Scholars have identified vicarious traumatization (VT) as one of the most extreme effects of working with traumatized clients; however, not all mental health therapists develop VT (Pearlman & Saakvitne, 1995). Path analytic procedures were used to assess a comprehensive theoretical VT model based on constructivist self-development theory (CSDT). The model explained 46% of the variance in VT in mental health therapists surveyed.
Counselor education and supervision (CES) doctoral students play an important role in contributing to knowledge in the counseling profession. CES doctoral students were interviewed to explore their researcher identity, a unique self‐concept that possibly includes research self‐efficacy and interest. Issues critical to facilitating researcher identity development included confidence, the researcher voice, faculty support, and opportunities for research.
This article presents attitudes of clinical members of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (N = 332) toward spousal disclosure of extramarital relationships. A survey was developed in which an affair was defined as a sexual and emotional secretive relationship occurring concurrent to a committed, cohabiting relationship. Therapist demographic variables that were found to have a significant relationship with attitudes toward affair disclosure were age and level of graduate degree. A large number of narrative comments from participant reactions to survey questions are included, along with further findings and suggestions for educators of marriage and family therapists.
Adult survivors of sexual trauma often experience symptoms related to their childhood experiences that are analogous to many of the diagnostic criteria of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This article examines these symptoms in the context of a trauma framework and postulates that mental health counselors need to consider if the symptomatic behaviors are more indicative of a post-traumatic response, specifically trauma reenactment. Recognizing self-harming behaviors in adult survivors as reenactments of childhood sexual trauma rather than characterological manifestations of personality deficits serves to improve the quality of care of such clients in that mental health counselors may then focus on the unresolved issues rather than personality restructuring. Thus, understanding clients from a trauma framework can minimize the stigma that is often associated with the diagnosis of BPD and provide a more objective treatment climate.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.