beginning Practicum Experiences: Anxiety and Its Consequences

Beginning counselors are rarely able to avoid anxiety during early counseling sessions. The fears involved in demonstrating counseling arise from: (1) irrational beliefs concerning "the perfect response; " (2) academic coursework which seems to equate psychological illness with poor counseling skills; (3) uncartainty about necessary skills; and (4) anxiety engendered by the change process. Research on the effects of practicum anxiety indicates that highly anxious students are less effective in counseling with clients and that anxious counselors often have reduced levels of recall. Defensive expressions of resistance used by beginning counselorsito counteract-their fears of criticism and evaluation have been r investigated; each response to anxiety represents an attempt to avoid responsibility for counseling session 'process and outcome. A catalog. of typical, anxiety-initiated, inappropriate responses of trainee