Counselor Education Students Research Articles

Mentorship literature in counselor education and supervision programs: implications and recommendations for counselor educators

ABSTRACT The present article examines current literature on mentorship for counselor education and supervision (CES) doctoral students, and how current CES mentoring practices impact doctoral students’ personal and professional growth in alignment with accrediting body standards. Findings from the literature highlight the purpose, benefits, and potential barriers to establishing successful mentorship for CES doctoral students. Conceptual frameworks and departmental initiatives in building and infusing a culture of mentorship are explored. Implications and potential action steps for counselor educators are provided.

Mindfulness Practice and Expressions of Wellness: Experiences of Doctoral Counselor Education and Supervision Students

ABSTRACT Researchers advocate for wellness as part of counseling practices to minimize stress, improve quality of life, and promote well-being. Furthermore, mindfulness may play a critical role in the cultivation of wellness, particularly among counselor education and supervision (CES) students. This study aimed to capture the lived experiences of wellness practices among CES doctoral students who received formal mindfulness training. The following four themes emerged: (a) self-discovery through awareness, (b) practices of presence, (c) wellness as a whole person, and (d) resistance and challenges. Participants identified awareness as central to the intersection of mindfulness and wellness. Implications include using mindfulness as a vehicle to identify and engage in wellness practices that best serve students’ needs and ways to skillfully integrate mindfulness into CES curricula. Examining the in-depth stories of wellness cultivation and the influence of mindfulness could lead to new insights and practical steps to enhance counselor training and whole-person development.

Professional Identity Development of Black Doctoral Students in Counselor Education: A Reflexive Model

Professional Identity Development of Black Doctoral Students in Counselor Education: A Reflexive Model

Phenomenological understanding of Black counselor education students at Predominately White Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic Serving Institutions

AbstractThe experiences of Black counseling students at Predominantly White Institutions are well documented. Using a transcendental phenomenological environmental research design, we explored how 12 Black counselor education graduates experienced their respective institutions across three types of academic institutions—Predominantly White Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic Serving Institutions. Three salient themes emerged—(1) exposure, (2) real‐life exposure, and (3) cultural oasis. The researchers also discussed implications for counselor education programs and future research.

Infertility Among Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Students: Expectations, Experiences, and Knowledge

Females are disproportionately affected by infertility, and Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) doctoral students are predominantly female. Using phenomenological approach female CES doctoral students with infertility diagnoses were interviewed. Six themes emerged from the interviews: younger is better for conception; familial and societal messages; infertility knowledge; triggers; academics and infertility; something wrong with me, regret, and others don’t understand. Clinical implications and future directions are provided to promote social justice by bringing awareness and amplifying the voices of people suffering from a disability and a disease that is rarely recognized as either.

Intersection of professional identity development and experiences of cultural insensitivity among international counselor education doctoral students

AbstractThe authors used a qualitative research method to examine experiences of cultural insensitivity and their influences on professional identity among 13 international counselor education students. Participants described experiencing discrimination and how these experiences pushed them to incorporate advocacy into their professional identities. Participants also described the impact of discrimination on their cultural identities and the lack of global perspectives in mental health professions. Implications for counselor education are discussed.

Infertility Among Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral students: A Review of the Literature

Objective: This literature review focuses on Counselor Education and Supervision of female doctoral students. Issues of access and medical care coverage will be examined to give insight into the form of care that is available. Background: Previous literature has documented that age is the biggest predictor of fertility success. Females are disproportionately affected by infertility, especially women obtaining advanced degrees. Methods: An extensive review of the literature was conducted, and clinical implications were derived. Results: Students’ needs and goals are the links between education and realizing reproductive aims. Counselors are often initial resources for information and referrals and are well-positioned to impact clients. Conclusion: Therefore, it is important for counselors to understand the disparity in access to fertility care to help clients overcome barriers to care and advocate for change.

