Preservice Counselors

Empathy allows individuals to care for the well-being of others and act with compassion. Research indicates that empathy is an essential ingredient for developing successful counseling relationships, leading to positive change for clients. Determining how empathy is related to personality provides counselors with valuable information for exploring the impact of personality on empathy in counselor trainees. To explore the relationship between empathy and personality among counselor trainees, the researchers compared scores on the MBTI® and the IRI. Results of this study suggest a clear relationship between personality and empathy and were similar to the findings of previous researchers. In addition, this study demonstrated that the MBTI® type preferences of extraversion, intuition, feeling and perceiving are significantly higher than introversion, sensing, thinking and judging on the various empathy scales, specifically in the areas of empathic concern, perspective taking, personal distress and fantasy. Implications were discussed for both counselor educators and practitioners.

Integrasi Kompetensi Multikultural dan Keadilan Sosial dalam Layanan Konseling

This study aims to investigate the integration of multikulturalism competence and sosial justice in counseling services. This research belongs to the type of library research, that is, by recording all findings and integrating all findings, both theories or new findings about the integration of the concepts of multikulturalism and sosial justice, analyzing all the findings from various readings and providing critical ideas about the integration of the concepts of multikulturalism and sosial justice in counseling services. The results showed that multikultural counseling is a relationship of counseling on different cultures between counselor and counselee while sosial justice counseling combines cultural responsiveness and understanding the cultural strengths of the client, and focuses on developing strength, empowerment and advocacy. In theoretical and philosophical perspectives that underpin the integration of multikulturalism competencies and sosial justice in counseling services provide a context for developing multikultural competencies and sosial justice counselors. The integration of multikultural concepts and sosial justice recognizes the following as important aspects of counseling practices for counselors and clients, including: (a) understanding the complexity of diversity and multikulturalism in counseling relationships, (b) recognizing the negative effects of sosial oppression on mental health and well-being humans, (c) understand individuals in the context of their sosial environment, and (d) integrate sosial justice assistance into various counseling services (eg, individual, family, sosial, group). So it is necessary to ground the integration of multikultural and sosial justice in counseling services, namely by making academic documents that will apply across populations, services, and client problems.

“All My Problems Go Away for 90 Minutes”: How Football and Psychotherapy Improves Young Men’s Mental Health

This qualitative research sought to establish the impact of an 8-week program combining football and one-to-one psychotherapy on young males’ mental health, determining the factors that predict help-seeking behaviors in this group of men. Pre- and post-participation focus groups were used as the method of data collection. Six males (19–35 years old; M = 25.5) completed both pre-intervention and follow-up focus groups. Help-seeking behaviors were influenced by the appeal of football and the perception of the counselor being accessible. Barriers included gender norms, socialization, financial difficulties, and challenging social landscapes. Post-participation focus groups revealed that positive social and counseling relationships facilitated improved mental health. Sport was deemed an acceptable medium to deliver a mental health intervention as it increased social connections and facilitated help-seeking. Findings support previous research indicating that combining sports and psychotherapy positively impacts young males’ mental health.

Variations among Students’ Experiences of Learning to Counsel

We explored students’ experiences of learning in a part-time, two-year counseling course (60 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System [ECTS] credits). We wanted to know if there were any systematic variations among individual experiences — if so, what kinds of patterns characterized the variations and how to understand the patterns. We applied the Q method, in which 22 out of 23 participants shared their experiences. Our key findings emerged in three factors. We interpreted and named them F1: building effective counseling relationships is fundamental, F2: the entirety of the course, and F3: self-development. We discuss the factors from theory of counselors’ professional development. The knowledge may support students and teachers in their awareness of what is the important aspects of counselor development. From a subject-didactic perspective, the study informs readers on how to implement a curriculum for a part-time counseling course.

Efforts to Overcome Countertransference in Pastoral Counseling Relationships

Countertransference is considered as a negative factor that may impede counseling relations but some assume that countertransference is a normal reaction. The purpose of this article is to explore countertransference in pastoral counseling and efforts to overcome it. The author examines the concepts, approaches, and structure of countertransference. Previous research is also reviewed. Based on this review, the author elaborates some strategies that can help pastoral counselors to overcome countertransference in their counseling practice.

Effectiveness of an Intervention for Improving Intrinsic Motivation among Adolescent Males in a Secure Substance Use Treatment Setting

Because intrinsic motivation affects substance use treatment engagement and outcomes, interventions to increase readiness for change are needed. The Treatment Readiness and Induction Program (TRIP) effectively increases intrinsic motivation among youth in community-based residential treatment, but its utility for youth in secure settings is unknown. The current study uses a sequential comparison design to examine the added benefit of TRIP over standard operating practice (SOP) among 125 male adolescents in a juvenile justice treatment facility. Youth receiving TRIP in addition to SOP showed greater increases in problem recognition and desire for help, were three times more likely to want help for emotional problems, and were four times more likely to want individual counseling. Relationships remained after controlling for age and race; however, desire for help was not significant after controlling for substance use severity. Findings document the effectiveness of TRIP for promoting readiness among adolescent males in a secure treatment setting.

Counseling in Audiology: Au.D. Students' Perspectives and Experiences

Counseling in audiology is an important aspect of service delivery. How audiologists interact with patients and foster counseling relationships to help patients and families understand and live with hearing loss can impact outcomes of audiological interventions. Currently, variability exists in how graduate training programs are teaching counseling skills, and the extent to which counseling skills development is supported in clinical experiences is unclear. This article seeks to explore the perspectives related to the importance of counseling and counseling training experiences received through clinical instruction of Au.D. students beginning their final year of study, to identify where counseling training might be limited, and to examine how counseling skills might be better supported. Findings revealed that students generally appreciate the importance of counseling in audiology. Data suggest that how students are supported in developing counseling skills appears to be variable and unstructured.