The first purpose of the study was to assess burnout in pre-licensed counselors who are working towards licensure compared to burnout in counselors who are already licensed. The second purpose of the study was to assess what factors contribute to burnout in pre-licensed counselors. Counselors working towards licensure were an under-studied population at risk for burnout. Further, burnout of counselors working to gain their licensure had not been studied previously. A total of 2,400 pre-licensed and licensed counselors in Florida and Louisiana were emailed the quantitative survey. The instrument included a researcher designed demographic survey and the Maslach’s Burnout Inventory for Human Services (MBI-HSS). Using descriptive statistic ANOVA, inferential statistic Levene’s test and non-parametric tests including Spearman’s rho, and Kruskall-Wallis were calculated to measure the degree of burnout and to compare burnout scores of licensed counselors and pre-licensed counselors working toward licensure. Results of this study indicate that pre-licensed counselors experienced high levels of burnout in emotional exhaustion, moderate levels of burnout in depersonalization, and inversely high levels of personal accomplishment. Licensed counselors exhibited moderate levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and inversely high levels of personal accomplishment. In addition, the following demographics were found statistically significant in burnout of pre-licensed counselors: age, weekly supervision, work setting, and client population.

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the hearing distressing voices simulation training, Developing Empathy for the Lived Experience of Psychiatric Disability: A Simulation of Hearing Distressing Voices (HDVS), developed by Patricia E. Deegan, Ph.D., will affect counseling students’ empathy for clients diagnosed with schizophrenia, as measured by the Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professions Students version (JSE-HPS). The experimental design was a quasi-experimental, one-group, pre-test/ post-test, and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professions Students version was used to measure empathy. A total of 55 participants were drawn from a convenience sample of master’s counseling students from CACREP-accredited programs in southern Louisiana and Chicago, Illinois. A two tailed, paired samples t-test revealed that there was a significant difference (pM=116.11, SD=9.76) and post-test empathy scores (M=121.85, SD=8.9). This study suggests the HVDS is an effective tool to assist counseling students with developing empathy, decreasing stigmatizing attitudes, and avoiding disempowerment and marginalization within the counseling relationship.

The purpose of this qualitative, narratological research was to gain a deeper understanding of the stories of three African American counselor educators who experienced research mentorship as counseling students and faculty members while working towards tenure. The three participants were employed as assistant professors in CACREP-accredited counselor education graduate programs provided their perspectives of research mentorship. The primary research question for my research was: How do pre-tenured African American female counselor educators perceive their research mentorship experiences? The foundation for my study was provided by the review of literature focused on critical race theory, marginalized groups in academe, mentorship among specific populations, and research mentorship Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The transcribed interviews, vitas, and faculty profiles were analyzed by within-case and cross-case analysis. The findings indicated seven super-ordinate themes. 1) Benefits of Research Mentorship, 2) Social Racial Membership with Other Forms of Marginalization, 3) Professional Networking/Support, 4) Perceptions of Institutional Climate and Culture, 5) Perceptions of Research Mentoring Experiences, 6) Barriers of Research Mentorship, and 7) Behaviors that Foster Effective Research Mentoring. Implications for students and counselor educators along with recommendations for future research are presented. Personal reflections of the researcher are provided.

Bullying in schools is a social problem that continues to grow. Social workers need to be informed about it and prepared to address it in their practice. This study focused on behaviors students who are bullying and students who are victims of bullying demonstrate that get them referred to school‑based counseling. This is a quantitative study with qualitative aspects. A data extraction tool was used to collect secondary data from case files from Family Solutions Collaborative in the Ontario/Montclair School District of students who received counseling services. The data collected was coded, examined, interpreted, and described. Utilizing Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistics, frequency and cross‑tabulation analysis showed relationships between various behaviors and bullying status. The benefit from this research is an increased awareness of specific behaviors that will allow teachers, school staff, parents, and counselors to identify students who are bullying and students who are being bullied before the bullying evolves into something much greater.

This study surveyed the opinions of students and faculty about perceptions of mandated counseling for Master of Social Work (MSW) students at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). The MSW program at CSUSB does not explicitly endorse a strategy to facilitate personal growth and development, such as personal counseling. Given the evidence that counseling can help build self-awareness, reduce stress and manage mental illness, counseling can be beneficial to its students, as it relates to personal growth and professional development. This study’s significance is that it examined social work students and professionals, specifically. This study used a quantitative survey design and the results were analyzed using a between-groups ANOVA. The implications affect policies towards mandated counseling and the means by which students develop professionally.

Clinical supervision is an essential component in a social work student’s education and development in the field. Social work students should feel comfortable with their clinical supervisors in order to appropriately self-disclose during supervision and gain the ability to recognize countertransference when working with clients. The significance of this is that students should be aware of their feelings and learn how to process these reactions during supervision. A mixed methods approach was utilized, surveying and interviewing students and clinical supervisors affiliated with California State University, San Bernardino. A Pearson correlation coefficient was conducted to determine the relationship between the strength of the supervisory relationship and the ability of social work students to recognize countertransference. The findings of this study suggested that there are significant relationships between the supervisory relationship and perceptions of self-disclosure and countertransference. Based on the qualitative analyses, eight central themes emerged regarding supervision practices and the relationships between students and supervisors. The implications of this study should impact how clinical supervisors foster the development of strong relationships with student interns. This should allow students to gain skills to succeed and provide better services to clients.

