Jodi L. Saunders

The Career Aspirations of Rural Appalachian High School Students

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contributions of several social cognitive career theory (SCCT) factors in predicting the career aspirations of a group of high school students living in the central part of rural Appalachia. Sixty-three high school students completed measures assessing their vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, career decision outcome expectations, socioeconomic status (SES), age, and their perceptions of familial and peer support. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis indicated that 52% of the variance associated with career aspirations was accounted for by the SCCT variables. Findings indicated that the majority of the variance was accounted for by vocational/educational self-efficacy beliefs, SES, and career decision outcome expectations. Given the cultural considerations of this population, these findings suggest that lower SES rural Appalachian high school students might benefit from targeted interventions that are designed to increase their confidence and expectations about their future.

Essential Knowledge Domains Underlying Effective Rehabilitation Counseling Practice

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the major knowledge domains required for rehabilitation counseling practice across settings in todays rapidly changing practice environment. Data obtained and analyzed from a recent national study by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) is reported and reviewed in detail. Specific implications for knowledge translation of the studys finding for practitioner certification and academic program accreditation are identified.

Training Needs of Certified Rehabilitation Counselors for Contemporary Practice.

In order to meet the demands of todays rehabilitation counseling practice environments effectively, rehabilitation counselors must be well prepared in traditional, as well as emerging, knowledge areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the training needs of certified rehabilitation counselors practicing in a variety of settings by identifying knowledge areas perceived by counselors as important for which they also reported limited preparation levels. Results of the analysis revealed 23 knowledge areas in which a critical training need was identified across all settings. Training needs for each of the three primary practice settings (public, proprietary, and nonprofit) are also provided. Implications for practice, preservice preparation, and professional development are discussed.

Improving the Employment Self-Concept of Persons with Disabilities: A Field-Based Experiment

Research has indicated that self-concept can be an effective predictor of rehabilitation outcomes. The Comprehensive Labor and Employment Opportunities (CLEO) program was designed as a psychoeducational intervention to increase self-concept in persons with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in the CLEO program had a positive effect on the self-concept of persons with disabilities who were being served by the public rehabilitation program in Michigan. A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group was employed for this study. Pre- and postmeasures of self-concept were taken using the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: 2nd edition (TSCS:2). Results revealed significant growth within the treatment group and significant difference in growth between treatment and control groups in the area of Total self-concept at the time of posttest. No significant differences were found in the area of Academic/Work self-concept. Implications for practice, education, and further research are discussed.

Ethical Complaints and Violations in Rehabilitation Counseling: An Analysis of Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification Data.

This is a descriptive study of Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification data related to ethical complaints and violations from 1993 to 2006. The authors reviewed complaints filed against certified rehabilitation counselors involving rules from the pre-2001 Code of Ethics and standards in the current code and analyzed the ensuing actions or sanctions. Of the 113 complaints received during this period, 71 were accepted by the commissions Ethics Committee for further review. Of these, violations were found in 36 cases—that is, only 31.9% of cases in which complaints were filed ultimately resulted in actions or sanctions being imposed. Beyond researching the complaints and violations, this study also considers the demographics of the counselors against whom complaints were filed and of the counselors who were found to be in violation of the code.

Rehabilitation Counselor Certification Moving Forward

This article provides a brief history of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification and presents recent changes and strategic goals for moving forward. Challenges and opportunities for the profession in relation to certification are also discussed.

Ethics and the Use of Technology in Rehabilitation Counseling

Standards for technology ethics were first introduced into the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors in 2002. Since that time, the proliferation of technology has enhanced practice, changed the American vernacular, and become infused in the delivery of services to and teaching of individuals, families, and groups. The 2010 revision to the Code updates and reinforces standards involving behavior, accessibility, confidentiality, informed consent, security, assessment, records, legal issues, advertising, research and publication, counseling unavailability, disclosure, and distance counseling. However, it introduces new standards that are absent from the literature in the counseling and helping professions specific to technology ethics involving consultative and distance group counseling as well as in teaching, supervision, and training.

A comparison of the ethical beliefs of certified rehabilitation counselors and national certified counselors

Results of a national survey of certified rehabilitation counselors (CRCs) are compared with those obtained by Gibson and Pope (1993) from a national sample of national certified counselors (NCCs) to determine their beliefs about whether particular behaviors are ethical, and the degree of consensus or controversy about these behaviors. Commonalities and differences in the beliefs of these two groups are described. Implications for education and the field of rehabilitation counseling are discussed. The authors conclude that the high degree of similarity between beliefs of CRC and NCC respondents provides empirical support that these counselors share a fundamental set of ethical beliefs.

Empirical Influences on the 2010 Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors

This article provides an overview of the selected literature that informed the themes and areas of concentration for the revision of the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors. It offers a review of the most recent research conducted on the core knowledge and competencies reported by practicing certified rehabilitation counselors, given that such research is one of the foundations of the revised code.

Benchmarking the Importance and Use of Labor Market Surveys by Certified Rehabilitation Counselors

The purpose of this research was to benchmark the importance and use of labor market survey (LMS) among U.S. certified rehabilitation counselors (CRCs). A secondary post hoc analysis of data collected via the Rehabilitation Skills Inventory–Revised for the 2011 Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification job analysis resulted in importance and use ratings across 11 content items and 11 demographic variables. This research suggests that labor market analyses, of which LMS could be a component, were considered to be along a continuum of important or extremely important by CRCs and performed along a range of very infrequent to very frequent. Data suggest that those CRCs reporting the highest frequency of use of labor market analyses were older and male, possessed education in rehabilitation-orientated areas of study, had more than 20 years of post-CRC experience, were in the private/proprietary rehabilitation or private practice practitioner professional settings, and held the title of forensic/expert witness or rehabilitation consultant/specialist. For all survey items studied, employment setting and job title were found to be significant in the frequency of use of labor market analyses. Limitations, delimitations, and areas for further study were discussed.