Counseling Commons^™

Embedding Grief And Loss Training Across Cacrep-Core Areas In School Counseling Programs, Katherine M. Wood, C.Missy Moore, Jolie Ziomek-Daigle

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Each year, millions of school-aged children and teens experience grief and loss (Judi’s, 2023). This conceptual article describes the impact of grief and loss on school-aged children and the need to integrate grief and loss training into CACREP-accredited programs through the eight-core CACREP areas. Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, the authors will highlight how counselor educators can infuse content to address grief and loss with preservice school counselors holistically across the various systems surrounding the student in each CACREP core area.

The Needs Assessment As Authentic Learning For School Counselors In Training, Dr. Dianne Vargas, Dr. Steven Drouin, Dr. Karen Zandarski

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Although school counselor educators are tasked with preparing effective school counselors, they are continually presented with the challenge of creating authentic learning experiences that enhance the development of counselors in training. This descriptive-interpretive qualitative study describes the knowledge gained by counselors in training while creating, implementing, and analyzing an authentic learning experience within a master’s counselor education course. Data for this study included needs assessments completed by participants, and findings were summarized in four major themes. The themes included participants' awareness of the relevance of needs assessments, sources of knowledge utilized in survey design, school sites as stress and validation, …

Emotional Intelligence And Self-Perceptions Of Counseling Competency In Counselors In Training, Ariel K. Hernandez, Walter Frazier, Rebecca Cowan

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and counseling competency. Results indicated that CIT status was positively correlated with counseling skills and therapeutic conditions. Results further showed that CITs with higher EI had a higher self-perception of all components of counseling competency.

Multicultural Counseling Course Instructors’ Cultural Background And Diversity Teaching Approaches, Cameka Hazel

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Abstract

The success of any multicultural counseling course hinges upon the cultural competence of the course instructor. Research indicates that cultural competence is developed through personal experiences with diversity; however, little is known about how these experiences are translated into teaching practice. In this qualitative study, the researcher used a phenomenological inquiry to explore how instructors’ experiences with diversity influence how they teach multicultural counseling. The main thematic finding indicates that the cultural diversity background of the counselor educators shapes the way they teach. The two subthemes also reveal that some instructors teach diversity topics from a place of familiarity …

Counselor Trainees’ Development Of Self-Efficacy In An Online Skills Course, Kristin Vincenzes, Ashley Pechek, Matt Sprong

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

COVID-19 significantly changed the parameters and imaginations of those in higher education. Face-to-face courses swiftly transitioned to completely remote learning; though, that came with many anxieties in relation to students’ competency levels in practicing counseling skills. The results of this study found that students’ self-efficacy significantly increased after participating in an online skills course. A total of 39 graduate-level clinical mental health counseling students completed both the pre and post-test questionnaires, and findings showed that completing the online skills-based course was important in improving self-perception of increasing one’s skills, t(38) = -5.088, p < .000.

School Counseling Site Supervision: Training Recommendations To Benefit School Counselor Interns And Site Supervisors, Chris R. Wilder, Atiya R. Smith, Jennifer Money-Brady, Denise B. Ebersole, Abraham Cazares-Cervantes, Teshaunda L. Hannor-Walker, Judith Justice

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The importance of supervision is supported in the research literature. Site supervision in school counseling does not require formal training. The absence of formal training has potential implications for the novice school counselor, the P-12 students they serve, and future school counseling supervisees. The authors compare current training models and explore best practices to improve site supervision for school counseling interns. accreditation, ethics, and current needs in school counseling for the school counselor intern and the site supervisor. Finally, the authors review supervision training and models, accreditation, ethics, and current needs for the school counselor intern and the site supervisor, …

Supervision In Schools: A Developmental Approach, Jessica Miserentino, Michael D. Hannon

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

School counselor supervision has been identified as both integral to effective school counseling practice and significantly underrepresented in counseling research. We provide a critical review of school counseling supervision literature and provide a rationale for using the Integrated Developmental Model for supervising school counselors through a case study. We conclude with recommendations for counselor preparation programs to integrate sustainable practices to help advocate for more frequent supervision support for school counselors.

