Counseling Commons^™

Infusing Shame Resilience Into The Counseling Curriculum To Support Client Conceptualization And Student Wellness, Sarah I. Springer, Kathleen Grant, Lauren Cozzolino

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Shame is a silent epidemic that influences the health of our clients and the counselors who serve them. Using the tenets of phenomenology, researchers explored the experiences of students participating in a counseling course created to infuse shame resilience into the curriculum. Results and implications for future research are included.

Supporting Counselors-In-Training: A Toolbox For Doctoral Student Supervisors, Jeffrey M. Warren, Mark Schwarze, Helen S. Lupton-Smith

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselor education doctoral students are often required to supervise master-level counselors-in-training as part of their supervision internship. While practical, this arrangement places doctoral students and their supervisees in potentially compromised situations, given their lack of experience in these respective roles. This article offers a toolbox of strategies doctoral student supervisors can use to facilitate their work with counselors-in-training. These strategies address focus areas identified through prior research. Doctoral student supervisors are encouraged to use this toolbox in conjunction with the support and guidance of their faculty supervisor as they navigate clinical supervision.

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.

Shared And Unique Competencies In Interprofessional Behavioral Health: Implications For Counselor Education, Julie Berrett-Abebe, Jocelyn K. Novella, Dilani M. Perera

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Behavioral health reform in the U.S. recommends interprofessional education and practice grounded in clinical training in competencies relevant to practice. In tandem, counselor education requires training to learn roles and responsibilities as members of interdisciplinary teams. This pilot explored participants’ (N=19) understanding of professional identities and competencies among clinical mental health counseling (CMHC), marriage & family therapy (MFT), psychiatric mental health nursing (PMHNP) and social work (MSW) students in an interprofessional education (IPE) program. Participants identified unique profiles of each of the four behavioral health disciplines that align with professions’ histories and theoretical orientations as well as a common profile …

The Proctor Model Of Clinical Supervision: An Introduction For Professional Counselors, Gideon Litherland, Gretchen Schulthes, Charlotte Cowles, Edward Ewe

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counseling supervisors require an increasingly diverse set of tools, theories, and interventions to address the myriad concerns that arise in clinical supervision. The ability to support, provide feedback, and systematically address supervisee issues are critical to effective supervision. Deliberate practice remains a key indicator of clinical effectiveness, with supervision skills requiring the same attention and practice. As consumers of supervision or providers of supervision services, professional counselors require useful models of how to engage in supervision. The Proctor Model is an internationally recognized and implemented model of supervision that has great utility for professional counselors.

Incorporating Trauma-Informed Educational Practices In The Counselor Education Classroom, Yoon Suh Moh, Katharine Rose Sperandio, Glory Munthali, Amy Dugan

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This conceptual article provides a description of trauma-informed educational practices informed by a model of trauma-informed educational practice (TIEP) that was created for social work education. We subsequently will call for an integration of this model to counselor education. To demonstrate an application of the model into counselor education, we will provide a case study influenced by both the TIEP model and our experiences in working in a CACREP-accredited counselor education program that infuses trauma content throughout its program curriculum.

Multicultural Competence In Counseling Students: Addressing Social Class In Multicultural Counseling Courses, Carly Paro-Tompkins, Jennifer Pereira, Joffrey S. Suprina, Elda Veloso Ph.D, Eric Davis, Renata F. S. Goldhagen, Katarzyna Wojnas, Samantha Both

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

There are consistent findings of clinician bias toward clients of differing social classes, and little research about faculty efforts to address bias within educational programs. Informed by a literature review, quantitative methodology and descriptive exploratory design were used to examine counselor educators’ instructional strategies for teaching multicultural counseling. Additionally, perceptions of faculty effectiveness and comfort level with social class issues were explored.

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 …

Standing With Asian Clients Affected By Pandemic: Counseling Recommendations Through Msjcc Framework, Hyemi Jang, Jihyeon Choi, Isak Kim

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As COVID-19 exacerbates racial discrimination against Asian populations in the U.S., mental health concerns among Asians have increased accordingly. Thus, counselors are encouraged to provide culturally competent counseling for Asian clients who experience racial discrimination and its detrimental impacts. This article proposes recommendations for counselors to effectively serve Asian clients based on the Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) framework. Counselors can utilize the proposed considerations to alleviate mental health concerns among Asian clients.

