Counselor Cognitive Complexity Effects on Counselor-Client Interaction Patterns (original) (raw)
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Cognitive Complexity: Differentiation and Integration in Counseling Practice and Training
Journal of Counseling & Development, 2019
Although the counseling literature acknowledges the vital role of cognitive complexity in counselor competence (see Skovholt & Jennings, 2017) and its impact on training (see Ridley, Mollen, & Kelly, 2011), there has not yet been an in-depth conceptual exploration of differentiation and integration as discrete yet interdependent cognitive processes. In this article, we propose that the domains of differentiation and integration represent unique cognitive complexity processes that evolve along distinct trajectories. Such a proposal has not been made in the counseling literature despite enduring interest on the topic. Current definitions of cognitive complexity tend to minimize the distinction between differentiation and integration by focusing on their combined behavioral consequences (see Rashid & Duys, 2015). If cognitive complexity is operationalized in process-oriented rather than behavioral terms, the distinction between differentiation and integration may support greater precision in clinical work and training. This process-oriented perspective lends itself to determining
Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 2010
Therapists' cognitive complexity can influence a variety of clinical and educational processes, from how they make decisions to their engagement in classes and supervision. To date, cognitive complexity models have not been adapted or advanced to meet the demands of clinical training. We provide a review and critique of the current cognitive complexity models and examine the measures typically associated with these models. We also introduce a new model, the Therapists' Cognitive Complexity Model, which includes three components of therapists' cognitive complexity: session thoughts, metacognition, and epistemic cognitions. Implications for therapist training and suggestions for future research are provided.
The Function of Automaticity in Counselor Information Processing
Counselor Education and Supervision, 1988
Counseling becomes increasingly effective as trainees accumulate autotnatic facilitati\e behaviors and thereby free attentional capacities to understand the uniqiieness of thc individual client. Beginning counselors faced with a client caseload for the first time t y p ically find that the time spent with clients is very demanding. 'They must simultaneously listen, respond effectively, gather information, formulate diagnostic hypotheses, and develop plans for the helping process. Each task taken by itself is complex. Taken together the several tasks place ;I severe load on the conscious processes of the counselor, although each element has been studied in content courses and has, perhaps, been practiced in a laboratory situation. Trainees report that they have trouble attending to what the client is saying while trying to formulate their own responses. They want to sound competent and "counselor-like" in their responses, and, because the role is new, they search for words. They get lost in their own thoughts and miss important nuances in what the client is saying. Later their supervisor may not only identify that material has been overlooked, but niay also question how the various elements of the client's story fit together diagnostically and what implications there are for building a counseling plan. The message from the supervisor suggests that counselors are able to think about all these agendas at once in the presence of the client. Counselor educators are challenged to find ways of helping novice counselors reduce the load on their attentional capacities and thereby gain a sense of mastery over the counseling process. Rogers (1965) and 191; COUNSELOR EDUCATION AND SUPERVISION b;iiim Associates. Zajonc, P.B., & Sales, S. (1966). Social facilitator of dominant and subordinate responses. ,loiirml of Exp~rientinl Psyholo,gy, 2, 160-168.
Methodological Explorations of Counselor-Client Interaction
1982
In contrast to the usual Counseling outcome assessment procedures, which rely on individual change scores on selected outcome instruments, this paper proposes a-contemporary interactional perspective which suggests that the assessment of outcome should focuson determining changes in:the counseling proce s itself, i.e., a change in the interaction patterns between the counselor and the client. Three analytic approaches for assessing pattern (and pattern change) are presented: (1) Markov chain analytie; (2) lag sequential analyeis; and (3) information theory analysis. The specifics of each approach are described and their relationthip to the sequential dependencies among the-events in the counseling process are discussed. The contemporary interactional perspeetive is contrasted with earlier viewe which-concentrated on behavior within the interview. A reference list andtables illustrating the interactional dependencies are appended. (Author/JAC)
Changes in counselor response as a function of experience
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1988
The responses of 67 counselors to 21 widely varying client statements were rated on eight dimensions {dominance, approach-avoidance, focus on affect, immediacy, breadth vs. specificity, meeting client's demands, verbosity, and confrontation). The counselors were divided into three experience levels (beginning students [n = 24], advanced students [n = 23], and doctoral level professionals [n = 20]). and their responses were compared. We hypothesized that siudem counselors would evidence different amounts of these variables than would the doctoral counselors. This hypothesis was supported on the dimensions of dominance, immediacy, meeting client's demands, verbosity, and confrontation. It was also hypothesized that response flexibility would differ across the experience levels. On the dimensions of dominance, meeting client demands, and confrontation, doctoral counselors were more flexible than were advanced student counselors. The results indicate that students focus on learning and honing the use of certain counseling skills. In the process of doing this, they tend to apply them in a rigid manner. Doctoral counselors appear more able to apply their skills flexibly depending on the situation.
The cognitive mediational paradigm for research on counseling
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1984
Arguments are presented for obtaining relatively direct data on counselor and client cognitive processes during counseling when conducting research on counseling outcomes. A theory of cognitive processing in counseling is presented, and a research paradigm is described that considers cognitive processes and attempts to link such processes to the interactive behaviors of counselors and clients and to client learning outcomes. Some of the methodological and conceptual issues related to the operationalization of this cognitive mediational paradigm are considered, and a few illustrative research programs are described. Possible implications for counseling theory and practice are explored briefly.
Changes in Counseling Skills and Cognitive Structures of Counselor Trainees
1994
While most counselor training programs highlight basic counseling skills, few programs address the development of counselors' conceptual abilities. This study explores the changes in conceptualizations of counseling and the corresponding changes in the counseling skills of prepracticum counseling trainees. Six graduate students in a counselor training program participated. Testers administered pretest and posttest assessments on the first and last classes. Researchers then obtained counselor conceptualizations via a cognitive mapping task--a two-step process in which probe questions generate concepts and then the latter are arranged into a pictorial map which illustrates how the concepts relate to the participant's thinking. The small sample size did not permit analysis of relationships between conceptual change and change in skill use, though several relevant observations were made. Primarily, this study provides support for a microcounseling approach to skill training; microcounseling enhanced counseling skill for this group. Changes in structuring skills showed that participants learned to structure their sessions to provide a meaningful context for promoting client insight which in turn facilitated client learning and change. Results suggest that counseling skills could be enhanced by concomitant training in the conceptualization of factors that affect client change. Participants' cognitive maps contained in an appendix. Contains 15 references. (RJM)
The Counselor Cognitions Questionnaire: Development and Validation
The Clinical Supervisor, 2010
Cognitive complexity is a crucial factor in counselor efficacy, yet an empirically validated instrument that measures counselors’ cognitions about clients does not exist. Development and preliminary psychometric support for such a measure, the Counselor Cognitions Questionnaire (CCQ), are described. Evidence of validity and reliability are reported.
Consultation and counseling as procedurally divergent: Analysis of verbal behavior
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1987
We sought to demonstrate the procedural divergence of consultation and counseling techniques by analyzing the verbal behaviors of consultants and counselors. Sixty graduate students served as subjects. Half of them had been trained as counselors, and the other half had been trained in consultation. The two groups were matched for age, sex, and extent of training. Audiotapes and transcripts of consultation and counseling sessions were obtained for each subject and coded via the Counselor Verbal Behavior Analysis (CVBA) system. Results indicated that the consultants used a greater number of more restrictive verbalizations (p < .05) and that women used a greater number of less restrictive verbalizations {p < .05). These data were interpreted as supporting a procedural difference in the two models. Implications are discussed.