Benefits of Brief Counseling Training for Master's‐Level Trainees in University Counseling Centers

Abstract

Little has been addressed in the literature about the advantages of brief counseling training for master's‐level trainees working in university counseling centers. This article discusses the benefits that time‐limited treatment affords trainees and offers implications for training and research.

The Effect of a Brief Training in Motivational Interviewing on Trainee Skill Development

“…MI provides counselor trainees with an alternative to the preceding proposition by addressing the two obstacles to change that are common among a variety of client populations: ambivalence and resistance (Miller & Moyers, 2006). Additional rationales for training counselor trainees in MI are (a) this training provides a thorough review of counseling skills (techniques such as reflecting meaning, paraphrasing, summarizing, and asking open questions) and conditions (use of empathy, collaboration, and promoting client autonomy; Miller & Rollnick, 2002), (b) such a training can decrease students’ anxiety by providing them with a theoretical framework from which to conceptualize much of what they have already learned (Solway, 1985; Stoltenberg, 1981), and (c) students’ self‐efficacy can be increased by providing them with clear behavioral guidelines for the implementation of counseling skills (Alton, Whitman, & Boyd, 2000). It seems prudent to provide training in MI because it would be uniquely beneficial to counselor trainees.…”