An Interview with Alan J. Hovestadt: AAMFT Past President and Long-Time Marriage and Family Counselor Educator

Alan J. Hovestadt, EdD, is the immediate past president of the 24,000 member American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and a long-time IAMFC member who served as an IAMFC founding board member when ACA first granted IAMFC divisional status. Recently, Dr. Hovestadt was one of seven recipients of the prestigious American Counseling Association’s Presidential Award and was honored at the 2008 ACA Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Given Dr. Hovestadt’s prominence within both AAMFT and IAMFC and his long-time marriage and family counselor educator identity, the authors’ believed that an interview with Dr. Hovestadt would be of significant interest to The Family Journal readerships. Thus, Dr. Hovestadt graciously participated in an interview with Drs. Ken Coll, Michael Sunich, and Gerald Juhnke on November 20, 2007. In the interview below, Dr. Hovestadt responds to questions related to his (a) AAMFT Presidency experiences and accomplishments, (b) perceptions related to professionals aligning themselves either with AAMFT or IAMFC, (c) thoughts related to pressing legislative concerns that would be of specific interest to IAMFC members and The Family Journal readership, (d) perceptions related to marriage and family training changes, and (e) advice for those seeing to become counselor educators with specialization in couples, marriage, and family counseling

Understanding the lived experiences of Spanish bilingual counselors-in-training counseling Spanish-speaking clients

The skyrocketing rate of U.S. Spanish-speaking Latino population growth necessitates an increase in competent bilingual counselors. Currently, there are few resources to help prepare bilingual counselors-in-training to counsel Spanish-speaking clients. This qualitative study examined the experiences of Spanish bilingual counselors-in-training counseling Spanish-speaking clients. Eleven participants were interviewed in person. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using phenomenological methodology. Results from this study revealed 14 themes and subthemes. The five major themes included: Lost in Translation, The Importance of Culture, Counseling Practice with Spanish-Speaking Clients, Negative Self-Assessment, and Positive Experiences and Future Development. Due to the different language styles among counselors and clients and unfamiliar counseling vocabulary, participants experienced challenges communicating with their clients. In order to foster better communication, participants used a variety of methods to bridge the communication gap. Participants also discussed the importance of understanding the client's culture in order to better counsel them. While language and cultural differences affected the flow and pace of the counseling session, counselors' bilingualism reportedly helped clients feel more comfortable. Despite sometimes feeling anxious and guilty about these challenges, participants offered stories of success and positive growth. Based on a synthesis of their experiences, implications for the counseling profession and recommendations for future research are discussed