Gina R. Oswald

Reducing Ethical Complaints Through Professional Counselor Competency in Court Testimony

Professional counselors experience increasing levels of ethical complaints when they provide opinions in child custody cases; the complaints question their competency levels. The purpose of the study was to examine competencies and ethical considerations for 277 counselors and 66 psychologists. The study used a new, validated professional competence standards instrument through a closed-ended survey. Data analysis included a t test and found that psychologists had higher levels of competency than did counselors, a Mann–Whitney U test found that psychologists had higher levels of complaints than did counselors, and factorial analyses of variance showed a main effect between experience and ethical complaints. Recommendations for future research include studying factors influencing levels of competency among counselors when providing testimony. These findings may assist the counseling profession with a greater understanding of competency in custody matters, resulting in counselors better serving children and families embroiled in conflicted divorce and custody disagreements, and minimizing the negative impact on the mental health of all involved.

Engaging and training students in the development of inclusive learning materials for their peers

ABSTRACT With equal access requirements and increasing rates of enrolment of students with disabilities in higher education, universities must find appropriate and efficient ways to create accessible materials which benefit and support all students. In response to cuts to disability funding, issues relating to the provision of an inclusive curriculum are now dominating institutional policy and educational discourses. This paper reports on a trans-Atlantic project which utilised student employees to convert and develop inclusive learning materials for their peers, with the expressed purpose of piloting a sustainable intervention method generalisable to meeting similar needs of diverse universities for inclusive material provision and a future workforce aware of disability issues and accommodations. Qualitative in-depth interviews with ten students (eight UK and two US) find that involving student employees in the delivery of inclusive materials improves partnerships and attitudes around disability and accessibility measures.

The Status of Technology-Enhanced Education and Service Delivery in Rehabilitation Counselor Education.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the upsurge of technology-enhanced rehabilitation education programs and telerehabilitation services, to provide examples of these advancements, and to discuss the implications of this technology for education and the field including the unique advantage to developing technological skills through participation in effective online coursework allowing rehabilitation graduates the requisite transferable skills for competent online service delivery. Method: The authors completed a thorough review of the available literature on online technology-enhanced education programs and online telerehabilitation services. Results: Rehabilitation counselor education and the delivery of rehabilitation services have capitalized on recent technological advancements and provide opportunities to reach students and consumers via the Internet. Conclusion: It is clear that technology-enhanced education and clinical services will have an expanding role in the future of rehabilitation counselor education and practice. There is a unique advantage for students to develop technological skills through participation in effective online coursework. The skills learned from completing online courses are transferable skills for competent online service delivery.