Christopher J. Rybak

Assessment of Internalized Shame

The Internalized Shame Scale (ISS) (Cook. 1987) appears to be a reliable ind construct-valid instrument for both clinical and nonclinical populations; it may have specific application to the treatment of shame in drug dependent populations.

Understanding Native American healing practices

Counselor cultural competency with respect to Native Americans requires understanding of common healing practices and ceremonies and of their spiritual significance. Historical trauma serves as a general backdrop for Native America experience and identity. Particular tribal practices and the individuals degree of affiliation with such practices provide a more specific context for client worldview. Knowledge of the symbolic significance of common ceremonies and healing practices will support counseling efforts to be relevant and effective with respect to Native American clients. Direct interaction and involvement with Native American communities facilitate a deeper understanding of Native American cultural identity and healing practices.

The teaching well: Experience, education, and counselling

Wellness classes based on Eastern and Western philosophical concepts were offered to graduate level counselling students as a means of helping them to integrate and clarify their views on counselling. Through experiential activities, students learned to more fully activate inner creative resources for an enhanced sense of wholeness. The concepts and methods learned have practical application to counselling.

Enriching Group Counseling through Integrating Yoga Concepts and Practices.

Integrating practices from yoga with group counseling offers many creative paths of therapeutic learning. While yoga emphasizes the increased sense of connection with the self, group counseling emphasizes the increased sense of authenticity in relationship with oneself and with others. Common aims of both yoga and counseling are liberation from suffering through greater awareness and increased integration. Greater clarity of living and deeper sense of relation can lead to more positive behaviors and reduced negative consequences. Examples are offered regarding the use of yoga principles in various types of groups, including a Native American healing group for adults with significant physical afflictions and for Indian psychology graduate students in training.

Group Conflict: Communication Patterns and Group Development.

Abstract This study focuses on patterns of communication by members and leaders during episodes of conflict while comparing overall developmew of two training groups.

The resiliency wheel: A training model for enhancing the effectiveness of cross-cultural interviews

The Resiliency Wheel provides interview guidance tocounselors in training. The interview format providesenough structure for beginning counselors to feelcomfortable with the questions, but offers flexibilityto more experienced counselors as they formulate newquestions as the clients story unfolds. TheResiliency Wheel provides a way for counselors to linkindividual client strengths while drawing from thefollowing factors: person, family, community, spirit,and culture. A diagram of the resiliency wheel can beused to record client information. The questionsallow the counselor in training to become familiarwith other cultures and worldviews. This awarenessincreases a counselors cultural sensitivity andempathy around issues of oppression, discrimination,and racism due to ones ethnicity. The studentcounselor is given the opportunity to ask specificquestions about a culture and realize the differences,but also the similarities between the counselor andthe client. The Resiliency Wheel assists thecounselor to develop a holistic understanding of theclient and to be able to reflect this understanding tothe client visually as well as verbally. Theinterview process in itself can bring about a deepersharing of client identity and experience,contributing to the bond between client and counselor.

Bridging eastern & western philosophies and models

In view of the increasing need formeaningful cross-cultural understanding, thefacilitation of dialogue about diverse modelsof human wellness will help promote greaterunderstanding for educational professionalsacross divergent cultural backgrounds. Such adiscussion will by necessity is comprehensiveand far-reaching. Topics of consideration willinclude the common concerns of counselors andeducators, cross-cultural trainingopportunities, and Eastern and Westernphilosophies of education, development, andemotional wellness. As a beginning step in thisprocess of understanding perspectives fromdifferent parts of the globe, a pilot studyusing a questionnaire was conducted withrespect to Chinese and U.S. Universityeducators. Findings regarding similaritiesand differences are described. Preliminaryfindings suggest that differing philosophiesmay underlay the perspectives of Chineseeducators, who are strongly influenced byConfucius, and American educators who arestrongly influenced by Western thinkers such asDewey. Yet, both Chinese and Americaneducators agreed that the top priority ofeducators was student academic achievement. The results of the study suggested that therole of counselor be construed differently inChina as compared to the U.S. for a complexityof reasons described in this article.

Group Counseling and Satsang: Learning From Indian Group Practices

Group counseling is a highly complex process that has undergone continuous exploration to improve understanding and development to make it more effective. Learning how diverse cultures approach the leadership and interaction within small groups can provide additional insight and perspective to the commonalities and differences of varied groups. This article explores a diversity perspective offered through satsang. Satsang is an ancient Asian Indian approach to personal and spiritual development within a group setting that includes a leader who has advanced knowledge and expertise related to leading the satsang.

Role of Counselors in Multidisciplinary Interactions in Special Education

Abstract Professional school counselors have been in the public schools since the early 1900s. Fueled by the industrial revolution, the vocational guidance movement spawned the creation of high school guidance counseling programs. In 1907, Jesse B. Davis created one of the first vocational guidance programs at Central High School in Detroit, Michigan (Schmidt, 2014). In 1908, Frank Parsons, the father of vocational guidance, founded the Vocations Bureau that eventually became part of the Division of Education at Harvard University. These early efforts helped students develop vocationally, morally, and intellectually, and it would take nearly 70 years for children with exceptionalities to be similarly served in the public schools. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the role of counselors in assisting students with exceptionalities. This will be examined by better understanding the counseling history, defining the terms of exceptionalities and transdisciplinary collaboration, and showcasing the many benefits of individual, group, and brain-based interventions.