MicrocounBeling" is a video method of training counselors in basic skills of counseling within a short period of time. This research studies the effects of microcounseling training procedures upon 3 groups of beginning counselors. 3 different skills, "attending behavior," reflection of feeling, and summarization of feeling, were the focus of research. Central to all studies was attending behavior, which is the counseling skill of attending or listening to a client both verbally and nonverbally. These studies suggest that attending behavior and its related concepts may be described in behavioral terms meaningful to beginning counselors. Implications of the attending behavior and microcounseling frameworks are discussed.Teaching beginning counselors and therapists "how to counsel" is one of the more complex and challenging issues facing counseling psychology (Krumboltz, 1967;Matarazzo, Wiens, & Saslow, 1966;Wrenn, 1962). Most would agree that counselor training has not generally been efficient or 1 This research was supported by a grant from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.
Microcounseling techniques were used to conduct an experimental study. The objective was to train naive college students who were interested in counseling to assess clients' attitudes toward guidance tests. A correlation of .797 was obtained between clients' ratings of attitudes toward tests and the trainees' ratings of clients' attitudes toward tests. Findings were consistent with the results of other microcounseling studies. Individual differences among the trainees were noted and comparisons were made between the trainees' own ratings, judges' ratings, and clients' ratings of trainees. Lack of a control group imposes a serious limitation on interpretation of the results.
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