Affiliations: University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA | Virginia Commonwealth University, VA, USA | University of Florida, FL, USA | State University of New York at Buffalo, NY,
USA
Note: [] Fong Chan is a professor and Gloria Lee is a doctoral candidate,
Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Brian T. McMahon is a research professor, Departments of
Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Counseling, Virginia
Commonwealth University. Linda R. Shaw is an associate professor, Department of
Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Florida. Address for correspondence:
Fong Chan, Rehabilitation Psychology & Special Education, School of
Education, 432 N Murray St., Madison, WI 53706, USA. Tel.: +1 608 262 2137;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Identification and reconciliation of counselor expectations between
consumer and counselor is believed to increase the counselor-consumer working
alliance, which by extension will improve rehabilitation counseling outcomes.
The purpose of this article is to describe the development of the Expectations
About Rehabilitation Counseling (EARC) scale, one of the component measures
used within the working alliance framework for enhancing counselor-consumer
working relationship in rehabilitation. Principal components analysis results
indicate a four-component solution (expectations about counselor behavior,
expectations about consumer behavior, expectations about vocational services,
and expectations about clinical and support services) to be optimal both in
terms of parsimony and interpretability. This article provides empirical
evidence for the factorial structure of the EARC scale. Consumers and
counselors were found to differ significantly on two counseling expectancy
factors: consumer behavior and clinical/support services. Discrepancies in
counseling expectancies between counselors and consumers are inversely related
to working alliance. Clinical applications of the EARC scale are discussed.
Keywords: Expectations About Rehabilitation Counseling (EARC) Scale, rehabilitation counseling, working alliance
