According
to the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational
Programs (CACREP) standards for clinical instruction (2001), clinical
instruction environments in counselor education programs should include
settings for both individual and group counseling, provide an atmosphere
that is conducive to modeling and demonstration, ensure privacy, and
provide appropriate space and “necessary and appropriate technologies
that assist learning, such as audio, video, and telecommunications
equipment.” (p. 67). In 1999, the Association for Counselor Education
and Supervision (ACES) Technology Interest Network developed twelve
technology competences that give counselor education program guidance as
to the knowledge that counselors-in-training should have at the
completion of the program (ACES, 1999). According the ACES competences,
students should “be able to use such audiovisual equipment as video
recorders, audio recorders, projection equipment, video conferencing
equipment and playback units” (p. 1). Because of these
recommendations, it is important for counselor education programs to
provide students with audio/visual equipment whether through a training
laboratory or clinic.
Audio/visual systems
utilized by counselor training programs often range in scope from basic
facilities designed to offer videotaping opportunities for students in
beginning level counseling skills courses to elaborate facilities that
offer comprehensive mental health services. While many counselor
training programs provide students with minimal access to equipment,
others offer students a variety of equipment and resources by developing
a comprehensive training laboratory or clinic (Meyers, 1994). This can
be a daunting task to undertake especially due to a lack of awareness of
the resources needed and where these resources are available. When
designing a counselor training facility several factors need to be
considered including the type of facility, location and space available,
policies and procedures, clients served, and technology. Much of the
literature devoted to counselor training laboratories discusses physical
space, policies, procedures, legal and ethical issues, and the roles of
the laboratories (Holden & Kern, 1996; Myers, 1994; Myers & Smith,
1995). However, the literature devoted to counseling laboratories and
clinics has not addressed the part technology can play in training
counselors. Due to the advances in technology, counselor education
programs have more choices than ever to provide counselors-in-training
with a first-rate clinical experience. The following article will
review several areas of technology in order to help counselor educators
make decisions about the training equipment to be purchased. While
there are many choices that programs can make when considering the
technology to be purchased and a variety of sophisticated equipment
available, this article will focus on practical considerations when
developing a training facility or clinic and purchasing equipment.
Utilization, Function
and Purpose of the Training Facility
One of the first
decisions to be made before beginning this process of purchasing
equipment is to determine the type of facility. First, counselor
education programs may choose to develop a training laboratory. This
facility would function only to provide students with opportunities to
demonstrate skills and offer a place to provide supervision based
primarily on role-play situations. It should first be determined which
classes will utilize the facility in order to make decisions about space
and technology needs. For example, the laboratory may only be used by
one skills training course or a variety of counseling and testing
courses. Second, programs can choose to develop a clinic that provides
counseling services to the university and/or local community.
Determining the services provided and the clientele served will each
play a role in the setup of the facility and the resources needed.
Facility
Consideration
Once the decision has
been made about the type of facility (i.e., laboratory or clinic), there
are other considerations such as use of space, confidentiality,
aesthetics, and furniture. Decisions regarding space include types of
rooms and the function the rooms will serve. When determining the types
of rooms, it should determine how much space is available for both
individual and group counseling rooms. In addition, if space is
abundant, rooms might be made available for supervision and video
viewing purposes. Function of the rooms can range from individual to
group, and/or family to play therapy rooms. Individual rooms should
contain comfortable chairs, which accommodate clients of all sizes.
Family rooms should contain both couches and chairs in order to
accommodate multiple clients. Aesthetically, it is important to make
these rooms similar to what counselors and clients would find while in a
traditional community agency setting (e.g., color, furniture,
accessories). Play therapy rooms should include toys, puppets, games,
and children’s tables. In addition, it is important for a play therapy
room to reflect a child’s environment with bright colors and paints.
Another aspect to consider when designing the laboratory or clinic is
the use of one-way mirrors and/or viewing areas. If space allows,
viewing areas with one-way mirrors can provide many students with an
opportunity to observe sessions, while also providing a backup system if
technology failures occur.
Another function the
laboratory or clinic may serve is a central location to house
resources. These resources can be accessed through a library system and
consist of materials related to the practical elements of counseling
(e.g., workbooks, classroom guidance kits, and games) that may typically
not be available in the university library, community agency, or school
environment.
One final yet
important consideration is confidentiality. The counseling laboratory
or clinic should be a confidential environment for both student and
client use. If programs have the luxury of choosing space, it is
important to consider an environment that provides the most
confidentiality for potential clients (whether volunteers or paying
customers). Deciding where clients will enter and exit may have an
impact on what space is chosen. When setting up a counseling clinic,
consider a waiting area as well as a front desk for a secretary or
receptionist to greet clients and take payments if necessary.
