Behavior Research Researching the Other

¶ … Behavior Research

Researching the Other Side: Counselor Behavior Study

The bulk of most behavioral research rests in exploring and measuring the behaviors of the client, or patient, and not that of the therapist involved in the context of therapeutic behavioral counseling itself. Yet, this is the prime focus of a 2000 research study conducted by Sharpley et al., entitled "The Use of Counselor Verbal Response Modes and Client-Perceived Rapport." This study focused its research on examining and assessing the behaviors of therapists mid session in order to help determine which behaviors are most effective for building client rapport.

The article and research method in question focuses on exploring the counselor-client interaction variables, and how successful those variables have proven to be in terms of building a strong client-counselor rapport within the various sessions experienced. The study was commissioned in order to help explore underlying elements of building client-counselor rapport. Understanding such variables can help clarify important steps needed to be taken within the context of client sessions. Such an understanding can then help counselors build a stronger rapport with their clients. A method of determining a time period for such rapport building could then also be constructed and manipulated by the counselor. There has been a great body of research regarding various styles of counseling strategies, but there has been little empirical research conducted on the effectiveness and time sensitivity of these strategies used mid-session in a way to provide comparable analysis for objective determination of success or failures. Within this study, the primary understanding of the client-counselor relationship is presented through the Working Alliance model. This model is broken down into three parts bonds, which refer "to the degree of trust and emotional closeness experienced by the clients and counselors set them as a result of undergoing the counseling process," (3). The bonding process of this interaction is of the greatest importance, for it helps establish the relationship and provide for future interaction. The goals are then the "changes in behavior" initiated by the counselor which aims to help guide the patient through the counseling process. Last, tasks are how counselors achieve their goals.

What was the method used?

The method of this study used a trained specialist to sit in lieu of a real client, who rated the behavior in terms of its ability to build or decrease rapport. The study "developed a methodology for examining behaviors which counselor behaviors are associated with the success as defined by the degree of rapport experienced by the client," (2). It featured fifty-nine counselors in training, all of whom were between the ages of 21 and 60. These counselors were a mix of both genders, both male and female. Thus a wide survey of therapists was examined within their individual sessions. This presented a plethora of different types and styles of therapy. All therapists in training conducted a single interview of fifty minutes each. Now, the therapists were not interviewing real clients, but rather highly trained individuals who then reported with greater accuracy and standardized method of evaluation. This is the Standardized Client Method, which reproduces the realism of a true client session, but also provides greater strength in the reliability of the data collected during the interview process. The methodology of the study broke down behaviors minute by minute in order to produce a standardized client method, or trained research participants who "present the same problem in multiple counseling interviews and to also make minute by minute assessments of rapport during therapy interviews," (4). Thus, each counselor in training was exposed to identical client situations and cues. Their behavior and general strategy in reacting to those cues was then what was measured through quantitative analysis. Perceived rapport was then measured by the trained client replicate with a measurable scale of one to five. Such data was recorded with an electronic device which reported levels of rapport minute by minute during the context of the session. Out of the total fifty nine interviews, 2773 minutes were highlighted for analysis. The data collected from this time duration of interviews was then statistically analyzed using MANOVA based on the number of variables within counselor behavior that can affect the rapport with the client. This method effectively provided study designers with a reliable and measurable way to assess therapist behaviors and their effectiveness in building rapport.

What did the research claim to show?

Based on the data analysis, the study came up with several claims on client-counselor rapport and how it is affected by counselor behavior during the sessions. By examining the results of the MANOVA analysis, the study claims that it can help show the effectiveness of generalized counselor behaviors in terms of building a good and strong rapport with the client in need of therapy. From analysis of strength and weaknesses, using the minute by minute reporting of perceived rapport, the study claims it can then be used to help formulate in session strategies that can help build client-counselor rapport and provide greater potential of success within the therapeutic processes. Thus, it attempts to simulate realistic occurrences within the context of therapy in order to help formulate the best rapport building strategies to be used within therapy. However, it does so within a controlled environment to protect the sanctity of the data to be used in quantitative analysis.

What did the research actually show?