Sandra M. Dees

Mapping training: the transfer of a cognitive technology for improving counseling.

To provide information that will reduce the gap between research and practice, the transfer of a complex drug abuse counseling technology is examined. This technology, cognitive mapping, is a graphic tool shown to effectively facilitate communication and problem solving in group and individual counseling sessions. Unlike some techniques, mapping requires substantial counselor time, effort, and expertise to learn and to use. This article briefly describes the development and evolution of mapping and supporting research. It then focuses on our efforts to develop mapping training that will facilitate use of this evidence-based technique in drug abuse treatment. Major training and transfer pitfalls are noted, and strategies for successful training are recommended.

The Use of Node-Link Mapping in Drug Abuse Counseling: The Role of Attentional Factors

This study extends previous research on the use of node-link mapping during counseling by addressing the effect that this visual representation technique has on clients with attentional problems. Participants were 13 counselors in a methadone treatment program and their 93 opioid-addicted clients who had been in treatment for more than three months. Both counselors and clients were randomly assigned to mapping-enhanced or standard counseling. Based on a self-report measure assessing attention-related problems of clients, they were categorized as having either adequate or poor levels of attentional stamina and attentional control. Consistent with previous findings, clients in mapping-enhanced counseling had lower percentages of urine samples that were positive for cocaine or heroin. In addition, results suggest that mapping has greater benefits in terms of session attendance and program perception for clients with poor attentional stamina.

Ethnicity and the effects of mapping-enhanced drug abuse counseling

It was hypothesized that node-link mapping a tool for visually representing client issues during drug abuse counseling, would reduce communication barriers between counselors and their African American and Mexican American clients. Three hundred twenty daily opioid users participated in methadone maintenance treatment programs in three cities for 6 months or longer following random assignments to mapping-enhanced or standard counseling. Clients in the mapping condition had fewer drug-positive urines (with respect to opiates and cocaine), missed fewer scheduled counseling sessions, and were rated more positively by their counselors on rapport, motivation, and self-confidence during the first 6 months of treatment. Significant interactions involving ethnicity and counseling condition suggested that mapping is more effective for African Americans and Mexican Americans than for Whites. The use of mapping appears to help reduce cultural, racial, and class communication barriers by providing a visual supplement and a common language that enhances counselor-client interchanges.

Scripted Cooperation and Knowledge Map Supplements

AbstractThis study examined the independent and interactive effects of supplement format (knowledge map vs. text vs. no supplement) and strategy (cooperative learning vs. cooperative teaching vs. individual study) on learning. After training and practice sessions, subjects studied a science and math passage over which they were tested. Two individual difference measures were also taken and combined into a general ability score. Repeated-measures analysis of variance of the recall variables indicated that (a) high ability subjects outperformed low ability subjects, and (b) cooperative learning with map supplements had a mutually facilitative effect on the low ability subjects’ recall.

Cognitive Modularity: Implications for Counseling and the Representation of Personal Issues.

Recent modular views of cognition are described and related to counseling approaches. A framework for client-counselor interactions that are based on these views is developed and used to examine ways of expressing and representing counseling issues. The resulting analysis suggests that, for certain counseling activities, spatial-graphic representations are liekly to be useful adjuncts to natural language. Previous work with specialized spatial-graphic approaches (e.g., genograms, behavior loop maps) is reviewed, and a general representational technique, node-link mapping, is introduced.

A visual representation system for drug abuse counselors

Node-link mapping is a technique that consists of drawing spatial-verbal displays to visually represent interrelationships between ideas, feelings, facts, and experiences. These multirelational maps are drawn during ongoing counseling sessions to represent a variety of personal and nonpersonal topics. This article provides an overview of this technique, including rationale, related and supporting research, and an example of its use during counseling. In addition, this article describes the potential impacts of mapping and comments on practical considerations related to the effective use of this tool in drug abuse counseling.

Mapping Techniques to Improve Substance Abuse Treatment in Criminal Justice Settings

Node-link mapping, a graphic representation tool, was used to improve mandated substance-abuse treatment in a 4-month residential criminal justice program. Three hundred eighty probationers (residents) were randomly assigned to either mapping-enhanced or standard counseling. Compared to those in standard counseling, residents receiving mapping gave more favorable evaluations to their group meetings, counselors, co-residents, and security staff. They also rated themselves higher on treatment effort and self-efficacy measures than did their counterparts. These findings suggest that mapping-enhanced counseling fosters more effective communication during meetings, promotes stronger therapeutic alliances, and thus enhances the perceptions of the effectiveness of the program and of the people associated with it.

Downward Spiral: A Pedagogical Game Depicting the Dangers of Substance Abuse:

We have developed a pedagogical game called Downward Spiral that illuminates the dangers associated with continued drug use (including alcohol). The game provides facts, quotes, and episodic consequences that can adversely affect each players mental and physical health, social support, and financial/legal situation over the course of the game. The conceptual and empirical foundations of the game (both a college prevention version and substance abuse treatment version) are discussed. Pilot studies with college students and residents at a substance abuse treatment facility for probationers indicate that Downward Spiral is engaging, informative, and thought provoking. Plans for examining the impact of this game as a preventive technique (for the college setting) and as an approach to increasing motivation for substance abuse treatment are described.

Using knowledge maps and scripted cooperation to inform college students about patterns of behavior related to recurring abuse of alcohol

Objectives of this study were to determine the effectiveness of using a specific information format--graphic representations called knowledge maps--and an information processing strategy--scripted cooperation--in teaching college students about behavior patterns that underlie recurring abuse of alcohol. Participants in this three-session, 6-hour study were 111 Texas Christian University students recruited from undergraduate psychology classes. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two materials format conditions (map vs. text format) and to one of two processing strategy conditions (individual processing vs. scripted interaction with a partner). Results indicate that map format facilitated recall of the pattern information; processing with a partner appeared to enhance perception of the multidimensional nature of behavior that supports alcohol use.

Schematic maps: cognitive tools for enhancing the early stages of counseling

The purpose of the present studies was to explore the utility of schematic maps as tools for the early stages of both peer and self-counseling. In experiment 1 (self-counseling), 42 students from undergraduate general psychology classes participated to fulfill course requirements. Participants were assigned to either a schematic map or essay group. They first extracted information about their alcohol-related behavior patterns and then analyzed the patterns from the perspective of a counselor. In experiment 2 (peer counseling), 38 students from upper-division psychology courses participated for extra credit. Participants were asked to evaluate behavior patterns, in the form of maps or essays, which were presented either in the same form as they were extracted or were transposed to the other format. In both studies, assessment consisted of questionnaires that addressed the usefulness of the tools in the counseling process. Schematic maps are potentially powerful tools for both self- and peer counseling. For self-counseling, maps were preferred over traditional essay writing. In addition, the subjective reaction to maps as tools for peer counseling was positive.