Developing Career and Counseling Self-Efficacy: Evaluating a Self-Efficacy Enhancement Approach to Counselor Education

PurposeWe applied Barnes’s self-efficacy enhancement approach (e.g., mastery experiences, vicarious learning, verbal persuasion, and perceptions of psychological states) to two separate evaluation studies focused on teaching career counseling to master’s level rehabilitation counselors-in-training and doctoral level counselor educators-in-training.MethodsStudy 1 employed a pre/post, single group design with 24 master’s level rehabilitation counselors-in-training. Study 2 employed a longitudinal, single group design with 13 counselor education doctoral students. Students in each study participated in a 14-week semester-length career counseling course designed using Barnes’s self-efficacy enhancement approach. In both studies, students participated in a mini-practicum, completed several measures of self-efficacy and perceived competence during multiple time points across the semester.ResultsFindings from Study 1 indicated an increase in career counseling self-efficacy and helping skills self-efficacy. Findings from Study 2 indicated an increase in career counseling self-efficacy and perceived counseling skills when working with people with disabilities.ConclusionFindings from Study 1 and Study 2 support Barnes’s self-efficacy enhancement approach when teaching career counseling to rehabilitation counselors-in-training and doctoral students in counselor education.

Culturally Responsive Distance Counselor Education for International Counseling Students

Counselor education programs have increasingly offered distance education during the last decades. As one of the growing student populations in counselor education programs, international students need to be given more attention pertaining to their cultural and educational experiences as counseling students. Although distance learning in counselor education has gained empirical support for its effectiveness, it may still pose challenges to international counseling students due to their unique characteristics such as language barriers and cultural differences, which may render differing qualities of students’ learning experiences. Aiming to enhance our understanding of this student population to provide culturally responsive distance counselor education, the present article introduces international students in the context of distance counselor education and discusses implications for supporting international students in distance counselor education.

Logged In, Zoomed Out: Creating & Maintaining Virtual Engagement for Counselor Education Students

Distance learning has significantly changed the face of counselor education and has greatly enhanced the learning process, becoming more prominent since the national pandemic of COVID-19. However, experiential learning, a primary component for counselor education students, can be particularly challenging for some instructors as they may struggle with developing key learning competencies and experiences via distance formats (Schreiber et al., 2021). Using the Theory of Online Learning Quality as a theoretical framework (Hathaway, 2009), we provide practical implications for how faculty can implement best practices for distance learning while maintaining active engagement for counseling students. In addition, we review online learning from a social justice lens, evaluating the diverse needs of various counseling students' identities and the unique challenges they face that impact curriculum.

Supporting marginalized students in counselor education and supervision programs

ABSTRACT Social justice and advocacy for underrepresented individuals are hallmarks of the counseling profession. Evidence is apparent as counselor education and supervision programs prepare students with leadership skills and dispositions to advocate for individuals, groups, and communities. In addition, students who represent marginalized groups must overcome cultural and systemic barriers to access counselor education programs, advance research, navigate culturally dominant pedagogy, and progress in doctoral programs as well as successive careers. Therefore, it is critical to provide opportunities for marginalized students to feel sought after, supported, and esteemed from recruitment to graduation and beyond. Incorporating existing and well-established programs such as the Holmes Scholars Program, the National Board for Certified Counselors’ Minority Fellowship Program, and the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity provides the needed support for marginalized students to advance the profession’s ideals toward social justice and advocacy.

Raising Awareness of the Impact of Guilt and Shame on Counselor Education Students

ABSTRACT A purposive sample of 560 counselor education students from 12 CACREP-accredited programs completed the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP), an emotional and behavioral assessment of shame and guilt. Results indicated that participants were unlikely to withdraw from others and unlikely to behave in immoral, non-empathic, and socially irresponsible ways. However, students in this study may struggle with low self-esteem, high levels of anxiety, perfectionism, and fear of failure when experiencing shame. Students in this study experiencing guilt were likely to behave ethically, empathically, and use socially responsible behaviors. Counselor education students of different genders, races, ages, and counseling specialties experienced shame and guilt in similar ways. Several recommendations are made to help train counselor education students to understand how shame and guilt can impact counseling outcomes.

Faculty Perspectives on Strategies for Successful Navigation of the Dissertation Process in Counselor Education

This research was conducted as part of a larger qualitative study that involved the collection and analysis of in-depth interviews with 15 counselor educators at counselor education and supervision doctoral programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The participants were asked to identify strategies used to help students navigate the dissertation process and if the strategies were successful. Structural and relational strategies were identified as significant to the successful completion of the dissertation process. Although additional research is necessary to determine if the strategies are successful for faculty and students in other counselor education and supervision doctoral programs, we identified five themes that support the completion of the dissertation process: (a) mechanics of the program, (b) supportive environment, (c) selecting and working with committee members, (d) intentionality in developing a scholar identity, and (e) accountability.

