Counseling Exam Prep Strategies and Insights

This video will give you more information to help you score big on your exam than any video I have ever produced. In 2002, I created a wildly successful cassette titled 47-Minute Super Review Boot Camp for Counseling Exam Preparation. Today, I'm going to share it in its entirety. Wait a minute, Rosenthal. You just said 2002. That's ancient, dude. You are kidding, right? I mean, it's 2023. Are you crazy? Everything will be outdated. Not wrong. You are going to discover that 95% of what I said on this cassette 21 years ago, no, make that closer to 98 or 99% is still totally accurate and right on target today. Yes, terminology might be a hairline dated, but good counseling never goes out of style. Perhaps the biggest difference is that the counseling field changed their position on multicultural counseling. Back in the day, such as on this cassette, and in books and classes from earlier eras, they would say, this is how you counsel African Americans. Our Asian clients respond best to XYZ strategies. Now, sources leave this out, and my presentation spends only a few minutes on this topic. You might also wrongly assert that the sound quality will be horrific from a cassette. You might be saying, that's technology from when I was in diapers, or maybe before I was born. Hmm, did you know that... Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sting, and Wu-Tang Clan mastered some of their hits on cassettes? Let me just say, I've heard a lot worse sound quality on YouTube. Now, yes, I will be talking rapidly on this program, not because I drank too many Red Bulls or went through the Starbucks line. a few times more than I should, but because I am covering an amazing amount of key material in a very short period of time, this will also allow you to gauge if your studies are on the right track. Keep in mind, this program was intended to be used as the final step in your exam preparation. So, here it is. true classic, learn, and most of all, enjoy. Hi, this is Dr. Howard Rosenthal. I want to thank you for purchasing this audio mini super review. You may know that I don't believe in last-minute cramming for the exam. Nevertheless, a brief review like this... this the week before the exam, a few days before the exam, or even the night before or the morning of the exam can be extremely helpful. Before listening to this program, you should read my book, The Encyclopedia of Counseling, and listen to my entire audio licensing program. The paradigm I'm going to follow is kind of a zip- through the major areas covered on the exam. I will not, I repeat, not go into great detail about any single theory or theorist. If something is fuzzy, please review the subject in question using my study materials or appropriate textbooks or references. Are you ready? You know I don't like to waste your valuable time, so hold on to those managed care applications. and let's swing into action. What should you know in the area of human growth and development? Well, first let's be familiar with the nature versus nurture debate. Nature refers to genetics and heredity influence, while nurture refers to your upbringing in the environment. There are a number of prominent developmental theorists. Biological or physical theories stress the fact that you inherit thousands of genes from your parents. psychoanalytic, or so-called psychodynamic theories, are based on Freud, Jung, Adler, who emphasize birth order and Eric Erickson's eight-step epigenetic psychosocial theory that encompasses the entire lifespan. Most experts believe that Freud's theory, based on his observation of neurotic individuals, had more impact on the study of human growth and development than any other. any other theorist. Freud's famous dynamic five-step stage model includes the oral stage, zero to two years of age, the anal stage, ages two and three, the phallic stage, ages three to five, latency stage, six to twelve, and the genital stage, ages twelve and beyond. The most controversial part of Freud's theory the oedipal electra complex in which the child is attracted to the parent of the opposite sex occurs in the phallic stage for your exam you'll also need to recall freud's structural id ego and superego theory the id is the pleasure principle and is present at birth the superego is the moral seat of the personality It houses the child's moral and ethical standards that he or she receives from parents and society. The ego tries to keep the id and superego in balance, often resorting to ego defense mechanisms to distort reality, thus reducing anxiety. Freud also proposed the life instinct, eros, versus thanatos, the death instinct. Also, expect to see the name Abraham Maslow on the exam. Maslow studied self-actualized people and created his now famous hierarchy of needs in which lower physiological and safety needs must be fulfilled before self-actualization can occur. Jean Piaget is the number one name associated with a theory of cognitive development. Piaget's stages include 0 to 2 years old, the sensory motor stage, the pre-operational stage from 2 to 6, the concrete operation stage from 6 to 11, and this is the stage that conservation takes place in, and the formal operation stage age 11 to 15 in which the child learns to think in an abstract manner. Another name in this area is William Perry, who developed a nine-stage, four-level model to explain cognitive development of college students. Lawrence Kohlberg's name is another prime candidate that could manifest itself on the exam. You'll recall that Kohlberg focused on morality on three levels. The pre-conventional level in which the individual... follows rules to avoid punishment, are merely getting caught, they just want to satisfy personal needs. Then there's the conventional level in which the behavior is intended to please others and work toward the good of society, that is to maintain law and order. And the post-conventional stage where the individual concludes that rules are relative and that behavior is molded by self-discipline. chosen principles. Carol Gilligan was critical of Kohlberg's paradigm, as she claimed it was primarily applicable to males. Females, she postulated, base their morality more on caregiving than males. Males focus on justice. The name Daniel Levinson, who postulated the well-known midlife crisis, should also be on the tip of your tongue. Levinson's theory, however, is not universally accepted. The behaviorists champion the work of Albert Bandura's social learning theory that clearly promotes the notion of vicarious learning. You see someone getting reinforced for a given behavior, so you engage in the behavior. Finally, don't be surprised if you see a couple of questions on Robert Havinghurst who felt that stages of growth are linked with tasks such as learning to walk talk or eat solid food okay ready no rest here for the wicked let's forge on to social and cultural foundations first let's define culture as habits customs art religion, science, and political behavior of a given group of people during a given period of time. Now, cultures are said to be dynamic. This implies that culture changes or evolves at its own rate. There are different types of culture that influence us. Universal culture implies that we are genetically and biologically similar, or what is known as biological sameness. We all need air, food, and water, for example. National culture can determine our language, political views, and even our laws. Regional culture gives us the behavior for a certain region. The Civil War has been cited as an example of a war over regional cultural differences. Ecological culture is merely the notion that environmental factors such as earthquakes, floods, temperature and food supply can influence behavior. Ecological culture determines what we eat and what we wear. The dominant culture in a country is often known as the macro culture. Macro cultures are often contrasted with smaller or so-called micro cultures. Also be familiar with the term race. A given race has a set of genetically transmitted characteristics such as Caucasian, African-American, or Asian. Racism occurs when one race views itself as superior to others. Ethnocentrism, another key term for you, means that a given group sees itself as the benchmark or the standard by which other ethnic groups are measured. Multicultural counselors often talk about EMIC versus ETIC distinctions. When using the EMIC approach based on the word emigration, the counselor helps the client understand his or her culture. When using the ETIC approach, the counselor emphasizes that we are more alike than different. Now you also need to recall The Autoplastic and Alloplastic Dilemma Autoplastic implies that the counselor helps the client change to cope with his or her environment. Alloplastic occurs when the counselor has the client try to change the environment. Counselors also need to be aware that tests and nocological systems like the DSM can have a Eurocentric bias. I often receive emails asking me to define the term paralanguage. Paralanguage simply implies that the client's tone of voice, loudness, vocal inflections, and speed of delivery, silence, and hesitation must be taken into consideration. Paralanguage is part of the study of nonverbal communication and is usually considered more accurate than verbal communication. You might be confronted with the term low context communication, which implies that there will be a long verbal explanation. You might also see the term high context communication, which implies that communication in a given culture relies a lot on non-verbals that are really easily understood by others in the culture. Finally, multicultural counselors must guard against stereotyping. which is the act of thinking that all people of a given group are alike stereotypes can be good or bad and are either preconceived notions be familiar with the angloconformity theory which asserts that people from other cultures would do well to forget about their heritage and try to become just like the rest of the folks in the dominant macro culture Here are some vest pocket ideas for multicultural counselors to keep in mind. 1. Native Americans often speak with few words and hesitate often. They do not engage in eye contact while talking or listening. They do not live by the clock and tend to emphasize spirituality. Consider telling Native Americans a story, a technique popularized by the late great Milton H. Erickson. Combine it with advice giving. Also consider seeing them in their own homes. Number two, African Americans like to be