Three counseling treatments were compared in terms of the differential effects as employed in a college counseling center with clientele seeking vocational counseling assistance. The three treatments included two selfadministering counseling modes, Holland's Self-Directed Search (SDS), a modification of the SDS entitled Individual Vocational Planning (IVP), and traditional vocational counseling. College student volunteers seeking vocational counseling were randomly assigned to one of the three treatment or control groups. Pretest and posttest scores were obtained on frequency and variety of vocational information seeking, satisfaction with treatment, and other measures. In addition, the differential costs of providing the treatments were examined. Results indicated that all treatments were about equally effective as measured and that college users appeared equally satisfied with them. Cost analysis indicated that the traditional counseling treatment cost 6 times more per subject than the SDS and 4 times more than the IVP. Low delivery cost and comparable effectiveness provide evidence for the self-administrable treatment modes as additional alternatives to traditional vocational counseling methods.
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