Institutional Males' Perceptions of Three Counseling Techniques

Abstract

The use of advice-giving, Adlerian interpretation, and analytically derived interpretation with regard to whether feelings of approach, attack, or withdrawal were elicited was investigated by having subjects view a videotape of eight role-played counseling segments. The videotape presented problem-statements by a role-playing adolescent followed by a role-playing counselor who made three separate responses to the statements. Subjects were 20 internally and 20 externally controlled incarcerated youth who indicated how each counselor's response made them feel (approach, attack, or withdrawal). Both internally and externally controlled subjects tended to respond to Adlerian interpretation and analytically derived interpretation with attack—and withdrawal—feelings and to advice-giving with approach-feelings in this quasi-counseling situation.