Counselor Professional Identity Research Articles

Growing grassroots: counseling student experiences in legislative professional advocacy

ABSTRACT Counselor educators and supervisors have a vital role in promoting legislative professional advocacy (LPA). An interpretative qualitative analysis study of counseling graduate students involved in state-level LPA was conducted. Findings revealed six distinct themes: (1) professional counselor identity, (2) knowledge, attitudes and skills, (3) professional support, (4) power of the group, (5) social justice, and (6) personal impact. Study findings may help counselor educators and supervisors educate, guide, and mentor students, thereby increasing the likelihood of professional counselor LPA.

Exploring the Use of Music to Facilitate Counseling Student Development

ABSTRACT Novice counseling students can have difficulty connecting with foundational course content and developing their new professional counselor identity. In this phenomenological study, researchers explored the use of music as a creative teaching tool to facilitate learning and counselor development among clinical mental health counseling students enrolled in an introductory counseling course. Students reported the use of music deepened their affect, expanded their perspectives about course content, energized them to take responsibility and act, enhanced awareness of creative engagement for teaching and counseling, and facilitated classroom discussions.

“Don’t psych yourself out, you got this!”: master’s counseling students’ narratives about their counseling research methods course

ABSTRACT Researchers suggested a need to further explore training program elements that may facilitate counseling students’ researcher identity (RI). We examined the narratives of sixteen master’s counseling students regarding their counseling research methods course and found themes of anticipation, experience, and reflection. We provide implications for counselor educators to create a research methods course that acknowledges past research experiences, elicits positive feelings about research, and advocates for the RI dimension of overall counselor professional identity (CPI).

Structural invariance of the Global Wellness Model: A national sample

AbstractTotal wellness (combined physical and mental health) is an integral element in the professional identity of counselors. Counselors need wellness‐based models with corresponding screening tools to measure their clients’ wellness. A number of sociodemographic disparities in mental and physical wellness exist among US adults. While a number of wellness models exist (e.g., Global Wellness Model), the literature is missing a model that has been tested for invariance (equivalent meaning) across extant wellness‐based sociodemographic variables. Invariance testing is a crucial next step in this line of research, as it is not appropriate to apply a model in practice if the meaning of the model's latent trait differs between subgroups of the population. Results demonstrated that the Global Wellness Model was invariant by gender, ethnicity, help‐seeking history, income, and education among a national sample (N = 772) of US adults. Results also revealed sociodemographic differences in Global Wellness by income and help‐seeking history.

Exploring the Relationship Between Components of Professional Identity for Counselors

The present study of 1,218 counselors used a correlational research design to explore the relationship between components of professional identity for counselors. The study explored relationships between factors of practice setting, years of experience, compassion, demographics, and overall professional identity. The study included provisionally and fully licensed counselors. Counselors in full-time practice reported a significantly higher sense of professional identity as compared with counselors in part-time practice. Further, highly experienced counselors reported significantly higher strength of professional identity as compared with novice counselors. However, no significant group differences were found based on counselor work setting, licensure type, and gender identity. Type of practice, years of experience, and compassion emerged as the best predictors of counselor professional identity. Implications for clinical supervision and burnout prevention to support strong professional identity for counselors are discussed.

School counselor leadership: A theoretical and empirical review

Entering the 21st century, the leadership role of teachers is in the spotlight in primary to secondary education. Similarly, the leadership of school counselors began to be voiced. Changes in the orientation of guidance and counseling resulted in a shift in the role of the school counselor as one of the implementers in guidance and counseling management. School counselors exercise a leadership role in developing and organizing guidance and counseling programs. This study aims to describe and how the leadership of school counselors theoretically and empirically. The analysis method uses a literature review with four stages: identification, screening, suitability, and inclusion. The primary data sources are obtained from academic reference books and previous research on teacher leadership, guidance and counseling over the past five years that have been published in reputable journals in the Scopus database. The results showed that school counselor leadership in the last five years carried several themes, such as testing the effectiveness of leadership training interventions, the relationship of leadership with personality attributes, the design of leadership training frameworks, the relationship of counseling leadership with professional counselor identity, and school counselor leadership in the context of ethnicity. The results of this study are expected to provide a broader picture of future research opportunities on the topic of school counselor leadership.

Integration of addiction recovery and professional identities for counselor trainees

AbstractCounselor trainees in recovery from substance use often have a foundational recovery identity; they also develop a professional counselor identity through their training. This study utilized narrative inquiry to explore the integration of professional identity and recovery identity. Resonant threads and narrative tensions emerged from the storied experiences of participants.

