Measuring Changes in Counselor Self-Efficacy: Further Validation and Implications for Training and Supervision

Design and Evaluation of Peer Supervision for Community Mental Health Workers: A Task-Shifting Strategy in Low-Resource Settings

The use of Lay Mental Health Workers (LMHWs) to tackle the treatment gap in low-resource settings is well established, and although they often receive training, the potential of proper supervision to improve outcomes remains untapped. Indeed, given the strain on expert resources, peer-supervision models based on supervisors' seniority of work experience have significant potential especially in relation to community knowledge and embedding of LMHWs. This study summarizes the evaluation of a pilot program for peer supervision on the basis of Social Cognitive Theories of Self-Efficacy for LMHWs in Kerala, India. Two experienced LMHWs worked as supervisors for a total of 12 LMHWs over the course of a year. These participants were subsequently interviewed to analyze their experiences in order to evaluate the potential of peer supervision and distil relevant information to improve future training of LMHWs. The findings include improved performance and emotional support for the participants.

Assessment of professional self-efficacy in psychological interventions and psychotherapy sessions: Development of the Therapist Self-Efficacy Scale (T-SES) and its application for eTherapy

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to develop the Therapist Self-Efficacy Scale (T-SES), and test its validity in a sample of Italian mental health therapists, to assess their professional self-efficacy concerning their practice of eTherapy in a synchronous video-based setting.

METHODS

A sample of 322 Italian mental health professionals (37.6% psychologists, 62.4% psychotherapists; Mage  = 38.48, SD = 8.509) completed an online survey.

RESULTS

The T-SES showed a clear, one-factor structure with good psychometric properties. Significant associations were found with insight orientation, general self-efficacy, self-esteem, and personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. The results showed no differences between psychologists and psychotherapists, or differences based on years of experience.

CONCLUSION

The T-SES is an agile and versatile self-report measure for mental health professionals to assess their self-efficacy concerning their therapeutic activity, which can provide information for tailoring training for eTherapy.

Exploring Therapist Self-Efficacy Change Profiles Using Latent Growth Curve Analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the overall developmental trajectories of three conceptually progressive aspects of counseling self-efficacy, including helping skills (HS), session management (SM), and counseling challenges (CH), among beginning therapist trainees in China.

METHOD

Participants included 103 beginning therapist trainees in a master's level counselor training programme in China, who filled out measures of counselor self-efficacy in three waves over one year of practicum.

RESULTS

(a) Trainees showed highest initial level of HS, followed by SM, with CH being the lowest; and there were significant increases in all three aspects of self-efficacy. (b) Trainee age, gender, and personal therapy hours as a client were associated with the overall self-efficacy developmental trajectories. Specifically, elder therapist trainees reported higher initial levels of self-efficacy in HS and CH; female trainees reported lower initial level but higher increases in CH self-efficacy over practicum; and trainees who had more hours of personal therapy as clients showed higher initial levels on HS but not on other aspects or the change trajectories.

CONCLUSION

Results in this study may inform trainers regarding trainees' developmental characteristics, and assist them in planning targeted support to better foster trainee progress.

Integrating video-modeling into counseling skills and techniques course and its impact on counseling self-efficacy

Counselor education requires a comprehensive curriculum including entry-level courses as counseling skills and techniques which foster students’ basic knowledge in counseling and perceived counseling self-efficacy (CSE). Counselor candidates are provided opportunities to observe skills and techniques in practice through video modeling (VM) as one of the most favored teaching methods. The use of VM is not a common method in counselor training in Turkey; therefore, first aim of the current study was to investigate how VM-integrated counseling skills and techniques course affected students’ perceived counseling techniques efficacy and CSE. The second aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the use of VM as a teaching method in this course. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used. The research setting of the current study was the undergraduate counseling skills and techniques course that integrated 10 previously developed short videos about counseling techniques or processes. There were 41 third-year students enrolled in this course who participated in the study (quantitative phase). Seven voluntary students (out of 41) participated in the focus group (qualitative phase). The paired samples t-test was applied to analyze the effectiveness of VM and the content analyses were conducted to examine qualitative data. Results showed that the VM-integrated course increased students’ perceived efficacy in using techniques and general CSE. Results of the focus group were categorized under four themes and provided critical insights to better understand the factors leading to increased self-efficacy. The results of this study were discussed in the light of previous literature on counselor education.

Implementation of a Multi-Modal Training Program for the Management of Comorbid Mental Disorders in Drug and Alcohol Settings: Pathways to Comorbidity Care (PCC)

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to evaluate the impact of the Pathways to Comorbidity Care (PCC) training program for alcohol and other drugs (AOD) clinicians to improve the management of comorbidity.