taught concrete skills and strategies for change. Short-term counseling and behavioral modalities work best with this group. They also benefit from counselor's self-disclosure and topics related to spirituality. Number three, Asian Americans often speak in low, very low voice. and they desire assertiveness training and therapies that emphasize insight are existential issues. Number four, Hispanic and Latino clients often benefit from catharsis and abreaction. You know, getting their feelings out. Psychodrama techniques often work well with this group. They like discussions about the family. Okay, is this a great mini review or what? Alright, let's kick your brain into passing gear now because I'm going to zoom on to counseling relationships and counseling theories. First, of course, there is Freudian psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is both a theory of the personality and a theory of therapy. It is often called psychodynamic since Freud was fascinated by physics and believed that the mind worked by transferring energy. Freud believed that talking about your problems and emotions, catharsis and abreaction, were helpful. He used free associations and would actually tell clients to say whatever comes to mind. The key to therapy is insight, that is to say, making unconscious impulses conscious so you can deal with them, even if they occur in dreams. Freud emphasized the importance of ego defense mechanisms that are really... unconscious distortions of reality. Repression is the granddaddy of them all. In repression, something that is too painful to face is totally forgotten. Perhaps a client was sexually abused as a child. Then there is displacement. You're mad at your boss, but you're worried about the repercussions of yelling at him, so you take it out on a safe target. Say you're kids. Hopefully you aren't doing that. Well, are you? Projection is another defense mechanism. Here you can't accept a quality about yourself so you attribute it to others. Projection is the act of thinking that you are looking out a window but by golly you are really looking in the mirror. Reaction formation is a defense in which you deny an unacceptable unconscious impulse by acting in the opposite manner. a man who cannot accept his homosexual impulses might attempt to date a new woman every night then there is sublimation often cited in conjunction with career counseling you express an unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable manner so a person that likes to cut others becomes a wealthy surgeon according to this theory rationalization occurs when a a person overrates or underrates a reward or outcome. I really didn't want the promotion anyway. I'd just have to pay more taxes. Uh, yeah, sure. Identification occurs when you join a feared person, such as joining a gang, to ease your anxiety. Lastly, some books include denial, although it is not unconscious and automatic like repression. Denial occurs when you... purposely don't think of a situation such as paying your monthly credit card. Another popular theory is rational emotive behavior therapy or REBT. It was called RET until recently. Albert Ellis, the founder, says that humans are guided by self-talk or internal verbalizations. We have a tendency to think irrationally according to Ellis in Akira's rational thinking. Ellis uses his ABC theory of personality. At A, we have an activating event. At B, we have a belief system. And at C, we have an emotional consequence. At D, the counselor helps the client dispute the irrational belief at B, causing a new healthy emotional consequence at E. This is a cognitive therapy, or theory. Okay, I know that's a mouthful, so roll the tape back. Come on, do it right now. Listen again. Have you done it yet? Okay, that's great. You should also know about Transactional Analysis, or TA, by Eric Bern. That's B-E-R-N-E. TA stresses the fact that we all possess a parent, adult, and child ego state, or PAC for short. These states roughly correspond to Freud's superego, ego, and id. TA emphasizes games. A game is a transaction that is not healthy because someone gets hurt. First-degree games are not as volatile as second-or third-degree games. In fact, in a third-degree game, someone gets physically hurt or even killed. Games involve a crossed transaction between the PACs of two people. The TA therapist is also interested in the life script or the overall life story plan of the individual. Then there's good old Carl Rogers who created Rogerian non-directive, client-centered, or what is now known as person-centered counseling. Rogers believed that every client needs a counselor who practices empathy, unconditional positive regard, also known as acceptance or warmth, and genuineness or congruence. Again, empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard. Person-centered therapists use reflection and open-ended questions a lot in the counseling process. Experts often refer to person-centered therapy as self-theory. This approach puts little stock in formal diagnosis and testing. The theory is said to be humanistic because it attempts to foster self-actualization in the client. Now, Let's talk about reality therapy. Reality therapy is the brainchild of psychiatrist William Glasser. Glasser speaks of control theory, now called choice theory. Reality therapy has eight steps. First, you build a relationship with the client. Then you focus on present moment behavior. You help the client evaluate his or her current behavior. Develop the contract with an action plan, have the client commit to the plan, accept no excuses, and do not use punishment, and finally refuse to give up on your client. Glasser believes that a success identity is imperative and it's the result of being loved and accepted. Behavior modification. Behavior mod is based on the work of B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning. Behaviourists use problems and goals that can be observed and measured. Scenarians rely mainly on reinforcement. All reinforcement, positive and negative, raise behaviour. Punishment is intended to lower it. Many agencies use secondary reinforcers, such as plastic tokens or gold stars, that can be traded in for primary reinforcers like candy or going to a baseball game. Ratio schedules of reinforcement rely on work output. A child receives a candy bar after completing four math problems. Interval schedules of reinforcement rely on time. A worker receives a paycheck after forty hours of work. If the work output remains the same, say you always reinforce after four math problems, then the schedule is fixed. If you vary the time or the work output, say you give the child a candy bar after two minutes of math problems, then after five minutes of math problems, then the schedule is variable. A behavior can be lessened or eliminated by a lack of reinforcement, which is known as extinction, though the behavior often gets worse or increases before it extinguishes. Now, time out is a common form of extinction. Remember, the key principle of operant conditioning is that behavior is affected by the consequences that come after the behavior. When a counselor is attempting to teach the client a complex behavior, the counselor uses shaping with successive approximations reinforcing small chunks of behavior that lead to the desired outcome. You also need to know about Joseph Wolpe's systematic desensitization based on Pavlov, Watson, and Mary Cover Jones that helps remove phobias. This technique that can be used in individual or group therapy uses relaxation and pairs it with anxiety-provoking thoughts. It can also be called reciprocal inhibition. and it uses a hierarchy of imaginary scenes of feared stimuli. This is successive approximations in the imagination, if you will. Behaviorists also rely on assertiveness training that utilizes role-playing, sometimes called behavioral rehearsal. Behaviorists are also keen on implosive therapy, which has the client imagine scary or feared stimuli in the safety of the counselor's office. Your exam will also no doubt touch on the work of Frederick Fritz Perls, who created Gestalt therapy. Gestalt roughly means whole, form, figure, or configuration. The goal of Gestalt is to make you a complete person. Gestalt therapists focus on the here and now and emphasize that dreams are the royal road to integration of the personality. Gestalt helps people get over unfinished business by enhancing present moment awareness. Exercises and experiments are often used to frustrate the client. Gestalt popularized the empty chair technique in which a client talks to another part of his or her personality. Most counselors claim they are eclectic and use strategies from a new perspective. number of counseling schools. This approach, the eclectic approach, was popularized by Frederick Thorn. Recently, family counseling is extremely popular. This approach asserts that the pathology resides in the family system and not in an individual. The client is the family. Family therapists believe in circular rather than linear causality. Some famous family therapists include, one, Nathan Ackerman, who used a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic approach. Two, experiential family therapist Virginia Satir, who popularized the notion that in times of stress, family members resort to four inept patterns of communication. The placater, who tries to please everybody in the family. the blamer the reasonable analyzer who intellectualizes and the irrelevant distractor who interrupts and changes the topic to something irrelevant now number three another experientialist is karl whitaker who could be very wild radical and creative and often utilized a co-therapist number four murray bowen is cited as the key name in intergenerational family therapy. Bowen popularized the notion of triangulation that occurs when two people who are stressed bring in a third party to reduce the dyad stress level or restore the equilibrium. And believe me folks, it doesn't usually work. Bowen popularized the use of genograms, sometimes people will call them genograms, that are actually pictograms. pictorial graphic diagrams of the family that depict a minimum of three generations. The term fusion, which is a blurring of the psychological boundaries between the self and others, is associated with Bowen. A person driven by fusion can't separate thinking and feeling well. The opposite of fusion is differentiation. Differentiation is the ability to control reason over emotion. People often secure their level of differentiation from a multi-generational family transmission