This study aimed to advance understanding of how doctoral students perceive postmodernism's influence in the field of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT). Focus group interviews were utilized to investigate perceptions of MFT doctoral students. Findings suggest participants are attracted to postmodern tenets but also feel liberation and confusion…

Two national surveys of the perceptions of trainers and practitioners regarding assessment and intervention for students with low incidence disabilities (LID) were conducted. The first survey, sent to the directors of 250 school psychology training programs, was designed to determine the extent and type of training in assessment and intervention…

This article encourages supervisors, in general, and counsellor supervisors, in particular, to engage in reflective learning as a way to identify their cultural biases. Awareness of counsellor bias has been addressed by ethical standards outlined for professional helpers. This article presents reflective learning as a potentially useful strategy…

This study assesses the self-perceived multicultural counselling competencies of 106 public school counsellors working in a rural area. Self-perceptions of multicultural counselling competencies were assessed using the Multicultural Counselling Inventory. Results are discussed and recommendations are provided. (Contains 1 table.)

Unique challenges surface when providing services in community mental health centers for persons with mental retardation and mental illness. Before any type of mental health treatment for a client with this dual diagnosis can begin, proper assessment is critical. Clinicians working with this population have to adapt their treatment strategies and…

Feminist therapy, born of activism and opposition to the bias within conventional psychotherapy, is most often defined by its emancipatory goals for women and its approach to treatment which examines the link between the patient's problem and systemic discrimination. In this study, 20 feminist therapists were interviewed in order to explore the…

This article examines the unique spiritual journey of the counselor in relation to her attempts to aid clients through their wildernesses. Both the therapist and the client journey to a common end. However, it is the manner in which the counselor travels that allows her to discover her own destiny while assisting clients to realize their unique…

The mental health care delivery system is undergoing a metamorphosis of unprecedented proportion as a result of managed care. Few empirical assessments of practitioner response exist. Utilizing managed care provider and telephone directories, agency lists, and the Internet, 200 managed mental health care providers were anonymously surveyed.…

This study examined perceptions of vocational rehabilitation administrators and counselors of the meaning, importance, and impact of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992. A questionnaire was completed by 251 administrators and 254 counselors from 25 states. Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which changes had occurred, based on…

A growing body of creative curricular materials, intended to guide and support the multicultural training of psychologists, has been developed. To enhance these materials, a preliminary evaluation of a multicultural program was conducted in an attempt to understand how students develop into culturally competent clinicians, particularly in terms of…

In spite of dramatic increases in the number of interracial persons in the United States over the past two decades, the counseling profession has given minimal attention to this population. This book introduces counselors to the needs and strengths of individuals and families with more than one racial heritage and suggests appropriate counseling…

Psychologists learn early that the first place it is necessary to establish consistency of values is within the self. This foundation is a necessary condition to becoming an indispensable psychologist. Three ingredients to professional indispensability in psychology are excellence, relevance, and passion. Combine these with motive power (the drive…

The way in which professional counselors perceive or conceptualize clients and their presenting issues constitutes an outward expression of the counselors' philosophy, training and world view. These perceptions and conceptualizations directly or indirectly affect assessment, therapeutic methodology, and even client outcomes. This article presents…

The purpose of this paper is to address the evaluation of the social service component of Head Start, through its main contributor, the family service worker (FSW). Sixty-six Head Start family service workers--arranged in 3 focus groups of 10 to 20 workers--from both rural and urban communities in the Southeast met to discuss the characteristics…

This digest familiarizes counselors with the four major types of child maltreatment: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation, and emotional abuse or neglect. A definition is provided for each, along with relevant symptoms and statistics. The subsequent discussion focuses on identifying maltreatment and on counseling abused children.…