Effectiveness of professional and paraprofessional helpers: A comment on Durlak.

The impact of psychotherapy training: Introduction to the special section

“…Durlak's early study (1979) alarmed the field with results showing that patients of paraprofessionals were more likely to be helped than patients in professional care, although serious methodological problems may render that conclusion invalid (Nietzel & Fisher, 1981). Another early study in this area was reported by Strupp and Hadley (1979), who found that the outcomes obtained by professionally trained therapists treating neurotic college students were generally equivalent to those achieved by a group of college professors who had no formal therapy training.…”

Paraprofessional home visitation: Conceptual and pragmatic considerations

“…Few of these studies were randomized trials, and the vast majority looked at interventions with adult clients. Also, as noted by Nietzel and Fisher (1981), Durlak's (1979) sample of studies had inconsistent definitions of paraprofessionals, weakening any overall conclusions.…”

A Comparison of Non-Certified and Certified Grief Counselors in Regard to Education, Experience, Credentials, and Supervision

“…These findings are supported by Mallinckrodt and Nelson (1991) who reported that experienced counselors may be better at formulating treatment goals that more effectively direct their task-related activity. Other studies support the importance of clinical experience for positive client outcomes (Berman & Norton, 1985;Nietzel & Fisher, 1981). For example, Larson et al (1992) reported that self-efficacy was significantly higher for respondents with more counseling experience.…”

“…Proponents of credentialing argue that it protects the public from unethical or incompetent practitioners (Arbuckle, 1977), that credentialing serves the long-range interests of consumers (Sweeney, 1978), that it provides eligibility for third-party reimbursement (Carroll, Griggs, & Halligan, 1977), and that credentialing protects counselors from cease and desist orders issued by state psychology boards (Cottingham & Warner, 1978). Proponents point to research showing the effectiveness of experienced counselors for positive client outcomes (Berman & Norton, 1985;Mallinckrodt & Nelson, 1991;Nietzel & Fisher, 1981).…”