Training counseling and problem-solving skills with university students.

Often nonprofessionals lack specific instruction in relevant counseling and problem-solving skills. The effects of training procedures on counseling and problem-solving behaviors were examined experimentally with university students. The procedures involved the use of behavioral specifications, rationales, situational examples, study guides, and practice plus feedback on performance. Following training, the average percentage of occurrence of counseling and problem-solving behaviors increased to 89%. Generalization data in sessions with actual clients and expert ratings of the overall quality of counseling provided evidence of generalization to other settings and other evaluative dimensions of counseling and problem-solving performance.