Client Feedback in Rehabilitation Counselor Evaluation: A Field-based, Professional Development Application

Based on recommendations from current rehabilitation literature, a supervising counselor and four rehabilitation counselors, with the assistance of a student intern, surveyed rehabilitation clients dosed “26” (rehabilitated) within a 12-month period. The 31 respondents (39.2% return rate) used the Emener and Placido (1982b) “Counselor Evaluation Form” to evaluate their counselors on 15 items. Client demographics and the Clients' evaluations are presented and discussed. With the assistance of a rehabilitation counselor educator, a professional development seminar with a focus on the utilization of the clients' feedback evaluations in facilitating rehabilitation counselor professional development was conducted. The supervising counselor's, rehabilitation counselors', student intern's, and the rehabilitation counselor educator's evaluations of the seminar are presented as well as recommendations for the field of rehabilitation and the profession of rehabilitation counseling.