process number five salvador mnuchin is the leading name behind structural family therapy this theory purports that changes in the family system subsystems of the family and family organization must take place in order for individual family members to resolve their own problems number six Jay Haley and Chloe Madonis are powerful names in strategic family counseling. This approach, also called the MRI model and the communications model, in this paradigm the therapist gives directives or prescriptions. Many times these prescriptions are paradoxical. For example, telling a client who is afraid he will shake to try to shake as much as he can. Other brief strategic family therapists who champion paradox are prescribing the symptoms, sometimes called prescribing a double bind, include Stephen DeShazer, Paul Watzlawick, Don Jackson, and of course Michelle Wiener Davis. Brief solution-oriented therapists speak of first order change, which is superficial, and second order change that includes actual changes in the rules and structure of the organization. Okay, let's spend just a moment recalling the term consultation. Consultation occurs when you voluntarily assist a counselor or counselors, and we call the people you're helping consultees. These consultees will be helping clients, so your contact with the helpees or the clients is indirect. You will also recall that Gerald Kaplan is the father of psychodynamic mental health consultation. You may also recall that Edgar Sheehan, S-C-H-E-I-N, created what he calls a purchase of expertise model, where you buy the consultant's information and knowledge. He also created his doctor-patient model. Here you aren't sure what the problem is, so you hire an expert to diagnose it and treat it. And then there's his process consultation model, where the consultant helps the consultee with the process. Process models focus on just that, the process, while content models focus on imparting knowledge to the consultee. Now, I just want to say something. If you've been listening very closely, there's probably a few times in the background that you've heard my African gray parrot, Bogart, who could probably do pretty well on this exam by now. and my Quaker parrot, Oliver. And the behavior mod hasn't been working real well. They've been squeaking and tweeting in the background despite my directives and paradoxical directives not to do so. Now, why do I bring this up? Because what I did here, folks, was I just brought the studio equipment right into my own office in my house to make this a relaxing, fun sort of a setting. That's what I want you to do. You know, take these tapes to the beach or take this tape to the... park or if you relax in the drive up window of a fast food restaurant that's cool to take it there but even though it's a serious thing studying for this exam you'll get a lot more out of it if you do it in a relaxed pleasant setting ok in fact maybe you can use it to turn a boring traffic jam into a world-class experience how does that sound I don't know if that's a relaxing setting though probably not for most of you alright let's zoom on to group counseling. Are you with me? Before I do, let me briefly mention that I forgot to mention Bill O'Hanlon's name as one of the premier pioneers in solution-oriented therapy. The obvious question in this section about groups is, why do groups work so well? Well, according to expert Irvin Yalom, there are 11 reasons. Number one, altruism, giving help to other members, gives you a sense of well-being two universality simply the notion that you are not the only one in the world with a particular problem number three installation of hope in plain everyday english the members expect the group to work number four catharsis talking about your difficulties is beneficial number five cohesiveness or a sense of we-ness. 6. Imitative Behavior As you know, behaviorist Albert Bandura's social learning theory suggests that we learn by watching others. In this situation, the members copy or model the leader as well as other group members. 7. Family Reenactment The group helps abet family of origin issues and feelings, and the group allows you to work with your family. through them in a family-like situation. Number eight, imparting information. This could be advice or even psychodynamic insights. Number nine, interpersonal learning. Members receive feedback regarding how their behavior affects others. Number ten, socialization techniques such as feedback and instruction are helpful. And number eleven, existential factors. For example, discovering that life can have meaning even if it is seemingly unjust and unfair at times. A group can have a single leader or it can be led by co-leaders. Co-leadership has its advantages. For example, you have two role models for members, perhaps even two genders. Co-leaders provide more feedback than one leader, and one co-leader can deal with a client if the other co-leader is experiencing countertransference with that client. Two leaders can better see what is transpiring in the group, but co-leadership can also have disadvantages, including the fact that the leaders can work at cross-purposes. They may be using conflicting models of therapy. They could even be in a power struggle. They may each decide to charge the client a separate fee. Horrors! Group work is cost effective. First, you define the purpose of a group and you screen the people in the group. If the group is an open group, you may not let new members join after it begins. This is not true in a closed group. For adults, 8 members is a good size with no more than 10 members and no less than six. For children, three to four kids is generally appropriate. Most experts believe in stage models to explain development and dynamics in a group. The first stage is called the initial stage, the farming stage, or the orientation stage. This is the kind of get-acquainted stage. Next, there is the transition, conflict, are Starming Stage. This stage is characterized by power struggles for control and resistance. The next stage is the Working Stage, Productive Stage, Performing Stage, or Action Stage. Yes, it can go under a lot of names. Here the group works toward goals in a cohesive manner. They kind of all pull together. Finally, we come to the Termination, Completion, or morning and adjourning stage. The member must now deal with saying goodbye. You need to know that some group member roles are positive, such as helping others and being a stellar role model. Other roles, such as monopolizing the group, intellectualizing too much, being silent, or attacking other people, are considered negative roles. Now, there are several leadership styles for running groups. The autocratic or authoritarian style advocates making decisions for members and this approach is appropriate during a crisis or when a quick decision is in order but in most situations it's going to foster resentment. The laissez-faire or hands-off little involvement approach is appropriate when all the members are very committed to the group outcome or goal. The democratic approach that allows input from members, unlike the autocratic leadership style, but allows group members to have input into their decisions, is generally the best style. In the speculative style, the leader keeps the discussion riveted to the present, and specifically how it relates to the behaviors of the group members. Charismatic leaders rely on their personal power, and charisma to move the group in a desirable direction. There are several types of groups. 1. Guidance groups provide members with information relevant to their situation. 2. Counseling groups focus on conscious issues related to personal growth and development. 3. Group therapy, a term coined by Jacob Marino, who founded Psychodrama, can focus on unconscious material, the past, and personality change. 4. T-groups that are training groups, often intended for business or personal motivation. 5. Structured groups that are centered around a certain issue, such as shyness or how to prepare for a job interview. 6. Self-help groups, such as AA that are not led by a professional. These groups have been dubbed as support groups, and those that follow the AA model are often called 12-step groups. Alright, now let's switch gears and discuss lifestyle and career counseling. This field has several well-known theories. The first is the famous trait factor theory, also called matching or actuarial approach on some exams. The theory is associated with Frank Parsons, the so-called father of guidance. Parsons wrote a famous book, published after his death in 1909 entitled Choosing a Vocation. Simply put, this theory assumes that a client needs to know his or her personal attributes and interests or traits. Next, appropriate occupations should be investigated and finally, match the client's traits to the occupation. E.G. Williamson expanded on this theory. and turned it into a six-step approach analysis synthesis diagnosis prognosis counseling and of course follow-up anne rowe created a needs approach that makes the assumption that jobs meet our needs determined by our childhood satisfactions and frustrations she created a method of categorizing occupations by six levels and eight fields ginsburg ginsburg axelrad and hermer proposed a developmental theory in the nineteen fifties with three periods fantasy birth to age eleven and which play becomes work oriented period number two called the tentative period ages eleven to seventeen and the third period the realistic period seventeen and up david tideman and robert o'hara also rely on a developmental approach in their career development model career development is commensurate with psychosocial development as delineated by eric ericson's stages donald super is well known for emphasizing the role of the self-concept in career and vocational choice, and his Life Rainbow is also very popular. John Holland's personality typology theory should also be discussed. Holland purports that there are six personality types. The realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional he is also known for his assessment tools namely the self-directed search my vocational situation and the vocational preference inventory crumbold's mitchell and jones suggest that career decision is based on social learning theory now this is a behaviorist position according to this theory Four factors impact career choice. One, genetic factors and special abilities. Two, the environment and special events. Three, learning experiences. And four, task approach problem-solving skills. Recently, we've been hearing a lot about computer-assisted career guidance, or CAGC. such as sigi or discover to use computer assisted career guidance the counselor should one screen the client to make certain this modality and the computer program is appropriate 2. Give the client an orientation to describe the pros and cons of the system. 