Evaluation Of A Three-Hour Cross Disciplinary Internship Site Supervisor Training Session, Leigh Ann Tipton Fisler, Emily Jo Hernandez, Elina Saeki, Deborah Ribera, Roxanna N. Pebdani

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Given the importance of supervision in the counseling fields for facilitating trainee growth, the frequency, type, and delivery of supervision varies widely and can be limited or nonexistent (Pearson, 2004). Thus, a supervisor in any counseling profession must have strong supervisory skills that match the needs of the trainee, even if their professional skills and background differ (Davies et al., 2004). This study examined the effectiveness of a professional development training for school counseling, rehabilitation counseling and school psychology site supervisors. Results demonstrated significant improvements in participant confidence in Managing Supervision as well as general improvements in self-reported self-efficacy. Future …

Using An Experiential Group To Promote Engagement In A Career Counseling Course, Chad Luke, Zach Budesa, Joel Diambra

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Abstract

Career development and graduate counseling courses provide an opportunity to engage counselors-in-training in their own career development in order to evoke a parallel experience in their future clients. One approach to engaging students in these courses is through experiential education. The authors describe a pilot project using an experiential group technique embedded in a graduate-level career development and counseling course. The first author implemented a six-session group experience using peer facilitators to explore students’ own career-related attitudes and behaviors and then transfer that experience to work with future clients. The inclusion of an experiential group in a career development …

The Draw Of The Wild: How To Easily Integrate Nature Into Clinical Practice, Jason T. Duffy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

For thousands of years many societies and people have intuitively recognized the wellness-enhancing power of the natural world as well as its ability to assist people in the construction of a sense of purpose and meaning. More recently, research emanating from the field of ecotherapy as well as other fields has begun to build empirical support for the efficacy of the natural world in promoting mental and physical health. This conceptual manuscript provides the rationale for integrating nature into clinical practice and describes flexible, concise, and easy ways for counselors to utilize ecotherapy in their work with clients, including, ironically, …

Expanding The Role Of Social Class In Multicultural Counselor Education Curricula, Derrick Shepard, Laura S. Wheat, Casey A. Barrio Minton

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Although professional counselors are called to develop Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts et al., 2016), and social and cultural diversity are highly researched (e.g., Barrio Minton et al., 2014), social class as a multicultural construct has received less attention and is often reduced to being defined as socioeconomic status (SES). Therefore, this article provides a brief historical context of social class, explores the current state of social class research in counseling and counselor education, and suggests methods for increasing inclusion of social class in counselor educators’ multicultural pedagogy.

Trauma-Informed Child Client Advocacy (Ticca) Plan: Conceptualization And Case Study, Aubrey D. Daniels

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC; Ratts et al., 2016) and the American Counseling Association (ACA) Advocacy Competencies (Lewis et al., 2003; Ratts et al., 2010; Toporek & Daniels, 2018) formalized the advocacy process for counselors. Nevertheless, the literature focused on the advocacy competencies does not provide child client advocacy examples or a concise plan for advocacy efforts for clinical mental health counselors to follow with children. To bridge this gap, this article is in place to describe a new advocacy plan, Trauma-Informed Child Client Advocacy (TICCA), followed by a case study providing context for how this plan …

Burnout, Self-Care, And Supervision In Middle School Counselors, Sarah L. Evans Zalewski

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study examines middle school counselor supervision types in relation to burnout and self-care scores. The impact of supervision via technology on self-care and burnout scores was considered. This study found that school counselors who received both administrative and clinical supervision fared better on the incompetence domain of burnout, that self-care was inversely proportional to burnout, and that receiving supervision via technological means had no impact on either burnout or self-care.

A Social Justice Recruitment And Retention Model For Diversifying School Counselor Education, Caroline Lopez-Perry, Malti Tuttle, Jung H. Hyun, Shanel Robinson

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

A social justice recruitment and retention model for BIPOC school counselors into counselor education doctoral programs is described. This article represents a call to action for counselor educators to examine their practices and policies for recruiting and retaining BIPOC school counselors in doctoral programs and the field of counselor education.

