Counselor Trainee Bias: Empathy and Blame in Co‐Occurring Disorders
ABSTRACT Using a 2 × 2 analog design, 138 counselors‐in‐training (CITs) were randomly assigned to vignettes to assess how they differently attributed blame and empathy toward a fictional client with a co‐occurring substance use disorder (SUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder following a relapse. Vignettes varied by SUD (alcohol/crystal meth) and relapse determinants (intrapersonal/interpersonal). CITs attributed more blame to clients relapsing due to interpersonal factors and using crystal meth. Empathy scores remained consistent across all conditions.
Authors
- Dennis D. Gilbride
- Melissa R. Zeligman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5127-6750)
- Jamian Coleman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6851-2545)
- Moneta Sinclair (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8417-5160)
- Franco Dispenza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8292-7501)
- Don E. Davis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3169-6576)
Institutions
- University of Central Florida (US)
- Georgia State University (US)
- Knoxville College (US)
- Positive Impact (US)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Counselor Education and Supervision
- Published
- 2025-06-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12349
- Primary Topic
- Counseling Practices and Supervision
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00