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Dissertations Student Research
5-1-2011
Wisdom of the counselor and the counselor's
perception of the therapeutic working alliance
Linda Carlyn Osterlund
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Osterlund, Linda Carlyn, "Wisdom of the counselor and the counselor's perception of the therapeutic working alliance" (2011).
Dissertations.Paper 221.
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© 2011
LINDA CARLYN OSTERLUND
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO
Greeley, Colorado
The Graduate School
THE WISDOM OF THE COUNSELOR AND THE COUNSELOR‘S PERCEPTION OF
THE THERAPEUTIC WORKING ALLIANCE
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Linda Carlyn Osterlund
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
School of Applied Psychology and Counselor Education
Counselor Education and Supervision
May, 2011
This Dissertation by: Linda Carlyn Osterlund
Entitled: The Wisdom of the Counselor and the Counselor’s Perception of the
Therapeutic Working Alliance
has been approved for meeting the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Counselor Education
and Supervision
Accepted by the Doctoral Committee
Heather M. Helm, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Betty Cardona, Ph.D., Co-Chair
Fred J. Hanna, Ph.D., Committee Member
Jay R. Schaffer, Ph.D., Faculty Representative
Date of Dissertation Defense
Accepted by the Graduate School
Robbyn R. Wacker, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice President for Research
Dean of the Graduate School and International Admissions
ABSTRACT
Osterlund, Linda Carlyn. The Wisdom of the Counselor and the Counselor’s Perception
of the Therapeutic Working Alliance. Published Doctor of Philosophy
dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2011.
The therapeutic working alliance has been identified as the most important factor
in the outcome of counseling. The therapeutic working alliance is the relationship
between the client and the counselor. It is the context in which the counselor builds hope,
collaborates on treatment goals and uses selected treatment approaches to best meet the
needs of the client. Scholars have suggested that the counselor‘s personal characteristics
contribute to the therapeutic working alliance. Further, researchers have identified
wisdom traits as a set of cognitive, affective, and reflective personal characteristics that
are interactive, as well as both interpersonal and intrapersonal, which are beneficial in
counseling. Wisdom traits can be organized by six conceptual categories; cognitive
ability, insight, reflective attitude, concern for others, real-world skills, and emotional
intelligence. Based on the review of literature, it is speculated that wisdom traits related
to the person of the counselor are an important, but unnoticed factor in the counseling
relationship.
Participants were 106 professional counselors, 83 female and 23 male, currently
working with a client for at least three sessions. Wisdom was measured by Three
Dimensional Wisdom Scale, with three factors: the affective dimension, the reflective
dimension, and the cognitive dimension; the Self Assessed Wisdom Scale, with five
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factors: critical life experience, openness, reflection or reminiscence, emotional
regulation, and humor; and the Wisdom Development Scale, with eight factors: self-
knowledge, altruism, inspirational engagement, judgment, life knowledge, life skills,
emotional management, and willingness to learn. The therapeutic working alliance was
measured by the Working Alliance Inventory – Short Form, Therapist version.
The results indicated a significant amount of variability in the therapeutic working
alliance was explained by the wisdom of the counselor. Additionally, three of the
subscales of wisdom significantly explained a portion of the therapeutic working alliance;
the cognitive dimension, emotional regulation, and life knowledge. The reflective
dimension, inspirational engagement and life skills were close to significant, therefore
indicated as important factors in the counselor‘s wisdom and the therapeutic working
alliance.
Even though some of the wisdom variables had a statistically significant impact
on the therapeutic working alliance, together they made a more significant contribution.
As counselor education programs move toward relying on research evidence to inform
the educational experience, the focus on the counseling relationship and the person of the
counselor becomes increasingly important. In the future, the development of a useful
measurement for wisdom could help counselor educators to identify, evaluate and teach
wisdom traits in future counselors.
Keywords: counselor education, person-of-the-counselor, therapeutic working
alliance, wisdom
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
So much has been given to me; I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.
Helen Keller (n.d.)
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to my grandmother, Vinnabel Thornton Burleson. Her life
was an example of focusing on possibilities instead of problems, and looking for
opportunities as opposed to obstacles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I acknowledge the support, sacrifice and encouragement of my
outstanding and wise husband; for without him, I could not have accomplished this.
I appreciate the sacrifice and support of my sons, who always believed in me, and
celebrated with me each milestone of this project.
I acknowledge the support and encouragement of my parents. I am especially
thankful to my Mom for leading the way to higher education and mentoring me through
this process. I am grateful to my Dad, for being my biggest champion and raising me
with the confidence that I could do this.
I acknowledge the leadership, support, and guidance of my committee, Dr.
Heather Helm, Dr. Betty Cardona, Dr. Fred Hanna, and Dr. Jay Schaffer. Dr. Heather
Helm has been a wise and compassionate guide for me throughout this process. I
acknowledge the support from the entire faculty and staff in Counselor Education and
Supervision program at University of Northern Colorado.
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I am grateful to my cohort of fellow students who shared this experience with me.
I acknowledge the faculty in the Graduate Counseling Program at Regis
University for their encouragement and unwavering support every step of the way.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………..1
Problem Statement
Rationale
Purpose
Research Questions
Definition of Terms
II. LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………..16
Medical versus Contextual Treatments
The Common Factors in Counseling
The Therapeutic Working Alliance
The Person of the Counselor
Wisdom: A Comprehensive Construct for Conceptualizing
Counselor Traits
The History of Wisdom in Research Literature
Wisdom and Counseling
Comparison of Models
Wisdom and Age
Implications for Counselor Education and Supervision
The Purpose of the Current Study
III. METHODS…………………………………………………………… .91
Research Design
Research Questions and Hypothesis
Participants
Procedure
Variables
Instruments
Data Analysis
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IV. RESULTS………………………………………………………………113
V. DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………..138
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………...165
APPENDIX A: PILOT STUDY ONE…...……………………………………..185
APPENDIX B: PILOT STUDY TWO……...………………………...………..195
APPENDIX C: INFORMED CONSENT…………………………..…………..212
APPENDIX D: DEMOGRAPHICS QUESTIONNAIRE ……………………..215
APPENDIX E: THREE DIMENSIONAL WISDOM SCALE……..……...…..217
APPENDIX F: SELF-ASSESSED WISDOM SCALE…….…………………..226
APPENDIX G: WISDOM DEVELOPMENT SCALE….………………….….230
APPENDIX H: WORKING ALLIANCE INVENTORY- SHORT FORM
THERAPIST……………...………………………………………...………….234
APPENDIX I: LETTER OF INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH
STUDY…………………………………………………...………………..…..238
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Description:client-centered approach, as conceptualized by Carl Rogers, is based on the core conditions the soul back into counseling (Ottens & Klien, 2005).
