Date of Award

8-1-1968

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

Abstract

Problem: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between training in verbal interaction analysis and selected counseling process variables. The counseling process variables were counselor personality traits and the therapeutic conditions of empathic understanding, respect, and genuineness.

Procedure: The subjects in the study consisted of thirty beginning counseling practicum students enrolled in the Department of Counseling and Guidance at the University of North Dakota. The group was divided into three experimental groups and three control groups. The experimental groups received fourteen hours of training in Flanders' verbal interaction analysis as modified by Amidon. The control groups met for free discussion for an equal period of time. Pre-training initial interview tapes and post-training initial interview tapes were i^ated on the Cark- huff Interpersonal Process Scales of empathic understanding, communication of respect and facilitative genuineness. All practicum students took the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire at the beginning of the semester. The Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory was administered to the clients after the last initial interview at the end of the semester. Analysis of covariance, analysis of variance, and _t-test statistical analysis procedures were used to test the significance of the relations among the groups.

Conclusions: The conclusions of this study are listed as follows:

1. Training beginning practicum counselors in verbal interaction analysis does have merit for the purpose of helping the counselors attain higher levels of empathic understanding in interpersonal processes.

2. Training beginning practicum counselors in verbal interaction analysis does have merit for the purpose of helping the counselors attain higher levels of communication of respect.

3. Counselors with lower scores on the personality trait of thre.ctia or adventuresomeness provided higher levels of empathic understanding, communication of respect and facilitative genuineness than the counselors with higher scores on this personality trait.

4. Counselors with lower scores on the personality trait of shrewdness provided higher levels of communication of respect and facilitative genuineness than counselors with lower scores on this personality trait.

5. Counselors with higher scores on self-sufficiency provided higher levels of communication of respect and facilitative genuineness than counselors with lower scores on this personality trait.

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