Training Counseling Students to Work More Effectively with Short-Term Clients

Most clients attend only a few sessions before dropping out of counseling and, consequently, never traverse the series of
stages delineated in many counseling process models. There is frequently a mismatch between the counseling process as portrayed
in many counseling textbooks with the counseling process students are likely to experience when they begin practicum and internship
placements. Based on the counseling duration and premature termination literature, this article considers several models that
counselor educators could adopt to better prepare students to work with the large proportion of clients who will often attend
only a few sessions before terminating contact.