Counselor and client verbal response mode changes during initial counseling sessions.

Abstract

The verbal behaviors of 4 male and 4 female beginning counselor trainees and their clients were analyzed with the Classification System for Counseling Responses (CSCR). Differences in the frequency with which counselors and clients used a variety of verbal response modes were examined with regard to segments of time within initial counseling interviews. Results provided limited support for the hypothesis that counselor trainees would show significant differences in the types of verbal responses used across thirds of sessions. Three statistically significant, linear trends in counselor responses were observed, providing some evidence for discriminations in the timing of verbal interventions by beginning counselors. Implications of these findings, as well as important methodological issues and suggestions for future research, are discussed. Numerous authors have suggested that a vital consideration in the development of counselor expertise is a sensitivity to issues related to timing of verbal intervention strategies as well as to the transitions between such interventions (e.g., Cormier & Cormier, 1979; Hammond, Hepworth, & Smith, 1977; Ivey, 1988; Moursand, 1990). For example, Egan (1982) differentiated between the skills recommended for the initial problem-clarification stage of helping interventions and those skills required in the later stages of goal setting and facilitating action. Skills necessary for initial problem identification include attending, listening actively, and using probes in gathering information. The goal-setting and action-facilitation processes often require more advanced counselor skills such as information sharing, advanced accurate empathy, confrontation, interpretation, and self-disclosure. We recognized that counselors build a repertoire of skills over time and with practice; accordingly, we would expect beginning counselors to have a more limited command of helping skills than those counselors with more training and experience. Introductory practicum courses such as the one from which the counselors in this study were recruited often introduce students to issues of timing in the management of a 50-min