METHODS

A controlled before-and-after study using PCC training was conducted across 6 matched sites in Australia including 35 clinicians. Controls received standard workplace training. PCC training included seminar presentations, workshops conducted by local "clinical champions," individual clinical supervision, and access to an online information portal. We examined (a) identification (screening, assessment) and treatment (treatment, referral) of comorbidity in practice (N = 10 clinical files per clinician), (b) self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitudes of clinicians.

RESULTS

Significant improvements were observed in the PCC group but not the control sites with regards to the rate of clinical files showing identification of comorbidity (+50% v -12% change from baseline, respectively; [X² (1, N = 340) = 35.29, p = .01] with only a trend for improvements in the rate of files demonstrating treatment of comorbidity [X² (1, N = 340) = 10.45, p = .06]. There were significant improvements in the PCC relative to the control group for clinician self-efficacy, F(1,33) = 6.40, p = .02 and knowledge and attitudes of comorbidity monitoring, F(1,33) = 8.745, p = .01.

CONCLUSIONS

The PCC training package may help improve identification of comorbidity, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward screening and monitoring of comorbidity in drug and alcohol settings.

Promoting Career Counselors’ Sustainable Career Development through the Group-based Life Construction Dialogue Intervention: “Constructing My Future Purposeful Life”

Continuous professional development refers to maintaining, enhancing, and broadening individuals’ knowledge, skills, and the personal qualities required in their professional lives. The present experimental study attempts to explore the way(s) that the Life Construction intervention: “Constructing my Future Purposeful Life” contributes to career counselors’ sustainable career development. Two groups of career counselors participating in a training program delivered by the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens were involved, namely, an experimental group (N = 33) that received the intervention and a control group (N = 27) that did not receive any intervention. The effectiveness of the intervention was verified through qualitative and quantitative analysis, including the calculation of effect sizes, of the data obtained through the Future Career Autobiography, and the Greek version of the Life Project Reflexivity Scale. The results indicate that the Life Construction Intervention improved career counselors’ reflexivity and self-awareness, while, concurrently, the need for practical training in contemporary interventions to support their sustainable career development is highlighted. The main conclusion refers to the fact that the career counselor needs to construct his or her own Self as a sustainable project beforehand, in order to be able to support individuals in their own Self construction and promote their well-being.

Validation of training module to increase self-efficacy of adolescent peer counsellors in Indonesia

Background: Peer counsellor programs are one of many countermeasures for current issues in adolescent mental health. Peer counsellors need to have adequate capability and self-efficacy especially in basic counselling skills to be able to help their peers in their daily life. A validated training module for peer counsellors in mental health context has not yet been developed in Indonesia.Aim: This research aims to develop, and evaluate content and empirical validity of a training module for adolescent peer counsellors in Indonesia.Method: A training module was developed based on a systematic literature review. Expert judgment was elicited to ensure content validity, while a quasi-experiment with two groups control design with a pretest and post-test measure was conducted to evaluate empirical validity. Thirty experimental group subjects and 14 control group subjects were involved in this study.Results: Expert judgment showed the training module had satisfactory content validity, fulfilling statistical consensus requirements. Analysis using EffectLiteR showed that peer counsellor training had a significant effect on self-efficacy with a significance score of 0.019 (p < 0.05) for average effect.Conclusion: The module has adequate content and empirical validity to increase counselling self-efficacy in adolescent peer counsellors.

The Development of a Self-Efficacy Measurement Tool For Counseling in Speech-Language Pathology

Purpose This study aimed to develop and administer an adapted survey tool to measure counseling skills in graduate students and early-career speech-language pathologists, focusing on the concept of counselor self-efficacy. Method An online survey, adapted from the Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scales ( Lent, Hill, & Hoffman, 2003 ), was administered. Two hundred ninety-four surveys were completed. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, along with measures of reliability and validity, in order to determine the psychometric properties of the tool. Results Factor analysis supported a 5-factor solution, with subscales reflecting Emotional Support Skills, Session Management Skills, and Helping Skills in 3 domains: Exploration, Insight, and Action. Strong internal consistency was found for each subscale and for the total scale scores. Significant intercorrelations between subscale scores were expected and confirmed. Construct validity was examined with reference to American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and Council for Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology practice guidelines and clinical competencies. Preliminary comparative data were analyzed to demonstrate utility of the tool in measuring effects of experience on self-efficacy ratings. Conclusion The adapted Counselor Activity Self-Efficacy Scales for speech-language pathologists is psychometrically sound; factor analysis, reliability, and validity were in line with reported values for the original survey tool. Potential uses for the survey tool within the field of speech-language pathology are discussed, along with implications for graduate education and clinical supervision related to counseling skills.