Empirical investigation of two presuppositions in counseling and psychotherapy

Perceptions of clients by professional helpers.

“…Helping professionals, compared with parents of retarded children, made more negative ratings for a number of variables, including adjustment and ability as well as the semantic-differential dimensions of Evaluation and Potency. In the study by Jorgensen and Hurst (1972), the mean rating by therapists of the problem-solving capability of their "typical" client was lower than the mean client self-rating for each of seven dimensions. Reinehr (1969) compared the descriptions of SO alcoholic inpatients made by their 16 therapists with those made by the patients themselves, employing the Adjective Check List (ACL) as the dependent variable; therapists' descriptions were less favorable than those of the patients.…”

“…In a study by Jorgensen and Hurst (1972), 22 therapists at a university counseling center completed 7-point rating scales to describe the problem-solving capability of their "typical" client in eight areas (e.g., making effective adjustments to the demands of the educational situation, resolving conflicts with significant others). Over all scales, the mean rating by therapists of clients' ability was 3.8, compared with a mean rating of 5.5 for their own problem-solving ability, with the higher rating reflecting greater perceived ability.…”

James C. Hurst

“…In the academic realm at Colorado State, I had published with many of our productive colleagues including you, Allen Ivey, Gene Oetting, Dick Weigel, Marv Moore, Ursula Delworth, Chuck Davidshofer, and others, on the topics of student development and the beginnings of campus ecology (Hurst, 1977;Hurst, Delworth, & Garriott, 1973;Hurst & Ivey, 1971;Hurst, Moore, Davidshofer, & Delworth, 1976;Hurst & Parker, 1977;Hurst, Weigel, Morrill, & Richardson, 1973;Jorgenson & Hurst, 1972;Kirchener and Hurst, 1974;Morrill & Hurst, 1971;Morrill, Oetting, & Hurst, 1974). As a result, I was promoted from assistant to associate professor while at Colorado State University.…”