Case conceptualizations by mental health and marriage and family counselors

Based on lack of agreement about influence of professional training on clinical data interpretation, this study explored professional training, within accredited mental health counseling (MHC) and marriage and family counseling/therapy (MFC/T) preparation programs, for case conceptualization and initial treatment planning of master's and doctoral students. Student members of relevant listservs participated through a survey link.; Participants responded to a demographic questionnaire and three case simulations/vignettes. Each vignette described a situation MHCs or MFC/Ts likely would encounter in clinical practice. Respondents selected the likelihood for conceptualizing and/or planning therapeutic intervention in each of six therapeutic modalities. The weighted response scale ranged from extremely unlikely to extremely likely.; Relationships were investigated among response values and selected professional variables. Similarities and differences were found in how students conceptualize client concerns. Education level was associated with preferred conceptual style. Gender, program enrollment, primary type of clinical experience, professional association of the respondents and respondent's supervisor/mentor did not yield significant differences in response means. There were no relationships among each student's age and amount of supervised clinical practice and preferred case conceptualization. However, there were suggestions for what shapes trainees' conceptualization preferences. Patterns reflecting conceptual consistency were found among some professional variables and preferred client conceptualizations including between a respondent's identified academic program and conceptual dimension associated with particular specializations. Respondent's professional socialization also showed an association with preferred conceptual style. When response patterns were examined within each academic subgroup, a trend toward conceptual dimension consistency was found among master's- and doctoral-level MFC/T trainees and master's-level MHC students.; This study demonstrated that it is possible to clarify further associations among professional variables and conceptualization choices. However, additional research is necessary to understand fully factors contributing to students' conceptualization of clients' concerns and association among various training pedagogies and manners of conceptualization within MHC and MFC/T preparation programs.