Sex Role Orientation and Self‐Disclosure Flexibility in Counselor Training

Abstract

Several studies have suggested that counselor response effectiveness may not be merely a function of instruction in basic counseling skills. This study examined the impact of the sex role orientation and level of self‐disclosure flexibility of 44 counseling students on their ability to demonstrate counseling skills and their overall counseling response effectiveness during and after counseling skills training. Using a factorial analysis, sex role orientation and level of self‐disclosure flexibility accounted for approximately 30% of the variance in quality of counseling skills. These findings lend support to the importance of trainee perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral flexibility in the acquisition and use of counseling skills. Suggestions for altering counseling skills training and further research are provided.

Changes in supervision as counselors and therapists gain experience: A review.

“…Ex post facto designs were the most commonly used, relying on nonrandom and nonmanipulated variables. Four studies examined two groups or two levels of an independent variable, and 15 additional studies looked at multiple groups or levels (e.g., Borders, 1989; Fong, Borders, & Neimeyer, 1986; Putney, Worthington, & McCullough, 1992). Five other studies used a combination of nonrandom, nonmanipulated, and manipulated variables (Hillerbrand & Claiborn, 1990; Robyak, Goodyear, Prange, & Donham, 1986; Schiavone & Jessell, 1988; Tracey, Ellickson, & Sherry, 1989; Winter & Holloway, 1991).…”

Counselor Sex Role Orientation, Flexibility, and Working Alliance Formation

“…Taken together, the results of the current study, and those of Fong and Borders (1985) and Fong et al (1986) coupled with Cook's (1987) caution about the data analysis in the Petry and Thomas (1986) study, suggest that the hypothesis that counselor androgyny leads to enhanced counseling process remains a hypothesis with little empirical support. It is also important to note that the proposed relationship between counselor androgyny and enhanced client outcome, as opposed to enhanced counseling process, has received no attention in the published literature.…”

“…Studies by Petry and Thomas (1986), Fong and Borders (1985), and Fong, Borders, and Neimeyer (1986) are the only ones that directly addressed the relationship between counselor androgyny and counseling process. In the Petry and Thomas (1986) study, when rated by clients on the Barnett-Lennard Relationship Inventory, androgynous counselors formed more favorable relationships than did therapists of other sex role orientations.…”

Effect of Client and Counselor Ethnicity on Preference for Counselor Disclosure

“…The former refers to personal factual information about the counselor, whereas the latter involves the disclosure of counselor cognitions and emotions related to the client (McCarthy & Betz, 1978). Although empirical research has been reasonably consistent in supporting the efficacy of selfinvolving statements (McCarthy, 1979(McCarthy, , 1982Reynolds & Fischer, 1983), research on self-disclosing statements has produced varied results, sometimes supporting the efficacy of such disclosure (Dowd & Boroto, 1982;Fong, Borders, & Neimeyer, 1986;Graff, 1970;Knox et al, 1997;Merluzzi, Banikiotes, & Missbach, 1978;Neimeyer & Fong, 1983; and at other times demonstrating no relationship (Lee, Uhlemann, & Haase, 1985;Perrin & Dowd, 1986;Watkins, Savickas, Brizzi, & Manus, 1990). In the specific case of disclosing sexual attr action to clients, counselor disclosure actually decreased perceived counselor expertness and the therapeutic quality of the session, although disclosing counselors were viewed as more likeable, warm, and accepting (Goodyear & Shumate , 1996).…”

“…Researchers have considered issues of counselor and client differences such as biological sex (DeF orest & Stone, 1980;McCarthy, 1979;Perrin & Dowd, 1986;Watkins & Schneider, 1989), gender role orientation (Fong et al, 1986), and age (Simone, McCarthy, & Skay, 1998;Somervill, 1980). Although theoretical literature on cultural diversity and counselor selfdisclosure (Helms & Cook, 1999;Sue & Sue, 1999;Tsui & Schultz, 1985) generally shows positive results for increased counselor disclosure when working cross-cultur ally, there are few empirical studies in which race and ethnicity were considered as independent variables, and those studies that have been conducted have provided mixed results (P onterotto, Casas, Suzuki, & Alexander, 1995).…”