Criteria of Nonacademic Characteristics Used to Evaluate and Retain Community Counseling Students

Many counselor education programs, namely those accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), are responsible for providing particular criteria for admitting, screening, and retaining counseling students based on particular nonacademic characteristics or qualities unrelated to academics of knowledge and skill acquisition (CACREP, 2001). More specifically, the CACREP Standards (Note. The research presented in this article was conducted before the current CACREP Standards were implemented.) state that program admission criteria, as well as selection and retention procedures, should include the consideration of "each applicant's potential success in forming effective interpersonal relationships in individual and small-group contexts" (Standard V.I.2.) and consideration of "each applicant's openness to self-examination and personal and professional self-development" (Standard V.I.5.). Furthermore, counselor educators also have legal and ethical responsibilities in addressing any nonacademic characteristics or behaviors of counselor trainees that might interfere with their ability to work effectively with clients (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 1998; Schwab & Harris, 1981). Since the inception of literature in the counselor education field, authors have addressed the nonacademically related criteria or personal characteristics expected of counselor trainees. As early as the 1950s, Rogers (1951) noted that three personal characteristics of counselors are essential in establishing therapeutic relationships--empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence. Not only must counselors possess these particular characteristics, they also must be evident in their interactions with clients and others. For example, responsibility in maintaining congruence might mean that counselors freely accept their feelings and attitudes while also being aware of how negative they might be. Adler (1979) also suggested that similar to their congruence, counselors' social interest is just as important. That is, counselors with developed social interest have a degree of self-awareness that allows them to be imperfect, which consequently moves them to accept their weaknesses and strengths as counselors. This enhances their ability to be genuine (or congruent) with clients. Other suggestions about the importance of nonacademic characteristics of counselor trainees have been noted in the literature. In 1967, Johnson, Shertzer, Linden, and Stone reported agreement among counselor educators that non-intellective, nonacademic, or personal qualities are basic to effective functioning in the counseling relationship. Personality traits also have been noted as one of the most important contributors to a counselor trainee's interpersonal effectiveness (Combs, Avila, & Purkey, 1971). Furthermore, Hackney (1978) suggested that a highly empathetic counselor can use personal awareness in selecting appropriate interventions. The CACREP (2001) Standards reinforce the importance of nonacademic or personal traits by making it a requirement within counselor education programs to evaluate such characteristics specifically during admission, screening, and retention processes. This article addresses the following: (a) a brief literature review of common terms related to nonacademic characteristics; (b) past research findings of criteria used by counselor education programs to evaluate nonacademic qualities; and (c) findings from a current survey research study conducted by the authors, which addressed the nonacademic criteria used to evaluate and retain community counseling students in 30 CACREP-accredited programs across the United States. * Counselor Competency and Impairment Within the literature, terms such as counselor competence and counselor impairment have been used to describe personal behaviors and characteristics (Procidano, Busch-Rossnagel, Reznikoff, & Geisinger, 1988). …