For this weeks assignment in PC-525, counselors are asked to choose a particular instrument which measures a psychological-personal characteristic. This counselor’s choice would be Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (AMBIT). This assessment tool is a psychometric set of questions that looks at how we make decisions based on our perception of the world. This assessment was originally developed by a mother and daughter team that had studied the work of Carl Gustavo Jung.
They took Jung theory of four domains and turned it into a practical working model for women interning onto the World War II industrial Job market: with hopes of creating a situation where the ladies would find Jobs that are “ most comfortable and effective” (Myers, 1980). The premise of this assessment starts with Jung idea of people having two dichotomous pairs: * thinking and feeling * sensation and intuition The first we refer to as being rational cognitive functions and the second as being the opposite.
Dichotomies I Extroversion (E) I -l (l) Introversion I Sensing (s) I -l (N) Intuition I Thinking (T) I -l (F) Feeling Judging 0) I -l (P) Perception I (Kaplan, 2009) From this the ladies created 16 possible psychological types. Mathematically there are 16 different combinations, hence the outcome. When the test is done the outcome will like INTO or EST.. Today, this test / questionnaire include 93 questions if you’re in the United States and 88 in the forced version from Europe. Each question has only two possible answers. We have to remember that while taking the test that there is no wrong or right answer.
The next question is: how well does it work? From the Myers & Brigs foundation comes this reply: “ hundreds of studies over the past 40 years have proven he instrument to be both valid and reliable. ” However not everyone agrees with that assessment. The Committee on Techniques for the Enhancement of Human Performance and the National Research Council has several studies that show as many as 75 % of those who take the test receive totally different results when the take the test again. There comment is “… There is not sufficient, well-designed research to Justify the use of AMBIT in career counseling programs.
Much of the current evidence is based on inadequate methodologies”(Duckpin, 1992). It would e this counselor’s best guess that having read many of the questions that there many environmental factors surrounding the clients past that might show a skewed result. An example is the loss of a parent or a breakup with a significant other. This assignment asks about whether this is a clinical, qualitative or quantitative method. Sense AMBIT doesn’t do a case history and qualitative may “ involve asking people for “ essay’ answers about often-complex issues or observing interactions in complex situations” (Berg, 2007).
This leaves us with quantitative method or the y to transport matters Into simple situations. One Issue Tanat all counselors n to assess is the question of ethics. The AMBIT Foundation does have a certification program for counselors. This program not only certifies you, but as a part of the education there is a section on ethics. Ethics would also include confidentiality, that this is a voluntary test with no right or wrong answer and the results are about traits and about types. Clients should be told that they are strong in, clearly prefer, or good at: rather then they are introverted or they are extroverted.
Counselors should never label clients. When a counselor looks at his or her client base, it would be lacking in our ethical approach to counseling, to not look at culture. As of today this method is in 20 languages and used in 30 countries and all continents. According to the AMBIT Foundation “ All type preferences (E-l, S-N, T-F, and J-P) appear in all cultures studied to date. People in different cultures report that the descriptions of the individual preferences make sense to them” (Meyers 2013). In closing, the final question is “ why this test”. To that question the author has no answer.
This isn’t this counselor’s area of expertise: if this counselor can Just get them to a Job, any Job, this counselor is happy. When dealing with alcoholics and addicts in recovery we must remember what we’re dealing with. These clients may fit into one of the following categories. * Institutionalized: 44 years old and has spent 22 years in prison. Had no cooking skills. * Co-occurring: has auditory and visual hallucinations. He sees spiders and snakes with medication. Five years clean and on * Brain growth: been using sense he was 12 and is now arrears old.
