Willingness to seek counseling: a structural equation model for studying counselors in training

Abstract

This study had two main purposes. First, this study tested Cramer's (1999) model of willingness to seek counseling with the population of counselors in training. The second purpose was to test whether the model fit differently for students who attend a graduate program that required them to participate as clients in counseling than for students who attend a graduate program with no counseling requirement. Research by Cepeda-Benito and Short (1998) and Kelly and Achter (1995) identified four predictors of willingness to seek counseling; self-concealment, distress, social support, and positive attitude toward counseling. Cramer's (1999) model utilized path analysis to assess the relationship among these five variables. Counselors in training (N = 513) from 19 universities completed surveys about self-concealment, distress, social support, attitude toward counseling, and willingness to seek counseling. Three hundred and twenty-nine participants were from programs that required students to participate in their own personal counseling, and one hundred and eighty-four participants were from programs that did not required counseling. The present study investigated Cramer's (1999) model of willingness to seek counseling through structural equation modeling. Results of the structural equation modeling indicated that the data fit Cramer's model of willingness to seek counseling well when applied to the combined samples of counselors in training. All of the path coefficients for the combined and for the larger (counseling required) samples were statistically significant. Two of the six paths for the smaller sample were not statistically significant. However, there was not a significant difference between the structural models for students from counseling required programs and from counseling not required programs. These findings were compared with the current literature on willingness to seek counseling and literature on benefits of counselors attending counseling. Counselors in training reported having a lower willingness to seek counseling than undergraduate psychology students in past studies. Counselors in training had lower self-concealment than undergraduate psychology students. Implications for counselor training programs and suggestions for future research are provided.