Training counseling skills: an experimental analysis and social validation.
A community development perspective suggests the value of using local resources to solve local problems. Two low-income staff of a community service center served as nonprofessional counselors after receiving a training program consisting of written instructions, practice, and performance feedback. The effects of the 40-hour training program were positive for both counseling and problem-solving skills. There was also evidence of generalization of counseling performance across clients, problems, and time. In addition, expert judges' ratings of performance were obtained as a measure of social validity. These findings suggest that the training procedures are effective in enhancing the counseling and problem-solving skills of low-income nonprofessionals.
D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003376:Counseling / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D011340:Problem Solving; D012381:Role Playing; D012923:Social Class; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D000078329:Workforce