3. Follow up to make certain an appropriate plan of action is evident. To help clients make career choices, the counselor will often use the DOT or Dictionary of Occupational Titles that lists over 20,000 job titles, with nine digit codes for each occupation the o o h or occupational outlook handbook which gives job trends for the futures and salaries is also a very good guide to use richard bull's book what color is your parachute is also a fine tool lastly i must point out that eighty per cent of all jobs are not advertised This is sometimes referred to as the hidden job market. Our next topic, well, it's appraisal. The key to doing well on this section is to know the terminology. So let's review it briefly now. First, we say that a score is raw, R-A-W, if it is unaltered. Next, we speak of the range, which is the highest score. minus the lowest score. On some exams, one will be added to the answer. Then there are three averages or so-called measures of central tendency. First, we have the mean or the arithmetic average. Now, I'm sure you remember this one. If your gas bill for a year is $144, you wish, then your mean bill per month is $12 or 144 divided by 12. then there is the mode which is the most frequently occurring score or category finally we have the median or middle score when the data are ranked from highest to lowest in a normal curve the mean the median and the mode all fall in the same point in the center of the bell-shaped curve when a curve leans we say that it is skewed if the tail points to the left then the curve is negatively skewed. If the tail points to the right when you draw or graph the curve, it is positively skewed. Another key concept is standard deviation, which like the range, is a measure of variability. A standard deviation of 1 is a z-score of 1. A standard deviation of negative 2 is a z-score of negative 2, etc. T scores have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation is 10. So if your test asks, what is a T score when the standard deviation is 2, then the answer is 70. If the test asks, what is the T score for a standard deviation of minus 3, then the answer is 20. Now let's talk about psychological and educational tests. The most important property of a psychological test is validity. Does the test really test? What it purports to test? The second most important factor, reliability. Is the test consistent? In other words, would give similar results if we administer it again and again and again. Now remember this, write this down on your shirt sleeve and don't wash it off for a week. A reliable test is not always valid, but a valid test is always reliable. Now, you're probably going to see this one on your exam. What is the difference between an aptitude and an achievement test? Well, aptitude tests predict potential. A high score, for example, on an aptitude test for music doesn't imply that you are a great musician now. It just says that with the correct training and practice, you could excel in this area. An achievement test, on the other hand, gives you current performance or the level of performance achieved up to this point in time. For example, she is reading at the 6th grade level. Some tests are power tests. In these tests, time is not a factor like it is in so-called speed tests. Other tests are known as projective tests. In these tests, there is no correct answer. The client merely looks at an inkblot, a vague picture, or an incomplete sentence. The client's answer is assumed to be a projection of his or her personality. Thus, two clients look at the same Rorschach inkblot card or TAT picture and see something totally different. Scoring projective tests is subjective. Thus, one rater could score it differently than another rater. This phenomenon is called inter-rater reliability. Finally, I want you to recall a principle. known as regression to the mean or statistical regression. This principle states that if a client's scores exceptionally low or exceptionally high on a test, then the client with the real low score will go up on the next administration of the test, while the client with the really high score will go down toward the mean or average. Chance factors are in plain everyday English luck. probably influence the first score. Now, let's segue into research and evaluation. First, remember that correlation is not causal. Correlation is simply an association or relationship. The correlation between people who have an open umbrella and rain is very high, but opening your umbrella does not cause it to rain. Correlations go from negative 1 to 0 to positive 1. 0 means no correlation, while positive 1 and negative 1 are perfect correlations. A correlation of 0.5 is not higher than a correlation of negative 0.5. In fact, a correlation of negative 0.8 is stronger than a correlation of 0.5. A common type of research is the experiment. Two or more groups are used. The people are picked for the groups using random or systematic sampling where every nth person is chosen. The experimental group gets the IV or independent variable, also known as the experimental variable. The control group does not receive the IV or independent variable. The outcome data in the study is called the DV or dependent variable. So, if we want to see if eating carrots raises one's IQ score, then eating carrots is the IV, while the IQ scores at the end of the study would be the DV. Each experiment has a null hypothesis. There is no significant difference in people's IQs who eats carrots and those who don't eat carrots. The experimental or alternative hypothesis is there is a significant difference between people's IQs who do eat carrots versus those that do not eat carrots. When a researcher rejects a null hypothesis that is true, it is a type 1 alpha error. When a researcher accepts null when it should have been rejected, we say that a Type 2 beta error has occurred. The significance level for the social sciences is usually set at.05 or less, say.01 or.001. A t-test or student's t-test is a popular test for comparing two means. The ANOVA or Analysis of Variance is used when you have more than two means to compare. The t-test and the ANOVA are parametric measures for normally distributed populations. If the population is not necessarily normal, then a non-parametric test, such as a chi-square, the most common non-parametric test, or the Kruskal-Wallis that is similar to an ANOVA, can be used. If the researcher did not manipulate the variables, and you are looking at after-the-fact data, then the research is not a true experiment, but rather an ex post facto, or so-called causal comparative design. Okay, now this is very important, so commit this to memory. Statistics that describe the central tendency, like the mean, the median, the mode, the range, quartiles, the variance, and the standard deviation, are not true. are descriptive statistics. On the other hand, correlation coefficients, t-tests, ANOVAs, analysis of covariance, chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, etc. are statistical analyses. Now for our final section, professional orientation and ethics. ACA ethics includes standards of practice. The term scope of practice implies that you only practice if you are adequately trained in a given area or with a given population. Hence, if you have no training running a gestalt group, then don't run one. If you know nothing about clients with eating disorders, then don't treat them. You should also be familiar with a counselor's duty to warn. Initially based on a California Supreme Court case known as Tarasov, this principle now states that if a client is going to harm himself or somebody else or both, you will contact appropriate folks to ward off this tragedy. Another key concept is the dual relationship, which could also be called multiple relationships on your exam. This concept implies that you are a person's helper, but you also have another significant relationship with that person. Maybe you are dating them, or perhaps they are a relative or a business partner. Such relationships get in the way of objectivity and should be avoided whenever possible, although it is not always possible to avoid them. Another term that you should expect to see on your exam is a legal term, Privileged Communication. Set by state law, Privileged Communication asserts that you cannot reveal what a client said in his or her session in court unless the client allows you to do so. Now, there are exceptions to this, such as cases of child abuse, suicide, homicide, supervisory sessions, or if a lawsuit is filed against you. Also, Note that you should never release information about a client outside of court, unless it's child abuse, suicide, etc. just mentioned, unless the client signs a release of information consent form. Remember to disguise the identity of your clients when doing research, training, or publication. Also, do not guarantee clients in your group's confidentiality and take steps to purge. Protect your clients from physical and psychological harm while they are in your groups. When performing family therapy, do not disclose what one family member said about another in a private session without the initial person's permission. Do not have sexual relationships with current students or supervisees or clients. You must wait a minimum of two years. after the counseling relationship ends, and even then you must not exploit the client. Boy, there's sure a lot of do-nots here. Do not submit articles to more than one professional journal at a time. This is called multiple submissions, and it's a no-no. Also, do not accept referral fees. Do not accept fees from agency clients who can get the service from the agency where you work. Finally, before you take your comprehensive exam, I insist, that's right, insist, that you check the NBCC and ACA websites for the latest information on internet counseling ethics before you take the exam. These ethics are changing literally at the speed of light and the only way to keep up is to check the websites. Okay, congratulations. You've just completed your licensing and certification boot camp. Go have a drink. Non-alcoholic, of course. And hey, remember to let me know when you pass the exam. I'll be rooting for you every day. I want you as my next testimonial.