Practical Interventions For Groupwork Leader Training In Master’S Counseling Programs, Madeleine Stevens, Shannon Strohl, Pat Mcgowan

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Groupwork in counseling has been utilized to promote client wellness, but little attention has been paid to the development and standardization of group leadership skills training in counselor education. This paper highlights this gap and offers practical, evidence-based solutions to help counselor educators train effective group leaders at the master’s level. The authors developed skill-building solutions using the core competencies for group leadership training in the Professional Standards for the Training of Group Workers (2000) by the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW).

Utilizing The Safe-T Model And Anti-Racist Counseling Principles For Suicide Assessment And Teaching Counselors In Training, Aubrey D. Daniels, Kristen Nadermann, Christy Beck, Yusen Zhai

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Training on suicide assessment and intervention in college counseling centers is crucial. The SAFE-T model is effective when teaching counselors in training (CITs) in training clinics on college campuses as students learn how to assess clients’ suicide risk level. We share how the SAFE-T model, in tandem with anti-racist counselor education practices, can enhance training in programs with training clinics based on our clinic at The Pennsylvania State University, followed by a case study to exemplify how to synthesize both practices for robust clinical outcomes.

Experiences Of The Supervisory Alliance And Self-Compassion In Counseling And Psychotherapy Students, Alexandre Brien, Patricia Dionne, Réginald Savard, Cynthia Bilodeau

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This qualitative research examined the relationship between supervisory working alliance, self-compassion and reflexive self-awareness with students enrolled in a graduate-level counseling or counseling and psychotherapy program (n = 48). A thematic analysis using a Critical Incident Questionnaire was performed. The themes identified in this study indicate that both supervision alliance and self-compassion seemingly contribute positively to student supervisee learning experiences and to the development of their reflexive self-awareness. Moreover, the perceived learning achieved, and the development of reflexive self-awareness, reciprocally strengthened the supervisory alliance. Furthermore, the degree of supervisees’ self-compassion as well as their perceived supervisory alliances had an …

Counselors’ Stigma Toward Addictions: Increasing Awareness And Decreasing Stigma, Natalie M. Ricciutti

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this study was to explore licensed counselors’ level of stigma toward individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) and process/behavioral addictions (PBAs) and note any differences. A total of 138 licensed mental health counselors from one Midwestern state completed the SRTSS and the BRTSS to determine levels of stigma toward SUDs and PBAs, respectively. Participant scores from the SRTSS and BRTSS were normally distributed, and 15% to 32% of participants’ scores were reflective of stigma toward individuals with either SUDs or PBAs. A significant difference was not found between participants’ stigma toward individuals with SUDs or PBAs. Hypotheses …

Suggestions To The Field: Novice Counselors’ Challenges In Treating Borderline Personality Disorder, Qu Chen, Richard Hazler

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Novice counselors working with clients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) are at risk for professional burnout. For many novice counselors, the cause of professional burnout is based on factors related to quality guidance and supervision. This article aims to call attention to counselor educators and supervisors to protect novice counselors treating BPD and provide suggestions for supervision. The authors review books, journal articles, and training workshop materials from 2003 to 2022, summarize features of BPD, analyze novice counselors’ challenges in treating BPD, and suggest some strategies that counselor educators and supervisors can use to assist novice counselors in treating …

Aspiring Counselors’ Mental Health: Recognizing Students’ Wellbeing As An Impactor On Development, Christopher R. Lafever, Melinda M. Gibbons

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Aspiring Counselors (AC) are learning to navigate professional knowledge and skills while engaging in developmentally necessary self-reflection. Wellness, as a professional cornerstone, has been an emphasis in the instruction and development of AC. AC’s development can have barriers of professional and personal disposition, such as un-met or underattended mental health concerns which may require remediation. AC may also have higher prevalence of adverse childhood and trauma experiences. Exploring the current literature on AC’s development, wellness, and adverse childhood experiences and trauma provides insights in how counselor educators can structure programs in a more proactive rather than responsive way. The purpose …

