Factors Related to Duration of Counseling in a University Counseling Center

A review of the literature concerning factors predictive of duration in counseling indicates, on the whole, inconsistent and often conflicting results. The present study examined the relationship between selected variables related to clients, therapists, and system and duration of counseling with a sample of 428 clients of a university counseling center. The initial interview data indicated that six variables were significantly related to duration but collectively only accounted for 23% of the variance. It is argued that efforts to delineate factors relating to duration of treatment might profitably consider variables pertaining to other phases of the counseling process.