The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand counseling psychology doctoral trainees’ perceptions of social justice training in their academic programs. Participants ( N = 66) completed an online social justice survey with open-ended questions. Researchers identified major themes of participants’ responses (e.g., promotion of social equality, infusion across training contexts, training opportunities outside of programs, importance of “walking the talk”). Implications, future directions, and limitations of the study are presented.

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Countertransference is a concept that is widely acknowledged, but there exists little definitional consensus, making research in the area difficult. The authors adopted a prototype theory (E. H. Rosch, 1973a, 1973b; see C. B. Mervis & E. Rosch, 1981, for a review) to examine this construct because it conceptually fits well with constructs that elude explicit definition. In Study 1, 45 experienced psychologists highly agreed with the prototypicality of 104 different examples of countertransference providing support for the presence of a prototype. In Study 2, the usage of this prototype in a sample of 35 trainees was related to ability to perceive countertransference in a case example drawn from the literature and positively correlated with self-reports of their experiences of countertransference but not with their self-reported ability to manage countertransference once it was manifest. Implications for training and research are discussed.

In this study, we sought to challenge the existing conceptualization of interpersonal capabilities as a distinct construct from interpersonal traits by explicitly taking into account the general factor inherent within most models of circumplexes. A sample of 206 college students completed a battery of measures including the Battery of Interpersonal Capabilities (BIC; Paulhus & Martin, 1987). Principal components analysis and the randomization test of hypothesized order relations demonstrated that contrary to previous findings, the BIC adhered to a circular ordering. Joint analysis of the BIC with the Interpersonal Adjective Scale (Wiggins, 1995) using principal components analysis and structural equation modeling demonstrated that the 2 measures represented similar constructs. Furthermore, the general factor in the BIC was not correlated with measures of general self-competence, satisfaction with life, or general pathology.

Individuals who struggle with anxiety or depression often turn to experts for help in overcoming these disorders. In this study, we consult three expert 'populations': the popular self-help literature, well-respected therapists, and individuals who believe that they have successfully recovered from either anxiety or depression for their recommendations to those who are currently anxious or depressed. In Part I, we content-analyse recommendations from 10 current self-help books on anxiety and 10 on depression. In Part II, we asked 17 respected therapists and 18 individuals who believed that they have recovered from anxiety and 23 individuals who believe they have recovered from depression what they believe are the 'keys' for recovery. We also asked them to rate the efficacy of seven popular affirmations. Through content analysis and descriptive statistics, we summarize their collective wisdom. Among the main findings are the recommendations for anxious and depressed individuals to actively seek help from multiple people and interventions, as well as to being open to trying innovative self-tailored interventions. Affirmations relating to 'not being crazy' in relation to anxiety and that the depression will subside in time were deemed most helpful for recovery. Discussion focuses on practical application.