The Effect of a Client Holistic Assessment Training Program on the Skills of Psychological Counselor Candidates in the First Interview

This study aims to examine the effect of the Client Holistic Assessment Training Program on preservicepsychological counselors’ perceptions of their holistic assessment competencies. The study was conducted using a quasi-experimental design. The research group consisted of 20 psychologicalcounseling candidates, with 10 participants assigned to the control group and 10 to the experimentalgroup. The average age of the participants is 22.7. Twelve of the participants are women, and eightare men. The experimental and control groups were formed based on the participants’ pre-test scores. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form and the Holistic Client Assessment Competency Scale. The experimental group received a 10-session Holistic Client Assessment Training Program, whereas the control group received no intervention. The study’s findings indicate that participants in the experimental group showed a significant increase in their perceived holistic assessment competencies across all subdimensions. Effect sizes were reported using the r statistic. In the final cross-group comparisons, large effects were observed for the subscales Initial Therapeutic Relationship (ITR), Information to Be Obtained (ITBC), Assessment Skills (AS), and Situations Where It Is Not Appropriate to Begin Counseling (SWINASC).A moderate effect was observed on the Comprehensive Assessment of the Problem (CAP) subscale. In the control group, no significant changes were observed in any subscale. These results demonstrate that the Holistic Client Assessment Training Program significantly enhances participants’ competencies across all sub-dimensions.