Journal of Counseling and Development最新文献

A stigma toward accessing mental health support services exists in military culture. One of the next steps in this line of research is gaining a better understanding of the barriers or reasons behind why service members can be reluctant to seek counseling. We recruited a national sample (N = 516) of service members to test the dimensionality of scores on the Revised Fit, Stigma, and Value (RFSV) Scale for measuring barriers to seeking counseling. Results demonstrated that the meaning of RFSV scores was invariant by help-seeking history (past attendance in counseling) and by mental health diagnosis. After establishing adequate construct validity evidence of scores, we found that the Value barrier was a significant predictor of one or more peer-to-peer referrals to counseling among service members. Additionally, demographic differences in the Value and Stigma barriers emerged by help-seeking history and active duty status, respectively.

The current study examined the relationship between theoretical orientations and competencies in counseling women among professional counselors. Counselors currently meeting clients were recruited from professional counseling organizations, and the responses from 265 counselors were analyzed using structural equation models. Results indicated that a stronger psychoanalytic orientation predicted lesser competencies in counseling women, while stronger humanistic, feminist, and multicultural orientations predicted higher competencies in counseling women. The study highlights the need for counselors to integrate theoretical orientations with social justice perspectives to better serve women.

College student mental health has been a critical concern for professional counselors. Anxiety and depressive disorders have become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. Utilizing machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), we developed predictive models (i.e., eXtreme Gradient Boosting [XGBoost], Random Forest, Decision Tree, and Logistic Regression) to identify US college students at heightened risk of diagnosable anxiety and depressive disorders. The dataset included 61,619 students from 133 US higher education institutions and was partitioned into a 90:10 ratio for training and testing the models. We employed hyperparameter tuning and cross-validation to optimize model performance and examined multiple measures of predictive performance (e.g., area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], accuracy, sensitivity). Results revealed strong discriminative power in our machine learning predictive models with AUC of 0.74 and 0.77, indicating current financial situation, sense of belonging on campus, disability status, and age as the top predictors of anxiety and depressive disorders. This study provides a practical tool for professional counselors to proactively identify students for anxiety and depressive disorders before these conditions escalate. Application of machine learning in counseling research provides data-driven insights that help enhance the understanding of mental health determinants, guide prevention and intervention strategies, and promote the well-being of diverse student populations through counseling.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a widely studied and implemented means of counseling. Researchers have emphasized the need for counselors to consider wider contextual factors that affect clients in their use of CBT, including the social determinants of mental health (SDMH). We conducted a concurrent nested mixed methods study to better understand the outcomes of a 3-month CBT-based SDMH training program for N = 8 professional counselors. We implemented a quasi-experimental quantitative design and a phenomenological qualitative design. Results of Wilcoxon signed-rank tests indicate statistically significant increases in participants’ SDMH and multicultural competence following completion of the training program. Thematic analysis findings suggest practical steps participants intend to take to address SDMH in their CBT practice with clients, including use of universal assessment tools and engagement in further training. Implications for counseling practice conclude.

The relational nature of cultural humility (CH) has been evident since the beginning of its conceptual and empirical explorations in multicultural counseling. However, few studies have intentionally used a theory-driven framework to examine the relational processes of CH. In the current study, we used a structural equation modeling approach to examine the relationships between CH, empathy, therapeutic working alliance, and real relationship through a common factors framework. Using a sample of 610 adult counseling clients, we found that CH accounted for approximately 60% of the variance in the working alliance and 58% of the variance in the real relationship. Moreover, we found that empathy partially mediated the dispositional and situational effects of CH on both relational outcomes. We discussed strategies to cultivate CH in counseling relationships. We also recommended future researchers identify other theoretically related mediators and moderators.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of school counselor-led social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions, including an exploration of the moderators that could influence variations in these effect sizes. Drawing from 28 published articles over the last 20 years in school counseling-affiliated academic journals, results indicated that school counseling SEL interventions result in a small to moderate significant mean effect size (Hedges's g = 0.308). While the moderator analyses did not yield statistically significant results, the different magnitudes of the effect sizes across the subgroups based on these moderators have implications for school counseling practice, research, and policymaking.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of organizational resources and professional identity on school counselor burnout and work engagement. We performed structural equation modeling using a sample of 345 practicing school counselors. The results of the analysis showed that organizational resources for school counselors were significantly related to professional identity, burnout, and work engagement, while professional identity significantly mediated the relationship between organizational resources and burnout/work engagement. We provided implications and recommendations for future research on school counselors’ work-related attitudes and professional identity development.

This study investigated the impact of surface acting on exhaustion in Korean school counselors. Using the daily diary method with 223 school counselors, the study examined how maintaining a positive outward image through surface acting is related to job exhaustion. The results indicated that surface acting at both Level 1 and Level 2 positively affects exhaustion. Additionally, a supportive administrative climate negatively predicted exhaustion. Interestingly, the relationship between surface acting and exhaustion was found to be more pronounced when administrators were perceived as highly supportive, whereas this relationship was attenuated in the context of low administrative support. These findings highlight the complexity of emotional labor and the crucial role of administrative support in the well-being of school counselors. Future research should further explore these dynamics to develop effective strategies for reducing burnout among school counselors.

The rapid growth of mobile technology and the increasing prevalence of mental health issues highlight the need to investigate the potential of mobile apps for promoting mental health. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to systematically review and synthesize research studies published between 2002 and 2021. The search yielded 46 eligible studies (26 comparative studies and 20 within-group studies) evaluating the effectiveness of mental health apps (MHAs) in treating depression, with outcome data from 4207 participants. Overall, analyses showed small (for comparative studies) and medium (for within-group studies) effect sizes favoring MHAs reducing depression symptoms. In within-group studies, participants had significantly more treatment gain with MHA interventions lasting over 4 weeks, with over 8-week intervals associated with the greatest reductions in depression symptoms. Gender, ethnicity, intervention type, and app type are not significant moderators.

This study examined the utilization of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) treatment components, as well as factors that predicted therapist TF-CBT component use. Participants were 264 TF-CBT-trained mental health therapists. The most frequently used components, as reported by therapists, were affect regulation, relaxation, and psychoeducation about trauma, while the least frequently used were in vivo exposure, conjoint sessions, and caregiver involvement. Results of a hierarchical linear regression indicated that therapist self-efficacy and child trauma clinical beliefs (i.e., clinical structure and verbal capacity) positively predicted therapist TF-CBT component use. Perceived barriers to TF-CBT use negatively predicted therapist TF-CBT component use. Implications for counseling practice and future research directions are included.