Wait a minute, Rosenthal. You just said 2002. That's ancient, dude. You are kidding, right? I mean, it's 2023. Are you crazy? Everything will be outdated.

Not wrong. You are going to discover that 95% of what I said on this cassette 21 years ago, no, make that closer to 98 or 99% is still totally accurate and right on target today. Yes, terminology might be a hairline dated, but good counseling never goes out of style.

Perhaps the biggest difference is that the counseling field changed their position on multicultural counseling. Back in the day, such as on this cassette, and in books and classes from earlier eras, they would say, this is how you counsel African Americans. Our Asian clients respond best to XYZ strategies.

Now, sources leave this out, and my presentation spends only a few minutes on this topic. You might also wrongly assert that the sound quality will be horrific from a cassette. You might be saying, that's technology from when I was in diapers, or maybe before I was born.

Hmm, did you know that... Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sting, and Wu-Tang Clan mastered some of their hits on cassettes? Let me just say, I've heard a lot worse sound quality on YouTube. Now, yes, I will be talking rapidly on this program, not because I drank too many Red Bulls or went through the Starbucks line. a few times more than I should, but because I am covering an amazing amount of key material in a very short period of time, this will also allow you to gauge if your studies are on the right track.

Keep in mind, this program was intended to be used as the final step in your exam preparation. So, here it is. true classic, learn, and most of all, enjoy. Hi, this is Dr. Howard Rosenthal. I want to thank you for purchasing this audio mini super review.

You may know that I don't believe in last-minute cramming for the exam. Nevertheless, a brief review like this... this the week before the exam, a few days before the exam, or even the night before or the morning of the exam can be extremely helpful.

Before listening to this program, you should read my book, The Encyclopedia of Counseling, and listen to my entire audio licensing program. The paradigm I'm going to follow is kind of a zip- through the major areas covered on the exam. I will not, I repeat, not go into great detail about any single theory or theorist.

If something is fuzzy, please review the subject in question using my study materials or appropriate textbooks or references. Are you ready? You know I don't like to waste your valuable time, so hold on to those managed care applications. and let's swing into action. What should you know in the area of human growth and development?

Well, first let's be familiar with the nature versus nurture debate. Nature refers to genetics and heredity influence, while nurture refers to your upbringing in the environment. There are a number of prominent developmental theorists. Biological or physical theories stress the fact that you inherit thousands of genes from your parents.

psychoanalytic, or so-called psychodynamic theories, are based on Freud, Jung, Adler, who emphasize birth order and Eric Erickson's eight-step epigenetic psychosocial theory that encompasses the entire lifespan. Most experts believe that Freud's theory, based on his observation of neurotic individuals, had more impact on the study of human growth and development than any other. any other theorist. Freud's famous dynamic five-step stage model includes the oral stage, zero to two years of age, the anal stage, ages two and three, the phallic stage, ages three to five, latency stage, six to twelve, and the genital stage, ages twelve and beyond.

The most controversial part of Freud's theory the oedipal electra complex in which the child is attracted to the parent of the opposite sex occurs in the phallic stage for your exam you'll also need to recall freud's structural id ego and superego theory the id is the pleasure principle and is present at birth the superego is the moral seat of the personality It houses the child's moral and ethical standards that he or she receives from parents and society. The ego tries to keep the id and superego in balance, often resorting to ego defense mechanisms to distort reality, thus reducing anxiety. Freud also proposed the life instinct, eros, versus thanatos, the death instinct.

Also, expect to see the name Abraham Maslow on the exam. Maslow studied self-actualized people and created his now famous hierarchy of needs in which lower physiological and safety needs must be fulfilled before self-actualization can occur. Jean Piaget is the number one name associated with a theory of cognitive development.

Piaget's stages include 0 to 2 years old, the sensory motor stage, the pre-operational stage from 2 to 6, the concrete operation stage from 6 to 11, and this is the stage that conservation takes place in, and the formal operation stage age 11 to 15 in which the child learns to think in an abstract manner. Another name in this area is William Perry, who developed a nine-stage, four-level model to explain cognitive development of college students. Lawrence Kohlberg's name is another prime candidate that could manifest itself on the exam.

You'll recall that Kohlberg focused on morality on three levels. The pre-conventional level in which the individual... follows rules to avoid punishment, are merely getting caught, they just want to satisfy personal needs.

Then there's the conventional level in which the behavior is intended to please others and work toward the good of society, that is to maintain law and order. And the post-conventional stage where the individual concludes that rules are relative and that behavior is molded by self-discipline. chosen principles.

Carol Gilligan was critical of Kohlberg's paradigm, as she claimed it was primarily applicable to males. Females, she postulated, base their morality more on caregiving than males. Males focus on justice.

The name Daniel Levinson, who postulated the well-known midlife crisis, should also be on the tip of your tongue. Levinson's theory, however, is not universally accepted. The behaviorists champion the work of Albert Bandura's social learning theory that clearly promotes the notion of vicarious learning. You see someone getting reinforced for a given behavior, so you engage in the behavior.

Finally, don't be surprised if you see a couple of questions on Robert Havinghurst who felt that stages of growth are linked with tasks such as learning to walk talk or eat solid food okay ready no rest here for the wicked let's forge on to social and cultural foundations first let's define culture as habits customs art religion, science, and political behavior of a given group of people during a given period of time. Now, cultures are said to be dynamic. This implies that culture changes or evolves at its own rate.

There are different types of culture that influence us. Universal culture implies that we are genetically and biologically similar, or what is known as biological sameness. We all need air, food, and water, for example. National culture can determine our language, political views, and even our laws.

Regional culture gives us the behavior for a certain region. The Civil War has been cited as an example of a war over regional cultural differences. Ecological culture is merely the notion that environmental factors such as earthquakes, floods, temperature and food supply can influence behavior.

Ecological culture determines what we eat and what we wear. The dominant culture in a country is often known as the macro culture. Macro cultures are often contrasted with smaller or so-called micro cultures.

Also be familiar with the term race. A given race has a set of genetically transmitted characteristics such as Caucasian, African-American, or Asian. Racism occurs when one race views itself as superior to others. Ethnocentrism, another key term for you, means that a given group sees itself as the benchmark or the standard by which other ethnic groups are measured. Multicultural counselors often talk about EMIC versus ETIC distinctions.

When using the EMIC approach based on the word emigration, the counselor helps the client understand his or her culture. When using the ETIC approach, the counselor emphasizes that we are more alike than different. Now you also need to recall The Autoplastic and Alloplastic Dilemma Autoplastic implies that the counselor helps the client change to cope with his or her environment.

Alloplastic occurs when the counselor has the client try to change the environment. Counselors also need to be aware that tests and nocological systems like the DSM can have a Eurocentric bias. I often receive emails asking me to define the term paralanguage. Paralanguage simply implies that the client's tone of voice, loudness, vocal inflections, and speed of delivery, silence, and hesitation must be taken into consideration.

Paralanguage is part of the study of nonverbal communication and is usually considered more accurate than verbal communication. You might be confronted with the term low context communication, which implies that there will be a long verbal explanation. You might also see the term high context communication, which implies that communication in a given culture relies a lot on non-verbals that are really easily understood by others in the culture.

Finally, multicultural counselors must guard against stereotyping. which is the act of thinking that all people of a given group are alike stereotypes can be good or bad and are either preconceived notions be familiar with the angloconformity theory which asserts that people from other cultures would do well to forget about their heritage and try to become just like the rest of the folks in the dominant macro culture Here are some vest pocket ideas for multicultural counselors to keep in mind. 1. Native Americans often speak with few words and hesitate often.

They do not engage in eye contact while talking or listening. They do not live by the clock and tend to emphasize spirituality. Consider telling Native Americans a story, a technique popularized by the late great Milton H. Erickson.

Combine it with advice giving. Also consider seeing them in their own homes. Number two, African Americans like to be taught concrete skills and strategies for change. Short-term counseling and behavioral modalities work best with this group.

They also benefit from counselor's self-disclosure and topics related to spirituality. Number three, Asian Americans often speak in low, very low voice. and they desire assertiveness training and therapies that emphasize insight are existential issues.