The current literature on school counselor job satisfaction does not address the experiences of school counseling directors. This is a unique set of counselors due to their role as leaders and supervisors in the building. Therefore, this study sought to better understand the experiences of school counseling directors in relation to job satisfaction and leadership. The researcher collected data through 10 interviews with participants having met the criteria of serving as a school counseling director of a middle or high school, supervising a department of at least two counselors, and working in the role for at least two years. Data analysis showcased the different expectations in the role of the school counseling director in addition to four major themes: Intentionality, Leadership Training and Knowledge, Overload of Responsibilities Assigned to Role, and Sacrifice. The subthemes for Leadership Training and Knowledge include limited counselor-specific preparation, limited recognition of leadership style, collaboration, and influence of administrators. The subthemes of Sacrifice include time to complete duties and gender-related influence on role acquisition. These themes are discussed in relation to current research as well as in regards to implications about the expectations of the school counseling director’s role, gender influence, leadership training standards and programs, and wellness. Recommendations for further research about school counseling directors, district-level supervisors, and leadership training are also given.

Adults with intellectual disability (ID) experience twice the rate of mental health disorders when compared to the general population. Despite increased prevalence of mental health disorders, caregivers supporting adults with ID rarely seek mental health counseling supports, but instead are referred to psychiatric services. There is limited understanding among researchers about the lack of counseling services for adults with ID. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of mental health counselors who have worked with adults with ID in a counseling relationship. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used to develop thick and rick experiential detail about counselor experiences providing services for adults with ID. The conceptual framework involved the social constructivist and hermeneutic phenomenological lenses. The 8 participants were recruited using a purposive snowball sampling method and provided data through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis involved coding for themes with the help of NVivo software. Findings indicated counselor perceptions of adults with ID as being stigmatized and marginalized within their communities, which aligned with literature. Adults with ID must be prepared for counseling and there must be appropriate adaptations to support meaningful participation and benefit from counseling interventions. Exposure to adults with ID was a factor in counselors being willing to engage with this population, and questions about counselor education and preparedness were a consistent theme. The social implications of exploring this gap will lead to a better understanding of counselor experiences and can inform the professional body about how to increase access to counseling services for adults with ID.

Many researchers have found that differences exist in counselors' professional identity (PI) associated with gender, learning opportunities, and specialty area. However, researchers have not focused on the impact of counselors' type of education program (online vs traditional) to PI. The purpose of this study was to address this gap and determine if differences exist in PI across program types for novice counselors. The framework for this study was built around the concept of PI, defined as including knowledge, expertise, professional roles, attitudes, behaviors, and interactions. The research question was designed to examine the differences in PIs across traditional and online education settings. A convenience sample of 140 new graduate participants was obtained for this cross-sectional survey study-113 from traditional programs and 27 from online programs. PI of participants was measured using the Professional Identity Scale in Counseling (PISC) and data were analyzed using an analysis of covariance with the covariates of gender and specialty area. The results did not show a significant difference in PI between program types, however, the means of the PISC showed that the group of online graduates scored slightly higher. While not statistically significant, the findings of the study contribute to positive social change by showing that no differences exist across the PI development of novice counselors based on program type. Therefore, counselor educators can continue to practice in ways that foster the development of students based on their education program type. Counselor education that fosters the development of student PI contributes to the community as a whole by producing individuals who are competent and knowledgeable for professional practice.

As school counseling interns graduate and transition to a professional school counseling work world, there are issues which may affect their personal and professional development, such as ongoing skill acquisition, keeping current in the field, and reflective awareness of professional counselor growth. Counselor educators continually seek approaches and methods of training school counseling interns with potential for transference to the world of practicing school counselors. However, translating ongoing supervision of school counselors to the real world setting can prove problematic. First, there is a lack of clinical supervision after graduation, and then any supervision received tends to be provided by school administrators. This exploratory study sought to explore the potential of one model of group supervision, which could potentially translate into the real work world of practicing school counselors. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of school counseling interns' with a reflecting team model of group supervision, Structured Reflecting Team Supervision (SRTS), during the final, internship semester. A qualitative method was used for this exploratory study due to the scant research in the areas of clinical group supervision and the SRTS model with the school counseling intern population. This study was designed to answer the following research question: What are the experiences of school counseling interns exposed to the reflecting team model of group supervision throughout their internship semester? Data consisting of structured open-ended interview guides (SOIG) were gathered three times throughout the semester. Data was also gathered one time through a separate SOIG at the end of the semester from the academic supervisors to ensure consistency of the use of the model. Study participants found hearing multiple perspectives on the same case to be the most important aspect of their time together. Several participants suggested an earlier start to the SRTS model might provide an opportunity to follow the cycle of new idea implementation and reporting back progress from those ideas. A number of participants looked forward to trying the model in the field through peer consultations to meet the needs for further clinical supervision.