The isolation of active ingredients that initiate change may be able to shed light on process and outcome in counseling and psychotherapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate 20 significant or second-order change experiences that took place within and outside of therapy. The study used a Likert scale designed to disclose perceived necessary and sufficient conditions of change. Both the context of the experiences and theoretical constructs distilled from the literature were examined for their perceived potency for change. Constructs often rated as sufficient conditions were gaining insight, gaining a new perspective, confronting the problem, and becoming aware of the problem. Consistently rated as necessary conditions were a sense of necessity and the willingness to experience anxiety or difficulty. Implications for therapy are discussed, along with variables that may regulate the rate and magnitude of change.The nature of therapeutic change and what brings it about are among the primary concerns of counseling and psychotherapy (Strupp, 1988b). Stiles, Shapiro, and Elliott (1986) noted that we simply do not know what exactly makes psychotherapy effective (also see Kottler, 1991). Prochaska, DiClemente, and Norcross (1992) noted that, although outcome studies have clearly demonstrated that psychotherapy is effective, such "outcome studies have taught us relatively little, however, about how people change" (p. 1102), both within and outside of the context of therapy.
Client-Specific ChangeMany persons manage to solve their psychological and behavioral problems without the help of psychotherapy (Goldfried, 1988;Hanna & Puhakka, 1991;Norcross & Prochaska, 1986a). Thus, it may be useful to understand personal change as a general category not limited to the context of therapy. The present research was therefore concerned with the variables of change within the individual, as they appear to be the most crucial elements of therapy (
Professional counselors and counselors‐in‐training continue to serve clients who have substance abuse issues, yet systematic training in substance abuse counseling is not available to many counselors. The authors investigated the extent to which students in programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2001) are exposed to clients presenting with substance abuse issues and the relationship between state licensure or certification in substance abuse and the resulting perception of the need for the inclusion of substance abuse training in these programs. Three methods are presented for possibly including substance abuse training in CACREP standards.
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.