Number four, Hispanic and Latino clients often benefit from catharsis and abreaction. You know, getting their feelings out. Psychodrama techniques often work well with this group.

They like discussions about the family. Okay, is this a great mini review or what? Alright, let's kick your brain into passing gear now because I'm going to zoom on to counseling relationships and counseling theories.

First, of course, there is Freudian psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is both a theory of the personality and a theory of therapy. It is often called psychodynamic since Freud was fascinated by physics and believed that the mind worked by transferring energy.

Freud believed that talking about your problems and emotions, catharsis and abreaction, were helpful. He used free associations and would actually tell clients to say whatever comes to mind. The key to therapy is insight, that is to say, making unconscious impulses conscious so you can deal with them, even if they occur in dreams. Freud emphasized the importance of ego defense mechanisms that are really... unconscious distortions of reality.

Repression is the granddaddy of them all. In repression, something that is too painful to face is totally forgotten. Perhaps a client was sexually abused as a child. Then there is displacement.

You're mad at your boss, but you're worried about the repercussions of yelling at him, so you take it out on a safe target. Say you're kids. Hopefully you aren't doing that.

Well, are you? Projection is another defense mechanism. Here you can't accept a quality about yourself so you attribute it to others. Projection is the act of thinking that you are looking out a window but by golly you are really looking in the mirror. Reaction formation is a defense in which you deny an unacceptable unconscious impulse by acting in the opposite manner.

a man who cannot accept his homosexual impulses might attempt to date a new woman every night then there is sublimation often cited in conjunction with career counseling you express an unacceptable impulse in a socially acceptable manner so a person that likes to cut others becomes a wealthy surgeon according to this theory rationalization occurs when a a person overrates or underrates a reward or outcome. I really didn't want the promotion anyway. I'd just have to pay more taxes.

Uh, yeah, sure. Identification occurs when you join a feared person, such as joining a gang, to ease your anxiety. Lastly, some books include denial, although it is not unconscious and automatic like repression. Denial occurs when you...

purposely don't think of a situation such as paying your monthly credit card. Another popular theory is rational emotive behavior therapy or REBT. It was called RET until recently. Albert Ellis, the founder, says that humans are guided by self-talk or internal verbalizations.

We have a tendency to think irrationally according to Ellis in Akira's rational thinking. Ellis uses his ABC theory of personality. At A, we have an activating event.

At B, we have a belief system. And at C, we have an emotional consequence. At D, the counselor helps the client dispute the irrational belief at B, causing a new healthy emotional consequence at E.

This is a cognitive therapy, or theory. Okay, I know that's a mouthful, so roll the tape back. Come on, do it right now.

Listen again. Have you done it yet? Okay, that's great. You should also know about Transactional Analysis, or TA, by Eric Bern.

That's B-E-R-N-E. TA stresses the fact that we all possess a parent, adult, and child ego state, or PAC for short. These states roughly correspond to Freud's superego, ego, and id. TA emphasizes games.

A game is a transaction that is not healthy because someone gets hurt. First-degree games are not as volatile as second-or third-degree games. In fact, in a third-degree game, someone gets physically hurt or even killed. Games involve a crossed transaction between the PACs of two people.

The TA therapist is also interested in the life script or the overall life story plan of the individual. Then there's good old Carl Rogers who created Rogerian non-directive, client-centered, or what is now known as person-centered counseling. Rogers believed that every client needs a counselor who practices empathy, unconditional positive regard, also known as acceptance or warmth, and genuineness or congruence. Again, empathy, genuineness, and unconditional positive regard.

Person-centered therapists use reflection and open-ended questions a lot in the counseling process. Experts often refer to person-centered therapy as self-theory. This approach puts little stock in formal diagnosis and testing. The theory is said to be humanistic because it attempts to foster self-actualization in the client. Now, Let's talk about reality therapy.

Reality therapy is the brainchild of psychiatrist William Glasser. Glasser speaks of control theory, now called choice theory. Reality therapy has eight steps.

First, you build a relationship with the client. Then you focus on present moment behavior. You help the client evaluate his or her current behavior.

Develop the contract with an action plan, have the client commit to the plan, accept no excuses, and do not use punishment, and finally refuse to give up on your client. Glasser believes that a success identity is imperative and it's the result of being loved and accepted. Behavior modification.

Behavior mod is based on the work of B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning. Behaviourists use problems and goals that can be observed and measured. Scenarians rely mainly on reinforcement. All reinforcement, positive and negative, raise behaviour.

Punishment is intended to lower it. Many agencies use secondary reinforcers, such as plastic tokens or gold stars, that can be traded in for primary reinforcers like candy or going to a baseball game. Ratio schedules of reinforcement rely on work output.

A child receives a candy bar after completing four math problems. Interval schedules of reinforcement rely on time. A worker receives a paycheck after forty hours of work. If the work output remains the same, say you always reinforce after four math problems, then the schedule is fixed. If you vary the time or the work output, say you give the child a candy bar after two minutes of math problems, then after five minutes of math problems, then the schedule is variable.

A behavior can be lessened or eliminated by a lack of reinforcement, which is known as extinction, though the behavior often gets worse or increases before it extinguishes. Now, time out is a common form of extinction. Remember, the key principle of operant conditioning is that behavior is affected by the consequences that come after the behavior. When a counselor is attempting to teach the client a complex behavior, the counselor uses shaping with successive approximations reinforcing small chunks of behavior that lead to the desired outcome.

You also need to know about Joseph Wolpe's systematic desensitization based on Pavlov, Watson, and Mary Cover Jones that helps remove phobias. This technique that can be used in individual or group therapy uses relaxation and pairs it with anxiety-provoking thoughts. It can also be called reciprocal inhibition. and it uses a hierarchy of imaginary scenes of feared stimuli.

This is successive approximations in the imagination, if you will. Behaviorists also rely on assertiveness training that utilizes role-playing, sometimes called behavioral rehearsal. Behaviorists are also keen on implosive therapy, which has the client imagine scary or feared stimuli in the safety of the counselor's office.

Your exam will also no doubt touch on the work of Frederick Fritz Perls, who created Gestalt therapy. Gestalt roughly means whole, form, figure, or configuration. The goal of Gestalt is to make you a complete person.

Gestalt therapists focus on the here and now and emphasize that dreams are the royal road to integration of the personality. Gestalt helps people get over unfinished business by enhancing present moment awareness. Exercises and experiments are often used to frustrate the client. Gestalt popularized the empty chair technique in which a client talks to another part of his or her personality. Most counselors claim they are eclectic and use strategies from a new perspective.

number of counseling schools. This approach, the eclectic approach, was popularized by Frederick Thorn. Recently, family counseling is extremely popular. This approach asserts that the pathology resides in the family system and not in an individual.

The client is the family. Family therapists believe in circular rather than linear causality. Some famous family therapists include, one, Nathan Ackerman, who used a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic approach. Two, experiential family therapist Virginia Satir, who popularized the notion that in times of stress, family members resort to four inept patterns of communication.

The placater, who tries to please everybody in the family. the blamer the reasonable analyzer who intellectualizes and the irrelevant distractor who interrupts and changes the topic to something irrelevant now number three another experientialist is karl whitaker who could be very wild radical and creative and often utilized a co-therapist number four murray bowen is cited as the key name in intergenerational family therapy. Bowen popularized the notion of triangulation that occurs when two people who are stressed bring in a third party to reduce the dyad stress level or restore the equilibrium.

And believe me folks, it doesn't usually work. Bowen popularized the use of genograms, sometimes people will call them genograms, that are actually pictograms. pictorial graphic diagrams of the family that depict a minimum of three generations. The term fusion, which is a blurring of the psychological boundaries between the self and others, is associated with Bowen. A person driven by fusion can't separate thinking and feeling well.