Resources for Grants
One of
the most challenging aspects of developing a training facility or
counseling clinic is funding. While many counseling programs have been
successful in obtaining funding to purchase equipment, many of the
funding sources vary according to department, college or university.
When attempting to identify funding sources, most funding comes from
internal grants (i.e., college or university). Many times, funds may
have been earmarked for technology advances and can be accessed to
purchase laboratory equipment. In addition, most universities collect a
technology fee from each student. Within this system, there is a grant
process for which counselor educators can apply to purchase equipment.
While external grants
to fund the purchase of lab equipment may be rare, one idea is to link
the purchase of equipment to serving a specific population. Grant
funding may be available to serve particular populations (e.g., domestic
violence, children and families with special needs). Part of the
budget could be allocated for the purchase of equipment to better serve
the needs of the specified clientele. In addition, other external
options and/or partnerships may be available. First, the Administration
for Children and Families within the United States Department of Health
and Human Services has a variety of grants available (www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/index.html).
Second, collaborating with other agencies or departments on campus may
provide additional funding opportunities, which would involve possibly
sharing the facility to meet the needs of the counseling program, as
well as the needs of the collaborating department/agency. Third,
working with the local public school system could provide the occasion
to write a grant that may fund the project (e.g., Century 21 Grant).
Fourth, many local companies may donate recourses and equipment yearly
due to upgrades. Last, approaching a local business or alumni may lead
to donations designed to sponsor the development and implementation of
the facility.
Technology
Considerations
The following section
will discuss several aspects to help in making decisions about
technological choices. There are several issues to contemplate
including initial considerations, specific equipment choices, set-up
issues, and other miscellaneous concerns.
Initial
Considerations
Due to
the fact that technology is often an area that most are unfamiliar, one
of the first aspects to consider is utilizing a company that specializes
in audio/visual equipment. There are several issues to assess when
identifying this type of local company. First, a local media company
may provide both consulting services as well as sell a wide range of
audio/visual equipment. These companies may be listed in the yellow
pages of any local telephone book under "Audio/Visual Equipment or
Production Services" or any variation of this topic. One of the
advantages of using a private company is that these representatives are
not wed to a particular product and will be able to shop around to find
the appropriate equipment within a price range. Second, security
companies will also have knowledge about audio/visual equipment. These
companies would be listed in a local telephone book under "Security
Equipment and Monitoring" or some variation of this topic. Security
companies typically market equipment that is produced by the parent
company and may be unable to tailor equipment to meet specific uses for
a counseling laboratory/clinic. This can be a disadvantage due to the
fact that the equipment may be more expensive. However, because the
equipment will be security type equipment, it will more than likely be
high quality and high-powered equipment. Third, companies that
specialize in high-end surveillance (e.g., gambling facilities) often
create elaborate technological systems, which can provide the option of
developing a sophisticated system tailored to the specific needs of the
facility.
One of
the most important aspects of getting started is to specify ideas about
the type of equipment wanted for the training facility. This will allow
clear communication with the representative from the company chosen,
therefore avoiding purchasing equipment that does not meet the exact
needs or equipment that is unnecessary.
Set-up
Whether
or not the training facility includes individual, group, family, or play
rooms, the equipment should remain consistent. It is recommended that
each room contain the following equipment: (a) video camera(s), (b)
audio system, and (c) domes to conceal the cameras. One-way mirrors may
also be a consideration for each room, which can add an additional way
of viewing the action taking place in each room.
No matter
how many individual, group, family, or play therapy rooms are chosen,
the training facility must have a control room. This control room will
be the center of the audio/visual system and typically contain all
equipment related to the coordination of the system. Each counseling
room will have associated with the system a monitor, VCR, and audio
system which will be located in the control room. The control room not
only houses the equipment for each counseling room, but can provide a
confidential place to view sessions via television monitors and audio
system. It is crucial to allow enough space for both equipment and
viewing purposes. Depending on the purpose of the facility more space
may be needed. For example, if the facility is used as a site for
practicum students where supervision is being conducted both by a
supervisor and peer review, space will be needed for multiple parties to
view on-going sessions.
Equipment Choices
Video Cameras
One
decision related to video cameras is the number of cameras in each
room. The ideal set-up is two video cameras in each counseling room,
thus allowing the observer to see frontal views of both or all parties
(i.e., counselor[s] and client[s]). In both training and supervising,
it is often beneficial to clearly see all parties in order to judge
nonverbal behavior in addition to verbal responses. By seeing frontal
views of all parties, the supervisor will be better able to provide
feedback related to nonverbal behaviors. Although two video cameras may
be ideal, one video camera in each room is sufficient. The use of one
video camera allows for side views of the interaction between parties or
a view of one party vs. the other. The choice between one vs. two
cameras in each room may be linked to budget.
