Clinical Supervisors' Perceptions of Counselor Characteristics Associated with Effective and Well-Balanced Practices

Abstract

Counselors are expected to have certain personal attributes and professional skills to be effective in their work. Personal wellness is viewed as a significant contributor to counselor effectiveness and is included in the expectations of instructors, advisors, supervisors, and employers. The purpose of the present study was to identify characteristics of effective and well-balanced counselors by directly engaging those who have provided clinical supervision to this population. Twenty-seven counseling supervisors (encompassing rehabilitation, school, addictions, and mental health specialty areas) brainstormed 71 elements in response to the following question: What are the characteristics of a counselor in your field who is effective and well-balanced? These were condensed to 37 elements, and supervisors then categorized them into four categories: Counseling Skills, Solution Focused, Personal Characteristics, and Taking Care of Self. The academic research team independently sorted these clusters into four categories: Counseling Skills, Organization and Management Skills, Personal Characteristics, and Well-being. Comparisons of the products created by the two groups revealed a difference in perceptions in the arena of Personal Characteristics. The academic team was more likely to use the Personal Characteristics category than the field supervisors. Implications for counselor education and supervision regarding the conceptualization of skills vs. traits are discussed.

Development and Initial Validation of the Counselor Self-Discrepancy Inventory

“…Counselors characterized by open-mindedness exhibit a capacity to be "tolerant and accepting of the attitudes and values of clients" even when those differ from the counselors' own (Hart, 1970;Russo et al, 1964). Open-mindedness has been recognized as a contributing factor to counseling effectiveness and used as a criterion for evaluating non-academic attributes of counseling students (Duba et al, 2010;Glenn et al, 2015). Genuineness in counselors allows them to be "freely and deeply" themselves, which help to establish positive and solid counseling relationships.…”

Influence of teacher-counsellors’ professionals development on guidance and counselling programme effectiveness in public secondary schools in Nakuru county, Kenya

“…Scholars have investigated school counsellors' factors that enhance or hinder guidance and counselling effectiveness, including personal characteristics and professional skill sets (Glenn et al, 2015), quality of counsellor (Fuster, 2018); relational, professional, personality, demographic and diversity, developmental and personal characteristics (Popescu, 2012). In the study of Baldwin and Imel (2013), counsellor effects explained five per cent to 10 per cent of the variance in client outcomes across different therapies.…”

The Role of Counselor Trainees' Co-Regulated Mindfulness: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Study

“…Self-awareness is also established as necessary for effective counseling (Abney, 2002;Baştemur & Uçar, 2022;Campbell & Christopher, 2012;Fauth & Williams, 2005;Glenn et al, 2015;Hernández et al, 2010;Pieterse et al, 2013;Şimşir, 2021;Yontef, 1993). Self-awareness is defined as conscious knowledge of personal feelings, thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and actionsthe cohesion of which improves congruence and subsequent awareness of identity, motivation, strengths, needs, weaknesses, and goals (Şimşir, 2021).…”

“…Schore (2001) found that dysregulation of the right brain is an aspect of traumatic attachment that contributes to ineffective stress coping mechanisms in childhood and subsequent adult trauma disorders. Additionally, Schore (2008) (CACREP, 2016;MSJCC: Ratts et al, 2016) and typically focus on specific categories, including counseling skills, organizational and management skills, personal characteristics, and wellness (Glenn et al, 2015). Counselor educators rely on various standards to teach students the specific techniques used in therapy, how to case conceptualize, how to create and effectively Association, (now known as the American Counseling Association) with the intent of creating comprehensive standards for graduate counseling programs (Merlin et al, 2017;Urofsky, 2013).…”

“…Researchers continue to strive to understand characteristics of effective counselors (Avera, 2017;Allen, 1967;Freud, 1923Freud, /1961Fauth & Williams, 2005;Genç & Şahin, 2020;Granello, 2010;Little et al, 2005;Perls, 1973;Pieterse et al, 2013;Scott, 1962;Wilkinson et al, 2020). The most commonly referenced characteristics are empathy (Elliott et al, 2018;Lambert, 1992;Wampold, 2001;, congruence/genuineness (Klein et al, 2001;Kolden et al, 2011;2018;), unconditional positive regard (Ridge et al, 2003;Wilkins, 2000), psychological openness (Allen, 1967;Freud, 1923Freud, /1961, cognitive flexibility (Dajani & Uddin, 2015;Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010;Genç & Şahin, 2020), cognitive complexity (Choate & Granello, 2006;Granello, 2010;Little et al, 2005;Martinez & Dong, 2020;Simmons, 2008;Spengler & Strohmer, 1994;Wilkinson & Dewell, 2019;Wilkinson et al, 2020), self-awareness (Abney, 2002;Baştemur & Uçar, 2022;Campbell & Christopher, 2012;Fauth & Williams, 2005;Glenn et al, 2015;…”