Counselor Applications of Research Findings to Practice: Learning To Stay Current

Abstract

There is evidence that many counselors currently perceive research as irrelevant to their work, possibly because the present model of training counselors to solve problems is inadequate. The authors point out ways in which applied training can be restructured so that counselors will be better able to apply research findings to their practice.

A Content Analysis of Career Development Theory, Research, and Practice—2013

“…The link between evidence of the effectiveness of career interventions and the strategies for delivering career interventions needs to be strengthened. One option would be to “increase the emphasis in counseling methods courses on using research findings as a means of answering real‐life problems” (Anderson & Heppner, , p. 152). Another option would be to include examples of evidence‐based practice with empirical support, as well as best practices from expert judgment, in all counseling and counseling psychology courses involving theory, interventions, and supervised practice.…”

Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) Theory: Challenges and Opportunities for Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice

“…A key issue here is the relevance of research to practice, as numerous authors have criticized the applicability of research to practice or practitioners (Anderson & Heppner, 1986;Heppner & Anderson, 1985;Howard, 1985;1986;Gelso, 1979;Goodyear & Benton, 1986;Lebow, 1988;Murray, 2009;Reardon, Lenz, Sampson, & Peterson, 2011). Several factors may contribute to the reduced relevance to practice, including differences between (a) the settings for research and the settings for counseling (Antony, 2005), (b) the specific questions posed in research and the questions posed in counseling (Gelso, 1985), (c) the constructs used in research and the constructs used in counseling (Gelso, 1985), and (d) the participants used in research and the clients typically encountered in practice (Martin & Martin, 1989).…”

Integrating scientist and practitioner training in counseling psychology: Practicum is the Key

“…1-2 page) or verbal rationale summarizing the empirical support and limitations for that procedure would go a long way toward ingraining this habit in the novice scientist-practitioner. The task is to train students to more explicitly use the research literature as a tool to help solve client problems (Anderson & Heppner, 1986;Heppner & Anderson, 1985).…”

“…Numerous recommendations have been offered for improving scientific training and for increasing its relevance to the practice of counseling psychology (e.g. Anderson & Heppner, 1986;Gelso, 1979;Magoon & Holland, 1984). Data-based suggestions for more effective research training and its better integration with practice have also been generated and investigated (see Galassi, 1989, for a review).…”