Sean Hall, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAB School of Education, has been selected to receive the AARC Journal Editor’s Research Award by the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling.
The award is given annually to authors of research deemed to have made the greatest contribution to the field.
In a study published in the journal Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation in 2017, Hall and co-authors investigate risk and protective factors capable of differentiating completers from dropouts in university-based counseling centers. The group found that clients with mild symptoms of depression were more likely to continue counseling. Alcohol abuse and eating concerns were found to potentially reduce the likelihood that a client would complete counseling. Increased symptoms of social anxiety were also found to be associated with a higher likelihood of continuing counseling. More severe forms of social anxiety reduced the likelihood that a client would complete a counseling program.
The findings provide insight into how counselors can more accurately identify completers and dropouts in order to better tailor treatment plans and services offered by university-based counseling centers.
Hall teaches counseling in the Department of Human Studies and is the director of the UAB Community Counseling Clinic. The clinic, housed in the UAB School of Education, is run by well-trained graduate students in the counselor education program who are supervised by experienced faculty. Hall will be recognized at the 2018 National Assessment and Research Conference in Virginia on Sept. 7.
The study, “Premature Termination from Outpatient Psychotherapy in a University-Based Counseling Center,” can be found here.