Aaron B. Rochlen

The Practical Aspects of Online Counseling Ethics, Training, Technology, and Competency

This article addresses the practical aspects of online counseling, including ethics, training, supervision, technology, and competency issues. The authors discuss online counseling’s strengths and limitations and present guidelines for what types of clients and counseling psychologists may be appropriate for online counseling. To illustrate the components and skills associated with online counseling, the authors present and discuss an example of a synchronous-chat online session.

Online Counseling Reviewing the Literature From a Counseling Psychology Framework

This article reviews the online-counseling literature with an emphasis on current applications and considerations for future research. It focuses on primary themes of counseling psychology including the history of process-outcome research and multiculturalism. It explores current gaps in the literature from a counseling psychology framework, including the field’s focus on normal and developmental challenges and tasks, client strength and resilience, education and career development, prevention and wellness, and multiculturalism. In general, current evidence indicates that online counseling may be a viable service option for some clients, especially those who are typically isolated; however, questions remain regarding the effectiveness and appropriateness of online counseling.

Demystifying Men's Emotional Behavior: New Directions and Implications for Counseling and Research

Using a tripartite framework focusing on the causes, modes, and consequences of men’s emotional expression and nonexpression, this article provides a critical review of the theories and research relevant to men’s emotional behavior. It is argued that current conceptualizations of male emotional behavior do not adequately capture its multidimensional nature and would be enriched through integration with theories and research from the science of emotion. Implications for counseling and suggestions for research are outlined.

Barriers in Diagnosing and Treating Men With Depression: A Focus Group Report

This study reports on the experiences of 45 male focus group participants with a history of depression. Men responded to questions addressing the interaction between the male role, masculinity, depression, and experiences with treatment for depression. Using a qualitative, thematic-based coding strategy, three primary themes emerged. First, participants described aspects of the male gender as being in conflict or incongruent with their experiences of depression and beliefs about appropriate help-seeking behaviors. Second, men outlined alternative symptom profiles that could interfere with the recognition of depression and willingness to seek help. Finally, men expressed a range of positive and negative reactions toward depression treatment and treatment providers. Implications for health care providers are provided.

Addressing the College-to-Work Transition: Implications for University Career Counselors.

This article reviews recent literature highlighting the challenges associated with the college-to-work transition and proposes a model for understanding the experience of workplace entry for new graduates. This model outlines three stages of development in the transition process, namely (a) anticipation, (b) adjustment, and (c) achievement, and identifies a number of challenges that can be addressed prior to college graduation. In response, this article suggests that university career counselors can play an increasingly supportive role in easing the complexities of the transition. Evidence indicates that students may benefit from a more thorough understanding of workplace realities and resources for coping with the significant change inherent in this transition experience. Implications for university career counselors are provided.

Men's Restrictive Emotionality: An Investigation of Associations With Other Emotion-Related Constructs, Anxiety, and Underlying Dimensions

Using Kennedy-Moore and Watson’s cognitive-evaluative model of emotional expression and nonexpression, in the current study the authors investigated the relationship between men’s restrictive emotionality and other emotion-related constructs. Among the emotion-related variables represented by the above model, negative attitudes toward emotional expression were found to be most closely associated with men’s restrictive emotionality. In addition, results of multiple regression analyses suggest that men’s difficulty identifying feelings might account for the relationship between restrictive emotionality and trait anxiety. Further, a factor analysis of various emotion-related measures revealed a three-factor solution in which men’s restrictive emotionality formed part of a high-order factor named Difficulty With Emotional Communication. Implications of the findings and directions for future masculinity research are discussed.

The Online and Face-to-Face Counseling Attitudes Scales: A Validation Study.

Abstract This article reports on the development of measures of attitudes toward online and face-to-face counseling Overall, participants expressed more favorable evaluations of face-to-face counseling than of online counseling. Significant correlations were found between online and face-to-face counseling with traditional help seeking attitudes, comfort with e-mail, and interest in various counseling services. Counseling and research considerations are reviewed.

“I Didn’t Know What Was Wrong:” How People With Undiagnosed Depression Recognize, Name and Explain Their Distress

BACKGROUNDDiagnostic and treatment delay in depression are due to physician and patient factors. Patients vary in awareness of their depressive symptoms and ability to bring depression-related concerns to medical attention.OBJECTIVETo inform interventions to improve recognition and management of depression in primary care by understanding patients’ inner experiences prior to and during the process of seeking treatment.DESIGNFocus groups, analyzed qualitatively.PARTICIPANTSOne hundred and sixteen adults (79% response) with personal or vicarious history of depression in Rochester NY, Austin TX and Sacramento CA. Neighborhood recruitment strategies achieved sociodemographic diversity.APPROACHOpen-ended questions developed by a multidisciplinary team and refined in three pilot focus groups explored participants’ “lived experiences” of depression, depression-related beliefs, influences of significant others, and facilitators and barriers to care-seeking. Then, 12 focus groups stratified by gender and income were conducted, audio-recorded, and analyzed qualitatively using coding/editing methods.MAIN RESULTSParticipants described three stages leading to engaging in care for depression — “knowing” (recognizing that something was wrong), “naming” (finding words to describe their distress) and “explaining” (seeking meaningful attributions). “Knowing” is influenced by patient personality and social attitudes. “Naming” is affected by incongruity between the personal experience of depression and its narrow clinical conceptualizations, colloquial use of the word depression, and stigma. “Explaining” is influenced by the media, socialization processes and social relations. Physical/medical explanations can appear to facilitate care-seeking, but may also have detrimental consequences. Other explanations (characterological, situational) are common, and can serve to either enhance or reduce blame of oneself or others.CONCLUSIONSTo improve recognition of depression, primary care physicians should be alert to patients’ ill-defined distress and heterogeneous symptoms, help patients name their distress, and promote explanations that comport with patients’ lived experience, reduce blame and stigma, and facilitate care-seeking.

Male Restrictive Emotionality and Evaluations of Online Versus Face-to-Face Counseling

The present study investigated men’s perceptions of online versus face-to-face counseling. One hundred ninety-one men with a range of restrictive emotionality and online counseling attitudes reviewed face-to-face or online counseling vignettes using a cognition- or emotion-based therapeutic approach. Overall, participants’ evaluations of counseling approaches were similar across modality and theoretical approach. However, men with low as opposed to high levels of restrictive emotionality expressed more favorable perceptions of face-to-face counseling. Significant improvements in online counseling attitudes were observed across the entire sample, with more pronounced improvements in online counseling value for men reviewing online counseling vignettes. Results are discussed within the context of men’s underutilization of counseling services and the online counseling literature. Suggestions for further research are provided.

Women's perceptions of male partners' gender role conflict as predictors of psychological well-being and relationship satisfaction

This study evaluated the relationship between women’s perceptions of men’s gender role conflict and women’s relationship satisfaction and well-being. One hundred seventy-five women reported perceptions of their most recent or current male romantic partner’s gender role conflict and rated their own levels of somatization, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and relationship satisfaction. Women who perceived their romantic partners as scoring higher on Success, Power, and Competition and lower on Restrictive Affectionate Behavior Between Men reported greater levels of depression and anxiety. Women who perceived their partners as scoring lower on Success, Power, and Competition and Restrictive Emotionality reported greater relationship satisfaction. Gender role conflict factors did not predict women’s somatization or self-esteem levels. Counseling implications, suggestions for future research, and limitations are discussed.