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Article Excerpt
Selecting a single psychotherapeutic orientation can be a challenge for counselor education students. The authors examined the relationship between counseling theory selection and personality variables of students enrolled in a counseling theories course. A discriminant function analysis was used to identify the personality traits that would determine theoretical orientation choice. No statistically significant results were found. Results indicated that students showed no personality-based preference of theory. Additionally, no significant differences were found on selected subscales of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (I. B. Myers, M. H. McCaulley, N. L. Quenk, & A. L. Hammer, 1998) and the Self-Directed Search (J. L. Holland, B. A. Fritzsche. & A. B. Powell, 1996; J. L. Holland, A. B. Powell, & B. A. Fritzsche, 1994).
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Gaining a sense of mastery as a counselor takes many years in the counseling profession. According to Skovholt and Ronnestad (1992), students tend to move from a selection of one or more counseling theories to a more personal integration of human understanding based on individual life and career experiences. Skovhold and Ronnestad conducted a qualitative research study focusing on counselor development and extracted 20 themes of counselor development from 100 semistructured interviews with a variety of counselors. They proposed that continuous professional reflection is the foundation of the professional development process. They also proposed that as professional individuation evolves, the compatibility of the professional role with the self increases in importance, and individuals ultimately discard those facets of the professional role that are incongruent with their sense of self. Given that students may not otherwise develop a personal theory of counseling until after their training (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1992), one method that can help students gain competence during the beginning phase of training is for them to align themselves with one theoretical perspective (Gladding, 1988). By aligning with a single theory, students develop an initial sense of congruence with a personal way of understanding human nature. Many counseling and psychotherapy textbooks advise this kind of grounding in one primary theoretical orientation for beginning students, in part because mastering one theory heightens the students' sense of competence and the clients' confidence in the trainees (Baruth & Huber, 1985; Capuzzi & Gross, 1999; Corey, 1996; Corsini & Wedding, 1995; Frank & Frank, 1993; Sharf, 2000).
Selecting a preferred theory within an introductory counseling theories course continues to be an issue of concern for many graduate students in counselor education. Most often, students struggle with selecting a theory that encompasses a personal philosophy of human understanding. Many counseling theories and personality theories are complex, comprehensive, and often overwhelming for beginning students to learn. Yet, counseling students must study all major theories of counseling to ensure that they will be able to match clients' personal values, life experience, and personality traits with the most appropriate theoretical orientation.
Identifying a theory that is in alignment with the student's personality traits may assist her or him in selecting a personally appropriate theoretical orientation (Erickson, 1993; Fredrickson, 1993; Hawkins, 1988; McBride & Martin, 1988; Newman, 1979; Sundland, 1977). According to Corey (1996), personality assessments are commonly used in counselor education programs, and counseling theories courses often provide a purposeful venue to assess students' personality traits.
There are also several other factors that assist students in their selection of an initial theoretical orientation. The variables most often cited by researchers include the content of the course work assigned within individual training programs; required readings within courses; and interpersonal variables, such as the interpersonal attachments between students and their supervisors (Bodkin, Klitzman, & Pope, 1995; Hansen, Stevic, & Werner, 1986; Johnson, Campbell, & Masters, 1992; Liebling, 2001; Lovinger, 1992; Norcross & Prochaska, 1983; Shoben, 1962; Steiner, 1978).
Before they can select a single theoretical orientation, students must learn about several theories. It is estimated that there are between 250 and 400 different approaches to psychotherapy (Corsini, 1981; Corsini & Wedding, 1995). Obviously, counselor education programs cannot provide instruction in all theories, so most programs focus on the most widely accepted theoretical orientations. In general, this means that textbooks used in counseling theories classes can only cover between 9 and 14 major theoretical approaches (Capuzzi & Gross, 1999; Corey, 1996; Corsini & Wedding, 1995; Sharf, 2000). Yet, even with just 9 to 14 different psychotherapeutic approaches to learn, students may feel overwhelmed.
One goal in the counselor education field is to teach psychotherapeutic theories using pedagogical techniques and strategies that ensure students' development of a thorough understanding of the essential elements of each of the major theories. Several empirically based strategies are available to assist students in retaining and...
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