ABSTRACT
Counseling or psychotherapy is aimed at producing constructive behavioral and personality change. Its rapid growth implies that the procedures involved are indeed highly effective; certainly the client, or patient, as well as the professional counselor or psychotherapist, seems convinced of its value. Although there was some turnover in counselors and therapists during the eight years of treatment, much of the treatment was supportive therapy in which the individual counselor attempted to develop a friendly and supportive relationship with the boys. Comparisons between the experimental and control groups at the outset indicated close comparability in diagnosis, prognosis, severity of initial illness, and such demographic characteristics as age, sex, and educational level. Psychotherapy as a treatment for alcoholism also appears to be quite ineffective. Using a matched treatment and control population, Williamson and Bordin studied the effects of counseling on achievement levels in college students.
