SCHOOL COUNSELOR’S PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

School counselor is an inseparable component of education in school (Lunenburg, 2010; ASCA, 2015; Omoniyi & Iyabo, 2016). School counselor's guidance and counseling service should be comprehensive for all students. In carrying out their duty, counselors need to possess adequate psychological well-being (Meyer & Ponston, 2006; Merryman, Martin, & Martin, 2015; Ismail, Jamaludin, & Sumari, 2017; Thomas & Morris, 2017). This phenomenological study was aimed at obtaining an in-depth understanding of the school counselor's psychological well-being from their perspective. The subjects of the study were selected through purposive sampling. Five school counselors in state senior high schools in Central Java Province, Indonesia, were selected as the subjects of the study since they met the criteria determined by the study. The data were collected through in-depth interviews, and by the subjects' narration. This study found that: a) six dimensions of psychological well-being were identified although there were different levels for each subject, b) for the subjects of the study, psychological well-being supports their role and function as a counselor. A counselor with high psychological well-being is capable of balancing their condition both as a counselor and as an individual. As a result, working stress can be minimized, c) the supporting factors of school counselor's psychological well-being entail positive self-concept, religiosity, mindfulness, goal-setting, and social support, d) attempts in enhancing counselor's psychological well-being were accomplished by developing and optimizing the available supporting factors. It is recommended that a quantitative study should be conducted in the future by covering a larger sample in the same situations. Hence, it is expected that there will be a confirmation or possibility of generalization on the conclusion of the present study. It is suggested to manage the counselor candidate’s through education and training that concerns with the development of supporting factors of psychological well-being. Article visualizations: