This study summarizes recent changes in admissions requirements and procedures obtained in a survey of 61 counselor education programs in the western states region.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the technique of desensitization would reduce the initial anxiety experienced by the beginning counselor trainee before and during his first counseling session. Thirty counselor trainees in a National Defense Education Act Elementary Counseling and Guidance Institute were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. The treatment consisted of two sessions of relaxation and five of desensitization. The criterion measures employed included (a) physiological measures using heart rate and skin resistance, (b) tape evaluations, and (c) self-reports. Analyses of the data revealed significantly less self-reported anxiety in the experimental group. No differences were found in heart rate, skin resistance, and tape-evaluation measures.