Student Counsellors’ Perceptions of the Effects of Recording theCounselling Interview.

摘要

The use of audio and videotape recordings in counsellor education for the purpose of training andsupervision is controversial. Although recordings give counsellors and supervisors direct access to thecounselling session and therefore the skills of the counsellor, a number of concerns have been recordedboth in early research (Betcher & Zinberg, 1988; Frankel, 1971; Gelso, 1973; Goldstein, 1988; Lamb &Mahl, 1956; Niland, 1971; Van Atta, 1969) and more recently in counsellors’ correspondence to the NZACNewsletter (Anonymous, 2006; Grant, 2006) regarding the effects on counsellors, clients and on thecounselling process itself. There is a scarcity of current research on whether or not recording of counsellingor therapeutic interviews actually interferes with the counselling process. The few empirical studies of theeffects of recording are inconsistent in their findings and their methodological flaws preclude meaningfulinterpretation of the literature as a whole (Goldstein, 1988). This qualitative research study focuses on oneaspect of recording counselling interviews; the perceptions of counselling students. Thirteen counsellingstudents enrolled on counsellor education programmes at five tertiary educational settings in Auckland andChristchurch, New Zealand participated in interviews. They indicated that they perceived the process ofrecording to be anxiety promoting, initially having an effect on their ability to be completely present in thecounselling interview. They also reported that recording was extremely beneficial to the development ofeffective counselling skills. Counsellors perceived the process of recording to be a potential threat to thedeveloping relationship between counsellor and client but many were able to manage this concern byestablishing trust and rapport before introducing recording. The majority of the student counsellorsperceived that they became more confident with the process over time, moving from a state of anxiety ininitial recordings to a more relaxed style with practice. This has implications for future practice and for earlyintroduction to frequent recording in counsellor education programmes.