A Qualitative Exploration Of Using Experiential Groups To Train Future Group Counselors, Brittany L. Pollard-Kosidowski, Joel F. Diambra, Julia R. Bettge, Chris K. Burd

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As counselors routinely provide both individual and group-based services, it is important to prepare trainees to effectively utilize both approaches. One popular method for engaging students in group work training requires them to participate in experiential small groups. Although this requirement meets CACREP’s (2015) standard that students engage in 10 hours of group membership, less specific focus is placed on engaging students in active group facilitation training. This study analyzes qualitative interviews with seven counseling graduates who participated in experiential small groups during their training. Five emergent themes provide insight for counselor educators and accreditors into students’ group training …

Supporting Practicing School Counselor’S Skill Development: A Hip Hop And Spoken Word Professional Development Intervention, Ian Levy, Matthew E. Lemberger-Truelove

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Given the paucity of professional development (PD) opportunities, gaps in cultural competence, and deterioration of direct counseling service opportunities for many school counselors, it is reasonable to conjecture that there is an inadvertent abandonment of skill development and related student outcomes. This mixed-methods study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative PD series for school counselors, exploring participants' self-efficacy in counseling skill use and cross-cultural competence. The researchers administered a multi-session PD to school counselors in an Urban, Northeast School District in the US. Data from pre- and post-training surveys, vignettes, and post-training focus groups indicated a significant decrease …

A Phenomenological Study Of Counseling Students’ Learning About Wellness, Heather J. Fye, Eric R. Baltrinic

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The authors conducted a phenomenological qualitative study of counselor students’ experiences of learning about wellness guided by the Indivisible Self (Myers & Sweeney, 2004). Participants (N = 11 ) engaged in the experiential wellness activities during co-curricular group meetings throughout one academic year. Data were analyzed and three themes emerged: Wellness Considerations, Wellness Connections, and Wellness Applications. Limitations and directions for future research are illustrated.

School Counselor Self-Efficacy In Advocating For Self: How Prepared Are We?, Jennifer Perry, Sejal Parikh, Maylee Vazquez, Rachel Saunders, Stanley Bolin, Merry Leigh Dameron

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Advocacy is a central component of providing comprehensive school counseling programs. Often, counselor advocacy entails advocating for the profession and clients. Utilizing the New General Self-Efficacy scale, this quantitative study examined the effect of advocacy training type, counselor education program level, and CACREP program attendance on the self-efficacy of school counselors in advocating for self. School counselors' self-efficacy in advocating for self (as a school counselor), rather than advocacy for the profession and/or students, was assessed. Analysis revealed advocacy training was a statistically significant predictor of self-efficacy in advocating for self, while program level and CACREP attendance were not significant …

The Need For Collaboration: Experiences And Perceptions Of Preservice Principals And School Counselors, Jennifer Tygret, Sylvia Mendez, Adric Arndt, Desiree Lovato, Margaret Scott

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

While professional collaboration between school counselors and principals has the potential to enhance the educational environment for students, preparation programs typically do not provide collaborative opportunities to preservice candidates. In response to concerns expressed by preservice school counselors and principals regarding this lack of opportunity, researchers designed and implemented a collaboration workshop. Following the workshop, a multiple-case study research design was utilized to explore the value of collaboration from the perspectives of both groups through participant interviews grounded by the Five Elements of a Professional Community. Findings indicate educators in these preparation programs have the opportunity to institutionalize a collaboration …

Experiential And Transformative Learning For School Counselors: Impacts Of Counseling First-Generation, Low-Income, College-Bound Students, Alyson M. Pompeo-Fargnoli, Nicole Pulliam, Amanda Lapa, Jennifer Dutil

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Through the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), this study examined the impacts of counseling first-generation, low-income college-bound students by way of a school counselor experiential learning program at one small, private university in the eastern United States. This study explored experiential learning, including from a transformative learning perspective, as well as its overall impact on school counseling student preparation. Themes that emerged indicated that school counseling graduate student interns, when placed in a culturally diverse experiential learning setting, have the potential to increase their counselor competencies including multicultural competencies, and to have a transformative learning experience. These impacts were …

Experiential Learning In School Counselor Preparation: Supporting Professional Skill Development, Jennifer S. Barna

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Professional standards require school counselor educators to prepare students to competently perform the many necessary skills of a school counselor. Integration of experiential learning activities into existing pre-fieldwork school counseling courses supports both skill development and standard compliance. A framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating this classroom pedagogy is detailed.

Rural Community Dynamics: Implications For School Counselors, David J. Bright

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Research shows that rural students face increasing challenges to academic, social-emotional, and career success. An understanding of student culture, background, and needs is required for a school counselor to advocate for all students. Research into the needs of rural students is lacking when compared to other populations. Research suggests that poverty, geographic isolation, cultural isolation, lack of school and community resources, and barriers to educational success as factors influencing the development and success of rural students. This article reviews the available literature and provides implications for rural school counseling practice and future research.

