Examination of Psychological Counselor Candidates’ Views of Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in Individual Psychological Counseling: A Q Methodology Approach

Abstract

Individual Psychological Counseling Practicum is an applied course in which Guidance and Psychological Counseling undergraduate senior students have an opportunity to have a practical experience with an actual client in Turkey. In the course, the theoretical approaches chosen by the counselors and their views on this approach may affect their attitudes towards the practicum process and their experiences. Therefore, the current study aims to determine the opinions of guidance and psychological counseling senior students who took the course Individual Psychological Counseling Practicum about using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in individual psychological counseling with the Q-methodology approach. For this purpose, 33 senior undergraduate students participated in the current study, taking the Individual Psychological Counseling Practicum-2 course in Atatürk University. The research utilized Q-statements crafted by the researcher along with a Q-sort comprising 18 sentences ranging from -3 to +3, facilitating forced placement, as the data collection instrument. Results showed that the opinions of the counselor candidates about the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy were gathered in a single dimension, which indicates a positive attitude.