The critical need for professional advocacy: A call to the counseling profession to value professional counselor identity

ABSTRACT Decades of advocacy have established Counseling as a valuable profession through Counseling accreditation, credentialing, licensure, and scholarship that reflect Counseling values, ethics, philosophical orientation, skills, and roles. In 2022, Counselors became recognized Medicare providers and anticipated inter-state practice through the Counseling Compact. We encourage Professional Counselors to foresee unintended consequences of new opportunities, protect Professional Counselor Identity and transprofessional collaborations, and remain vigilant to not lose the hard-earned privilege to uniquely serve as Professional Counselors.

Professional counselors in training perceptions of forgiveness and wellness

ABSTRACT This exploratory study examined professional counselor identity through the relationship between wellness and forgiveness in counselors in training (N=72). Participants perceived themselves as experiencing high levels of wellness on the 5F-Wel. The Creative Self and Essential Self predicted HFS-Situations, and the Creative Self accounted for HFS-Others and HFS Total. Implications for counselor education are discussed.

School Counselor Professional Identity in Relation to Post-Master’s Supervision

School counselors may choose to pursue clinical supervision after they graduate from a master’s program even though they are not required to do so. This quantitative study utilized a survey research design to examine the differences between school counselor professional identity (SCPI) development and post-master’s supervision. Results from this study indicate significant differences in components of SCPI between school counselors who participated in post-master’s supervision and those who did not. School counselors who pursued post-master’s supervision had stronger identity scores focused on roles and responsibilities, leadership, and social justice advocacy.

상담자 전문직 정체성, 자기효능감, 상담자 발달 수준, 소진의 구조적 관계

The purpose of this study is to examine the structural relationship between the counselor's professional identity, self-efficacy, the counselor's level of development, and burnout. To this end, a questionnaire consisting of the counselor's professional identity scale, self-efficacy scale, counselor development level scale, and burnout scale was conducted for 356 counselors working as counselors across the country. 356 responses were used for analysis. In order to confirm the structural relationship of the variables, a research model and a comparative model were established, and the final model was selected through the verification of the fit of the model. As a result of the study, first, there was a positive correlation between professional identity, self-efficacy, and the level of the counselor's development, and a negative correlation with burnout. Second, professional identity had a direct impact on self-efficacy, and had a direct/indirect effect on the level of development and burnout of counselors. Third, self-efficacy had a direct effect on the level of development of the counselor, and had a direct and indirect effect on burnout. Fourth, in the relationship between professional identity and burnout, it was confirmed that self-efficacy and the level of the counselor's development had a sequential partial mediating effect. Based on these results, the significance of this study and suggestions for follow-up studies were discussed.

Validating School Counselor Professional Identity: Response to “Suicide Intervention in Schools”

In response to the manuscript of “Suicide intervention in schools: If not school counselors, then who?” the roles and responsibilities of school counselors and educators are highlighted as to effective preparation for suicide intervention. Although preparation in training is needed due to the increasing rates of suicide in K-12 student populations, the professional identity development of school counselors is examined as it applies to the growing mental health needs in schools. Implications for counselor educators and school counselors in their responsibility for training and prioritizing needs to address are provided.

상담전문가의 정체성 연구

상담은 무엇이고 상담전문가는 어떤 역할을 수행하는가? 본 연구는 상담이 전문적인 영역으로 자리 잡아 오는 동안 우리나라 상담자들이 계속해서 고민해왔던 정체성 관련 질문에 대해 현재의 관점에서 그 답을 찾고 있다. 이를 위해 연구자들은 상담실무자들이 상담(사)에 대해 어떻게 정의하고 개념화하는지, 인접 분야와는 어떻게 다르다고 인식하는지 살펴보는 한편, 상담(사)에 대한 상담수요자들의 인식을 확인하였다. 구체적으로, 연구자들은 한국상담심리학회 상담전문가 자격증을 보유한 926명의 학회원들과 상담 경험이 있는 일반인 328명으로부터 자료를 수집하였다. 수정된 합의적 질적 연구 방법을 통해 자료를 분석한 결과, 상담실무자와 일반인들은 일정한 조건(전문적·인간적 자질, 공인된 자격, 사회·윤리적 책임의식)을 갖춘 전문가가 특정 역할(정서적 지원, 적극적 안내, 인지적 이해, 변화의 지렛대, 관여적 파트너로서의 역할 등)을 수행함으로써 문제를 호소하는 내담자의 정서, 인지, 행동 등 주관적 세계가 변화하고 회복되도록 조력하는 과정을 상담이라고 인식하였다. 한편, 상담사들은 일반인이 보고하지 않은 전인적 성장과 예방, 내담자의 잠재력과 주체성, 관계 및 협력, 전문성 향상의 주체로서의 역할 등을 전문직 정체성을 이루는 주요 요소로 강조하였다. 반면, 상담 경험이 있는 일반인들은 지식이나 지혜를 공유하고 실질적인 방안을 안내하는 등의 능동적이고 적극적인 상담사의 역할을 중요하게 인식하였다. 연구결과를 바탕으로 상담교육 및 훈련뿐 아니라 학회가 참고할 수 있는 시사점을 논하였다.

