| This study examined the effects of a Stress Management workshop on perceived stress, state anxiety, and self-efficacy in counselors-in-training. It was hypothesized the stress management workshop with verbal persuasion e-mail messages would have a positive effect on decreasing perceived stress and state anxiety, while enhancing self-efficacy in counselors-in-training. The study participants were the practicum students from Spring/Summer and Fall, 2008 semesters at a large, urban, metropolitan university. Twenty-six practicum counselors-in-training, 13 in each experimental group, voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. There were a total of four males and 22 females who participated in the study. All participants completed the criterion instruments, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, Cohen et al., 1983), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Spielberger et al., 1983), and Self-Efficacy Scale (SED, Sherer et al., 1982) at the prior to the start of the stress management workshop intervention and at the end of the semester. The lack of statistically significant differences between the group means for any of the dependent variables were consistent with the analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) findings for the interaction between group membership and time. Generalizations concerning this study should be done cautiously, in light of the lack of statistically significant differences between the experimental groups. Suggestions for issues to be addressed in future research, utilizing more specific counselor education and training measurements, over the entire clinical training experiences in the counselor education program for longer periods of time, and increasing the intensity, frequency, and importance of stress management and verbal persuasion e-mail message interventions were discussed. |
