The influence of coached-client behavior on counselor-trainee nonverbal behavior in an initial counseling interview

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of different coached-client behavior styles upon counselor-trainee nonverbal behaviors during initial counseling sessions. This investigation was based upon the assumption that counseling is a mutually interactive encounter wherein each participant's behavior influences and is influenced by the behavior of the other participant. This relationship has been shown to exist for the verbal mode and this study attempted to extend this analysis to the nonverbal channel of human interaction.

Thirteen counselor-trainees at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville participated in four twenty-minute interviews, each with a different client trained to portray a behavior style developed from Millon's (1969) 4 x 2 schemata of personality patterns. . The four behavior styles used represented mildly pathological behavior types ranging from Activeindependent (Aggressive) to Passive-dependent (Submissive) response styles. Counselor-trainee interview behavior was video tape recorded and observers rated the occurrence of 21 nonverbal behaviors in each twenty minute interview. . Trained observers viewed these video tapes using a recording system developed by Island (l966) and modified for use in this study. Subject mean scores for each coached-client treatment condition were analyzed using a one-way repeated measure statistical design.

The major finding of this study was that the different coachedclient behavior styles did produce differences in counselor-trainee nonverbal behavior. Significant differences were found for the following

vi nonverbal categories: Any Head Movement (.00ol), Only Head Nods (.000l), Smile-Only (.0018), Upper Facial Movements (.0002), Hand Gesture-Only (.0292), Any Leg Movement (.0352), Foot Movement Only (.0l39), and Mouth-Tongue-Larynx Movements (Talk) (.00ol). These data support the results of many studies investigating the effects of client behavior on counselor verbal behavior, and provide additional justification for the conceptualization of counseling/psychotherapy as a reciprocally contingent interaction.

The most notable general finding was the parallel nature of the coached-client influence upon counselor-trainee movements. As the coached-client behavior style became more passive and dependent, counselortrainees mirrored client behavior and the trainees' movements occurred at a significantly lower rate. Counselor-trainees reflected the general behavior style of the individual they were interviewing. Trainee mouthtongue-larynx (Talk) responses did not conform to this general trend however. The most passive client, the Passive-dependent coached-client, elicited the most trainee mouth-tongue-larynx movements. This finding was consistent with the results of research exploring client and counselor verbal interaction and may reflect counselor-trainee discomfort with silence and the tendency to fill the void with words.

The obvious implication of this study is that counselor-trainees and all practicing counselors and psychotherapists need to be aware of the interactive nature of counseling/psychotherapy and how different clients elicit different nonverbal responses from the therapist. This awareness needs to be included into counselor training programs. Training modules should be developed to aid the trainee in understanding the interactivenature of counseling/psychotherapy. Counselor-trainee should be provided opportunities to analyze client influence upon their verbal as well as nonverbal behavior in order to develop the most facilitative response strategies for each client.