Using Supervision Preferences Of Counselors To Predict Intention To Stay, Amanda K. Mccarthy, Randy Mccarthy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The demand for counselors continues to grow and agencies continue to look for strategies that will retain their counselors. While improving employee retention requires multiple regular and ongoing actions at all levels of an organization, supporting supervisors to provide quality interactions with counselors could be part of the solution. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between supervision preferences and turnover intention among counselors employed in state agencies. Researchers solicited information regarding the supervision activities that counselors preferred to receive compared to the supervision activities they actually received. Instead of asking what counselors need regarding supervision, this …

Mindfulness Misconceptions In Counselor Education And Supervision: Mitigating Vicarious Trauma Among Counselors-In-Training, Elise Angelos, Adrienne Baggs

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

As counselors-in-training (CITs) continue to address a larger client base with pandemic induced mental health stressors, they may experience increased levels of vicarious trauma (VT) that can jeopardize the quality of treatment, as well as their own well-being. Thus, VT among CITs should be recognized as a priority problem among counselor educators. Despite well-documented personal and professional benefits of mindfulness, most CITs will not receive mindfulness education or training. Recognizing the relatively low rate of integration of mindfulness within CES, it is necessary to address several misconceptions about mindfulness that may be hindering the effective inclusion of mindfulness resources and …

Effective Writing Strategies And Feedback In Counselor Education, Lindsay Corinne Webster, Tessa M. Hastings, Kelseigh Garrett

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Emerging counselors often are expected to demonstrate mastery of learning objectives through the written word. In this article, we address how counselor educators can implement simple and effective strategies for developing proficient, reflective, and self-regulated student writers. We propose three frameworks from academic literature to shape a pedagogical writing approach germaine to the principles of counselor education: growth mindset, sociocultural theory of cognitive development, and constructive feedback typology. In addition to highlighting strategies to design developmental writing assignments with intentionality, we illustrate how to harness counseling skills to provide writing feedback that promotes insight and personal growth beneficial for counseling …

Experience Of Underrepresented Students In Master’S-Level Counselor Education Programs, Deborah L. Duenyas, Andre Sumiel, Jill Krahwinkel

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to understand the racial and ethnic experiences of underrepresented Master’s-level counseling graduate students in CACREP-accredited counselor education programs. The second author conducted semi-structured interviews with six masters-level counseling graduate students. Data analysis revealed four composite themes that comprised students’ experience. The themes were: Perceived Cultural Competence, Individual Characteristics, Connection and Advocacy, and Bringing “It” Up. Implications on how counselor education programming and curriculum can provide support for underrepresented students are provided.

Attitudes Of Counselors Toward Collaboration With Healthcare Professionals, Rashunda Miller Reed, Theodore P. Remley Jr., Lillian M. Range

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselors are experts in handling mental health issues, however many mental health issues are reported to primary care providers. Collaboration between counselors and healthcare providers is increasing yet little is known about counselors’ attitudes toward this challenging practice. In this study 165 counselors completed surveys related to their attitudes and social anxiety levels toward interacting with healthcare professionals. Counselors in this study reported having slightly negative attitudes toward healthcare professionals. There was no significant relationship between attitudes and social anxiety. Social anxiety was inversely related to frequency of collaboration, however, only a few counselors reported social anxiety. More importantly, most …

Practice Makes Progress: Using The Lifespan Course As An Example For Role-Play Implementation, Emily Horton, Ed Jacobs

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This conceptual article addresses specific clinical and practical implications for the utilization of role-play in the human growth and development course. Specific approaches to integrating role-play into the human growth and development course, including what we coin as Structured Role-Play, Semi-Structured Role-Play, and Unstructured Role-Play implementation strategies, are discussed at length. Sample vignettes and experiential activities for each developmental stage are provided. Finally, we address ethical considerations regarding role-play implementation.

Words Matter: The 7th Edition Apa Publication Manual And Bias-Free Language Use In Counselor Education, Gregory S. Phipps, Sarah N. Baquet, Jehan Hill, Juan Pantoja-Patiño, Yoon Suh Moh, Kalesha Jenkins

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The use of culturally sensitive, bias-free language is a key aspect of research and practice for counselor educators. This article discusses the recent changes to the 7th Edition of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual regarding bias-free language and its impact on counselor education and supervision. In addition, we provide several case study scenarios to assist counselor educators in their work with specific student groups impacted by the 7th edition changes.