Place Based Education As A Tool For Rural Career Development, David J. Bright

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Rural career development is rarely studied despite a large portion of American students attending school in a rural area. Rural career development is affected by factors such as student attachment to place, access to professional role models, local economic development, school funding, and geographic proximity to professional industries and higher education. A Critical Pedagogy of Place (Gruenewald, 2003) empowers students to critical explore the spacial and social constructs of their local area.Given that school counselors are in a unique position as career development and social justice advocates, this article explores the use of a Critical Pedagogy of Place as an …

Leadership And Gender: School Counselors’ Experiences Of Girls’ Leadership In Secondary Schools, Jennifer H. Greene, Cheryl L. Fulton, Maria Haiyasoso, Sarah M. Blalock

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

There has been a proliferation of girls’ leadership programs to stymie the leaking pipeline of women’s leadership and resulting gender leadership gap. School counselors are advocates and change agents in the schools and play a key role in student development and leadership programming. School counselors’ training in their counseling programs may impact their support and assessment of girls’ leadership programming. This phenomenological research utilized the open-ended questions of an online survey to understand school counselors’ experiences of girls’ leadership. The themes, (a) Formal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (b) Informal Approach to Girls’ Leadership, (c) No Girls’ Leadership, and (d) Non-Gender …

Developing Authentic Problem Solving Skills In School Counselors-In-Training Through Problem Based Learning, Phillip L. Waalkes, Daniel A. Decino

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

According to the American School Counseling Association’s school counseling competencies and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program’s standards, school counselors should have skills, abilities, and attitudes to address complex and authentic problems in their practice. Yet, school counselors often do not feel prepared by their preparation programs in being able to address the realities of their practice. Problem Based Learning activities, such as the one proposed in this article, may help school counselors-in-training develop the skills in internship supervision to address complex problems they will face in their future work. Implementation guidelines, a case example, and …

Using Fidelity Measures To Support The Training Of Graduate Students Working In School Settings, Nadia L. Ward, Lakeesha N. Woods, Patricia Simon, Jennifer Greif Green, Michael J. Strambler

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This paper presents a case example of a school-based social development program supported by counselors, yet implemented by graduate student facilitators in a mid-sized urban public school in New England. The authors describe a process for developing and validating fidelity instruments and the use of these assessments to train lay facilitators or graduate students enrolled in counseling or counselor education programs. Guidelines are presented for school counselors interested in using customized fidelity instruments to formatively assess training needs of graduate students.

A Survey Of Students’ Knowledge About Child Sexual Abuse And Perceived Readiness To Provide Counseling Services, Jennifer Marie Foster

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Master's level students in counselor education and counseling psychology (N = 304) were surveyed to explore their knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA) and perceived readiness to provide related counseling services. While students demonstrated general knowledge about sexual abuse, preparedness to counsel was rated much lower with 69% of students indicating low levels of competency. Data was analyzed to explore demographic characteristics that led to increased readiness scores. Indicators of statistically significant higher readiness scores included: prior work or volunteer experience with victims of sexual abuse, participation in CSA trainings, and supervised field experience. Implications for student training and recommendations …

Novice School Counselors' Experience In Classroom Management, Deborah K. Buchanan, Blair Sumner Mynatt, Marianne Woodside

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

A school counseling core curriculum is typically delivered in a classroom setting. Therefore, school counselors need to be prepared to manage a classroom during the delivery of classroom core curriculum lessons. Phenomenological research methodology was used to understand the classroom management experiences of seven school counselors in their first year of employment. Findings indicated that participants’ experiences were influenced by: a) prior knowledge and experience, b) relationships with teachers and students, c) the classroom teacher’s management style, and d) the ability to plan, organize, and deliver engaging, developmentally appropriate core curriculum lessons. Implications for school counselors, and counselor educators in …

Meaning-Making In Early Adolescence: Practices And Perspectives Of School Counselors, Jill E. Schwarz

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Adolescence is a crucial life stage involving aspects of identity development and decision-making that have potential life-long consequences. A sense of meaning is related to many beneficial factors during adolescence, including psychological health, academic engagement, and overall well-being. This qualitative interview study was designed to investigate middle school counselors’ perspectives and practices regarding exploring meaning with their early adolescent students. Analysis of ten individual interviews and a focus group revealed that the school counselor participants did engage in work with middle school students around meaning-making. They primarily helped students to find meaning through identity exploration, specifically focusing on navigating challenging …