Counsellors’ personality characteristics and skills have been found to be key influencers of therapeutic outcome. Professional and interpersonal counselling training influences counsellors’ relations with clients and the counselling outcome. In addition, research findings point out, that therapy outcome is also largely affected by client variables such as motivation, trust, expectancies and internal resources such as the client’s healing capacities.
Studies have concluded that therapists and clients often have different opinions on what might have brought change during therapy. By understanding the processes of therapeutic change, we can be better prepared to help clients reach their goals. The current project aims to fill a gap in the field by exploring both client and trainees change processes. Even though there is extensive research in the area of change as a process of therapy, there is still a gap on further exploring nonspecific factors to change. The first study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis aims to explore students’ experiences in counselling as few empirical studies have been conducted with college student population seeking mental health help in college counselling centers. Findings aim at filling a gap in knowledge about participants’ experiences in counselling and at providing new insight for training programmes and curricula design. A Hermeneutics Single Case Study Design will aim at better understanding client change, therapy outcome, and the role of therapeutic alliance, as research findings, indicate that the therapeutic alliance is a key element of change. In addition, it is imperative to document counselling trainees’ change over the course of their training, measuring pre–post improvement on performance of general therapeutic relational skills; professional functioning; development as result of the supervisory relationship; client retention rates as well as improvements on self-ratings of empathy and genuineness