The opposite of fusion is differentiation. Differentiation is the ability to control reason over emotion. People often secure their level of differentiation from a multi-generational family transmission process number five salvador mnuchin is the leading name behind structural family therapy this theory purports that changes in the family system subsystems of the family and family organization must take place in order for individual family members to resolve their own problems number six Jay Haley and Chloe Madonis are powerful names in strategic family counseling.

This approach, also called the MRI model and the communications model, in this paradigm the therapist gives directives or prescriptions. Many times these prescriptions are paradoxical. For example, telling a client who is afraid he will shake to try to shake as much as he can.

Other brief strategic family therapists who champion paradox are prescribing the symptoms, sometimes called prescribing a double bind, include Stephen DeShazer, Paul Watzlawick, Don Jackson, and of course Michelle Wiener Davis. Brief solution-oriented therapists speak of first order change, which is superficial, and second order change that includes actual changes in the rules and structure of the organization. Okay, let's spend just a moment recalling the term consultation. Consultation occurs when you voluntarily assist a counselor or counselors, and we call the people you're helping consultees. These consultees will be helping clients, so your contact with the helpees or the clients is indirect.

You will also recall that Gerald Kaplan is the father of psychodynamic mental health consultation. You may also recall that Edgar Sheehan, S-C-H-E-I-N, created what he calls a purchase of expertise model, where you buy the consultant's information and knowledge. He also created his doctor-patient model.

Here you aren't sure what the problem is, so you hire an expert to diagnose it and treat it. And then there's his process consultation model, where the consultant helps the consultee with the process. Process models focus on just that, the process, while content models focus on imparting knowledge to the consultee.

Now, I just want to say something. If you've been listening very closely, there's probably a few times in the background that you've heard my African gray parrot, Bogart, who could probably do pretty well on this exam by now. and my Quaker parrot, Oliver. And the behavior mod hasn't been working real well. They've been squeaking and tweeting in the background despite my directives and paradoxical directives not to do so.

Now, why do I bring this up? Because what I did here, folks, was I just brought the studio equipment right into my own office in my house to make this a relaxing, fun sort of a setting. That's what I want you to do. You know, take these tapes to the beach or take this tape to the...

park or if you relax in the drive up window of a fast food restaurant that's cool to take it there but even though it's a serious thing studying for this exam you'll get a lot more out of it if you do it in a relaxed pleasant setting ok in fact maybe you can use it to turn a boring traffic jam into a world-class experience how does that sound I don't know if that's a relaxing setting though probably not for most of you alright let's zoom on to group counseling. Are you with me? Before I do, let me briefly mention that I forgot to mention Bill O'Hanlon's name as one of the premier pioneers in solution-oriented therapy.

The obvious question in this section about groups is, why do groups work so well? Well, according to expert Irvin Yalom, there are 11 reasons. Number one, altruism, giving help to other members, gives you a sense of well-being two universality simply the notion that you are not the only one in the world with a particular problem number three installation of hope in plain everyday english the members expect the group to work number four catharsis talking about your difficulties is beneficial number five cohesiveness or a sense of we-ness.

6. Imitative Behavior As you know, behaviorist Albert Bandura's social learning theory suggests that we learn by watching others. In this situation, the members copy or model the leader as well as other group members. 7. Family Reenactment The group helps abet family of origin issues and feelings, and the group allows you to work with your family.

through them in a family-like situation. Number eight, imparting information. This could be advice or even psychodynamic insights.

Number nine, interpersonal learning. Members receive feedback regarding how their behavior affects others. Number ten, socialization techniques such as feedback and instruction are helpful. And number eleven, existential factors. For example, discovering that life can have meaning even if it is seemingly unjust and unfair at times.

A group can have a single leader or it can be led by co-leaders. Co-leadership has its advantages. For example, you have two role models for members, perhaps even two genders. Co-leaders provide more feedback than one leader, and one co-leader can deal with a client if the other co-leader is experiencing countertransference with that client.

Two leaders can better see what is transpiring in the group, but co-leadership can also have disadvantages, including the fact that the leaders can work at cross-purposes. They may be using conflicting models of therapy. They could even be in a power struggle. They may each decide to charge the client a separate fee.

Horrors! Group work is cost effective. First, you define the purpose of a group and you screen the people in the group.

If the group is an open group, you may not let new members join after it begins. This is not true in a closed group. For adults, 8 members is a good size with no more than 10 members and no less than six.

For children, three to four kids is generally appropriate. Most experts believe in stage models to explain development and dynamics in a group. The first stage is called the initial stage, the farming stage, or the orientation stage. This is the kind of get-acquainted stage. Next, there is the transition, conflict, are Starming Stage.

This stage is characterized by power struggles for control and resistance. The next stage is the Working Stage, Productive Stage, Performing Stage, or Action Stage. Yes, it can go under a lot of names. Here the group works toward goals in a cohesive manner. They kind of all pull together.

Finally, we come to the Termination, Completion, or morning and adjourning stage. The member must now deal with saying goodbye. You need to know that some group member roles are positive, such as helping others and being a stellar role model. Other roles, such as monopolizing the group, intellectualizing too much, being silent, or attacking other people, are considered negative roles. Now, there are several leadership styles for running groups.

The autocratic or authoritarian style advocates making decisions for members and this approach is appropriate during a crisis or when a quick decision is in order but in most situations it's going to foster resentment. The laissez-faire or hands-off little involvement approach is appropriate when all the members are very committed to the group outcome or goal. The democratic approach that allows input from members, unlike the autocratic leadership style, but allows group members to have input into their decisions, is generally the best style. In the speculative style, the leader keeps the discussion riveted to the present, and specifically how it relates to the behaviors of the group members.

Charismatic leaders rely on their personal power, and charisma to move the group in a desirable direction. There are several types of groups. 1. Guidance groups provide members with information relevant to their situation. 2. Counseling groups focus on conscious issues related to personal growth and development. 3. Group therapy, a term coined by Jacob Marino, who founded Psychodrama, can focus on unconscious material, the past, and personality change.

4. T-groups that are training groups, often intended for business or personal motivation. 5. Structured groups that are centered around a certain issue, such as shyness or how to prepare for a job interview. 6. Self-help groups, such as AA that are not led by a professional.

These groups have been dubbed as support groups, and those that follow the AA model are often called 12-step groups. Alright, now let's switch gears and discuss lifestyle and career counseling. This field has several well-known theories.

The first is the famous trait factor theory, also called matching or actuarial approach on some exams. The theory is associated with Frank Parsons, the so-called father of guidance. Parsons wrote a famous book, published after his death in 1909 entitled Choosing a Vocation. Simply put, this theory assumes that a client needs to know his or her personal attributes and interests or traits. Next, appropriate occupations should be investigated and finally, match the client's traits to the occupation.

E.G. Williamson expanded on this theory. and turned it into a six-step approach analysis synthesis diagnosis prognosis counseling and of course follow-up anne rowe created a needs approach that makes the assumption that jobs meet our needs determined by our childhood satisfactions and frustrations she created a method of categorizing occupations by six levels and eight fields ginsburg ginsburg axelrad and hermer proposed a developmental theory in the nineteen fifties with three periods fantasy birth to age eleven and which play becomes work oriented period number two called the tentative period ages eleven to seventeen and the third period the realistic period seventeen and up david tideman and robert o'hara also rely on a developmental approach in their career development model career development is commensurate with psychosocial development as delineated by eric ericson's stages donald super is well known for emphasizing the role of the self-concept in career and vocational choice, and his Life Rainbow is also very popular. John Holland's personality typology theory should also be discussed.

Holland purports that there are six personality types. The realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional he is also known for his assessment tools namely the self-directed search my vocational situation and the vocational preference inventory crumbold's mitchell and jones suggest that career decision is based on social learning theory now this is a behaviorist position according to this theory Four factors impact career choice. One, genetic factors and special abilities. Two, the environment and special events.

Three, learning experiences. And four, task approach problem-solving skills. Recently, we've been hearing a lot about computer-assisted career guidance, or CAGC. such as sigi or discover to use computer assisted career guidance the counselor should one screen the client to make certain this modality and the computer program is appropriate 2. Give the client an orientation to describe the pros and cons of the system.

