Changing concepts in the training of therapists.

Abstract

Many professionals in the mental health field recognize the ability of nontraditional workers with relatively little training to produce good therapeutic results. The question is raised and discussed as to why the guardians of our present system are slow to use fully new resources the effectiveness of which have been demonstrated. The suggestion is made that professionals with long traditional training should identify themselves with the advancement of knowledge and leave more of the practice of crafts to new categories of workers.

Paraprofessional Trainees and Counselor Education Students: A Comparison of Personality and Predicted Counseling Effectiveness

“…As Carkhuff (1966) so aptly put it, doctoral training students have no monopoly on the primary conditions of effective treatment such as empathy, warmth, and genuineness. Perhaps the practice of counseling should be left to paraprofessionals while the more professionally trained should concentrate on research, teaching, and consultation (Carkhuff 1966;Rioch 1966). However, for the professional to limit himself to noncounseling activities may prove as confining to him as such limitation now is for the paraprofessional.…”

Mutual aid counselling: the helper principle at work

“…There is evidence that lay counsellors, in some settings, are as effective, or even more effective, then professional counsellors (Brown, 1974;Carkhuff, 1969). Carkhuff (1968) and Rioch (1966) have speculated about the reasons for lay counselling effectiveness. Lay counsellors are often closer to the distressed person's style of life and thus are better equipped to enter actively into the help-seeker's milieu.…”

The role of talkback radio: A study

“…Christmas (1966) pointed to the "added therapeutic dimension" (p. 410); Rioch (1966), the fresh points of view, flexibility, and new methods; and Poser (1966), their naive enthusiasm and lack of professional stance. Rioch (1966) warned, however, that any contributions due to newness may wear off in time. In spite of this enthusiasm by the professional for the case of the nonprofessional, Zax and Specter (1974) noted that there was insufficient data to indicate that the nonprofessionals were optimally employed.…”

“…In spite of this enthusiasm by the professional for the case of the nonprofessional, Zax and Specter (1974) noted that there was insufficient data to indicate that the nonprofessionals were optimally employed. If that is so, it might account for some of the waning of enthusiam that Rioch (1966) found.…”

“…Nonprofessionals can play many roles: they can go to the clients rather than the other way around; they can make the public aware of their presence by advertising; and, in some instances, they can act as a model to the helpee (Zax & Specter, 1974). Christmas (1966) pointed to the "added therapeutic dimension" (p. 410); Rioch (1966), the fresh points of view, flexibility, and new methods; and Poser (1966), their naive enthusiasm and lack of professional stance. Rioch (1966) warned, however, that any contributions due to newness may wear off in time.…”