Splitters
If the choice is
made to equip each room with two video cameras, a “splitter” will need
to be purchased. The splitter is the piece of equipment that will allow
frontal views of both the client and the counselor. The splitter takes
the views from both video cameras and splits the views on the monitor.
As discussed earlier, this equipment can be a very useful aspect when
examining the non-verbal behavior of the client(s) and counselor(s).
When discussing the splitter with a media consultant, one issue that
will have an impact on the function of the splitter is the concept of
gen-lock (generator locking device). In order to use a splitter, some
camera brands will require that one camera have gen-lock. Gen-lock is
“a system which allows the synchronization of two or more video sources,
such as cameras” (MicroImage Video Systems, 2006, p. 1). When
providing information for a media representative, it is recommended that
specific information about the desired view be provided. If the desired
view is a dual-view, the splitter may need to be custom built. The
majority of splitters may offer a quad-view (four quadrants on the
screen vs. two quadrants). If a dual view is the desired outcome, a
quad-view splitter would leave two quadrants blank.
Domes
In order
to provide the most unobtrusive environment, concealing any equipment,
particularly video cameras, is recommended. This can be accomplished by
concealing video cameras under tented domes. Depending on the type of
camera purchased, the dome may either hang from the ceiling or be
mounted on the wall. If the camera is suspended from the ceiling, then
the dome will correspond to the camera and will be round in shape. If
the camera purchased is a wall-mounted camera, the dome will be
half-moon shaped and mounted to the wall over the camera. However, if
the camera is placed in an innocuous position (e.g., in a corner) in the
room, domes may not be optional.
Monitors
Each
video camera will be linked to a television monitor located in the
control room. The media consultant may have recommendations about
brand, although any brand may be appropriate. When making decisions
about television monitors, size can come be a factor. Several factors
to consider regarding the size of the monitor would be space available
in the control room, viewing needs, and budget. If space is limited in
the control room, smaller monitors should be considered. However, if
space is not an issue and many students and/or supervisors may be
viewing the same session at one time, a larger monitor may meet viewing
needs better.
Recording devices
Two
methods of recording sessions can be considered. First, a traditional
video cassette recorder (VCR) may be appropriate and meet both student
and faculty needs. Although VCRs are now considered “low tech”, this
method still provides the most practical and convenient method for
recording sessions. Many students still have more access to VCRs than
other methods. (It is important to mention that some students will
still not have access to even a VCR. This will be addressed under
“Miscellaneous Considerations.”) The videotape (depending on the length
of the tape) can easily hold several one hour long sessions. Second,
the use of digital video devices (DVD) may be considered to record
sessions. This would require a DVD recorder be connected to the
audio/visual system via the control room. While digital recording and
viewing is a more advanced form of technology, it may still lack
practicality and convenience for students. Students may have less
access to a DVD player than a VCR.
Audio System
When
making decisions about the audio system, it may be best to rely on the
expertise of a media consultant. This system will involve a transmitter
that is associated with each counseling room and monitor. The
transmitter will transmit the audio signals to receivers.
Considerations include the sensitivity of the system as well as the
visibility of the equipment. It is crucial for the audio system to be
able to pick up any voices in the room. Because the audio system will
be linked to the recording equipment, the system must be sensitive
enough to allow voices to be heard via recording. Visibility of the
equipment is also an issue. It is important to conceal the equipment.
Small high-powered microphones can be placed in the ceilings to provide
an unobtrusive environment for the client(s).
Receivers/Headphones
One
important aspect of the audio system is the receivers and the headphones
associated. When choosing a receiver system and headphones, consider a
wireless system. This will allow mobility for the supervisor or any
other person watching a session. With wireless headphones, a
rechargeable portable receiver system would allow a student and/or
supervisor to plug in the headphone and still be able to move from the
control room to various viewing rooms. Receivers would be programmed
to receive audio feed from a stationary transmitter located in the
control room. The receiver may contain various channels (wide band or
narrow band). A channel select button would then be used to choose the
desired channel. An added advantage of the receivers with multiple
channel options is that it allows the supervisor the opportunity to
switch from one session to another, therefore offering more flexibility
in watching multiple sessions.
White noise
system/machines
White noise machines
can be a useful addition to any training facility or clinic. If the
facility has limitations regarding confidentiality, a white noise system
can provide more privacy. The white noise system basically emits a
low-level hum that can drown out other distracting noises. A white
noise system can vary from small individual machines that can be placed
outside of individual doors to a sophisticated system integrated into
the facility. If there are budget constraints, individual white noise
machines are inexpensive and can be purchased from publication companies
that publish counseling resources. A white noise system can provide a
confidential environment for most of the facilities rather than focusing
on one or two rooms. The white noise
system can be controlled by one switch located in the control room and
activated when needed.
