Counseling students' attribution of diagnostic credibility to clinical supervisors

Research on factors influencing diagnostic credibility has not been widespread. In this study, agreement ratings for a clinical diagnosis were compared for two groups of students receiving supervision from differently credentialed hypothetical supervisors. Implications of these findings are discussed relative to preparation practices and improving clinical practice. As 190 students who had completed either less than one-half (n=112) or more than one-half (n=78) of their programs in 9 institutions gave mean ratings of about 5 on a 10-point scale, they did not differentially rate diagnostic credibility of the hypothetical supervisors having credentials as psychiatrists, doctorate-holding counselor education faculty, doctorate-holding psychologists, and doctoral students holding master's degrees in counselor education.