We examined the conceptualizations of 23 (II experienced and 12 novice) counselors, with respect to general counseling process and specific client concerns by means of a two-part conceptual mapping task (CMT). Analyses of the CMT data revealed an interaction effect of counselor experience and generality of conceptual task on the exlensiveness of counselor conceptualizations. Experienced counselors displayed slightly more extensive conceptualizations on the general CMT and less extensive conceptualizations on the specific CMT. This interaction effect was interpreted as evidence that experienced counselors possess extensive abstract, general knowledge of counseling that they use to conceptualize specific instances of counseling efficiently and parsimoniously. On the other hand, novice counselors, who lack such abstracted knowledge, engage in more extensive, unique conceptual work for each separate client.Research on expertise in a variety of domains has shown that expertise involves a complex interaction between (a) knowledge acquired through repeated experience in a particular domain and (b) cognitive operations, processes, and strategies that relate situational information to such knowledge structures (cf. Chi, Glaser, & Rees, 1982; Gick, 1986). The role of experience in the acquisition of expertise is pivotal because it is through experience that experts acquire an adequate knowledge base for conceptualizing situational information in ways that permit effective conceptualization, problem solving, and action. Although there obviously are no guarantees that experience alone will lead to expertise, the two concepts appear to be highly correlated in well-structured domains such as physics or mathematics (e.g., Larkin, Mc-Dermott, Simon, & Simon, 1980; Schoenfeld & Herrmann, 1982). Whether or not this same relation between experience and expertise exists in much more multifaceted and flexibly structured professional domains like counseling and teaching is not presently clear.Some evidence (see Leinhardt & Smith, 1985) suggests that expertise in the teaching of highly structured subjects such as mathematics develops through extensive experience with both the knowledge structure of the discipline and representative classroom contexts. But what of counseling, a profession in which relevant knowledge bases are likely to be multifaceted, highly variable, and much less formally structured? Does experience as a counselor contribute to the acquisition of

Relationships among participants' assessments of the working alliance, effectiveness of counseling sessions, and memories for important therapeutic events were investigated in 10 counseling dyads. Results indicated that counselors exhibited greater specificity of recall of important events for sessions rated as more effective and showed greater specificity of recall than did clients. Counselors evidenced a statistically reliable increase in the bond aspect (quality of counselorclient relationship) of the working alliance over time, but there was no relationship between specificity of recall and the working alliance. Implications of these results for therapeutic work are discussed.

The memorability, clinical impact, and possible epistemic and motivational functions of therapists' intentional use of therapeutic metaphor were examined in 4 dyads of experiential psychotherapy. Clients tended to recall therapists' intentional metaphors approximately two thirds of the time, especially when these metaphors were developed collaboratively and repetitively. Clients rated therapy sessions in which they recalled therapists' intentional use of metaphors as more helpful than sessions in which they recalled therapeutic events other than therapists' intentional metaphors. Four distinctive epistemic and motivational functions of therapeutic metaphor were observed.

Session evaluation and type of participant-recalled important event were investigated in 25 novice counselor dyads and 9 experienced counselor dyads during 9 sessions of short-term counseling. Counselor experience was the independent variable and session evaluation was the dependent variable. Results based on the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (Stiles, 1980) showed a significant interaction effect between counselor experience and role of participant (client or counselor) for session depth. Clients also reported an increase in positive affect over the course of counseling. Experienced counselors recalled more important events involving insight, whereas novice counselors recalled more important events involving exploration of feelings or self-critique. The type of important event recalled by clients also changed over the sessions of counseling.

We investigated various relationships between therapists’ and clients’ memories for important therapeutic events and their assessments of the effectiveness of therapy sessions in 11 therapy dyads. Results showed that clients had greater accuracy of recall of important events for sessions they rated as more effective. There was also a greater match between therapists and clients in their choice of important events for more effective sessions. Finally, therapists displayed greater overall accuracy of recall than did clients. Implications of these results for therapeutic work are explored.