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Article Excerpt
Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT), an integrative model for assessing client cognitive-emotional style and selecting interventions, has been presented as a meta-theory for increasing intentionality in mental health treatment planning. To examine the usefulness of DCT for training and practice, student and professional counselors (N--203) completed the Preferred Helping Styles Inventory, the Theoretical Orientation Profile Scale-Revised, and the Intervention Strategies Questionnaire. Intervention styles were related to both cognitive styles and theoretical orientations; intervention style use was predicted by cognitive style and intervention style interests. Implications for mental health counselor training and practice are discussed.
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More than 500 reportedly effective approaches to counseling have been identified, yet research on most theories is limited and there is controversy about the efficacy of different interventions (Kazdin, 2006; Nathan, 2007). Luborsky, Singer, and Luborsky (1975) studied outcome research and concluded that all therapies are equally effective--a conclusion that has since been debated, refuted, but ultimately supported (Winter, 2006). Known as the "do-do bird verdict" (Luborsky, Rosenthal, & Diguer, 2002), this conclusion has led many counselors to self-identify as "eclectic" (Gerber, 1999), selecting among interventions to meet the needs of a particular client at a particular point in time. Critics of eclecticism have noted that "at its worst, eclectic practice consists of haphazardly picking techniques without any overall theoretical rationale" (Corey, 2004, p. 1). In contrast, integrative approaches offer theoretically consistent, intentional strategies for helping mental health counselors (MHCs) choose among the array of possible interventions (e.g., Ivey, 2000).
Integrative approaches seek to maximize intentionality through selection of interventions matched to counselor characteristics (Corey, 2004), counselor styles (Howard, Nance, & Myers, 1986), or client dynamics (Ivey, 2000). Seligman (2001) suggested that Ivey's Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT) "is ... the best developed and most promising of the integrated approaches to treatment" (p. 517), a conclusion supported more recently by both Gladding (2006) and Nugent (2005). Although DCT offers promise for increasing clinical effectiveness (Barrio Minton, 2008; Myers, Shoffner, & Briggs, 2002), most studies of the DCT model have focused on demonstrating the existence or clinical utility of Ivey's four cognitive-emotional-developmental styles (e.g., Kunkler-Peck, 1999; Rigazio-DiGilio & Ivey, 1990). Although Ivey, Ivey, Myers, and Sweeney (2005) proposed links between cognitive style and the effectiveness of specific choices, which are influenced by theoretical orientation (Worthington & Dillon, 2003), researchers have yet to examine the utility of the DCT model for selecting interventions.
The present study was undertaken to explore the relations between counselor cognitive/emotional style (CES), theoretical orientation, and intervention style. If the assumptions underlying the DCT model are correct, knowledge of these relations has the potential to enhance both MHC training and practice. We posed the following research questions: (1) Do counselors with higher CES preferences report stronger preferences for corresponding theoretical orientations and intervention styles, as hypothesized in the DCT model, than counselors who have lower CES preferences? and (2) What proportion of the variance in intervention style use can be predicted by CES and intervention style interest? A brief review of the literature concerning DCT and theoretical orientation is provided as a foundation for understanding the relations between the variables.
DEVELOPMENTAL COUNSELING AND THERAPY
DCT is an integrative metatheoretical model of counseling that was created to bridge the gap between theories of human development that serve as the foundation of the counseling profession and theories that inform the practice of counseling (Ivey, 2000; Ivey, 1993; Ivey et al., 2005). Based on a metaphorical interpretation of Platonic and Piagetian constructs, DCT provides the clinician with methods for conceptualizing and assessing four cognitive-emotional styles (sensorimotor, concrete, formal, and dialectic) and developing treatment or intervention plans based on those styles (Ivey et al.).
DCT Cognitive-Emotional Styles
Although Platonic and Piagetian ways of knowing are considered relatively linear, Ivey (2000) and Ivey et al. (2005) argued that individuals must be able to move freely between styles. Thus, Ivey presented a spherical model of ways of knowing, with intelligence at the core and the four styles of experiencing and knowing at different points within the sphere. Functioning within each CES entails both assets and liabilities; it is hypothesized that problems stem from developmental blocks that are evidenced by an inability to use specific styles or an overuse of a particular style. Although they may present using a mixture of styles, individuals generally have one preferred CES that tends to be most descriptive of their thinking in relation to a particular presenting issue. Further, Ivey et al. discriminated between "early" and "late" aspects of each style that are necessary for normal development.
The sensorimotor CES is characterized by "focusing on the elements of immediate experience" (Ivey et al., 2005, p. 102). Individuals who operate within this modality focus on bodily experience in the here and now (Ivey & Rigazio-DiGilio, 2005); they may be overpowered by their senses (Ivey et al.). Early sensorimotor functioning involves the ability to describe and discuss one's feelings. Late sensorimotor clients are able to experience feelings within their body and begin to understand the impact of their feelings.
The concrete CES includes a focus on logical thought processes and an understanding of cause and effect relationships (Ivey, 2000). Individuals who utilize the early concrete style...
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