Lewis Z. Schlosser

Measuring the Working alliance in advisor-advisee relationships in graduate school

Drawing from the working alliance literature, the authors constructed the Advisory Working Alliance Inventory (AWAI) to measure the graduate advising relationship from the students perspective. Two hundred eighty-one counseling psychology doctoral students participated in the 1st study (79% response rate). Three factors (Rapport, Apprenticeship, and Identification-Individuation) were extracted by factor analysis. The AWAI showed very good internal consistency reliability. Scale validity was supported by positive correlations between the AWAI and measures of advisee research self-efficacy and attitudes toward research, as well as the perceived expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness of the advisor. Forty-one students participated in the 2nd study, in which the AWAI demonstrated excellent test-retest reliability over a 2-week interval. Implications of the advising working alliance are discussed for doctoral training and areas for future research are provided.

Becoming Psychotherapists: Experiences of Novice Trainees in a Beginning Graduate Class

The authors investigated the experiences related to becoming psychotherapists for 5 counseling psychology doctoral trainees in their first prepracticum course. Qualitative analyses of weekly journals indicated that trainees discussed challenges related to becoming psychotherapists (e.g., being self-critical, having troubling reactions to clients, learning to use helping skills), gains made during the semester related to becoming psychotherapists (e.g., using helping skills more effectively, becoming less self-critical, being able to connect with clients), as well as experiences in supervision and activities that helped them cope with their anxieties. Results are discussed in 5 broad areas: feelings about self in role of psychotherapist, awareness of reactions to clients, learning and using helping skills, reactions to supervision, and experiences that fostered growth. Implications for training and research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

A Qualitative Examination of Graduate Advising Relationships: The Advisee Perspective.

Sixteen 3rd-year counseling psychology doctoral students were interviewed about their relationships with their graduate advisors. Of those students, 10 were satisfied and 6 were unsatisfied with their advising relationships. Satisfied and unsatisfied students differed on several aspects of the advising relationship, including (a) the ability to choose their advisors, (b) the frequency of meetings with their advisors, (c) the benefits and costs associated with their advising relationships, and (d) how conflict was dealt with in the advising relationship. Furthermore, all of the satisfied students reported that their advising relationships became more positive over time, whereas many of the unsatisfied students reported that their advising relationships got worse (e.g., became more distant) over time.

Client attachment to therapist: Relations to transference and client recollections of parental caregiving

This study examined the relations between client attachment to the therapist and therapist perceptions of transference, as well as between client attachment and recollections of parental caregiving. Participants were 51 client-therapist pairs in ongoing therapy. After a therapy session, clients completed a measure of their attachment to their therapists and a measure of their perceptions of parental caregiving during childhood. Therapists rated levels of positive and negative, and amount of, client transference. Both secure and preoccupied-merger attachment were positively related to both negative transference and amount of transference. Level of avoidant-fearful attachment was not correlated with any type of transference. Insecure attachment to the therapist was associated with more negative recollections of parental caregiving.

Addressing religion and spirituality in psychotherapy: clients’ perspectives1

Abstract Twelve adult clients described the role of religion and spirituality in their lives and in therapy as a whole, as well as their specific experiences of discussing religious–spiritual topics in individual outpatient psychotherapy with nonreligiously affiliated therapists. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Results indicated that clients were regularly involved in religious–spiritual activities, usually did not know the religious–spiritual orientation of their therapists, but often found them open to such discussions. Specific helpful discussions of religion–spirituality were often begun by clients in the 1st year of therapy, were related to clients’ presenting concerns, were facilitated by therapists’ openness, and yielded positive effects. Specific unhelpful discussions were raised equally by clients and therapists early in therapy, made clients feel judged, and evoked negative effects. Implications for practice and research are addressed.

The Advisory Working Alliance Inventory--Advisor Version: Scale Development and Validation.

The development of the Advisory Working Alliance Inventory-Advisor Version (AWAI-A) is presented. In the first study, data from 236 faculty members from APA-accredited counseling psychology programs were subjected to a principal components analysis, yielding 3 subscales: Rapport (15 items), Apprenticeship (8 items), and Task Focus (8 items). The data also revealed evidence of the AWAI-As internal consistency and concurrent validity, the latter being demonstrated by correlations with measures of satisfaction with the advising relationship, costs and benefits of advising, advisee interest in science and practice, and advisee research self-efficacy. In the 2nd study, data from 44 additional advisors yielded evidence of the AWAI-As test-retest reliability and discriminant validity. Implications of the advising working alliance for doctoral training are discussed, and suggestions are provided for future research.

Dyadic perspectives on advisor-advisee relationships in counseling psychology doctoral programs

The authors present the results from a study investigating advisor-advisee relationships in counseling psychology doctoral training. Participants were 47 advisor-advisee dyads who were currently working together in an advising relationship. The results indicated that advisors and advisees exhibited significant agreement in their assessments of their advisory working alliance, the smoothness of their recent interactions, and the advisees research competence. Alliance ratings were also associated with several relevant training variables. Neither science nor practice interest similarity between advisor and advisee was related to the quality of the advising relationship. Implications of the advisor-advisee working alliance for doctoral training are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

AFFIRMATIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR AMERICAN JEWS

As psychotherapists have increasingly attended to issues of culture, race, and ethnicity in their clinical work, some groups have not received adequate attention in the professional literature. One such group is American Jews, who represent a small, culturally distinct group of people who have experienced a long history of oppression. Because of the substantial within-group variability, stereotypes are often used in the place of knowledge about or actual experience working with American Jews. To reduce reliance on stereotypes and assumptions about Jews, it is important to understand both Jews and Jewish culture, as well as how to provide culturally congruent and affirmative psychotherapy services to this community. To provide some guidance in working with American Jewish clients, this article presents (a) basic demographic information about American Jews, (b) information about Judaism and Jewish culture, and (c) aspects of culturally appropriate psychotherapy with American Jews. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Ethical issues in multicultural student–faculty mentoring relationships in higher education

In this article, we explore the ethical issues pertaining to student–faculty mentoring relationships in graduate training programs, with a specific focus on understanding these concerns within a multicultural context. Multiculturalism, although broadly defined, is limited herein to race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, age, religion, and ability status. Specific ethical codes are cited in which quandaries may arise vis‐à‐vis cultural factors in student–faculty mentorships, and examples are provided related to the aforementioned aspects of multiculturalism. We close with some recommendations regarding the intersection of culture and mentoring relationships. We encourage those involved in student–faculty mentorships to explore both these and other ethical dilemmas that arise in cross‐cultural mentorships.

Advisor-Advisee Relationships in Graduate Training Programs

Advisor—advisee relationships are an important aspect of the career development of professionals in many fields; however, limited scholarship has focused on these relationships. In the three articles of this special section, the authors attempt to help remedy this situation by articulating a culturally infused model of advising relationships in graduate training. This article lays the foundation for the authors’ model by reviewing the literature relevant to advising and mentoring. In the subsequent articles, the authors propose that it is critical to understand how within-group cultural variables affect the advising relationship. Articulating a framework for understanding the advising relationship as a multicultural endeavor may help educators prepare the next generations of professionals and facilitate increased empirical attention to this important, yet underexamined construct.