Preparing Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Students Through an HLT Lens: The Importance of Research and Scholarship

We examined the publication trends of faculty in 396 CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision (CES) programs based on Carnegie classification by exploring 5,250 publications over the last decade in 21 American Counseling Association and American Counseling Association division journals. Using Bayesian statistics, this study expounded upon existing literature and differences that exist between institution classifications and total publications. The results of this study can be used to inform the training and preparation of doctoral students in CES programs through a Happenstance Learning Theory framework, specifically regarding their role as scholars and researchers. We present implications and argue for the importance of programs and faculty providing research experience for doctoral students in order to promote career success and satisfaction.

Preliminary Establishment of the Dispositional Development Scale: Incorporating the Working Alliance in Professional Disposition Assessment

This article discusses the initial development of an instrument which was designed to aid educators in assessing professional dispositions in rehabilitation counselor education students, in accordance with the 2016 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Standards. Furthermore, the development of the instrument was embedded with the concept of the working alliance (Bordin, 1979). The current study leads to the introduction of the Dispositional Development Scale (DDS), which was created using a two-phase approach, including content validation by Certified Rehabilitation Counselors (n = 148). The implications for using DDS in rehabilitation counselor education are significant and include a systematic, more transparent method of evaluating students' nonacademic competencies.

Development of ASEAN counselor education standards

This research is motivated by the importance of the development of ASEAN Counselor Education Standards whose member countries have similar cultural and geographic contexts. The purpose of the study is the formulation ASEAN Counselor Education Standards. The research was conducted through survey of lecturers and counselor education students UPI and UPSI. Data were collected through the ASEAN Counselor Education Standards Questionnaire. The findings of the study were (a) in the total analysis and the aspect there was no similarity of views between lecturers and students on the development of ASEAN Counselor Education Standards, but on the indicator analysis there was a similar view between lecturers and students on the development of ASEAN Counselor Education Standards, (b) both lecturers and students are important development of ASEAN Counselor Education Standards, (c) the formulation of the ASEAN Counselor Education Standard includes 1: Learning Environment, Standard 2: Professional Counseling Identity, Standard 3: Professional Practices, and Standards 4: Evaluation in the Program. The research recommendation is addressed to the higher education institution of counselor education organizers in ASEAN and subsequent researchs. The conclusion of the ASEAN counselor education standard can be used as guidance for the development of counselor education in guidance and counseling study program in ASEAN.

Power’s influence on boundary-crossings between counselor educators and counselor education students

Counselor educators (CEs) hold legitimate power over counselor education students (CESs). It would be helpful for CEs to understand how power differentials influence boundary-crossing perceptions w...

Impact of ethical information resources on counselor education students

A convenience sample of 263 counselor education students from six CACREP-accredited programs evaluated 16 boundary crossing scenarios in the context of four ethical information interventions. Revie...

Acculturation Domains and Counselor Self-Efficacy

ABSTRACTA recent reconceptualization of acculturation created a multidimensional framework illustrating cultural changes across 3 domains: cultural practices, values, and identity. Based on this multidimensional model of acculturation, the purpose of this study was to expand current literature by examining how three acculturation domains and acculturative stress impacted counselor self-efficacy among 94 foreign-born students in counselor education. Results of a hierarchical multiple regression revealed that each acculturation domain, as well as acculturative stress, differentially contributed to counselor self-efficacy. Implications and recommendations for counselor educators and supervisors are provided.

Students' Ethical Decision‐Making When Considering Boundary Crossings With Counselor Educators

Counselor education students (N = 224) rated 16 boundary‐crossing scenarios involving counselor educators. They viewed boundary crossings as unethical and were aware of power differentials between the 2 groups. Next, they rated the scenarios again, after reviewing 1 of 4 ethical informational resources: relevant standards in the ACA Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2014), 2 different boundary‐crossing decision‐making models, and a placebo. Although participants rated all resources except the placebo as moderately helpful, these resources had little to no influence on their ethical decision‐making. Only 47% of students in the 2 ethical decision‐making model groups reported they would use the model they were exposed to in the future when contemplating boundary crossings