An Occupation in Search of Identity—What Is School Counseling?

This study will focus on the professional identity of school counseling, which is a key function in Israeli schools. Forming a professional identity is part of the process of professional development that begins with academic training and continues throughout one’s professional career. Professional identity distinguishes between different occupations and provides practitioners with a safe base that lets them better understand their work and form a team spirit within their field of occupation. The research literature indicates an association between one’s professional identity and her professional functioning and success, sense of stability, confidence, and pride in practicing the occupation. The professional identity of school counseling is related to gender. This is a predominantly female occupation and most of its practitioners in Israel are women.
 
 Few studies have been conducted on the professional identity of school counselors (Note 1) and its impact on the quality of their work. It appears that the definition of the school counselor’s role is neither clear nor unambiguous, both in Israel and elsewhere, and this affects the professional identity of counselors and the quality of their work. The current study included semi-structured interviews with 15 school counselors, in which they spoke about the structure of their work, their professional vision, satisfaction, and sense of self-fulfillment as a result of their job, as well as their professional self-efficacy.
 
 The research findings show that the structure of the counselor’s work, her role definition and workload, are related to her professional identity, including how she perceives the counseling occupation, her satisfaction and sense of self-fulfillment. Based on the interviews, no differences were found between the narratives of counselors with different levels of seniority in the profession with regard to professional identity, satisfaction, and self-fulfillment. The research findings indicate the need to define the school counseling occupation and its place in the school in order to help school counselors establish a clearer professional identity, with the aim of adapting the role to the challenges of the school system in the 21st century, in the world in general and in Israel in particular.

Counseling leadership and professional counselor identity: a phenomenological study

ABSTRACT This phenomenological study explored the perspectives and experiences of 12 counseling leaders grounding their leadership within professional counselor identity. The results of this study yielded five main themes (i.e., person as leader, culture, privilege and responsibility, counseling leadership, advocacy and impact), each with three subthemes. Implications for counseling leadership, leadership training, multicultural leadership, and research are discussed.

View from the witness stand: licensed counselors’ experiences providing court testimony

ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how licensed professional counselors (LPCs) experienced court testimony. Data was collected through interviews with 11 LPCs, all graduates from CACREP accredited programs. The following four themes emerged: (1) unprepared for court testimony; (2) ethical dilemmas in court testimony; (3) emotional responses to court testimony; and (4) professional identity and court testimony. The authors provide suggestions for training programs to contextualize court testimony within counselor professional identity.

A Qualitative Study of Undergraduate Students in Counseling Major on Counselor Professional Identity Development As a Preliminary Counselor: Focusing on The Experience of Counseling Practice

A Qualitative Study of Undergraduate Students in Counseling Major on Counselor Professional Identity Development As a Preliminary Counselor: Focusing on The Experience of Counseling Practice

Towards a New Profession: Counselor Professional Identity in Italy. A Delphi Study

Counseling is a profession that began only recently in Italy, when compared to other mental health related professions. A lack of consensus on professional counselor identity seems to represent a limiting factor in the growth of the profession, since it negatively impacts on its efficacy and it can lead to counselors being confused with other mental health professionals. Because of this, the future establishment of the counseling profession in Italy is closely linked to acquiring a stronger and clearer sense of professional identity. The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify a list of essential elements characterizing counselor professional identity through the opinions of a panel of Italian expert counselors who represent diverse perspectives, and to advocate for professional regulation and certification for Italian counselors.

Moving Counselor Educators to Influential Roles as Advocates: An Ecological Systems Approach to Student-Focused Advocacy

ABSTRACT Counselor education has served as an instrumental root of professional advocacy intertwined with the history of counselor professional identity and values of client/student advocacy and social justice. The capacity for counselor educators to initiate platforms of advocacy among students continues to remain an extensive priority. Grounded in an ecological systems framework, this article systematically derives applications for counselor educators to institute student-focused advocacy at multiple systemic levels.

Connecting With Others: Counselor Educator Identity Development in Hybrid Doctoral Programs

ABSTRACT Counselor professional identity development (PID) is an often discussed topic, but limited attention has been given to the PID of doctoral students transitioning to counselor educators. Through multiple rounds of interviews, this grounded theory study examined the PID of doctoral students within the context of hybrid counselor education programs. The findings showed that making connections with others was critical to the overall PID process. The researchers provide implications for doctoral student training and future research.