Perceptions of Factors Related to Therapeutic Change in Face-To-Face and Distance Counseling Environments" (2012)
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Syracuse University SURFACE Counseling and Human Services - Dissertations School of Education 5-2012 Perceptions of Factors Related to Therapeutic Change in Face-To- Face and Distance Counseling Environments Stephen Harding Wright Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/chs_etd Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Wright, Stephen Harding, "Perceptions of Factors Related to Therapeutic Change in Face-To-Face and Distance Counseling Environments" (2012). Counseling and Human Services - Dissertations. 54. https://surface.syr.edu/chs_etd/54 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Counseling and Human Services - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract Videoconferencing is quickly becoming a part of daily life as technologies using the Internet and computer advances are now being employed to deliver synchronous, highly discernible video and audio content on devices used for daily communication. Videoconferencing is also being increasingly used by counseling professionals to provide counseling sessions and other services, and counseling accrediting and licensing bodies have recognized its use in some professional practice situations. This experimental study used a regional sample of counselors, other mental health professionals, and counselors-in-training (N = 126), to examine whether participants, randomly assigned, rated three different measures of counseling process–working alliance, session suitability, and counselor qualities–differently when witnessing two videos of a simulated, basic, sufficiently-working, typical, college mental health counseling session. The videos were produced to be equivalent, except that one was conducted by high-quality, dedicated videoconferencing technology (VC), and the other done in the traditional face-to-face (FTF) manner. A discriminant analysis confirmed a significant difference between the FTF and VC groups. Examination of the canonical discriminant function revealed a large canonical correlation, with an effect size of 21.5 %. Standardized discriminant function and structure coefficients were examined to evaluate the predictors that contributed to the group differences. The main finding was that the quality of counselor attractiveness, and to a lesser extent, the bond in the working alliance, were most influential in contributing to this difference. Results also revealed that the groups did not differ on any of the control variables–age, gender, and attitude toward technology. Results for the group centroids showed that the FTF group was substantially higher than the VC group, indicating that the group differences pertaining to counselor attractiveness and working alliance bond can be attributed to the FTF group. However, a comparison of the mean values for all of the counseling process variables showed that differences between the groups on almost all of the variables were very small. This indicates that, even with the significant finding of differences between the groups, participants found the FTF and VC sessions to be more similar than different. Implications for common factors approaches and counseling practice are discussed. PERCEPTIONS OF FACTORS RELATED TO THERAPEUTIC CHANGE IN FACE-TO-FACE AND DISTANCE COUNSELING ENVIRONMENTS by Stephen Harding Wright B.A., University of Rochester, 1977 M.S., Syracuse University, 1998 Dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Counseling and Counselor Education Syracuse University May 2012 Copyright 2012 Stephen Harding Wright All rights reserved v Acknowledgements As I look back to the beginnings of this project, I am keenly aware of the generous support and help that I have had from so many persons and institutions along the way. I am deeply grateful to the Syracuse University School of Education for the provision of generous research funds to support this research project. In the Syracuse University School of Social Work, I would particularly thank professors Deborah Monahan, Paul Caldwell, and Karen Kirkhart for helping me reach so many participants. Similarly, I thank professors Janine Bernard, Richard Shin, and Derek Seward in the Syracuse University Department of Counseling and Human Services for their class time and help in recruiting participants. I am also indebted to Professor Jody Fiorini, Chair of the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services at the State University of New York at Oswego, for her help in recommending classes that would participate in my study. I particularly thank professors Michael LeBlanc and Daniel Duryea for permitting me to come into their classes to administer the study. Without the essential technical expertise and guidance from the staff of the Learning Environments department at Syracuse University’s Information Technology and Services, this research project would have never gotten off the ground. I particularly thank Director, Dr. David Tiedemann for his encouragement and the commitment of his department’s resources. I also thank David Williams for his guidance and his enthusiasm about the prospects of videoconferencing technology, and Jeff Bradbury, for his instrumental help with the four-frame model for the stimulus videos. vi I am immensely appreciative of the contributions of my actors who made the stimulus videos the best that they could be. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Kristen Munger, Dana Roberts, and Sarah Ryman, for their dedication and valuable time. I am indebted, as well, to the individuals who participated in the two manipulation check studies. I am grateful to Professor James Bellini for inviting me to the Doctoral Counseling Research Seminar for the first of these studies. The completion of this dissertation would also not have been possible without the immense and continuous help and support from my committee, professors Derek Seward, Karen Kirkhart and James Bellini. I would like to thank Derek for his insight and unwavering encouragement. I would like to thank Karen for her thoroughness, clarity of thought, and, most of all, her belief in me. I could never adequately express my thanks and appreciation for Jim Bellini for all that he has done and meant to me. He has inspired me to pursue my dreams of further research and scholarship, and I will always admire his egalitarian approach to relationships. I would also like thank my friend, Henry Jankiewicz, for his countless hours of help with editing, and to my late friend, Deb Coquillon, for first inviting me to work at Syracuse University and encouraging me to pursue the doctoral program. Lastly, it is also not possible to effectively express my overwhelming appreciation for the love and support that I have received from my family during this process; from my wife, Karen, my son, Colin and my daughter, Madeleine. Also, from my Mom and Dad, and my sister, Julie. All are my guiding lights. I only wish that my Dad could have been here as I finished. vii Perceptions of Factors Related to Therapeutic Change in Face-to-Face and Distance Counseling Environments Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ i Title Page ................................................................................................................. iii Copyright Notice ....................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .................................................................................................... vii Index of Tables and Figures .................................................................................... xii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Recognition by Major Accrediting and Licensing Organizations ............................. 3 Potential Benefits to Counseling by Videoconference ............................................. 6 Overview of Videoconferencing Technology ......................................................... 11 Guiding Question for the Study .............................................................................. 12 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................ 12 Rationale for the Study ........................................................................................... 13 Framework for the Study ........................................................................................... 14 Conceptual Foundations for the Study .................................................................... 18 Common Factors Approach ........................................................................................ 20 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 24 Review of the Literature .................................................................................................................. 25 Factors the Make Counseling Effective .................................................................. 25 A Brief History of Videoconferencing