Bug in the Ear
According
to Bernard and Goodyear (2004), the bug-in-the-ear (BITE) system is a
method of live supervision that “consists of a wireless earphone that is
worn by the supervisee through which the supervisor can coach the
supervisee during the therapy session” (p. 258). This system provides
several advantages, one of which is the opportunity for a supervisor to
make minor adjustments to a session while being very unobtrusive.
However, there are also disadvantages to be considered. The BITE system
can often be overused by the supervisor, resulting in the supervisee
parroting the supervisor, and cause awkward moments while the supervisee
listens (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004).
Bug in the Eye
Klitzke
and Lombardo (1991) designed a system called “bug-in-the-eye” as an
alternative to the bug-in-the-ear system (as cited in Bernard &
Goodyear, 2004). This system uses a computer monitor in the counseling
room similar to a teleprompter. Supervisors, using a keyboard, types
messages to the supervisee. The computer system used by the supervisor
is usually located in the control room. The monitor viewed by the
supervisee is positioned behind the client. A flat screen placed on a
rotating stand out of sight of the client is an also an option.
Advantages may be similar to those of the BITE system without the
disadvantages of disrupting the counseling session. Another advantage
includes a permanent record of the feedback to be provided to the
supervisee via disk or CD.
Telephones
Some
training facilities choose to have telephones in each counseling room.
The purpose of the phone is to allow the supervisor to phone in
recommendations and/or suggestions to the trainee. While this option
may be less technologically advanced, it may be a viable option for
programs with limited funding. The telephone system can be an
alternative to a bug-in-the-ear/eye system. To create less of a
disturbance during a counseling session, an alternative alerting signal
can be used, such as a visual signaling device which can be a flashing
light or vibration. A visual signaling device can be purchased to plug
directly into the phone jack located in counseling rooms. This would
allow for a silent alert rather than the auditory alert of a telephone
ring.
Voice over equipment
Voice
over equipment can be installed in each viewing station. This allows the
supervisors to add comments while watching the session. Later when the
counselor views the tape, the supervisor’s commentary can be heard at
the same time the session is being viewed.
Editing Station
One
optional yet beneficial aspect of a counselor training facility might be
to offer students the ability to edit material. There are several types
of editing equipment that can be purchased. First, a stand-alone
digital video editing system (e.g., Casablanca Avio) can be a nice
edition to the training facility. While this type of system is
low-tech, advantages include price and skill-level. This system is
affordable for those with limited budgets and does not require
high-level skills to operate. Second, digital editing offers a very
advanced product but also requires advanced skills. A high-powered
computer will be needed in order to operate the necessary software.
Software (e.g., Adobe Digital Video Collection) can be purchased at a
reasonable price due to educational discounts.
Miscellaneous
considerations
In order
to provide other useful resources, counselor training facilities would
be wise to consider offering students some additional equipment such as
mobile TV/VCR combinations on carts and portable video camera
equipment. As discussed earlier, despite technological advances, some
students may still not have access to VCRs or DVD players. Therefore,
it may be important for training facilities to offer students access to
mobile units. These units can be used to view videotaped sessions made
by students in other locations. In addition, mobile TV/VCRs would allow
counselors to show counseling related videotapes to clients as part of
treatment. Portable video cameras may be helpful when students are
required to videotape sessions at off-campus sites such as schools or
community agencies. Having access to a portable video camera with a
tri-pod can allow students the opportunity to videotape counseling
sessions that can later be presented as part of supervision during
practicum or internship. Another miscellaneous consideration that will
help in maintaining equipment is to put the video cameras on a switch
that will allow the cameras to be turned off when not in use. Finally,
a piece of equipment that may be useful in maintaining tapes is a
portable tape eraser.
Conclusion
One
limitation of this article is the lack of discussion of some alternative
equipment that is more technologically advanced. If counselor training
programs are fortunate enough to have no budget constraints, then there
are many technology choices available that can offer a more
sophisticated and highly advanced system. Although making choices about
audio/visual equipment to be utilized by counselor training programs can
be challenging, suitable and practical decisions can be made when
designing a training laboratory and/or clinic. Counselor educators do
not necessarily have to be technology experts to be able to provide
students with first-rate equipment. With proper planning and
conscientious decision-making, counselor training programs can provide
students with a wide variety of affordable yet sophisticated technology
to enhance their learning experience.
References
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Klitzke, M. J., &
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Author's Biography
