Relationship of counselor conceptual level to clinical hypothesis formation.

Abstract

Thirty-seven counseling students completed the Paragraph Completion Method, which is used to determine conceptual level. All students then viewed a videotape of a client in a counseling session and completed the Clinical Assessment Questionnaire, which is designed to elicit information regarding counselors' hypotheses about a client's problem. The Clinical Assessment Questionnaire responses were scored on seven categories relevant to clinical judgment and information processing. Two factors were considered in a multiple regression analysis of the data: (a) conceptual level and (b) clinical experience. The results indicated that experience level was not significantly related to the characteristics of the students' clinical hypothesis formation. Conceptual level was significantly related to the overall quality and clarity of expression in clinical hypotheses (p < . 002) and the number of divergent questions asked about the client's problems (p < .004). Methodological and counselor-training implications of these results are discussed.

Mental Activity and Referential Activity of Beginning Therapists: A Construct Validity Study of the Countertransference Rating System (CRS)

“…Major contributions to the field concentrate on the verbal interventions of the therapist (e.g., Stiles, 1986Stiles, , 1987Winston, Samstag, Winston & Muran, 1994; see also the seminal work of Strupp, 1958aStrupp, , 1958bStrupp, , 1962, but do not focus on the nature of the processes that lead to these interventions and generally produce mixed (and often contradictory) results (Marziali, 1984;Piper, Azim, Joyce & McCallum, 1991). Other pioneering work has concentrated on the therapist's cognitive complexity (Holloway & Wolleat, 1980), on the therapist's types of mental functioning conceived of as personality traits (Goodwin, 1978), or on the cognitive match between patient and therapist (Hunt, Carr, Dagadakis, & Walker, 1985).…”

The Impact of Metaphor on Clinical Hypothesis Formation and Perceived Supervisor Characteristics

“…Scoring dimensions were selected from hypothesis evaluation scales used in previous studies of hypothesis formation (e.g., Hirsch & Stone, 1983;Holloway & Wolleat, 1980;Morran, 1986). The seven clinical hypothesis rating scales formulated by Morran et al (1994) were used in this study.…”

Counselor Conceptual Level and Counseling: A Reappraisal

“…The most generally accepted implication of Hunt's work is that high-CL individuals are more likely to benefit from those learning environments that encourage discovery learning, whereas low-CL individuals are more likely to benefit from learning environments that are relatively more structured and emphasize following the rules (Miller, 1978(Miller, , 1981Miller & Wilson, 1979). Several authors have discussed possible implications of Hunt's proposals concerning CL in relation to counseling (Berg & Stone, 1980;Holloway & Wolleat, 1980). Two general hypotheses related to counseling have been derived from CL theory.…”