3. Follow up to make certain an appropriate plan of action is evident. To help clients make career choices, the counselor will often use the DOT or Dictionary of Occupational Titles that lists over 20,000 job titles, with nine digit codes for each occupation the o o h or occupational outlook handbook which gives job trends for the futures and salaries is also a very good guide to use richard bull's book what color is your parachute is also a fine tool lastly i must point out that eighty per cent of all jobs are not advertised This is sometimes referred to as the hidden job market. Our next topic, well, it's appraisal.

The key to doing well on this section is to know the terminology. So let's review it briefly now. First, we say that a score is raw, R-A-W, if it is unaltered. Next, we speak of the range, which is the highest score.

minus the lowest score. On some exams, one will be added to the answer. Then there are three averages or so-called measures of central tendency.

First, we have the mean or the arithmetic average. Now, I'm sure you remember this one. If your gas bill for a year is $144, you wish, then your mean bill per month is $12 or 144 divided by 12. then there is the mode which is the most frequently occurring score or category finally we have the median or middle score when the data are ranked from highest to lowest in a normal curve the mean the median and the mode all fall in the same point in the center of the bell-shaped curve when a curve leans we say that it is skewed if the tail points to the left then the curve is negatively skewed. If the tail points to the right when you draw or graph the curve, it is positively skewed.

Another key concept is standard deviation, which like the range, is a measure of variability. A standard deviation of 1 is a z-score of 1. A standard deviation of negative 2 is a z-score of negative 2, etc. T scores have a mean of 50 and a standard deviation is 10. So if your test asks, what is a T score when the standard deviation is 2, then the answer is 70. If the test asks, what is the T score for a standard deviation of minus 3, then the answer is 20. Now let's talk about psychological and educational tests.

The most important property of a psychological test is validity. Does the test really test? What it purports to test?

The second most important factor, reliability. Is the test consistent? In other words, would give similar results if we administer it again and again and again.

Now remember this, write this down on your shirt sleeve and don't wash it off for a week. A reliable test is not always valid, but a valid test is always reliable. Now, you're probably going to see this one on your exam. What is the difference between an aptitude and an achievement test?

Well, aptitude tests predict potential. A high score, for example, on an aptitude test for music doesn't imply that you are a great musician now. It just says that with the correct training and practice, you could excel in this area. An achievement test, on the other hand, gives you current performance or the level of performance achieved up to this point in time.

For example, she is reading at the 6th grade level. Some tests are power tests. In these tests, time is not a factor like it is in so-called speed tests.

Other tests are known as projective tests. In these tests, there is no correct answer. The client merely looks at an inkblot, a vague picture, or an incomplete sentence. The client's answer is assumed to be a projection of his or her personality.

Thus, two clients look at the same Rorschach inkblot card or TAT picture and see something totally different. Scoring projective tests is subjective. Thus, one rater could score it differently than another rater.

This phenomenon is called inter-rater reliability. Finally, I want you to recall a principle. known as regression to the mean or statistical regression.

This principle states that if a client's scores exceptionally low or exceptionally high on a test, then the client with the real low score will go up on the next administration of the test, while the client with the really high score will go down toward the mean or average. Chance factors are in plain everyday English luck. probably influence the first score.

Now, let's segue into research and evaluation. First, remember that correlation is not causal. Correlation is simply an association or relationship. The correlation between people who have an open umbrella and rain is very high, but opening your umbrella does not cause it to rain. Correlations go from negative 1 to 0 to positive 1. 0 means no correlation, while positive 1 and negative 1 are perfect correlations.

A correlation of 0.5 is not higher than a correlation of negative 0.5. In fact, a correlation of negative 0.8 is stronger than a correlation of 0.5. A common type of research is the experiment. Two or more groups are used. The people are picked for the groups using random or systematic sampling where every nth person is chosen.

The experimental group gets the IV or independent variable, also known as the experimental variable. The control group does not receive the IV or independent variable. The outcome data in the study is called the DV or dependent variable. So, if we want to see if eating carrots raises one's IQ score, then eating carrots is the IV, while the IQ scores at the end of the study would be the DV.

Each experiment has a null hypothesis. There is no significant difference in people's IQs who eats carrots and those who don't eat carrots. The experimental or alternative hypothesis is there is a significant difference between people's IQs who do eat carrots versus those that do not eat carrots. When a researcher rejects a null hypothesis that is true, it is a type 1 alpha error.

When a researcher accepts null when it should have been rejected, we say that a Type 2 beta error has occurred. The significance level for the social sciences is usually set at.05 or less, say.01 or.001. A t-test or student's t-test is a popular test for comparing two means.

The ANOVA or Analysis of Variance is used when you have more than two means to compare. The t-test and the ANOVA are parametric measures for normally distributed populations. If the population is not necessarily normal, then a non-parametric test, such as a chi-square, the most common non-parametric test, or the Kruskal-Wallis that is similar to an ANOVA, can be used.

If the researcher did not manipulate the variables, and you are looking at after-the-fact data, then the research is not a true experiment, but rather an ex post facto, or so-called causal comparative design. Okay, now this is very important, so commit this to memory. Statistics that describe the central tendency, like the mean, the median, the mode, the range, quartiles, the variance, and the standard deviation, are not true.

are descriptive statistics. On the other hand, correlation coefficients, t-tests, ANOVAs, analysis of covariance, chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, etc. are statistical analyses. Now for our final section, professional orientation and ethics. ACA ethics includes standards of practice. The term scope of practice implies that you only practice if you are adequately trained in a given area or with a given population.

Hence, if you have no training running a gestalt group, then don't run one. If you know nothing about clients with eating disorders, then don't treat them. You should also be familiar with a counselor's duty to warn.

Initially based on a California Supreme Court case known as Tarasov, this principle now states that if a client is going to harm himself or somebody else or both, you will contact appropriate folks to ward off this tragedy. Another key concept is the dual relationship, which could also be called multiple relationships on your exam. This concept implies that you are a person's helper, but you also have another significant relationship with that person. Maybe you are dating them, or perhaps they are a relative or a business partner.

Such relationships get in the way of objectivity and should be avoided whenever possible, although it is not always possible to avoid them. Another term that you should expect to see on your exam is a legal term, Privileged Communication. Set by state law, Privileged Communication asserts that you cannot reveal what a client said in his or her session in court unless the client allows you to do so.

Now, there are exceptions to this, such as cases of child abuse, suicide, homicide, supervisory sessions, or if a lawsuit is filed against you. Also, Note that you should never release information about a client outside of court, unless it's child abuse, suicide, etc. just mentioned, unless the client signs a release of information consent form. Remember to disguise the identity of your clients when doing research, training, or publication. Also, do not guarantee clients in your group's confidentiality and take steps to purge. Protect your clients from physical and psychological harm while they are in your groups.

When performing family therapy, do not disclose what one family member said about another in a private session without the initial person's permission. Do not have sexual relationships with current students or supervisees or clients. You must wait a minimum of two years.

after the counseling relationship ends, and even then you must not exploit the client. Boy, there's sure a lot of do-nots here. Do not submit articles to more than one professional journal at a time.

This is called multiple submissions, and it's a no-no. Also, do not accept referral fees. Do not accept fees from agency clients who can get the service from the agency where you work.

Finally, before you take your comprehensive exam, I insist, that's right, insist, that you check the NBCC and ACA websites for the latest information on internet counseling ethics before you take the exam. These ethics are changing literally at the speed of light and the only way to keep up is to check the websites. Okay, congratulations. You've just completed your licensing and certification boot camp.

Go have a drink. Non-alcoholic, of course. And hey, remember to let me know when you pass the exam.

I'll be rooting for you every day. I want you as my next testimonial.

Transcript for:Counseling Exam Prep Strategies and Insights

Transcript for:
Counseling Exam Prep Strategies and Insights