Effect of a Mindfulness‐Based Intervention on Counselor–Client Attunement

An increasing amount of literature has emerged supporting positive associations between counselor mindfulness, improved relational skills, and therapeutic alliance (J. C. Campbell & Christopher, 2012; Christopher & Maris, 2010; Davis & Hayes, 2011; Germer, Siegel, & Fulton, 2005; Hick & Bien, 2008; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009). Researchers suggested that mindful attunement may be a core relational skill that supports the therapeutic process (Bruce, Manber, Shapiro, & Constantino, 2010; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009; Siegel, 2007, 2010; Snyder, Shapiro, & Treleaven, 2011; Surrey, 2005). Degree of attunement is a function of mindful presence characterized by "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present-moment, and non-judgmentally" (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4). This attunement requires a counselor to be wholly present with a client and focusing attention to perceive and embrace the client's phenomenological experience (Siegel, 2010). While attuned, a counselor is present with the client in an interactive manner, sensing the essence of the client's inner world (Siegel, 2007, 2010; Snyder et al., 2011). As an indicator of the quality of therapeutic alliance with a client, reaching a level of attunement may represent a key developmental target when working with emergent counselors. Therefore, facilitative strategies and interventions that address this level of relating should be examined for counselor training (Bruce et al., 2010; Davis & Hayes, 2011; Shapiro & Carlson, 2009; Siegel, 2007, 2010; Surrey, 2005). Researchers corroborate the notion that mindfulness training and practices can help counselors-in-training (CITs) develop skills that affect therapeutic alliance abilities and therapist effectiveness. Mindfulness training for CITs improved supportive therapeutic skills, such as attentiveness to the therapeutic process and comfort with silence (Newsome, Christopher, Dahlen, & Christopher, 2006; Schure, Christopher, & Christopher, 2008), as well as self-awareness (Birnbaum, 2008; Moore, 2008), social connectedness, emotional intelligence (Cohen & Miller, 2009), self-efficacy (Greason & Cashwell, 2011), and overall wellness (Christopher & Maris, 2010). More specific to core therapeutic relational skills, additional investigators reported improved CIT presence (McCollum & Gehart, 2010), empathy, (Christopher & Maris, 2010; Schomaker, 2013), congruence, unconditional positive regard (Christopher & Maris, 2010), and attunement with themselves and clients (Newsome et al., 2006; Schure et al., 2008). Although some researchers illustrated the potential for using mindfulness-based training to promote relational development (Greason & Cashwell, 2011; Schure et al., 2008; Shapiro, Brown, & Biegel, 2007), others reported mixed results, suggesting that additional exploration of the specific impact of mindfulness training on CITs is warranted (Escuriex & Labbe, 2011; Kaplan, 2013). Furthermore, given the preponderance of research that examines mindfulness training for CITs with qualitative methodological approaches (Christopher & Maris, 2010; McCollum & Gehart, 2010), studies exploring the effect of mindfulness interventions using quantitative measurements of relating skills would add greatly to the counseling literature. * Purpose of the Study and Rationale The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of treatment effect associated with a mindfulness-based intervention (MI) on the dynamics of counselor-client attunement with counselor trainees. This project was based on previous research, which demonstrated that the therapeutic alliance develops over time in counseling relationships (Duncan et al., 2003, Horvath, 2005), and a dearth of studies exploring the effectiveness of an MI with CITs using quantifiable indicators to assess attunement across participants. We hypothesized a functional relationship between an MI and enhanced counselor-client attunement with CITs over time, in which CITs receiving an MI would achieve reliably higher levels of attunement with their clients than a comparison group over time. …