Experiences Of Engaging In Contemplative-Reflexive Practices During Practicum, Erin Sappio, Terrilyn Battle Phd, Brielle Delano, Destiny Foster, Marie Hayden, Franki Berliner

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

This study used a community based participatory research (CBPR) model to explore the impact contemplative practice has on Master’s level counseling students while engaging in their practicum course. Four counseling students and two faculty researchers created process questions to be contemplated through a 10 week period. Results indicated that students gained self-awareness of their calm, relaxed states during contemplative practice, which contrasted to their worried and tense states when engaging in client contact hours. Over time, students were able to be reflexive in direct client contact by drawing upon the self-awareness gained through regular contemplative practice. Unintended benefits of engagement …

A Reconsideration Of Dispositional Assessment In Counselor Education, Gregory Hatchett

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselor dispositions have increasingly taken an important role in the selection and subsequent training of counseling students. Yet, counselor educators continue to lack inventories or rating scales that reliably measure dispositional constructs that have been connected to counselor effectiveness. Evaluating prospective and current counseling students based on unproven dispositional measures is inconsistent with counseling organizations’ codes of ethics and may subject counselor educators to legal liability. The purpose of this article is to review the current state of dispositional assessment in counselor education, describe recent research on therapist effects in the outcome literature, and offer suggestions for improving dispositional assessment.

Let’S Practice: Shaping Crisis Management Of Preservice Counseling Professionals, Yuleinys A. Castillo Lpcc, Crc, Jason Cartwright M.A., Mandy Greaves Phd, Lmft, Suzanne Maniss

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Counselors frequently encounter crises in practice with various factors shaping crisis management. However, limited preparation and training combined with personal and situational characteristics affect a counselors’ ability to properly handle a crisis. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that could potentially affect the ability to handle a crisis in session among counselors-in-training and add to the understanding of self-efficacy in crisis counseling. The study consisted of participants enrolled in a practicum pre-service course in a CACREP accredited program. Results were analyzed through a narrative research approach, specifically a categorical-content narrative analysis, theory-driven thematic analysis and cross-case …

A Grounded Theory Of Counselors’ Post-Graduation Development Of Disability Counseling Effectiveness, Michele Rivas, Nicole R. Hill

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Many persons with disabilities engage in counseling services in a variety of settings. However, the development trajectories of counselors who seek to compensate for the lack of training and advance their post-graduation skillset to work effectively with clients with disabilities has not been explored. This grounded theory study illuminated several dimensions involved in twenty-one Licensed Professional Counselors’ post-graduation development of disability counseling effectiveness. In this study, counseling effectiveness refers to self-perceived improved skillset rather than a benchmark (i.e., competence). The core category, Evolving Commitments, was common to all participants’ trajectories when developing disability counseling effectiveness. The other categories (causal conditions, …

Recommendations For Counselor Education And Supervision Programs To Improve Gatekeeping Processes Developed From Doctoral Student Experiences, Evan C. Smarinsky, Cian L. Brown, Erin Popejoy

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of eleven doctoral students at three CACREP accredited programs to address issues in counselor education and supervision programs and faculty face regarding gatekeeping. The information was used to develop and provide recommendations for gatekeeping procedures that can be implemented at the departmental and classroom levels. Ways programs can improve the training of doctoral students for gatekeeping roles and responsibilities, steps faculty can take to create an environment which supports gatekeeping at their institution, as well as support doctoral students as they grow into future gatekeepers of the profession are …

An Exploration Of Authors’ Circle: A Scholarly Writing Peer Feedback Process, Jacqueline M. Swank

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Doctoral students need to develop scholarly writing skills if they plan to work in academia. This study focused on the lived experiences of five counselor education doctoral students engaging in a peer feedback activity throughout a course designed to help them develop writing skills. The researcher identified five main themes from the data: (a) hesitancy and normalizing the experience; (b) development as a writer; (c) learning about, developing relationships with, and collaborating with peers; (d) self-confidence; and (e) areas to consider. The author discusses implications for teaching and research.